While Dan Ayrkroyd has been doing the promotional rounds for his new Crystal Head Vodka (yes I’m serious), he sat down with Vanity Fair and spoke a little about the eternal saga of Ghostbusters 3. In the interview Ayrkroyd reveals that he has taken over writing duties from The Office (US) writer/producers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg – the pair who Bill Murray recently gave some thumbs down worthy comments about in an interview with GQ Magazine. Check out what Akyroyd says in reaction to Murray’s comments and his thoughts on Ghostbusters 3.

“I think he was concerned that the writing on Ghostbusters 3 by these guys would not be up to standard, but I can tell you firsthand, I’m working on the script now and those two—Stupnitsky and Eisenberg, [writer-producers of The Office]—wrote Bill the comic role of a lifetime, and the new Ghostbusters and the old are all well represented in it. We have a strong first draft that Harold [Ramis] and I will take back, and I’m very excited about working on it.”

”Look, Hollywood is in love with any kind of nostalgia that can prove itself to be commercial. But it has to evolve. Now [in Ghostbusters 3] my character’s eyesight is shot, I got a bad knee, a bad hip—I can’t drive that caddy anymore or lift that Psychotron Accelerator anymore, it’s too heavy. We need young legs, new minds—new Ghostbusters; so I’m in essence passing the torch to the new regime, and you know what? That’s totally okay with me.”

I really like what Aykroyd had to say in this interview, it’s intilled in me a lot more optimism about the potential Ghostbusters 3 movie. I never felt at ease with new screenwriters taking over writing duties from Aykroyd and Ramis, the pair who’s idea the whole franchise was in the first place. Also to point out I’ve got so much strictly heterosexual love for Bill Murray, he doesn’t give a flying fudge muffins, he just says it how it is. I still can’t see this film being made in the next 24877 decades though, no matter what Aykroyd says!

I’m really up for this film, it look’s like a visual feast. You can tell director Anton Corbijn is an accomplished photographer, the film looks so stylish. Corbijn has released a bunch of new images from set of the film and a couple from the film itself via his blog.  Clooney is good people, he’s got a great ear for working on projects that have vision and integrity.

Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate. The American stars George Clooney, Anne Carey, Jill Green, Grant Heslov, Enzo Sisti, Ann Wingate, Moa Westeson and is directed by Anton Corbijn. It’s scheduled for release 26th November.

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If you read my blog regularly you probably know I’ve made it no secret how much I’m looking forward to this. Nolan Fans discovered this poster through a Mind Crime viral game online, where someone ‘spotted a new poster for Inception while travelling through one of the parks in the game’. The poster is great, I love his film’s psychological undertones, I’ve got a feeling this will completely blow my mind, the poster alone makes me feel a queasy! Hopefully a better quality version of the poster will be release online soon

I really like the look of this, it looks hilarious. I believe there’s no better way of shining a light on aspects of the human condition than through farce. Four Lions was screened at the the Sundance Film Festival and earned glowing reviews. Riz Ahmed is an actor I’ve been keeping my eye on the last few years, he was great in Shifty last year and in The Road to Guantanamo. Four Lions is in UK cinemas May 7^th, check out the synopsis and trailer below, I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Chris Morris’ “Four Lions” is a funny, thrilling comedy that illuminates modern jihadism through the prism of farce. It understands jihadists as human beings. And it understands human beings as innately ridiculous. What “This Is Spinal Tap” did for heavy metal and “Dr Strangelove” the Cold War, “Four Lions” does for the modern face of terrorism. In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is disillusioned about the treatment of muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj (Kayvan Novak) has ever heard. Better still it’s a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white islamic convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay). He’d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism – If he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now coz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper”. Instead he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face? “Four Lions” plunges us beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien. It undermines the folly of just wishing them away or, even worse, alienating the entire culture from which they emerge. The film is neither pro nor anti religious. The jokes fly out of the characters’ conflicts, excesses and mistakes. Crackling with wit and tension, “Four Lions” is the essential response to our failure to engage with reality and a high toast to the idea that laughter is better than killing.

