12 Big Film News Stories of 2012

Looking back on 2012, records were shattered, hearts broken, dreams were made, and nightmares came to life. From the box-office glory of Joss Whedon's The Avengers to the grim death of Tony Scott, 2012 gave us plenty of highs and lows.

Let's take a look at 12 triumphs and tribulations in movie news from 2012.

12) DreamWorks Animation Leaves Paramount 

for 20th Century Fox 

While certainly not as big as another media acquisition (more on that later... Spoilers!), the end to the seven-year relationship between the animation studio and its distributor, Paramount, leaves the mountain's future looking a bit less solid. Fox, however, has very little risk in this partnership, and should reap some nice rewards with their new five-year pact. While they already own an animation studio, Blue Sky (makers of Rio and the Ice Age franchise), Fox did not shy away from acquiring another animation maker. Release date conflicts are really the only worrisome part to this partnership; however, since Fox will not have to shoulder any of the budget load from DreamWorks Animation films, 20th Century Fox's scheduling headaches should be easily cured with gobs of cash flowing their way.

11) Two Big Film Franchises Come to a Close

 

While Paramount is left looking to fill a hole in their animation branch, two studios will be looking to make up for losing two of the most lucrative film franchises in the last decade, Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and the Twilight saga. Love it or hate it, Twilight was a major film franchise and a huge cash cow for Lions Gate Entertainment (distributed under Summit Entertainment). Making well over $3 billion worldwide, believe it or not, Twilight left a mark on cinematic history.
After the Harry Potter franchise ended last year and Nolan's final installment released this year, Warner Bros. Studios must be a bit apprehensive about their future. No longer will they have these two shoe-in cash creators; however, The Hobbit being made into three films should ease their worry. The studio also anxiously awaits Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, The Man of Steel, due out next year, as does every fanboy and fangirl, alongside the DC Entertainment branch. If successful, WB and DC could have a very lucrative film franchise that could open the doors to a long awaited Justice League movie/franchise. Fingers crossed!

10) Two Big Studios Dump Execs

Speaking of studios scrambling to fill giant holes, Disney and 20th Century Fox both showed their respective top dogs the door. After a slew of horrible film financial decisions, Rich Ross, the House of Mouse's Studio Chair, was finally given the boot after the bloated cesspool of awful that was John Carter. While Ross's intentions were good (fewer films with bigger budgets to streamline marketing for franchise merchandise/rides/toy lines), the results were lackluster at best. The now-former Disney exec landed on his feet, though, and is now CEO of Shine America, a production company under News Corp.
Another News Corp. unit, 20th Century Fox, had a serious power-shift as well. It canned its co-chair/CEO, Tom Rothman, after eighteen-years of eyebrow-raising decisions. Failing to secure Fox TV's star, Seth MacFarlane, and his new movie, Ted, and instead, opting for other R-rated comedies that utterly flopped (The Sitter, The Watch) and the absolute mess of a film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, seemed to be the final nail in the coffin Rothman. Along with failed franchises such as The Fantastic Four and Daredevil, both of which were sold back to Marvel, Rothman's tenure at Fox was tumultuous, at best.

2012 Part II: 6 Most Anticipated

6 Films to Look Forward to Before the World Ends

Continuing the 2012 series

If you read our articles, you've probably seen our 5 best and worst movies from the first half of 2012. In anticipation for the second half of our last year alive, let's look ahead at the second half of the year and see what movies are definitely worthy of a theater visit. Also, stay tuned for the 5 movies to stay away from in these next 6 months. Originally this list was going to consist of 5 movies, but the second half of the year has a bit more going for it than the first.

Hugh as the convict Jean Valjean

Les Misérables

Tom Hooper's adaptation of the incredible stage musical looks to be a huge success already. They (wisely) decided not to have Taylor Swift in the film, and instead have Amanda Seyfried playing Cosette. Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe star in this French Revolution-era musical. The re-make theme in Hollywood grows much stronger with this film, as yet another classic is getting reworked.

