Source: Marvel Studios / Marvel Studios “Black Panther” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” are two of the leaders of this year’s Oscar nominations with both films scoring a Best Picture nomination. The Academy is unveiled its 2019 list Tuesday morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, with Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross hosting. The 91st Annual Academy Awards will be held once again at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. The show will air live on Sunday, February 24, on ABC. Best Picture BlacKkKlansman Black Panther Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Roma A Star Is Born Vice Best Director Alfonso Cuaron ( Roma ) Yorgos Lanthimos ( The Favourite ) Spike Lee ( BlacKkKlansman ) Adam McKay ( Vice ) Pawel Pawlikowski ( Cold War ) Best Actress Yalitza Aparicio ( Roma ) Glenn Close ( The Wife ) Olivia Colman ( The Favourite ) Lady Gaga ( A Star Is Born ) Melissa McCarthy ( Can You Ever Forgive Me? ) Best Actor Christian Bale ( Vice ) Bradley Cooper ( A Star Is Born ) Willem Dafoe ( At Eternity’s Gate ) Rami Malek ( Bohemian Rhapsody ) Viggo Mortensen ( Green Book ) Best Actress in a Supporting Role Amy Adams ( Vice ) Marina de Tavira ( Roma ) Regina King ( If Beale Street Could Talk ) Emma Stone ( The Favourite ) Rachel Weisz ( The Favourite ) Best Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali ( Green Book ) Adam Driver ( BlacKkKlansman ) Sam Elliott ( A Star Is Born ) Richard E. Grant ( Can You Ever Forgive Me? ) Sam Rockwell ( Vice ) Best Costume Design The Ballad of Buster Scruggs ( Mary Zophres ) Black Panther ( Ruth E. Carter ) The Favourite ( Sandy Powell ) Mary Poppins Returns ( Sandy Powell ) Mary Queen of Scots ( Alexandra Byrne ) Best Sound Editing Black Panther Bohemian Rhapsody First Man A Quiet Place Roma Best Sound Mixing Black Panther Bohemian Rhapsody First Man Roma A Star Is Born Best Animated Short Animal Behaviour Bao Late Afternoon One Small Step Weekends Best Live-Action Short Detainment Fauve Marguerite Mother Skin Best Film Editing BlacKkKlansman (Barry Alexander Brown) Bohemian Rhapsody (John Ottman) The Favourite (Yorgos Mavropsaridis) Green Book (Patrick J. Don Vito) Vice (Hank Corwin) Best Original Score Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson) BlacKkKlansman (Terence Blanchard) If Beale Street Could Talk (Nicholas Britell) Isle of Dogs (Alexandre Desplat) Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman) Best Documentary Feature Free Solo Hale County This Morning, This Evening Minding the Gap Of Fathers and Sons RBG Best Documentary Short Subject Black Sheep End Game Lifeboat A Night at the Garden Period. End of Sentence. Best Foreign-Language Film Capernaum (Lebanon) Cold War (Poland) Never Look Away (Germany) Roma (Mexico) Shoplifters (Japan) Best Production Design Black Panther (Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart) The Favourite (Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton) First Man (Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas) Mary Poppins Returns (John Myhre and Gordon Sim) Roma (Eugenio Caballero and Barbara Enriquez) Best Visual Effects Avengers: Infinity War Christopher Robin First Man Ready Player One Solo: A Star Wars Story Best Cinematography The Favourite (Robbie Ryan) Never Look Away (Caleb Deschanel) Roma (Alfonso Cuaron) A Star Is Born (Matty Libatique) Cold War (Lukasz Zal) Best Makeup and Hairstyling Border Mary Queen of Scots Vice Best Animated Feature Incredibles 2 Isle of Dogs Mirai Ralph Breaks the Internet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Best Adapted Screenplay A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters and Eric Roth) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen) BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott) If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty) Best Original Screenplay The Favourite (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara) First Reformed (Paul Schrader) Green Book (Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga) Roma (Alfonso Cuaron) Vice (Adam McKay) Best Original Song “All the Stars” ( Black Panther , written by Kendrick Lamar, Al Shux, Sounwave, SZA and Anthony Tiffith) Performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA “I’ll Fight” (RBG, written by Diane Warren) Performed by Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” ( Mary Poppins Returns , written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman) Performed by Emily Blunt “Shallow” ( A Star Is Born , written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt) Performed by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” ( The Ballad of Buster Scruggs , written by Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch) Performed by Tim Blake Nelson and Willie Watson [ twitter-follow screen_name=‘92qjamsbmore†]
U.S. astronauts attempt to return to Earth after debris crashes into their space shuttle, leaving them drifting alone in orbit in this third Gravity trailer. Here we see the gravity (so to speak) of what the protagonists played by George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are up against, and it does not look good. See the directorial vision of Alfonso Cuaron, and what James Cameron is already calling “the best space movie ever done,” in the Gravity trailer below: Gravity Movie Trailer Enough to pique your curiosity and then some? We thought so. Whether it’s Oscar material or not remains to be seen, but it’s certainly going to be closely watched, given the performances of the two big names. Gravity lands (so to speak) October 4 in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D.