Martin Scorsese nestles himself comfortably in my top 5 directors of all time, which coming from a guy who changes his minds on these sort of things constantly means a lot! One thing I am sure of is that he’s one half of my greatest Director/Actor tandem in the history of cinema alongside Robert De Niro (Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood and Akira Kurosawa/Toshiro Mifune aren’t too far behind). Now after a couple months delay his latest film, Shutter Island is finally being released in the UK March 12^th. Personally I loved the film, with someone like Scorsese or anyone in the upper echelons of their respected profession, you know they fully deserve that spot when people continually compare and even review their latest works not on the merits of that particular field as a whole but against their previous work, which pitting up against Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Departed, Goodfellas and Casino is seemingly an impossible task! Shutter Island is in UK cinemas Friday, look out for my Leonardo DiCaprio interview as well.

What was more appealing to you with Shutter Island, the emotional and psychological subject matter or to mix up genres with the gothic mystery, horror aspects…?

Martin Scorsese: I think it’s really both in that order, the first element I connected with was the emotion, I felt very sympathetic for the characters, overwhelmed by the nature of the story, this film is hard to talk about because I don’t want to give anything away. It’s that and the vocabulary of cinemas past and the nature of Gothic literature, that opened the door for me in a way and was really enticing. The best way for me to tell the story was to utilize that vocabulary, the rain, the darkness, the framing all those sorts of things.

With your reputation as one of the greatest living directors how much pressure do you feel having those expectations?

Martin Scorsese: All I can do is the best work that I can. I need to work, I like to work, even though I complain about it, I just need to make the best film I can. I can’t think of award periods, it would be nice that a film is recognised like that but once your in the thick of battle you just try to get through it and make something of it that you can say yes I directed that film years from now and be happy with that film, you just try your best. Sometimes you go in with one thought in mind and one desire, in the case of Aviator it was to make this Hollywood spectacle, but quickly by the second or third week of shooting you just want to survive it (laughs), literally you just want to survive it. I also go through the editing process too, then when the films released we have to talk about it, so it’s all of that.

What other films influenced you with Shutter Island? How much of an influence was Sam Fuller’s Shock Corridor on this film?

Martin Scorsese: Sam Fuller’s Shock Corridor can only be conjured as a mantra because Sam’s Shock Corridor is a classic work of art. It comes from a unique experience of being Sam Fuller, yes there is this element of Shock Corridor hovering around the picture but never specifically. In fact we didn’t even screen it because it’s in me, it was a way of conjuring it up by saying it as we were going to shoot (laughs). But the first film I showed the actors was Laura by Otto Preminger in the sense of the war torn, war ravaged hero, world weariness so to the speak, the body language of Dana Andrews and the man who falls in love with a ghost. Then I showed Out Of The Past by Jacques Tourneur because of the trap, the puzzle, the mystery, the beauty of the poetry in the film. I also showed Let There Be Light by John Hustun, The Steel Helmet, many others as points of reference, primarily Laura though for the way Dana Andrews moved through the frame, shoulders were down, he never looked anyone in the eye and that wonderful scene when he loosens his tie and makes him self a drink and the door bell rings (laughs)

The film is unsettling right from the start with this menacing tone running through it, obviously the score is key to that, how complete is your vision of the film before you start shooting and how much do you rely upon the impact of others?

Martin Scorsese: The mood and tone of the picture and the atmosphere was in my head and in my blood in a way once I decided I wanted to do the picture, I had to find my way in that mood to choose, select and emphasize certain visual elements and sound. Ultimately that’s when I call in my collaborators, Robert Richardson on camera and Dante Ferretti on production design. Then I show them references, many different films, there might be just one scene I want to discuss with them but at least they can have reference points. It’s a constant process of pulling together the imagery, I was rather shaken by all the green trees, I’m allergic, I used to love seeing westerns and seeing the out doors but because I had asthma I couldn’t go any where, I could just watch it on film, the valleys, forests, I used to think it was fantastic but I couldn’t ever go in there (laughs). But we did it in this film, I was actually rock climbing at 7am which was quite unique but back to my point the colour of the leaves disturbed me so we had to work on that but on the other hand we didn’t want to drench it in a depressing tone. For me the key image is the boat coming through the fog in the beginning, it was something I imagined and liked, it was interesting breaking through the mystery, where is he, who is he, there’s a lot of good questions with that shot. Robert Richardson and Dante were remarkable as was Rob Legato on special visual effects, Robbie Robertson with the film score and Thelma Schoonmaker with editing.

