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Stunt Man Adam Hart Talks 'Captain America', 'X-Men', Spielberg, Cameron, and Nolan[teaser]High-Def Digest recently had a chance to sit down with movie stuntman, Adam Hart, to talk about all the exciting project's he's been working on. Though Adam's only been working on feature films for a relatively short time, he's amassed an impressive resume working for A-List directors like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Matthew Vaughn, and Robert Zemekis. [/teaser] Most of you have already seen his work in 'Terminator: Salvation', 'The Fighter', 'Live Free or Die Hard', 'Avatar', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'A Christmas Carol', 'The Dark Knight' and 'Inception'. And, this summer, you'll be able to see Adam's work just about every month in a new blockbuster, including 'X-Men: First Class', 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides', 'Captain America: The First Avenger', and the next two 'Twilight Saga' installments. FIRST QUESTION: ASPRIN, ADVIL, OR TYLENOL? Stuntman candy! No, it's Advil for me. TAKE US BACK TO THE BEGINNING. HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START? I grew up in Southern California and I went to all the theme parks and saw all the live stunt shows. Growing up, I watched a lot of movies and the thing that always excited me was all the action. That's kinda what I said I always wanted to do, so growing up, I took martial arts, boxed, wrestled, played pretty much every sport there is. I also had a love for acting, so I started when I was 8 years, and I ended up going to college and getting a degree in acting. Then I went and studied acting for a summer in England, but everyone thought I was crazy there. Every time someone asked what I wanted to be doing 5 years down the line, I would say, "I want to be a professional stuntman." Anyway, after I graduated my first stunt job was doing the live show at Medieval Times Then, while I was working there, I got hired for the Batman stunt show up at Six Flags. I later got a job at Knottsberry Farm at their Wild West stunt show. While doing that, I went to Universal to work on Terminator and Water World, and also Disneyland. At one time I was doing six lives shows. HOW DID YOU SCHEDULE THAT?! I don't know. But on top of all that, I was hustling and lucky enough, as soon as I was able to earn my SAG card, I got a job. From there, it's like starting at the bottom of the hill again. IS IT COMMON FOR STUNT PERFORMERS TO TRAIN IN LIVE SHOWS? You know, even a few years ago, people used to look down upon the performers doing live shows, but for me it was great. I got paid to train, to get to do a high fall over and over. For example, when I was at Medieval Times, I did well over 3,000 saddle falls. When I was at Water World, I would do nine 45-foot fire dives in a day. At Batman, you're riding motorcycles. I just think it gives you an awareness about how to perform. Because someone could be the greatest martial artist out there in the world, but maybe they can't perform in the scenes they have to do. "Performing" is such a big part of stunts, especially when it comes to things like mo-cap. You have to perform. HOW HAS THE INDUSTRY CHANGED SINCE YOU FIRST STARTED WORKING AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A STUNT PERFORMER? Well, there definitely isn't as much work here [in Los Angeles] as when I was starting. I would go out and hustle nine sets in one day, getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go down to get there at the call times the shows I was trying to get on. I would say nowadays, driving through downtown LA or anywhere else, there just aren't as many [productions]. It's a bummer, but there's still stuff out there, still other ways to hustle. The most important thing I would say to aspiring stunt performers is hustling has to be your job. No matter what. Even if you've "made it", and you're working consistently, it's still important to put yourself out there and make sure doing so is your number one priority. YOU'VE DOUBLED FOR A NUMBER OF HIGH-PROFILES STARS, INCLUDING DANIEL CRAIG, CHRISTIAN BALE, CHRIS EVANS, TIMOTHY OLYPHANT, AND JIM CARREY…WHO DO YOU MOST RESEMBLE? I would have to say… Christian Bale, who I've gotten to double on 'Terminator: Salvation' and 'The Fighter'. For that role, I had to drop down to 160 pounds -- HOW DID YOU DO THAT? Not the correct way. I was called three days before I went out [to Lowell, Massachusetts], and I was at about 180. I got out there, they told me, but