News Bites - 8/16/08

I know we haven’t kept up with the news too much lately, but here are some news bites that I found that occurred over the past few days.


“Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” was pushed back from November 21, 2008 to July 17, 2009. Disney took full advantage of this date and moved “Bolt” up five days. Summit Entertainment also pounced on the date and moved “Twilight” up three weeks, so this could keep some “Harry Potter” fans happy.


Here are some new cast listings for Tarantino’s new film “Inglorious Bastards.” Brad Pitt is now confirmed, as well as B.J. Novak, Mike Myers, Samm Levine, and Eli Roth. Simon Pegg dropped out of the film due to scheduling conflicts. This is certainly an interesting cast.


Kevin Smith has seen “Watchmen,” a full 8 months before it will be released. I used to envy this guy just because he was Kevin Smith, but now I have a new reason. Here is what he said about it: “I saw "Watchmen." It's fucking astounding. The Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed prevents me from saying much, but I can spout the following with complete joygasmic enthusiasm: Snyder and Co. have pulled it off. Remember that feeling of watching "Sin City" on the big screen and being blown away by what a faithful translation of the source material it was, in terms of both content and visuals? Triple that, and you'll come close to watching "Watchmen." Even Alan Moore might be surprised at how close the movie is to the book. March can't come soon enough.”


Lionsgate is not only the asshole of the summer, but the asshole of the year. They would rather endlessly promote “Saw 23,” but not release “Midnight Meat Train” in 2000+ theaters. But here is the thing that will get your panties into a bunch for the rest of the day – “The Punisher: War Zone” is gunning for a PG-13 rating. Could this be why Lexi Alexander, the director of the film, supposedly “left” the project?


Tom Cruise’s “Valkryie” was moved up from February 2009 to December 26, 2008. I’m really psyched to see this movie. It should have been out since June 27, but shit happens, ya know? On a side note, did you guys see Tom Cruise in “Tropic Thunder?” THAT WAS THE SHIT!