First Five Minutes For ‘The Golden Compass’ Surface on Yahoo! in HD

The first five minutes to “The Golden Compass” just surfaced on Yahoo! in HD. The film opens nationwide on Dec. 8.

Watch the first five minutes of “The Golden Compass”!

Nicole Kidman in “The Golden Compass”.
Photo credit: IMDb

New WhySoSerious.com Page: /steprightup; ‘The Dark Knight’ Prologue Revealed

Moments ago, I received via e-mail from humanresources@whysoserious.com a new WhySoSerious.com message and code for “The Dark Knight” viral marketing.

Heads up, clown! Tomorrow means that there's one last shifty step left in the interview process: Arwoeufgryo

By moving each letter one to the right on a QWERTY keyboard, the word “steprightup” is spelled.

This led to a new WhySoSerious.com page at the URL www.whysoserious.com/steprightup with a countdown to 12 p.m. EST on Dec. 4 along with a stuffed monkey with an exposed stomach.



If you set your system clock to noon on Tuesday (as was the answer to the /mausoleum riddle), the countdown changes to zero and nothing happens.

In other news, Wizard revealed the first six minutes of “The Dark Knight” from a screening shown in New York City. Warning: Spoilers follow.

Kicking off with a sweeping shot of downtown Gotham, the camera zooms in above a few buildings before focusing in on a single, traditional skyscraper covered in windows.

Suddenly, one window in the skyscraper explodes outward [and exposes] two criminals inside.

Donning clown masks and standing with a rifle, the two criminals shoot a grappling hook across a busy street below to the next building: the Gotham National Bank.

The two then slide across using a zip line.

On the street below, a man stands [with] his face unseen as the shot creeps up from behind [and] a clown mask slung in his grip. A van suddenly screeches up before he climbs inside and the van hauls off again.

Inside, there are now three men all wearing clown masks. They begin negatively discussing their boss and how he’s sitting out the heist.

“The guy thinks he can sit out and get a cut?,” laughs one man. “Must be why they call him the Joker!”

Back on the bank’s roof, the two men we first saw now shimmy into the bank’s security wiring while also discussing the boss.

“Why do you think they call him Joker?,” asks one. “I hear it’s [because] he wears make-up,” answers the other. “Like war paint.”

Suddenly – below – the three men blast into the bank. [They demand] money and [command] everybody to the floor.

Back on the roof, the two criminals intercept the outgoing emergency alarm set off by an employee. After they cancel its signal, one of the men shoots the other and heads inside for the vault.

Back inside, the clown gunmen hand all the hostages live grenades. “We wouldn’t want your hands free, would we?,” asks one with a laugh.

Continue reading the prologue description here.

‘Star Wars’ Producer George Lucas to Speak in Chicago on Monday

Legendary writer, director, editor and producer George Lucas (“Star Wars”) will speak in Chicago on Monday night before a business crowd at the Economic Club of Chicago. Lucas will be joined by Ariel Capital Management President Mellody Hobson.


Samuel L. Jackson (left) and George Lucas on the set
of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Though Lucas and Hobson decline to speak about their romance, they no doubt have been seen together at events for more than a year and are furthering the trend of making stops in Chicago, according to news on Monday from ChicagoBusiness.com.

Christian Bale in Negotiations to Star in ‘Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins’

After earlier rumors along the same line, Hollywood Reporter and Variety on Sunday are both reporting that Christian Bale is in talks to star in “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”.


Christian Bale.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
The film is the fourth in the series. McG is still in negotiations to direct the Warner Bros. film, which focuses on John Connor in his 30s as he leads what’s left of the human race against the machines.

Six Promotional Photos Surface Featuring Batman, Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’

Six promotional images surfaced on Sunday featuring Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”. These are from the Italian Web site Uruloki.

3:23 p.m. update on 12/3/07: These images have been pulled from Uruloki and AICN at the request of Warner Bros. Though I haven’t yet been contacted by Warner Bros., I’ve pulled them as well.

Teaser Trailers Coming For ‘The Dark Knight,’ New ‘Indiana Jones,’ New ‘Star Trek’

ComingSoon.net on Sunday published new details about when we should expect teaser trailers from “The Dark Knight,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and the new “Star Trek” film.

ComingSoon.net has learned new details about the upcoming teaser trailers for three of [2008’s] highly anticipated movies.

Keep in mind ... the online debuts for these trailers will probably be earlier in the week of release for the movie it is attached to and ... the trailer may not be shown with every print of the film.

First up, the first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is now planned for a debut in [Feb. 2008].


Harrison Ford (left) and Shia LaBeouf in “Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
Photo credit: IMDb
While we don’t know for sure with which movie it will show, Paramount’s biggest film that month is “The Spiderwick Chronicles”. Keep your eye on that one.

Of course, it’s possible Paramount will decide to debut footage earlier during the Super Bowl, but we’re not sure.

In just two weeks on Dec. 14, Warner Bros. will release the teaser trailer for ... “The Dark Knight” in standard theaters with “I Am Legend”.


Christian Bale as Batman in “The Dark Knight”.
Photo credit: IMDb
As was previously announced, the studio will be showing the seven-minute opening scene of “The Dark Knight” before the screenings of “I Am Legend” in IMAX.

“Star Trek” fans won’t have to wait long for the first teaser for the J.J. Abrams-directed film.


“Star Trek: The Motion Picture” in 1979.
Photo credit: Mel Traxel, MPTV.net
Paramount is planning a debut with the Abrams-produced monster movie “Cloverfield,” [which is opening] on Jan. 18, 2008.

I am screening “I Am Legend” in IMAX two days earler – on Dec. 12 – so stay tuned for information on “The Dark Knight” teaser trailer.