luckily I didn't have to shoot for two weeks, so I guess I ran a lot, drank a lot of coffee, and -- it wasn't the correct way to do it. I got down to it; it was fun. It's always a pleasure being [Christian Bale's] double because he's such a professional, and good at what he does. Any time I double somebody, it's my job to make that person look really good, and to help them out. Even if that means that they go in to do the gag [stunt], I'm just there to look out for them and make sure they're safe. They're my number one priority. HOW CLOSELY DO YOU WORK WITH THE PERFORMERS YOU ARE DOUBLING? It honestly depends on who you're doubling. With certain people, I keep a distance, I only talk about work things with them, but I observe. I watch how they do things, and I change how I would do it to match them. And once you get into the film, you end up developing a dialogue with the actor. Things like, "how do would you like me to land this?" Or say I did a gag, and they go, "so how did you land, where was your arm?" It's goes back to that whole performing thing I was talking about earlier. People are going to carry themselves a certain way, and as a stunt performer, you might have to change the way your run or walk. Sometimes a performer is right handed or left handed. Or if you're sword fighting, and they want to fight a certain way, you have to fight that way too. I was just on 'Captain America' doubling for Chris [Evans] / Captain America, and he runs differently than I run, so I had to adjust how I ran. Honestly, it's all about communication and being open to changing the way you [the stunt performer] would do stuff. WHAT'S IT LIKE WORKING WITH THE LIKES OF STEVEN SPIELBERG, JAMES CAMERON, AND CHRISTOPHER NOLAN? Well, they're obviously all awesome. I've been fortunate enough to work on two Chris Nolan films ['The Dark Knight' and 'Inception'] and he's an absolute pleasure. All of them have this one thing in common, and that is they all come to the table prepared. They have everything ready. They know exactly what they want. The shooting is a well-oiled machine and they are they best at what they do. When I worked on 'Inception', we had a ton of rehearsal time. We came in, did the shot, maybe three times, if that. He doesn't do a lot of takes; he's very quick, because he's already edited the film in his head. And I was very lucky when I worked with Spielberg on ['The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn']. He was doing something new. Doing a mo-cap movie where he had a new camera style. It was great. He was just pleasant. [They're all] very laid back. They know what they're there to do. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MO-CAP MOVIES? Nothing compares to actually doing the real thing, but motion capture… I won't discount it because I think they come up with some amazing things. They way that they can blend reality with digital. I still prefer the real thing. There will never be anything better than doing a real fight, falling down real stairs, getting hit by something. Mo-cap's a lot of fun; you still get to do all the stuff. When I doubled for Jim Carrey on 'A Christmas Carol', we did so much. I was flying around the room. It's almost like performing a play. You're performing for not just that one little lens anymore, you're performing for 10,000 lenses all around the room. It's like theater in the round. I really enjoy motion capture. I ALWAYS THINK BACK TO THE ORIGINAL 'INDIANA JONES' MOVIES, AND THEY WERE ALWAYS SO EXCITING BECAUSE EVEN IF THE STUNTS WERE ACCENTUATED WITH EFFECTS, THERE WERE REAL PEOPLE DOING REAL THINGS. That's one of the things with Chris Nolan. He wants to do everything practically. He wants it to be real. Like with 'Inception', pretty much everything on that movie [in terms of stunts] was done for real. The only visual stuff they did was wire removal. It's great when they stay true to the old school. YOU'RE IN A HUGE NEW MOVIE, PRACTICALLY EVERY MONTH THIS SUMMER. WHICH FILM ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO SEE (OR HAVE SEEN) ON THE BIG SCREEN? I was pleasantly surprised with 'X-Men: First Class'. Didn't really know what to expect, but I thought that was really great. But honestly, I'm very much looking forward to 'Captain America', of course because I got to double him. Growing up, reading comics, and watching all the TV shows. It was like a dream come true when I put that suit on. I felt like a little kid. DOES DIGITAL FACIAL REPLACEMENT (IE, PUTTING A MOVIE STAR'S ON HIS OR HER STUNT PERFORMER'S BODY) AFFECT WHAT YOU GET