The Bourne Legacy

Seemingly taking place around and after the time of the previous Bourne movies, The Bourne Legacy stars Jeremy Renner as the incredibly dangerous Aaron Cross. Edward Norton will get a shot as the antagonist in this film, and we've seen him do this successfully before. Edward Norton and Jeremy Renner are both remarkable actors, and should perform in their respective roles. I have not read the book, but Robert Ludlum's novels rarely fail to impress, as with the film adaptions. Though this is the first novel to be written by someone other than Ludlum (Eric Van Lustbader), the film looks to have the potential to live up to its predecessors. Rachel Weisz also plays a major role in The Bourne Legacy as Aaron's main love-interest. Again, I haven't read the book, so I don't know that for sure. I'm still excited for the 4th Bourne installment.

5 Movies You Should Have Seen so Far in 2012

First Half of 2012-Top 5 Films

There's a theme here somewhere but I can't quite place it....

Today marks the beginning of a new series from me, your now-slightly-more-professional-friendly-neighborhood-Spiderman. This series is Movies of 2012. We'll look at the year in two halves, and I'll tell you what films I think are going to be the best and the worst. Anyways, here we are! Just over halfway through the last year before the world's end, and so far Hollywood has been kicking out some great stuff. From fairy-tales to superheroes to aliens to children-murdering-children to reboots to remakes to more fairy-tales, it's been quite the 6 months. Travel back with me back to 5 movies that stand out above the rest, and if you haven't seen them already, are worth watching.

Skyfall Teaser Trailer

First Trailer for New Bond Movie Released

After the great reboot of the Bond franchise that was Casino Royale, the new Bond series hit hard by critics when the sequel,Quantam of Solace, followed. This new Bond movie, Skyfall, opens a new chapter in the Daniel Craig-saga, and looks to improve upon the mistakes of movie number 2. Enjoy!





Skyfall features Daniel Criag, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, and Ben Wishaw. It's directed by Sam Mendes. Look for Bond 23 to hit theaters in America on November 9, 2012.


Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

New Spiderman "Super-trailer"

Amazing Spiderman Super Trailer Shows Off Action, Depth, Humor, and Heart

Last night, SONY released their "Super Trailer" during dancing with the stars. It featured four minutes of Amazing Spiderman awesomeness. The trailer starts with a sort-of clip of Spidey arriving at a bridge that the Lizard has recently rampaged on. He saves a child's life, and then we get a slightly different version of trailer 3, with new snippets here and there. This new trailer shows us new character depth, some heart, more humor, and of course, more action.

It really looks like Marc Webb has made a film that not only explores the character of Spiderman, but looks at some of the same material as Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise, where he delves into what it would really be like to be a hero. Being Spiderman looks to be no easy feat, and Andrew Garfield looks great in the role. The Amazing Spiderman swings into theaters July 3, 2012.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

The Lucky One Review: Meh

Is Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One Worth a Trip to the Theater?

"When will they stop seeing me as a pretty boy?" Never Zac...never

For longtime Nick Sparks' fans, this will probably be a nice outing. If you aren't a fan of dramatic chick-flicks with cliche plot elements, then this is probably not for you.

Prometheus: Better than Avatar

Ridley Scott's Return to the Alien Franchise Looks to be the Prettiest Girl at the Ball

And will also eat your face off

Prometheus is the spin-off/prequel to the Alien saga, and we're going to take a look at the engaging story-line, the excellent cast, and above all, the insanely good visuals. Remember James Cameron's Avatar from 2009? This is a lot like that, only a lot different and much better. So really nothing like it at all...

The Avengers Spoilers

SERIOUSLY GUYS, SPOILERS AHEAD

The city did actually collapse from their combined awesomeness....

This article is purely spoilers. If you're looking for our review, look no further. If you're interested in the financial success of this movie, check it out here. We aren't going to talk about the great quality of the story, the depth of the characters, the awesomeness of the effects, or the fact that this movie just made box-office history. Oh wait... Anyways, here's a list of some major spoilers from the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, beware. Then again if you read the title and heading thus far and haven't seen it yet, I'm sure you're going to keep reading...

If you have seen the movie, this is a great place to discuss the spoilers and what they entail. What we might see in future installments, who we'll see in them, who we won't see in them. Stuff like that. Feel free to comment after reading! The fact that we only get one or two comments a week notwithstanding, we love to hear your views and opinions!