The previously untitled, Ben Affleck/Rachel McAdams-starring project due later this year has also received an R rating for “some sexuality and nudity.” Ugh. This calls for a petition ! Meanwhile the film still awaits an official release date; stay tuned here for details as events warrant. [ CARA via Film Stage ]
Happens to the best of us: “‘At the beginning people [say], “You’re going to be going to the Oscars ,” and you’re like, “Whatever, doesn’t matter, don’t think so.” But after a while it does penetrate. After a while you’re like, “Anyway, so I’m going to the Oscars…”‘ He laughs. ‘And you start to believe it. And I did. I thought I was going. And then I found out I wasn’t and I was upset. I was very upset by it. The first reaction was “What the fuck…?”‘ He sounds frustrated that he had let himself get sucked in. ‘It’s a vanity thing. It does become important to you. And it shouldn’t.’ On reflection, he decided that he had learned something about misplaced priorities. ‘A good little lesson.'” [ GQ ]
There’s good news and bad news from Warner Bros. about Gravity and Gangster Squad , two of its most anticipated fall releases. Which do you prefer first? The bad news? Why, of course! Via THR : Gravity , the upcoming thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts stranded at a space station, has been pushed to a 2013 release, studio Warner Bros. announced on Monday. The film from writer-director Alfonso Cuarón was originally scheduled to open on November 21, 2012, but is now marked only as being an “unscheduled 2013” release. An early test screening of a rough cut of Gravity earlier this month in Pasadena, CA., drew strong reactions , both for and against, in response to the still-unfinished film. Womp woooomp . But hey — chin up! After a spiffy new trailer prompted Warners to settle on a date for its fearsome-looking Gangster Squad , along comes word (via Box OFfice Mojo ) of the searing Ryan Gosling/Josh Brolin/Sean Penn crime drama Gangster Squad settling into the Sept. 7 frame. There it will do battle with the Henry Cavill/Bruce Willis thriller The Cold Light of Day , which I’d bet Summit Entertainment will relocate at some point in the not very distant future. Developing… [ THR , BOM ]
There’s good news and bad news from Warner Bros. about Gravity and Gangster Squad , two of its most anticipated fall releases. Which do you prefer first? The bad news? Why, of course! Via THR : Gravity , the upcoming thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts stranded at a space station, has been pushed to a 2013 release, studio Warner Bros. announced on Monday. The film from writer-director Alfonso Cuarón was originally scheduled to open on November 21, 2012, but is now marked only as being an “unscheduled 2013” release. An early test screening of a rough cut of Gravity earlier this month in Pasadena, CA., drew strong reactions , both for and against, in response to the still-unfinished film. Womp woooomp . But hey — chin up! After a spiffy new trailer prompted Warners to settle on a date for its fearsome-looking Gangster Squad , along comes word (via Box OFfice Mojo ) of the searing Ryan Gosling/Josh Brolin/Sean Penn crime drama Gangster Squad settling into the Sept. 7 frame. There it will do battle with the Henry Cavill/Bruce Willis thriller The Cold Light of Day , which I’d bet Summit Entertainment will relocate at some point in the not very distant future. Developing… [ THR , BOM ]
Filmmaker Boaz Yakin has taken a circuitous route through the years tackling indie dramas ( Fresh , A Price Above Rubies , Death in Love ) and studio gigs ( Remember the Titans , Uptown Girls ) alike, not to mention his writing stints on films like Prince of Persia and producing duties on the Hostel films. But this week’s Safe , a frenetic throwback actioner starring Jason Statham , marks a return to his roots — both to the streets of New York he grew up loving and to the genre beginnings that gave him his start. Safe follows Luke Wright (Statham), a disgraced NYPD officer-turned-cage fighter who hits rock bottom and then becomes the protector of a 12-year-old Chinese girl (newcomer Catherine Chan) who’s being pursued by an entire city filled with Triads, Russian mob, corrupt city officials, and dirty cops. As Yakin told Movieline, writing and directing Safe gave him liberty to craft a kind of homage to his favorite ‘70s New York action pics while adding his own flair to the well-worn genre, and the result is an authentically gritty, ultraviolent action romp filled with flying bullets, twisty machinations, and – yes – the glory that is the sight of a single tear rolling down Jason Statham’s steely face. Yakin spoke with Movieline about shooting on his beloved New York City