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This century has been a great time for lovers of noir films, with some speculating that neo-noir could be this decade’s genre of choice. There were many noir films made, and many more that had a noirish influence. There were noirs in various genres, from horror to action to suspense to brutal dramas. Films as diverse as Sin City and The Batman had a definite influence from the genre, especially the more violent neo-noirs of the ’90s and ’80s, and appeal to fans of film noir....

Screen Daily is reporting that Roman Polanski has stepped down from the epic drama Pompeii. He sights a scheduling conflict as the reason for his departure. The imposing industry strike caused principle photography in England to be postponed next summer. Because of this, Polanski had to move on with other impending directorial duties. Summit International, the company behind the drama, is currently looking for a replacement director. Polanski stated, “I put a lot of work and energy into the development of Pompeii, so it is not without regret that I have to decline my further involvement....

We’ve got some sad news coming in today, as Emmy and Tony Award winning actor Ron Leibman has reportedly passed away. The news was confirmed by representatives from the family, who say Leibman died Friday in New York City due to complications from pneumonia. He was 82 years old. Born in 1937, Leibman’s interest in performing led to him joining the improv group Compass Players in the late 1950’s. From there, he was admitted into the Actors Studio, and began to work his way up with his Hollywood acting career....

The fall can’t come soon enough. In an interview with Pop Matters, actor Rutger Hauer discussed the upcoming Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD. This release is scheduled to come out this fall on Standard DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc from Warner Bros.. It is also going to get a bit of a theatrical run as well. “It will be theatrically released in the fall, in September, and the DVD box will come after that runs out....

NBC’s Saturday Night Live will kick off its upcoming 43rd season on Sept. 30 with host Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay-Z. Returning for the second time as host, the twice Oscar-nominated Gosling is set to star in the sci-fi drama Blade Runner 2049, which opens Oct. 6. Accompanying Gosling on the season premiere will be Grammy Award-winning icon Jay-Z, who will be making his fourth appearance as musical guest. Jay-Z’s album “4:44” was released in June, and he will embark on a world tour beginning Oct....

Magnet Releasing has debuted the second trailer for Tim and Eric’$ Billion Dollar Movie, which will be available through video on demand formats January 27 before its theatrical debut March 2. Click on the video player below to watch Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim try to make the most expensive movie in cinematic history. An all new feature film from the twisted minds of cult comedy heroes Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!...

Sony is taking one of its video game classics for the PS2 and turning it into a new film. According to Variety, Sony will turn its popular Playstation 2 game Shadow of the Colossus into a feature film. The studio has hired Justin Marks (Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li) to adapt the video game and Kevin Misher is in negotiations to produce the film. The story centers on a man named Wander who must journey through a dystopic world to defeat 16 enemies known as the colossi to bring a girl back to life....

On the heels of record-setting premiere ratings for the network’s Sunday night line-up and continued audience growth, Showtime has picked up new seasons of Shameless, House of Lies and Californication. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. Production on the third season of Shameless, the second season of House of Lies and Californication’s sixth season will commence in Los Angeles later this year....

Sheldon Wilson (Kaw, Shallow Ground) will direct a sequel to the 90s science-fiction flick Screamers, according to Moviehole. The original, directed by Christian Duguay (The Art of War), told of a blade-wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as Screamers designed for one purpose only – to hunt down and destroy all enemy life forms. Colonel Hendricksson (Peter Weller) then must go up against the things he helped create. The site reports the filming will begin in Canada in January, Screamers 2 fixes on a group of humans from earth, including Lt....

Columbia Pictures has released six new clips from the upcoming adventure Season of the Witch, which hits theaters nationwide on January 7. Click on any of these new videos below for a deeper glimpse inside this medieval epic starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman: In the supernatural thriller Season of the Witch, Nicolas Cage stars as a 14th century Crusader who returns with his comrade (Ron Perlman) to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague....

We are just four months away from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey arriving in theaters this holiday season. One of the most anticipated aspects of this three-part Middle Earth adventure is the inclusion of Smaug, a dragon that will be portrayed through motion-capture techniques by Benedict Cumberbatch. The actor recently spoke about when his fire-breathing character will first be seen on-screen. This interview took place before it was confirmed that they are adding a third movie to the already-planned two-part saga, which may offset this notion of introducing Smaug in the first film....

