'The Beatles Rock Band' Trailer...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Even though we're a movie website, there are certain things outside of that realm that are natural fits because of their pervasive influence on the rest of pop culture. So things like certain TV shows, comic books, and video games are usually part of the conversation, since there's so much crossover between all of them these days.

And because Rock Band is one of the biggest games in the world, we thought we'd show you the first trailer for The Beatles Rock Band. It's very cool, especially if you know some history of the band. More on that later. I'm amazed that Rock Band could afford all these songs; after all, I Am Sam went with cover versions because getting the original recordings were prohibitively expensive. So I guess Paul McCartney will get even more mailbox money, because, you know, he needs it.

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Winona Ryder Talks Up 'Heathers' Sequel

We reported back in March that the 1980s dark comedy classic, Heathers would be hitting the stage soon. Race to Witch Mountain director Andy Fickman has been developing a musical for quite a while, and it might show up regionally as soon as the end of the year, with Broadway being the ultimate goal.

And now, the 20-year talk of a sequel seems to be gaining traction again. Winona Ryder tells Empire that, "Whatever you hear, there is a sequel in the works, I swear to God." Usually, stars aren't that open about sequels that haven't received the green light, so it's interesting that Ryder is so adamant about it. But the filmmakers behind the remake aren't quite so emphatic, according to Winona.

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The Art of 'Up'

In what might be the most informative online article written about the movies this year, Lou Romano (formerly of Pixar) has shared many of the design concepts behind the studio's Up, currently the number one movie in the country and the best-reviewed film of 2009. People are always amazed at the quality of Pixar films, as if it's three guys drawing on cocktail napkins for a few months. Romano's work took three years, and he specifically credits nine other artists who helped define the look of the film.

Taking nothing away from the story - which for my money is the best part of the movie - Up certainly has a look. It's not the photorealism achieved with the robot in Wall-E, but that's clearly not the goal, as you can see in some of the artwork we've included here. Romano has about 60 images showing the progression of the film and its characters, and even some video from early stages in the production. As I said, we probably won't find a better article about the process of making movies all year, unless Martin Scorsese has kept a detailed journal of his Shutter Island production. So consider these the appetizers, and then look at Lou Romano's blog for the main course. Incidentally, you can click to enlarge any of these pieces.

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James Bond: Secret Agent, Frozen Treat

This little survey would have been truly weird no matter which way it went. Del Monte asked 1,000 British women to name the star they'd most like to see as a popcicle. And the man they'd most like to suck on - there's no way around that line, sorry - is Daniel Craig, the current James Bond.

Now, there are plenty of ways to render 007, but Del Monte has chosen to go shirtless for Bond, and I guess for being purple frozen water, it's a reasonable likeness. Creepy, perhaps even oogy, but I can tell who it's supposed to be.

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Bryan Singer Might Return to Comic Book Movies

Bryan Singer has directed comic book movies for both DC and Marvel, but it sounds like, if he was given a choice, he'd want to work for Marvel again, particularly the X-Men franchise.

Discussing the DVD release of Valkyrie with Total Film (via The Geek Files), Singer was reticent to even talk hypothetically about another Superman movie, but X-Men is a different story. "I'm eternally intertwined with X-Men now," Singer admits. "What takes an audience four hours to watch - the first two movies - took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it...It's a shame." But hope springs eternal: Singer is not opposed to helming the X-Men Origins: Magneto prequel, although that's really David Goyer's baby. Says the director of the first two X-Men movies, "The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto's history in the concentration camp, then I've lived in that world."

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