OUT OF SEEING YOUR PERFORMANCE ON SCREEN? You know, it's funny. Take Chris Nolan for example, Christian Bale does 90 percent of his stunts; maybe even more. Christian's so good, he could be a stunt performer. And Joseph Gordon Levitt did that fight in the [revolving] hallway in 'Inception'. The actors are good. I've been very fortunate to double actors that are that good. They can do the gags after you walk them through it. Now, with digital facial replacement, if that does happen, it's okay. It's still you [the stunt performer] doing the gag. As far as I know, the stuff that I did on 'Captain America' has no facial replacement. Obviously, it's harder to tell when you're wearing a helmet. DO YOU EVER GET NERVOUS? Doing stunts is controlled chaos. If you're out there throwing yourself down on stuff and wanting to get hit by cars all the time, in my opinion, you're not doing the right job. Because we're very much like scientists. We work things out. We try to make things as safe as possible before we perform it. With that being said, we're there to do the stuff that people shouldn't be doing. Or we're going to do something that has not been done before. Take 'Live Free or Die Hard', I did a gag in that where I got thrown backwards down a flight of stairs on an office chair. That's one of those where we really didn't know what was going to happen. It was 17 steps, and I'm in the chair. Bruce Willis' stunt double has me by the throat and we have a line attached to the chair to keep it from falling on me and keep the bottom of it with me as he pushes me along. I remember sitting there, doing the run ups, going back to the edge, and that's about when the heart starts beating a little faster. A stunt performer has the ability to acknowledge that fear, and channel it and use it, as apposed to letting it control them. They're able to turn that part of the brain off that says "we probably shouldn't do this" and be able to do that. A lot of people talk to me about wanting to do stunts, but you have to be willing to do something that will probably hurt over and over and over again. And not complain about. WHAT'S THE WORST INJURY YOU'VE EVER GOTTEN ON SET? Well, luckily, I haven't suffered an injury on set, but I when I was working at Medieval Times, I was jousted in the face. That one hurt. That was a pretty gnarly one. I fractured the inner orbital of my left eye. I have titanium in my skull. And it took about a month and a half before my vision was back to normal. Luckily, I had a good doctor. IS THAT 'LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD' CHAIR STUNT THE CRAZIEST STUNT YOU'VE EVER DONE? Well, I was nominated for a World Stunt Award for (Hardest Hit) for doing that gag, and I would have to say, that's gotta be up there. I've done a lot of stuff where I've gotten the crap kicked out of me. Like on ['Terminator: Salvation'], every day I was getting thrown into something. But on ['Die Hard'], you know, it's really funny. Normally, if it's a big gag, people will clap and what not, but [after they threw me down the stairs on that chair], people were just staring at me because they thought I broke my neck. WHAT'S A STUNT MOST PEOPLE WOULDN'T KNOW IS AS DANGEROUS AS IT REALLY IS? AND WHAT'S A STUNT THAT'S MUCH LESS DANGEROUS THAN IT APPEARS (ALTHOUGH NO ONE SHOULD TRY IT AT HOME)? Any stunt has an element of risk. That's why they hire us to do it. I couldn't differentiate between one or the other. Because you could go and you could do a stair fall and be just fine. But at the same time, you could be doing a fight and get punched in the face. Or sometimes you could blow a hamstring or something, but you have to just keep running. That's the thing. No matter what you do, you have to have a respect for what you're doing. If you don't, that's when some people realize this isn't for them. DO YOU HAVE A HOME THEATER SETUP? I eventually want to have a home with a dedicated theater, but right now I have a 50-inch plasma that's in a lift-cabinet, a Blu-ray player, and a 5.1 Sony surround sound system. I definitely want to get full, giant speakers surround sound. FAN OF BLU-RAY? FAVORITE DEMO DISC? 'Blade Runner' is awesome. The sound and the picture is amazing, especially considering how long ago it was made. And I'm sure when 'Star Wars' comes out on Blu-ray, it's going to be ridiculous. ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT? I've been really fortunate and lucky to work for some amazing stunt coordinators, and if any of them are reading this, I want to thank them because I wouldn't be the performer I am today without having their help. I started out wanting to do things in movies, and now I'm a member of the International Stunt Association, which is a great, great group of people. Amazing performers. I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by great people. THANKS TO ADAM FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH HDD. WE WISH HIM LUCK (AND SAFETY) ON ALL HIS FUTURE PROJECTS. SPEAKING OF WHICH, YOU'LL NEXT SEE ADAM AS CAPTAIN AMERICA IN 'CAPTAIN AMERICA', AND HE'LL ALSO BE DOUBLING PETER FACINELLI IN THE LAST TWO INSTALLMENTS OF 'THE TWILIGHT SAGA'.Posted Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:20 AM PDT by: -