streets, the “beautiful decrepitude” of a bygone NYC that he hoped to capture, how filming limitations gave way to the film’s most inventive and impressive sequences, and how he almost learned the hard way why you shouldn’t cut before Jason Statham has turned on the waterworks. Even though you partially shot Philadelphia for New York, you manage to capture so many authentic-feeling New York locations in the film. How much did you split filming, and how much were you able to shoot in the city itself? We shot in Philly but the thing I made sure of was that we shot the lion’s share of our exterior work, the New York subways – that was all done in New York. And then we went to Philadelphia and did some night shots, night exteriors, and basically all of our interior stuff was done in Philadelphia, and some key things that would have been very difficult to do, like some street car chases and things like that. New York is an amazing city to shoot because it looks so great and you get so much of its energy and texture on film, but it’s also really hard to shoot there just physically. People don’t really give a damn that you’re there and move you around, and it’s so grueling to shoot there. In Philly it was a lot easier and people were a lot more accommodating, and you’re able to get away with shooting things there at all hours of the night, making noise and things like that, which they’d never let you get away with in New York. So it worked out for us. Which were your favorite New York locations, the ones that were most gratifying to get that really nailed that texture? I have to say that even though it was so incredibly difficult to shoot there, I’ve never directed an action film but I’ve written a bunch of them [ The Punisher , The Rookie ] and one of the things that really gives New York its flavor is the subway system and the way the subway feels. In the classic New York action film it’s always there — there’s the classic French Connection subway chase, and all that – and for me it was really important to do a memorable subway sequence that could stand up there with some of the best ones that have been done in the past. None of them will ever touch the French Connection one, but I wanted to sort of add my entry. So for me, the location I got to shoot in that just really defines the film is the subway scene. Which stops did you film at? It was between two stops — one of them, we sort of made a stop on Wall St. look like a stop in Brooklyn and then there was the 14th Street L that goes cross-town on the East Side. You mention The French Connection , and the film conjures that meaty throwback, ‘70s and ‘80s action feel reminiscent of that film and many others. That’s what I was going for – seeing the movie as sort of a double throwback movie, both to the films that I was writing when I broke into the business in the late ’80s and more so to movies about the city that I grew up in. I grew up in New York in the 1970s, when it was sort of in a state of decay, a kind of a colorful, crazy lawlessness; you felt like anything could happen at any time. There was a kind of a beautiful decrepitude about it, like it hadn’t gotten Starbucks-ized. It still had this kind of gritty texture and an “anything goes” improvisational feeling and even as a kid there was a part of you that sensed that this was never going to be this way again. This is crazy! Someday I’m going to miss this, you know? And it’s true; I still love New York, but I miss its texture and its crazy kind of falling apart quality, and I wanted to capture that in the film. I wanted to capture the New York movies that I love, like The Seven-Ups , Death Wish , The Warriors , just the kind of movies that soaked up the streets of the city in their DNA, but really also a tribute to the way I felt about New York when I was younger. In terms of filmmakers, were you inspired by a shot here or a technique there or an archetype from the genre staples? I thought a lot about the classic John Woo and Hong Kong cop movies, for example. I think having seen so many of those films over the years, you sort of just absorb them and I just know them really well at this point. I would say that whenever you’re going to do an action scene you study the stuff in Better Tomorrow Part II and so on but there were a lot of other films that I looked at too. And one thing I kind of didn’t want to do that John Woo does, actually, is that he slows things down for the action scenes — like, kind of sexualizes and glamorizes every gunshot, and makes it into this slow-motion ballet of violence which is just fantastic and he’s a master of it post-Peckinpah. But for me, there are maybe two slow-motion shots in the film. I wanted things to feel hectic and in your face and jumping around and very present; I didn’t want to treat the action like, ‘Aha! Here’s the action scene!’ I wanted the action to spring out of what was happening in the moment and for you to feel like you were catching up with it while it was going on. So in that sense I tried to find a different approach to it. Your shooting and editing style really jump out throughout Safe , and there are a number of action sequences that are really impressive to watch. You wonder, ‘How did he pull that off in just one shot or one staged sequence?’ And more to the point, why go to so much trouble to pull off these deceptively complex scenes? I think you want to bring something interesting and add to it when you’re doing a genre film — you want to appreciate the genre and do what you can to add to it. I think that part of it, by the way, is the creativity that comes from having limited time and money. For instance, the scene where the girl gets kidnapped from the car and they get driven into, you see everything through the windows and the rearview mirrors of the car, and it’s like, okay — I’m going to have one day to shoot a scene that if I was really going to cover every guy killing every guy and all that stuff it would take me three or four days. Okay, what’s the emotional grounding of the scene? It’s this girl’s experience. And it’s sort of like putting you into the shoes of the people in the car. So I go, okay — I can do this all with three kind of complicated shots, but that’s three shots — when you look at that sequence it’s something like three or four — for something that you could shoot in fifty shots if you were really covering it. So it’s complex, but it has a point of view and it’s specific. Sometimes being limited enables you to think in a way that’s more creative. You could never replicate it in this film, but Alfonso Cuaron did Children of Men and he did like three or four sequences, there’s this one in a car, and he’s shooting these fabulous long takes… That’s actually something that there was no way I could try to get to that in this film; we just didn’t have the time or the wherewithal. But there were a few places where I wanted to recreate a little bit of that feeling. That totally works, because you do get swept up in the chaotic feeling of being there in scenes like the kidnapping and the memorable unbroken shot in which a fight is witnessed via a rearview mirror. You have a shot of Reggie Lee shooting someone randomly in the middle of a hotel exodus that most directors might cut around, but instead it draws attention to the execution of the scene itself and the power of the chaos in that moment. In a way, the less you cut the more you feel like you’re in a situation. And by the way, how great was Reggie Lee in the film? He’s such a great actor. For me I thought there were a lot of really terrific character actors in the film and it was important to me to create that tapestry of characters, the way they did in those New York films that I loved so much. But Reggie Lee just constantly surprised me. Every time he showed up onscreen there was something authentic and genuine and nuanced. His part doesn’t have a lot of dialogue to convey his mixed feelings about what he’s doing. You’ve just got to feel it all from his performance and his looks. And you give him a scene in the car where he unexpectedly reveals some measure of a fatherly impulse toward Mei, which dimensionalizes him. Which brings me to my next question: Here you have Asian Triads and Russian baddies with a capital B, so to speak — why make the ethnic villains so larger than life? Look, when you make an action movie and a thriller, someone’s got to be the bad guy! And in this film, the main bad cop is a Jewish cop called Captain Wolf, you’ve got a sort of evil gay Italian mayor and his lover… Everyone in this film is bad, there’s nobody good. And I think at this point the Italian mafia has become a little played out. After The Sopranos , they’re just cute; when you see the Italian mafia in movies anymore it’s just like Robert De Niro in Analyze This , you want to send them to a therapist and have a few laughs. It’s a little played out, so I think that dealing with the Russians and the Chinese is a little fresher for me — not that it hasn’t been done. But frankly, the heroine of the film is a little Chinese girl, and she’s in a way almost as big a part as Jason. But to answer your question — I don’t care, you know what I mean? It’s an action movie, and there are tons of bad guys in it of all ethnicities. Equal opportunity villainy. It’s equal opportunity! And it’s like everyone should be able to be bad, and everyone should be able to be good. I can’t think that way and start limiting myself that way. Let’s talk