It’s been 28 years in the making but the sequel to Tron is just 9 months away, which from watching the trailer couldn’t come any sooner, it looks mesmerizing! As highly anticipated trailers go this delivers big time. I loved the Daft Punk score, it sounds incredible. After Inception this is my most anticipated Blockbuster film of 2010. Also Michael Sheen WTF I thought that was David Bowie. I remember loving the original as a kid but to be honest I’ve totally forgotten what it was like, nostalgia can be a lying, cheating, deceiving b*stard sometimes. I’m gonna have to watch the original again to remind my self.

Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.”Tron Legacy” is directed by Joseph Kosinski and is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17th in 3D

This looks creepy as hell, it’s being released in the US the middle of April, I’m not sure of a UK release date but it looks good, real disturbing but still good! The premise is horrifying, the trailer is a bit generic but the cast is great and it looks stylish and atmospheric so I’m gonna give it a go.

After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn’t believe she’s dead, despite the funeral director’s reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna’s grief—stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can’t shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn’t what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side. With an unrelenting edge of menace, After.life is a stylish psychological thriller which provocatively questions the line between life and death.

Bill Murray cracks me up, he’s so honest it comes across that he doesn’t give a sh*t, I really get the feeling he just wants to play golf, drink and do a film every now and then when he feels like it, I can respect that. From this recent interview with David Letterman he gives a an insight into his thoughts on a 3^rd Ghostbusters movie, it doesn’t sound good for the people looking forward to this. He says the idea of making a 3^rd movie is ‘just crazy talk’ and his ‘nightmare’ and also that he told the producers he would only do it ‘if they kill me off in the first reel I’ll do it, so now they’ve figured out a way to kill me off in the first reel’. One positive from a fan point of view is that he says making the video game was a lot fun. Enough of me writing about it, check it out for yourself below, he tells a pretty funny story at the end. I still think we’ll see a new Ghostbusters film late 2011 or 2012 for some reason.

Disney have got a very big year in films in 2010 with Alice In Wonderland, Toy Story 3, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Tron Legacy and this. I’m slowly warming to this the more that I see from it, I’ve always liked Jake Gylanhaal, it’s good to see him do something more action packed, from the trailer he looks like he spends much of the movie jumping around like coked up Kangaroo(nothing wrong with that!). I’m also looking forward to it for Toby Kebbell and Gemma Arterton two of the UK’s best young talents. They should have cast a few more Persians though it looks like a bunch of English people wearing eye liner and dyed black hair, its the 21^st century now I should think films can be a bit more realistic. Look’s like a lot of fun though.

From the team that brought the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy to the big screen, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia.  A rogue prince (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess (GEMMA ARTERTON) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

Below is the new trailer for the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin off Get Him To The Greek. I really enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I’ve been looking forward to this, I’m not the biggest fan of Russell Brand, he’s a bit hit and miss for me but to be fair he was great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The trailer itself is in two half’s for me, the first was very unfunny, but the second half had me cracking up. Look out for this in June.

Get Him to the Greek reunites Jonah Hill and Russell Brand with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller in the story of a record company executive with three days to drag an uncooperative rock legend to Hollywood for a comeback concert. The comedy is the latest film from producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People). Aaron Green (Hill) gets things done. The ambitious 24-year-old has been given a career-making assignment. His mission: Fly to London and escort a rock god to L.A.’s world famous Greek Theatre for the first-stop on a huge comeback tour. His record mogul boss, Sergio Roma (Sean Combs), gives him one warning: “The artist is the worst person on Earth. Turn your back on him at your own peril.”

British rocker Aldous Snow (Brand) is a brilliant musician, but due to a bad break up and nose-diving career, has fallen off the wagon and is now a drunken disaster. Weary of “yes men” and scared he’s entered the “greatest hits” moment in his career, Snow’s in the midst of a nihilistic downward spiral. When he learns his true love, model/pop star Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), is in Los Angeles, Aldous makes it his quest to win her back…right before kick-starting his world domination. As the countdown to the concert begins, one innocent young man must navigate a minefield of London drug smuggles, New York City brawls and Vegas lap dances to deliver his charge safe and, sort of, sound… all while trying to remain faithful to his med student girlfriend (Elisabeth Moss). He may have to coax, lie to, enable and party with Aldous, but Aaron will get him to the Greek.