Corona | Coming Attractions

Pixar's Up house becomes a reality

If you've watched the Disney/Pixar movie Up -- heck, even if you haven't seen it -- you know the floating house with the balloons from the poster. But could a house like the one that balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen build really work?

Olivia Wilde as Snow White's evil queen

For the past four years Disney has been photographing well-known celebrities dressed up as some of their most famous characters to promote the company's theme parks. As part of Disney Parks' marketing push for 2011, the company commissioned photographer Annie Liebovitz to capture real-life versions of two villainesses from Disney animated movies as well as the romantic couple from Beauty and the Beast.

And now a word from the original Robocop

Remember that statue to RoboCop that people want to see get erected somewhere in Detroit? Peter Weller, the actor that played the law enforcement cyborg in the first two RoboCop movies, doesn't want you to forget about it.

Archie gets broody

What role does Archie Andrews play in 2011? Does the gang from Riverdale high have anything to say to today's teenagers? And really, are you trying to tell me that Archie still hasn't made a decision about his greatest dilemma: Veronica or Betty?

What if the answer to that question were Jughead? Think outside the box, Andrews!

E.T. 2: Extinction: The fan trailer that raises the bar for fake films

I've seen quite a number of fan trailers -- mash-ups of sequels or hoped-for movies that digital editors and Photoshop wizards have cobbled together from other real films -- but after watching the trailer for E.T.X.: Extinction, the bar has now been raised for these types of things.

RoboCop statue for Detroit receives funding

You know that you live in the future when technology is used to raise funds for a metal statue of RoboCop.

Watch Star Wars Begins

One of the most impressive fan-made Star Wars productions that I have ever seen is Jambe Davdar's Star Wars Begins. Released last month on YouTube, word of Davdar's 14-part, 140-minute ultimate fan cut of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, has trickled out and around the Internet. What he did nearly defies belief: Davdar assembled audio clips from creator George Lucas, cast members and crew, as well as deleted scenes and rare behind-the-scenes video and images into one flowing visual journey that retells the first Star Wars adventure from a new perspective.

Tatooine Suns t-shirt

What's turning more into a sizeable niche business is the underground market for quasi-legal, pop culture t-shirts. Sure, the shirt designers may be skirting the limits of copyright law but since it's a low end market and the product isn't cutting into the sale of legitimate goods, the trade is booming online. Several different t-shirt companies exist that cater to this kind of apparel, and usually the goods that they hawk are cool threads to wear.

Volkswagon uses Darth Vader and The Force for its Superbowl commercial

We're T minus 2 days away from Superbowl XLV (or Ecks-Ell-Vee as I'm calling it). Besides the big game there's also the hype surrounding the commercials we'll see. Movie studios have paid millions to position their big releases to be seen by an audience in the tens of millions, but for one legendary movie character who will be seen in a Superbowl ad, it won't be for a new movie. It's for a Volkswagon commercial.

The Last Supper of Star Wars

By this point there's probably been enough Star Wars pop culture stories to fill an entire server at a Google data center. The latest news story to cross my attention is that by photographer/blogger Robin Cook. She decided to spend an entire Saturday shooting several costumed members of a local Star Wars club in a number of settings...outdoors, indoors, angry Stormtrooper posing for the camera, tattooed Sith Lady standing over a skewered female Jedi, that sort of thing.

What does the Jurassic Park theme slowed down 1,000% sound like?

You want to know what it sounds like? It sounds frickin' awesome.

Mortal Kombat to become web series

Warner Bros. Premiere has announced that it will produce an all-new live-action Mortal Kombat production, set to begin filming next month in Vancouver. What's different about this new MK is that it won't be a new movie or TV show. Instead, the new Mortal Kombat will be delivered online as a web series.

Greedo the Jersey Shore guido

Check out the emerald wannabe player! This digitally manipulated photo of Jersey Shore's Pauly D. was created by exo-politic-2012, a member of Deviant Art's community of Photoshop Jedi Masters. You take one cast member of a popular MTV reality show, a secondary character from the first Star Wars movie, mix the two together and behold the result: Greedo the guido.

Ghostbusters wedding cake perfect for saying "I Do"

What kind of wedding cake do you order for your after party when both the bride and groom are huge fans of Ghostbusters? One that shows both Mr. and Mrs. standing atop the Central Park West building and blasting Mr. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man with their proton packs.

The Launch of Retro Review 1981: The Column

Editor's note:

The mission: review at least one movie a week that came out in 1981. The reason: because he can.

The man to do the mission: Thurston McQ.

Prepare yourself for a trip back through three decades in time, to an era when VHS was king, video stores were popping up everywhere and movies could be rented by young, impressionable minds. What were movies like back then? And 30 years on, do the movies that were released in 1981 hold up to our storytelling standards today or fall down hard?

Welcome to a year-long column that will revisit those cinematic classics and not-so-classics from an era where CG and PG-13 didn't mean a thing to anyone yet. Welcome to Retro Review 1981 - The Weekly Column. Thurston, you have the floor. -- Patrick