New WhySoSerious.com Page Emerges For ‘The Dark Knight’: /outoftime

While the rest of us were sleeping, Paul over at “The Dark Knight” Movie Chronicles sent us the full details of what’s happened next with “The Dark Knight” in viral land.

As we turn the corner into the cold and bitter December, the night was once again a flurry of “The Dark Knight” viral puzzles.

Given the combined map of Gotham from all the viral Web sites and using a connect-the-dots method, a message stating “Out of Time” was spelled out across the map.

This led to the new WhySoSerious.com page, which is located at www.whysoserious.com/outoftime. The Joker revealed this message:

“My kind of clown! You’re obviously center-ring material unlike some poor goons who can’t complete one simple task. Watch the funny papers in a few days for your final step in the process.”


The name on the tag is Alder Frederick. The date of death is Nov. 30 caused by asphyxia.


An e-mail address was also discovered at that spewed out some interesting responses to queries about document LC6551. As a result, a GPD login form was discovered using the name BreitupKarl and the password 21485.

Logging in and doing a file search for LC6551 yeilds the document LC6551, which is titled “Upswing in Extortions & Chechen Gang Activity”. Here are some of the e-mail responses:

Glenn wrote: “With all due respect like I’ve told your friends, I just can’t discuss LC6551 or IA8214299 for that matter. I don’t know who’s leaking these, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m just not at liberty to discuss sensitive information.”

“[Karl Breitup] will meet someone at Betty’s Pie Shop tomorrow. I can give you more information, but you will need to cooperate with me for that.”

To access the second-referenced document, you need a login with higher authority. This is Glenn Barhyte’s account. The name is BarhyteGlenn and the password is tevredenheid.

This word is satisfaction in Dutch given via the clues for his favorite song by the Rolling Stones in combination with the file stating he lived in Utrecht for nine years, according to The Gotham Times.

IA8214299 is a clearance request that discusses the surveillance of Betty’s House of Pies: six officers, no uniforms, a listening van and equipment for recording.


Further details of this stakeout can be found in a memo. Using Glenn’s login details, a live feed will be played here at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

I-Am-Immune.com Phase Two For ‘I Am Legend’ Begins on Dec. 1; Phase Three on Dec. 8

Following phase one, phase two for “I Am Legend” viral marketing through I-Am-Immune.com begins on Dec. 1 from 2 to 5 p.m. Phase two must be completed by 12:14 p.m. PST on Dec. 4.


Here are the new street challenge locations:

Chicago
Chick Evans Golf Course
6145 N. Golf Rd.
Morton Grove, IL 60053

Los Angeles
Griffith Park Golf Course
4730 Crystal Springs Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Dallas
North Texas Golf Center
2101 Walnut Hill Lane
Dallas, TX 75229

New York
A. Shaw Office
242 Wythe Ave., Studio 4
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Atlanta
Jim Hearn Golf Center
4445 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341

Miami
Bay Shore Par 3 Golf Course (empty lot)
2795 Prairie Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33141

Phoenix
Continental Golf Course
7920 E. Osborn Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Detroit
Royal Oak Golf Center
3500 Edgar Road
Royal Oak, MI 48073

Boston
Leeder Board Golf
150 Federal Street, First Floor
Boston, MA 02110

Seattle
Interbay Golf Center
2501 15th Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119

Denver
Denver City Park Golf Course
2500 York Street
Denver, CO 80205

Philadelphia
Paxon Hollow Country Club
850 Paxon Hollow Road
Marple Township, PA 19063

San Diego
Sail Ho Golf Course
19 Sellers Plaza
San Diego, CA 92106

San Francisco
Harding Park Golf Course
99 Harding Rd.
San Francisco, CA 94132

For phase two, you are charged to you or your recruit are charged to journey to one of the locations listed above between 2 and 5 p.m. to retrieve the phase two street challenge item. I-Am-Immune.com crew members will be on location.

The item you receive will have a jumbled word printed on it. Once deciphered, it will be the code you need to finish the challenge.

Enter that code at the bottom of this page to find out what you have been entered to win and to move on to the next street challenge. Here’s the clue: 40°30'N, 45°1'N, 71°51'W, 79°46'W

Phase three, which is the final street challenge, will take place on Dec. 8 from 2 to 5 p.m. within the same 15 cities listed for phase one and two. An updated location list will be announced shortly.

Starring Will Smith, “I Am Legend” opens in theaters on Dec. 14.

‘The Golden Compass’ to Release National Sneak One Week Early on Dec. 1

I just learned that “The Golden Compass,” which opens nationwide on Dec. 8, will have a national sneak in approximatley 800 theaters across the U.S. on Dec. 1.


Nicole Kidman in “The Golden Compass”.
Photo credit: IMDb
The high-profile film stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Freddie Highmore, Kristin Scott Thomas and Kathy Bates. To check if “The Golden Compass” is showing on Dec. 1 in a theater near you, click this link.

International Trailer Released For 2007 Smash Hit ‘Juno’

Fox Searchlight released a second “Juno” trailer on Thursday.

While the international trailer takes a different direction than the first, it still features front and center the talent in Diablo Cody’s script. I have uploaded the new trailer to YouTube and embedded it below.


The first trailer, which was released in Sept. 2007, can be seen below.


Part one of my interview with “Juno” star Ellen Page and Chicago-native screenwriter Diablo Cody can be read here. I posted on Sept. 14 that “Juno” would be one of the year’s best.


“Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
Indeed, it’s proving to be one of the year’s best and certainly one of the year’s top surprises. The film opens on Dec. 5 in limited theaters.


Ellen Page.
Photo credit: IMDb