'Sanctuary: The Complete Third Season' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]The third season of Syfy's supernatural TV series is planned for Blu-ray release this September. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, E1 Entertainment has slated 'Sanctuary: The Complete Third Season' for a high-definition release on September 13. The show is filmed almost entirely with green-screen and originally started as a webisode series on the Internet. The Blu-ray release will be a six disc set with all twenty episodes in 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Commentary on Select Episodes, Visual Effects of Sanctuary Season 3, Amanda Tapping Directs "One Night", Hollow Earth, Damian Kindler: In the Director's Chair, The Music of Sanctuary, Behind the Scenes: Normandy, Character Profile: Nikola Tesla, and Outtakes. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray set is $64.98. You can find the latest specs for ' Sanctuary: The Complete Third Season' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 13.Posted Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'The Beaver' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]For those who give a dam (get it?) the 2011 dramedy will clog up Blu-ray's waterways this August. [/teaser] In an early retailer announcement, Summit Entertainment will release 'The Beaver' on Blu-ray on August 23. The movie is directed by Jodie Foster ('Little Man Tate') and stars Mel Gibson (the 'Lethal Weapon' franchise) as a hopelessly depressed man who finds a new lease on life when he develops another personality through a beaver hand-puppet. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include an audio commentary with Jodie Foster, deleted scenes, and Everything Is Going To Be O.K. (featurette on the making of 'The Beaver'). Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $30.49. You can find the latest specs for 'The Beaver' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 23.Posted Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Spider-Woman/Iron Man Blu-ray Hits Best Buy June 14th - $19.99 With Coupon[teaser]The popular motion comics are finally coming to HD discs, and at a nice price to boot. [/teaser] Hulu and Netflix users may have already taken a look at what Marvel's motion comic line has to offer, but soon both the Spider-Woman and Iron Man comics will be available on Blu-ray, in beautiful 1080p and exclusively from Best Buy. The 'Marvel Knights Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. / Iron Man: Extremis' Blu-ray include, along with the motion comics themselves, a few nice supplements including an interview with Iron Man artist Adi Granov and a few behind the scenes looks at the production of the comics. If you pick up the Blu-ray on June 17th or 18th, you'll be able to take advantage of a coupon that will get you the set for just $19.99. Snag it directly from Shout! Factory. Source: Shout! FactoryPosted Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD Spotlight Bargain: 'Back to the Future Trilogy' Blu-ray $14.99 at Amazon![teaser]Great Scott! What a price on Robert Zemeckis' iconic trilogy on Blu-ray! [/teaser] Amazon has reduced the price of 'Back to the Future Trilogy' featuring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to $14.99 (81% off suggested list price). This great price will be hard to beat, so hop onto your hoverboard and order your copy here!Posted Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 05:29 AM PDT by: -
