Star Wars Episode VII will be in IMAX; Disney extends partnership with IMAX

Disney put out a press release today stating they have renewed their partnership with IMAX and will continue releasing major films in the IMAX format. Films included in the release are Marvel releases Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as Maleficent, Tomorrowland and Star Wars Episode VII. I would also expect all of these to receive IMAX 3D branding as well since that seems to be the trend. It's a bad trend but what can you do.
According to the release, the extended partnership between IMAX and Disney will act as a strategy for IMAX action releases and highly anticipated live-action ventures.

This doesn't really surprise me as Disney films have been released in the IMAX format for many years already. I still remember when they first started doing theatrical re-releases in IMAX because I saw Fantasia 2000, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King in IMAX back in the day. Due to disappointing box office numbers the re-releases of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid were canceled. However, since then we have seen films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, John Carter, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, The Avengers, and Frankenweenie receive IMAX engagements along with regular theatrical release. 
Plus, IMAX tickets cost a little bit more and so do 3D tickets, so it makes sense to bump up the theatrical experience for major blockbusters and make a little more profit out of it. I personally prefer IMAX screens so this is perfectly fine with me.

Star Trek and World War Z get Labor Day re-releases

If you managed to miss World War Z or Star Trek Into Darkness this summer you will have the chance to catch them in theaters once again as Paramount is re-releasing the movies as a double bill over the Labor Day holiday. You can see both movies at one ticket price from August 30th to September 5th. They won't be released in IMAX but you will have the option of 2D or 3D.

The major theater chains carrying the double bill are:

AMC Theatres
Regal Cinemas
Carmike Cinemas
Marcus Theaters

As always, check your local theater listings to see who is going to be participating.



If I remember correctly, World War Z has already had a theatrical re-release so I find this a bit ridiculous. Why they chose to release it for a third time when it's going to be on DVD on September 17th is out of control.

The Dark Knight Rises to have 60+ minutes of IMAX footage

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, consists of over one hour of IMAX footage. By IMAX footage I mean scenes shot with the IMAX technology. 

This is exciting.

http://collider.com/dark-knight-rises-imax-hour/161138/

The Dark Knight Rises 6-minute prologue leaked online!

I'm giving the link I was on last night despite the fact that the video has since been taken down.

http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2011/12/13/the-dark-knight-rises-6-minute-prologue-leaks-online

With that said, I saw the leaked video last night. It wasn't that great in terms of quality but it was still exciting. It starts with Commissioner Gordon making some sort of speech about Harvey Dent and morphs into what looked like the Mayor boarding a plane. He was talking about Bane and wondering why he wears the mask. Bane turns around and starts talking about something and says he can't take off the mask. Another plane flies over them and the Mayor asks if his plan was to get caught and Bane says his next move was to crash the plane. It was hard to tell whether the people jumping out of the other plane were helping Bane or trying to stop him, but they blow up half of the plane, attach cables to it, and as Bane escapes the first plane drops and crashes to the ground. The whole time the chant-like theme that was at the end of the teaser plays.
The prologue ends with short clips, a lot of them hard to see because it's dark, but you see a glimpse of Catwoman with those damn goggles on and also the start of the police fight with all of the Arkham guys. It ends with Bane walking away carrying the broken Batman mask.

From what I could make out of the video it looked pretty awesome and I hope my description helps. I'll try and find another video and if I can I'll replace the link
There are also videos on YouTube, if they're still there today, of just the audio from the prologue. If nothing else you hear Bane's voice. The voice is quite interesting and I have no doubt it was all ADR.

EDIT:  It's not the Mayor. I thought it was because the first bootleg was such shitty quality. And I'm still trying to find another video of the prologue. Both that I found have been taken down.

And fuck...

This has just been a depressing week.

Christopher Nolan released the list of theaters participating in the Dark Knight Rises prologue screening before Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol... and there isn't a single theater in Colorado participating. Not only that but apparently there might be a new Dark Knight Rises trailer, along with a teaser for The Hobbit, before Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I'm sure theaters here will do that but with one minor problem; I have absolutely no desire to see Sherlock Holmes.'ll

Three strikes all at once. I'll go cry now in my city that should do shit like this but never does. If theaters in Iowa and Nebraska are screening the prologue why can't we do it here in a major city? Here is the full list of participating theaters:

United States:
Austin, TX || IMAX Theater Austin
Boston, MA || Jordan’s IMAX & IMAX 3D Theatre in Reading
Calgary, AB || Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 16 + IMAX
Chantilly, VA || Washington, DC Udvar-Hazy Center IMAX
Chicago, IL || Navy Pier IMAX Theatre
Des Moines, IA || SCI IMAX Dome Theater Des
Detroit, MI || Henry Ford IMAX
Harrisburg, PA || The Whitaker Center for Science & the Arts IMAX
Houston, TX || Houston Marq*e Stadium 22 + IMAX
Indianapolis, IN  || White River IMAX
Los Angeles, CA || Irvine Spectrum 20 + IMAX, RAVE 18 + IMAX, Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX, and Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX
Madison, WI || Star 18 Fitchburg with IMAX
Miami, FL || AutoNation IMAX
Minneapolis, MN || Great Clips IMAX
Nashville,TN || Opry Mills Stadium 20 + IMAX
New York, NY || Lincoln Square 13 with IMAX
New York, NY || Palisades IMAX
Omaha, NE || Star Cinema 16 with IMAX
Orlando, FL || Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX
Palm Springs, CA || Desert IMAX Theatre
Philadelphia, PA || IMAX & the Tropicana & Tuttleman IMAX – Franklin Institute
Phoenix, AZ || Arizona Mills 25 with IMAX
Providence, RI || Providence Place 16 with IMAX
Sacramento, CA || Esquire IMAX
San Antonio, TX || IMAX at RiverCenter
San Francisco, CA || Metreon 16 with IMAX & ETX
Seattle, WA || Boeing IMAX – Pacific Science Center
Tampa, FL || Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)

Canada:
Edmonton, AB || Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton + IMAX
Montreal, QC || Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal + IMAX
Ottawa, ON || Silvercity Gloucester + IMAX
Quebec City, QC || IMAX Le Theatre At Quebec
Toronto, ON || Coliseum 12 Mississauga + IMAX, Scotiabank Theatre Toronto + IMAX, and Colossus 18 Woodbridge + IMAX
Vancouver, BC || Colossus Langley + IMAX & Silvercity Riverport 18 + IMAX

United Kingdom:
BFI London
National Media Museum IMAX Bradford
Glasgow Science Centre IMAX Cinema
Odeon Manchester IMAX @ The Printworks

http://collider.com/dark-knight-rises-prologue-imax-theaters/129932/?_r=true



I'll just leave you with this photo.