TNT has released the trailer for Snowpiercer season 2. The trailer comes one day after season 1 came to an end. In addition to the new footage, viewers are introduced to Sean Bean, who will have a major presence in the upcoming season 2. The small screen adaptation of the Titan Comics series takes place a full eight years before the big screen adaptation, which gives plenty of time to show some twists and turns, much like the season 1 finale....

According to Variety, Spider-Man 3 has had the biggest opening day ever in 10 countries. The film has run right past its predecessors, grabbing handfuls of cash left and right. Within twenty-four hours, Spidey has already earned 29.2 million. The first two films combined barely eked out 26.2 million on their opening days. Before this current windfall, Spider-Man 3 broke all kinds of box office records in Asia. Now it is clearly dominating Europe, with huge opening-day numbers in France, where it took in $6....

Starz Entertainment has acquired U.S. television rights to Tandem Communications’ ground-breaking eight-hour television adaptation of Ken Follett’s bestselling novel The Pillars of the Earth. Starz will air the series, produced by Tandem Communications, Muse Entertainment and Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free Films, as a summer event. The $40 million series is directed by three-time DGA award-winner Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Heroes, Into the West) and was shot on location in Hungary and Austria with a star-studded cast including: Ian McShane (Deadwood, Sexy Beast), Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist, A Knight’s Tale), Matthew Macfadyen (Ridley Scott’s upcoming Robin Hood, Pride and Prejudice), Eddie Redmayne (The Yellow Handkerchief, The Good Shepherd), Hayley Atwell (The Duchess), Sarah Parish (Merlin), Donald Sutherland (Dirty Sexy Money, The Italian Job), Alison Pill (Milk) and Gordon Pinsent (Away From Her)...

Eleven is faced with the horror of high school and the terror of bullies, and is oddly powerless to do anything about either in a newly released clip from Stranger Things Season 4. Released courtesy of Twitter user THE STARCOURT FOODCOURT, the clip sees Millie Bobby Brown return to the role of Eleven, who is clearly feeling alone as she attempts to enter some semblance of ordinary life. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot more wrong than she first thought…...

BOX OFFICE REMAINS ON A TEAR Even with a film that was not even screened for critics coming in at No. 1, the box office’s hot streak continued uninterrupted over the weekend – as overall gross was projected to be about $112 million, 24 percent ahead of the comparable weekend a year ago, according to Media by Numbers. “We have never been in this strong a position heading into the summer season, ever,” Media by Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian told the Associated Press....

NETWORKS SAY “NO GO” TO TIVOTOGO The announcement Monday that TiVo is planning an enhancement of its TiVoToGo service that would allow subscribers to download TV programs onto their iPod or PlayStation Portable (PSP) has generated anger among some network executives. NBC said Monday: “TiVo appears to be acting unilaterally, disregarding established rights of content owners to participate in decisions regarding the distribution and exploitation of their content. … This unilateral action creates the risk of legal conflict instead of contributing to the constructive exploitation of digital technology that can rapidly provide new and exciting experiences for the consumer....

DIM FUTURE FOR LOCAL TV Local TV stations, already reeling from plummeting sales with the departure of automotive and financial advertisers in particular, were hit today (Tuesday) with a new report from analysts SNL Kagan indicating that they can expect revenue to fall even further for at least the next five years. After last year’s decline of 7 percent, Kagan predicts that this year’s drop will be 15 percent. In 2010, revenue is likely to stabilize somewhat but drop 2 percent per year thereafter – until around 2015....

AMERICANS HAIL THE QUEEN Barbara Walters’s two-hour special on Britain’s royals reigned supreme Monday night, winning every half hour between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. The ABC documentary, The Royal Family, averaged a 10.4 rating and a 16 share (14.16 million viewers), peaking in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour with a 10.7/16 (14.75 million viewers). Somewhat surprisingly, October Road, the ABC drama that followed at 10:00 p.m., recorded a lowly 3.8/7 (5....

BASEBALL HITS ONE OUT OF THE PARK FOR FOX The American League Championship Series playoff games, which went the full seven games and ended with the Boston Red Sox overcoming a three-game-to-one deficit against the Cleveland Indians, made ratings champions out of Fox last week. Last week’s five telecasts averaged 13.14 million viewers, giving Fox its first weekly ratings victory in the fall season since 2004 when the Red Sox scored another comeback win to defeat the New York Yankees....