'Your Highness' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]The medieval comedy adventure will slay Blu-ray this August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Universal Studios is working on 'Your Highness' for a Blu-ray release on August 9. Get high and mighty with Danny McBride, James Franco, and Natalie Portman in 'Your Highness' -- the epic and hilarious action-comedy from the director of 'Pineapple Express.' Two royal princes—slacker Thadeous (McBride) and the noble Fabious (Franco)—join with an elusive warrior (Portman) on a quest to free a princess from an evil wizard. Along the way they’ll have to vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights in this raunchy trip loaded with footage too outrageous for theaters. The Blu-ray will include both the theatrical (103 minutes) and unrated (106 minutes) cuts of the film in 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentary with video intro from Director Gordon Green, Executive Producer/Co-Writer/Star Danny McBride, and Stars James Franco & Justin Theroux; Damn You Gods: Full-length "making of" documentary; Alternate scenes; Gag reel; Line-O-Rama; Perverted Visions; A Vision of Leezar; My Scenes; and Pocket Blu. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Your Highness' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 9.Posted Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD Deal of the Week: 'The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray Giftset' is $49.99 at Amazon[teaser]Amazon's Blu-ray deal this week presents an offer you wouldn't want to refuse! [/teaser] The online retailer is now selling the must own boxed set 'The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset' for $49.99 (60% off suggested list price). 'The Godfather Trilogy' is the benchmark for all cinematic storytelling. Francis Ford Coppola's masterful adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel chronicles the rise and fall of the Corleone family in this celebrated epic. Collectively nominated for a staggering twenty-eight Academy Awards, the films are the winner of nine, including two for Best Picture for 'The Godfather' and 'The Godfather: Part II.' Click here to order this fantastic set and keep that horse's head out of your bed! The deal will run from now through June 18.Posted Sun Jun 12, 2011 at 08:07 AM PDT by: -
5 Films You Probably Didn't Know Were Written by J.J. Abramsby Luke Hickman Most people know 'Super 8' writer-director-producer J.J. Abrams for his television series 'Felicity' (1998-2002), 'Alias' (2001-2006), 'Lost' (2004-2010) and 'Fringe ' (2008-present) and for films like 'Mission: Impossible III' and 2009's 'Star Trek ', but few people know that before he made it big, he was mainly a screenwriter. Up until 1998, his scripts were written under the name Jeffrey Abrams. [teaser]The following is a list of fairly well known titles penned by Jeffrey "J.J." Abrams. Just as they did with me, some of these titles may surprise you.[/teaser] 'Regarding Henry' (1991) Academy Award winner Mike Nichols ('The Graduate') brought Abrams' drama to life with uber-talented actors Harrison Ford ('Indiana Jones') and Annette Bening ('The Kids Are All Right'). In it, Ford plays an arrogant lawyer who survives a bullet to the head during a random robbery. Obviously suffering from severe brain trauma, he is left without a single pre-shooting memory. 'Regarding Henry' takes you through his humbling journey as he learns of the painful things he did in his past and as he embraces his new, innocent child-like life. As a teenager, after being blown away by 'The Fugitive' I remember discovering 'Regarding Henry' while trying to catch up on old Harrison Ford films - mind you, this was back when Ford only made good films. Despite having not seen it in over 15 years, I always remember the film with fondness for its tender, intimate story. 'Forever Young' (1992) 'Forever Young' got a bad wrap for being released one year after a film with the same plot - 'Late for Dinner' starring Peter Berg ('Friday Night Lights' director). 'Forever Young' was easily the better of the two. 'Forever Young' stars Mel Gibson as a test pilot in 1939 who volunteers for a military cryogenic freezing experiment after his childhood love slips into a coma after being hit by a car. He signs on and tells them to wake him if she pulls out of her coma. Things don't go as planned and the secret program is closed. The sub-zero cylinder that holds Mel is stashed in a warehouse. When Mel finally wakes up from decades of cryogenic dreaming in 1992, with the help of Elijah Wood ('Lord of the Rings') and his mother (Jamie Lee Curtis, 'True Lies') Mel tries to evade the FBI spooks and find out what happened to his love. 