The Avengers Review: Updated Box Office

Step aside, Christopher Nolan

Earth's Mightiest Heroes: And the theater collapsed under the weight of their awesomeness, but then they saved everyone, and were amazing whilst doing it

After getting home, taking off my Spidey costume, and relaxing, I sat down to write this, and after going through a few drafts, still am not quite sure how to put everything I just saw into words.  I've read so many of the reviews, and I agree with all the good stuff, and disagree with all the bad stuff.  Some people say it feels like a TV movie, but it doesn't at all.  People say that a certain character stands out above the rest, but no one does.  Everyone gets their time in the sun.  This review will be (mostly) spoiler-free, but if you want to save yourself a few minutes of reading, just don't even read this.  Instead go to a theater now, and watch The Avengers.

The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer Analysis

With the release of The Avengers came two new comic book movie trailers: The Dark Knight Rises, and in IMAX 3D showings, The Amazing Spiderman. Fellow blogger Peter already looked at The Dark Knight Rises new trailer, and now I'm going to look at the new Spiderman trailer. Instead of going through every single tiny scene and detail, I'm just going to look through some of the newer material.  Here we go!

Opening Monologue

The opening monologue can tell us a lot about this movie.  Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is talking in the past tense about his struggles as Spiderman.  We can assume this means the death of Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), the enemies he's made, the impact it had on high school, how his loved ones are in danger, and a bunch of other really serious stuff.  Then we get the same plot point that Marc Webb has been drilling into our minds in every trailer so far.  "But the one thing that has haunted me...my entire life...is finding the truth about my parents..."  This is going to be a huge part of the movie.  Peter Parker's parents left him with his aunt and uncle at a very young age.  We know from enough previews already that Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors at Oscorp, which we get to see a massive image of in this trailer. The speaking in past tense also means that the film will cover a pretty large time-frame. It's my opinion that we'll see Peter's beginnings as Spiderman, as well as quite a few flashbacks, a la Batman Begins, which is okay, since Nolan and DC have decided to copy the Spiderman viral campaign....

The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer

Here it is gang.  Let us know what you think!

Recommend you watch in full screen.

It appears Marc Webb has managed to really separate his Spidey movie from Sam Raimi's version.  He has a great blend of bright colors mixed with dark shadows.  The web swinging really seems to employ real physics and mechanics.  The action looks intense, the story deep, and the characters realistic.  I think it's going to blow us all out of the water.

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

Updates from Zack-April 26

This is me. Obviously.

This week featured a lot of comic-book movie news.  The Avengers is hitting international theaters tonight, The Amazing Spiderman is releasing their final trailer, and The Dark Knight Rises is apparently starting their uber-promoting earlier than expected.  I'll take you guys through the best parts of recent news, and give you my thoughts and feelings.  Afterwards let's hear your opinions!  Just shoot us a comment or a reaction, or help us out by posting on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter!

The Amazing Spiderman: Summer's Underdog

   
        Well gang, I guess you could call this my debut.  What better movie for me to write about in my first article as an official member of the B*Team than the iconic Marvel character I have been nicknamed after 3 times.  This Summer will feature some heavy-hitting superhero movies.  Marvel comes out with their juggernaut The Avengers, and DC wraps up the Nolan-Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises.  Oh and also Marvel/Sony is releasing The Amazing Spiderman in the shadows of those two movies.  Probably won't be as good, eh?  Think again....

Updates from Zack - 24 April 2012 (Iron Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises)

Zack has been an awesome addition as a Guest Writer! So much so, we've made him a member of the prestigious B*Team! Stay tuned for a short intro to Zack...

This is going to be the staple image for my updates.  Just imagine it's me in that suit, looking super serious.

        In an attempt to generate more traffic bring you more comic book news, as well as get an idea into your heads just what we at YAMB at working on in the future, I decided to write this nice article for views you.  Since I'm still technically a guest writer, you're welcome.  In a different reality (obviously not this one) I'm really just writing more so that I can figure out how to use the writing tools for the site.  However like I said....different reality...

2012 Oscar Predictions, Pt. III

This next installment in the 12 for '12 Oscar Watch series, the article features three period pieces that are sure to garner a lot of Oscar attention. All three could be considered as biopics of various figures from history; however, two of the three do not look as strong as the other.

The second post in the series featured two heavy-hitters in the Oscar race, Moneyball and The Ides of March. The other film in the post, The Rum Diary, could be considered a dark horse in the race, as well. 

Well... add one more to the Oscar race, and two more dark horses.

Should Brad Pitt and Moneyball be concerned
with the following...?