CriterionCast

Tidbits: Brad Bird’s Secret Film Gets A Title, Star Wars Re-Release Plans Change, And More

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Sure, we here at CriterionCast appreciate, and are fond mostly of foreign language films, independent releases, and mostly pictures that wouldn’t be far from your local art house or museum theater. However, we’re also human, and we’re also rather big fans of blockbuster films, particularly those with a sci-fi or comic book bent. Therefore, when a few hotly talked about projects have some interesting information revealed, we may as well inform any of you who may agree with our mixed cinematic tastes.

First up, one of the film world’s more intriguing “secret” projects has finally been given a title. Previously known, lovingly, as 1952, Brad Bird and writer Damon Lindelof’s new picture has been titled Tomorrowland. The film will star George Clooney, and is co-written by Bird, and frankly, that’s all we know. A release date has been set for December 19, 2014, and is now rumored to have a time travel-centered narrative. Personally, I can’t wait to see what this team has to offer, particularly Lindelof, a writer I can’t help but defend despite all of the outrage his work seems to spark online. Toss in Clooney, and you have a film that you really just can’t miss.

Next, in the wake of Disney’s reveal that J.J. Abrams will be helming the seventh entry in the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm and its new parent company have scrapped plans to re-release the previous franchise films into theaters in 3D. Saying that they are focusing on rebooting the franchise, this isn’t a shocking move, but one that does point to this new picture being both a continuation of the franchise while also trying to give us an entirely new narrative. And for that, I’m thankful.

Finally, turning our eyes to the small screen for a second, THR reports that Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are re-teaming for another HBO series. Following Band of Brothers and The Pacific, the trio will adapt Donald L. Miller’s “Masters Of The Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought The Air War Against Nazi Germany” for TV. As a fan of both previous series, this is something I’m really quite interested in. The trio are great at what they do, and this story seems to be as interesting as any you’ll find from this time period. Count me in.

Source EW / Deadline / THR

Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.