about Jason in this film; the character he plays is at once very much in his action wheelhouse but also much more vulnerable at times than we’ve ever seen Jason Statham in the movies — he loses everything, he’s wracked with guilt, he’s suicidal… You know, it’s interesting. The way the part was written, and especially having Jason, who has developed this reputation and made so many films where he is in many ways not vulnerable, it was important to me to emphasize those aspects of his character. I think that when you put, say, Matt Damon in a Bourne film or something like that, the work that you have in those films is that everyone knows Matt is a really wonderful actor and nuanced and your challenge in a Bourne movie is to make people believe that he’s also a bad-ass, right? With Jason it’s the reverse, where you know he’s a bad-ass, you know he can do all this stuff — how can we bring these other elements and colors to his persona? That was something I really tried to emphasize and bring to the table. There’s a scene when he’s at a very, very low point where you orchestrate a surprising emotional moment for him — his entire world is collapsing and as the camera moves in, he conjures a single tear. Yes, that long take moving in on Jason. Look, I think Jason is a much, much better actor than people give him credit for, and that even he gives himself credit for. I think that there are a lot of people who are more highly regarded as actors who could not have held that close-up and that kind of shot, moving in on him, for the amount of time and the level of intensity that Jason did. When he commits himself to something, he’s very, very good. And there is a funny little story about that one shot; I’m a terrible one for cutting as soon as the scene is over. I think a lot of smart people, when the scene is over you just kind of let it sit a little to see what’s going to happen — like, if there’s anything extra that happens that’s good. I tend to try to keep the set moving, so as soon as it’s over I’m like, ‘Cut! Okay!’ We did a few takes of this shot with Jason and he was good in all of them, but then we were doing that one more take to see what would happen — and this is the one that was in the film — and as it was getting to the end, the dialogue was finished and I was about to call cut, the DP [Stefan Czapsky] and my friend, the producer, Lawrence [Bender] , literally picked me up and moved me away from the monitor so that I wouldn’t say ‘Cut.’ I was surprised – they didn’t tell me they were going to do that – and three seconds after that happened, the tear came down Jason’s face! [Laughs] I was about to say ‘Cut’ and they literally tackled me and pulled me away and I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ Then the tear came down Jason’s face and they were like, ‘You see?’ I’m like, okay – lesson learned. Safe also stars Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, James Hong and Anson Mount and is in theaters Friday. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
In honor of today’s horror extravaganza Cabin in the Woods , pen a masterful horror-themed haiku and you could win a bounty of Cabin swag! Included in the grand prize: A Cabin t-shirt, a signed poster, the visualization “movie tie-in” book, the novelization (so you can understand the twists and turns and surprises at hand), and your very own Cabin in the Woods expanding bong (to, um, help you expand your mind and grasp what writer-producer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard are doing in this ultra meta-horror send-up). Cabin in the Woods is best left unspoiled, but suffice to say it’s about a cabin… in the woods… where a group of unsuspecting coeds arrive one weekend, unprepared for what’s to come. (Read Movieline’s spoiler-free review here , or this spoilers-redacted SXSW report , for more.) Chris Hemsworth , Anna Hutchison, Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford star. The rules are simple: Submit an original haiku (using the 5-7-5 format) inspired by either Cabin in the Woods or your favorite horror classic , in the comments below or on Facebook / Twitter . One grand prize winner will receive the following prize pack: (1) Shirt (1) Bong (1) Visualization “Movie Tie-in” Book (1) Novelization (1) Signed Poster But wait! FOUR runners-up will win a t-shirt, a poster, AND the coveted Cabin in the Woods bong. That’s five chances to get your hands on the best (and arguably most useful) piece of movie swag to come along in a while. So hop to it, folks! Get your horror haiku on now . Contest closes Monday, April 16 at 5pm ET/2pm PT . Entries must include an email address for contacting winners. Winner must be located in the U.S. Only one submission per person.