'Gone Fishin' (1997) I have to admit that I've never seen 'Gone Fishin'' in its entirety, just scenes here and there. It is one of those movies that you might catch for a moment while another show you're watching is on commercial break. When 'Gone Fishin'' was released, I was past that age where you would mistake terrible movies for good ones - and to me this one stunk! When Joe Pesci (Home Alone') and Danny Glover ('Lethal Weapon') go fishin', wackiness ensues. Aside from the terrible gags, that's all I know about it. Having not seen the whole thing, I cannot critique it entirely. Those of you who have seen it, what are your thoughts? 'Armageddon' (1998) Just as I mentioned in The Bonus View's comment section of the Michael Bay vs. Stephen Sommers poll, 'Armageddon' is one of those popcorn films that completely has me. I own the extended Criterion Collection DVD (why 'Armageddon' is a Criterion title is beyond me) and choke up every time Ben Affleck yells, "Harry, I love you!" For those who despise 'Armageddon', consider it a guilty pleasure of mine. 'Armageddon' follows an unlikely oil-drilling team sent into space to land on an asteroid, drill a hole into its core, shove a nuke down it, and blast it to pieces before it collides with Earth and kills our ecosystem. Just like 'Forever Young', 'Armageddon' opened just two month after a film with a similar plot - 'Deep Impact'. 'Armageddon' proved to be the winner of the two, grossing over half a billion dollars worldwide while 'Deep Impact' only brought in $350 million. You may argue that star power caused 'Armageddon' to win the space battle, but I credit the win to its fresh, youthful cast, Michael Bay's crowd-pleasing direction of action, and Abrams' fun screenplay. That's right - I consider 'Armageddon' a "fun" film. 'Joy Ride' (2001) This title surprises me more than any other Abrams credit. I remember seeing 'Joy Ride' in 2002, expecting an awful horror movie and getting an intense thriller nostalgic of Steven Spielberg's 1971 TV movie 'Duel'. After reading about Abrams' passion for Spielberg's films and seeing him dedicate an entire film to paying homage to them ('Super 8'), 'Joy Ride' becomes even more fun. Initially not recognizing 'Joy Ride' director John Dahl's name, after checking out his IMDB page, Dahl has some fine accomplishments under his belt. He also directed 'Rounders' and episodes of the series 'Battlestar Galactica', 'United States of Tara', 'Breaking Bad', 'True Blood', 'The Vampire Diaries', 'Caprica', 'Dexter', 'Shameless', 'Justified' and 'Californication'. Yes, 'Joy Ride' received negative marks for starring Paul Walker ('Fast Five'), but if you pay attention to the story and script, 'Joy Ride' just might be worthy of becoming your new guilty pleasure. And there we go. Did any of these titles catch YOU by surprise too?Posted Fri Jun 10, 2011 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
The Bonus View Digest - June 10, 2011[teaser]This was one of the most eventful weeks we've had on The Bonus View. We had numerous stories that featured double-digit comments from our wonderful movie loving community we have here. See what kind of camaraderie you're missing out on when you don't tune into The Bonus View?[/teaser] Movie Madness The Tournament O' Death has finally wound down, and we crowned a winner. Darth Vader took home the championship, but not before we had quite a few hotly contested matchups. To see how we go to the final match that saw a victorious Vader crushing the life out of a helpless Batman, check out the links below. Batman vs. John McClane Darth Vader vs. Indiana Jones Batman vs. Darth Vader Movie Madness 2011: A Look Back Fans of the Movie Madness tournament, don't fret. We've got some great things in the works, like a Tournament O' Death for some of our favorite TV characters. Keep updated on The Bonus View to find out when it's going to happen. TV Recaps As always The Bonus View tracks and blogs about your favorite shows. For many shows we do weekly recaps just in case you missed anything. It's a time to discuss the show with fellow fans and talk about where it's going. This week we had recaps for shows like 'Franklin & Bash', 'The Killing', 'Game of Thrones', and a special interview from the creator of 'Community'. As the summer TV season heats up you better believe we'll be covering some of the hottest shows. You'll have to keep a lookout to see which shows we'll be covering. Video Game News Not only did our intrepid video game reporter, Dick Ward, keep up updated on the video game releases this week; he also brought it to our attention that we could get up to two free games from Sony Playstation Network. This was good news for a guy like me who rarely buys video games but loves to play them. Right after reading Dick's report I went onto PSN and downloaded Little Big Planet for free! Theatrical News This was a big week at the theater. Luke Hickman gave us some great Weekend Box Office Updates. He also provided us with an early review of 'Super 8', which seems to be the movie to see this summer. He also wrote a nice review for Woody Allen's new flick 'Midnight in Paris'. Last, but definitely not least, Luke wrote up a controversial piece on theatrical 3D and if it was facing a downward slide in box office numbers. It sparked a great debate between the readers that's still raging on right now. Check it out and add your two cents. Home Theater News Our resident HD expert Josh Zyber is always tweaking his home theater setup. This week he gave us a glimpse of the new Vizio 3D TV he purchased to compliment his 3D projector he just installed a few weeks ago. He also gave us a heads up on a setback he had with his 3D setup, which is something all people who were wondering about installing a 3D home theater should read. Special Features This week we seemed to be brimming with all kinds of featured posts that garnered quite a lot of response from readers. Last week's Roundtable asked the writers which franchises were in need of a reboot. The Mid-Week Poll was a doozy, as we decided once and for all (kind of) who is the worst director out of Michael Bay and Stephen Sommers. Posterizing is a new featured post we're doing where we take a look at recent movie posters, discuss them, and mainly just enjoy the artwork that goes along with movie marketing. Finally we had a fun little post about the Alamo Drafthouse Theater and their policy on kicking texters out of movies. You just have to see the video that goes along with the post. It's hilarious. Thanks again for another successful week on The Bonus View. If you haven't made your way over yet make sure you do. It's a place where you can casually chat with other movie fans, all the while reading great posts from our crack team of writers. Hope to see you here soon!Posted Fri Jun 10, 2011 at 11:30 AM PDT by: -
'Beauty and the Beast' Dated for Blu-ray 3D![teaser]Another beloved Disney classic gets a Blu-ray 3D upgrade this October! [/teaser] As previously reported, Disney/Buena Vista is working on 'Beauty and the Beast -3D' for the new Blu-ray 3D format and now the official release date is October 4. The same Disney classic that taught us beauty is found within, now comes to life in spectacular Disney 3D bringing the characters, sound, and storyline to a whole new immersive dimension. Fans can once again meet and enjoy their favorite characters - Belle, Beast, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and more – in an entirely new fashion as if they were watching the film for the very first time. The release will be a 5-Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D, 2 Blu-rays, DVD, and Digital Copy) and will include three versions of the film (Theatrical, Special Extended Edition, and original Storyboard version) with 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, and the same supplements from the previous release including: • Deleted Scenes - Alternate Opening & Ending and "Belle In The Library" scene • Backstage Disney - Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind Making Beauty and the Beast, Broadway Beginnings, and Composing A Classic: A Musical Conversation with Alan Menken, Don Hahn, & Richard Kraft • Music And More - Jordin Sparks 'Beauty and the Beast" Music Video, Disney Sing-Along Mode, Deleted Song: "Human Again," Alternate Version of "Be Our Guest," Alternate Score of "The Transformation," Introduction To Deleted Songs By Don Hahn: "Human Again," Introductions To Deleted Song By Alan Menken: "Human Again," Beauty and the Beast Music Video Performed By Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson • Family Games & Activities - Bonjour, Who Is This BD-Live TelePlay Game, Enchanted Musical Challenge: A DisneyQuest Game, Chip's Musical Challenge, and Mrs. Pott's Personality Profile Game Suggested list price for the 5-disc combo pack is $49.99. Additionally, the company will also release two Special Edition releases, 'Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World' and 'Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas,' to follow on November 22, 2011 just in time for the holiday gift-giving season. You can find the latest specs for 'Beauty and the Beast - 3D' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under October 4.Posted Fri Jun 10, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by:
