Ruairi Robinson To Direct The Last Days On Mars

ComingSoon reports that Ruairi Robinson will finally make a big studio film. After being attached to direct Akira for Warner Bros. and leaving the project. The sci-fi horror thriller film The Last Days On Mars will be Ruairi's first full big movie after making some impressive short films. They also report that WETA Digital will handle the special effects. Hopefully this means WETA Workshop will also handle the props for the film too. WETA's credits include Avatar, King Kong, District 9 and Rise of The Planet of The Apes.

"As their last day on Mars draws to a close, the astronaut crew is on the verge of a major breakthrough – collected rock specimens reveal microscopic evidence of life. Meanwhile, communication is underway with AURORA, the approaching spacecraft that will relieve the crew of their operations. In their last hours on the planet, two astronauts go back to SITE 9, a cavernous valley on the surface of Mars, to collect further evidence of their discovery. But a routine excavation turns deadly when one of them falls to his death and his body taken host and re-animated by the very life form they sought to discover."

Cate Blanchett & Others Join The Hobbit

New Line/Warner Bros. has announced more cast members for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. Cate Blanchett will reprise her role of Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien. Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) will play wizard Radagast The Brown who had been rumored for role for months. Along with Mikael Persbrandt as shape-shifter Beorn, Ken Stott as the Dwarf Lord Balin, Lord of The Rings alum Jed Brophy will play Nori, newcomer Ryan Gage will be Drogo Baggins who is Frodo's father and William Kircher as Bifur.

The film also stars Martin Freeman, James Nesbitt, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton and Adam Brown. It's a decent mix of seasoned and new talent which could launch many future acting careers.

Peter Jackson Will Shoot The Hobbit With 3D & RED EPIC Cameras

There is some interesting technical information being released toady from the set of the The Hobbit. While director/writer/producer Peter Jackson was able to stomp out some serious issues that plagued the production for months. He's now starting to get ready to shoot the two films by choosing his cameras. There is word from Engadget that Jackson will shoot most of the film with 3D and will include the use of 30 Red EPIC Digital cameras. The RED digital format is beyond stunning on the big screen and could help boost the visuals of the films.

John Carpenter To Direct Darkchylde

Months back Weta Workshop (Lord of The Rings, King Kong, District 9, Avatar, Hobbit) posted test footage of their work on a Darkchylde adaption based on the popular comics. It looked like it was put together to help investors and directors commit to the project. The footage is somewhat promising but they didn't have a director at the time. Now ComicBookMovie has the official press release naming John Carpenter as the film's director. Carpenter is a legend in the world of horror making films like The Thing, Halloween, Escape From New York, Big Trouble In Little China, They Live, The Fog, Vampires, Starman, Prince of Darkness, Christine, In The Mouth of Madness, Assault On Precinct 13 and Ghosts of Mars.