According to an LA Times report citing an insider in the know, Lionsgate is looking at a few notable names to take the helm of the Hunger Games franchise for the series sequel Catching Fire . Among the “seven or eight names” — all men, it’s noted — are David Cronenberg , Alfonso Cuaron , and Alejandro González Iñárritu . Supposing this shortlist is accurate, and knowing that the studio wants to get a move on with a director capable of wrangling the sequel into shape for an August start date, which of these three alleged candidates would you rather see bring Katniss Everdeen’s next adventure to life? From The LA Times: According to a source with knowledge of the list who isn’t permitted to speak on the record, Lionsgate needs to find a director with enough credits and accolades to appeal to Collins, who is much more interested in quality filmmaking than box-office prowess. This director also needs to have an even keel; no petulant crybabies allowed… task will require someone who can wrangle a large ensemble of actors, juggle the demands of a swift schedule and collaborate on a script with Collins and writer Simon Beaufoy. “No petulant crybabies allowed.” Interesting. Well, Cuaron’s got Harry Potter cred under his belt. Iñárritu would certainly drive home the abject desperation of the world of Panem. And maybe working with Twilight ‘s Robert Pattinson has brought Cronenberg one step closer to the YA universe. But I’m more curious about the other four or five names on this list… who else matches the profile for non-crybaby, good with kids, franchise-able serious-movie directing? [ LA Times ]
Who’s excited for 2012? I said, Who’s excited for 2012? Oh. Well, it’s coming whether you want it or not, and Mayan doomsday predictions and a U.S. presidential election aside, there is stuff to look forward to. Get your calendars ready and read on for 20 dates worth saving at the movies alone. Jan. 6 : The Devil Inside becomes the millionth exorcist movie to open in theaters, thus netting a $3 million cash prize and earning the producers and 20 of their closest friends a free party and Dave and Buster’s. Jan. 15 : In a craven, ruinous grab for ratings, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association invites a suicide bomber to host the Golden Globe Awards. Jan. 20 : Coriolanus makes its official post-Oscar-qualifying debut in theaters. Take Stephanie and Louis and my words for it: You really should see it. Feb. 10 : Watch a Michael Caine paycheck role come alive as you’ve never seen it before — in the eye-popping 3-D family adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island . Feb. 26 : “Ziss ees for you, Uggie”: Jean Dujardin dedicates his Best Actor prize at the 84th Academy Awards to his criminally underrecognized canine co-star . March 2 : Holy shit, they really made Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters ? With Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton and Famke Janssen? Wow. OK. Anyway, this opens today. March 9 : Disney commences counting how much money it lost on the ultra expensive, roundly buzzless John Carter . March 23 : Fangirl civil war erupts as The Hunger Games makes its first incursion against the creaky, sparkly Twilight empire. The rest of us, faced only with the sad counterprogramming spectacle of A Thousand Words , flee to art-house refugee camps nationwide. April 27 : The crackerjack comic duo of Jason Segel and Emily Blunt Alison Brie and Jacki Weaver co-star in The Five-Year Engagement June 22 — Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter winds up a distressing month of predatorily-titled blockbusters including Snow White and the Huntsman , Jack the Giant Killer and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted . Which is fine, because you’re going to be watching the awesome-looking , June 8-opening Prometheus for the fifth time this weekend, anyway. July 20 — The Dark Knight Rises opens! To quote Bane, the film’s excited villain: “ Fghrlkdjhafskdfbldkbsj .” July 27 : Tyler Perry’s The Marriage Counselor reaches theaters, finally exposing audiences everywhere to the subtle dramatic charms of Kim Kardashian. I smell a Verge ! Or maybe it’s just Valtrex. Aug. 17 : Boldly leaping to the front of the Oscar-season line, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association moves up its awards-voting date to Aug. 20 after seeing The Expendables 2 . Sept. 28 : The year of Taylor Kitsch — previously comprising John Carter and Battleship — concludes with the only one of his films any grown-ass adult wants to actually see: The Oliver Stone pot-cartel thriller Savages , co-starring Beinicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Blake Lively and Emile Hirsch. Oct. 12 : From Kevin James and his Zookeeper director Frank Coraci comes the teacher-turned-MMA moonlighter comedy Here Comes the Boom . I only bring it up because Jesus will weep so copiously that you might start filling and stacking sandbags now . Oct. 19 : Ryan Gosling. Emma Stone. Josh Brolin. Sean Penn. Gangster Squad . That is all. Nov. 16 : The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 concludes the billion-dollar franchise, instantly prompting millions of prodigious sobbing binges. But enough about Taylor Lautner’s management team. Nov. 21 : The visionary filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron returns with Gravity , which draws a robust opening-weekend crowd with its promise of showing Sandra Bullock shot into space. Dec. 19 : Kathryn Bigelow’s as-yet-unnamed Osama bin Laden movie — working title: Banned in Pakistan — reaches theaters. Dec. 25 : A very DiCaprio Christmas gets underway with Django Unchained and The Great Gatsby . Enjoy 2012, everyone! Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .