Doctor Who: "Deep Breath" Plot Synopsis & 2014 Christmas Special Director Revealed

Source: Metro

It's (almost) time you knew the Twelfth Doctor!
With each passing day, the eighth season of the BBC's hit science-fiction drama Doctor Who nears ever closer and the volume of news preceding its launch increases tenfold. Today it's the turn of the BBC Press Office and Caroline Cornish Management to go under the radar, the former of whom unveiled the official plot synopsis for the first episode of the new run, "Deep Breath", on Thursday and the latter of whom claims to have uncovered the identity of the director of this year's Christmas Special.

The info in question is all here and (as any true Whovian will already have ascertained) unmissable; in other words, it's high time (and space, of course - we won't have anyone calling us dimensionally biased) you read it...

• "DEEP BREATH" PLOT SYNOPSIS RELEASED - As promised, here's the BBC's official précis for Season Eight's opening instalment (which, in case readers hadn't heard, is airing both on BBC One and in UK cinemas nationwide in thirteen days' time) in its entirety: "When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London, he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions. Who is the new Doctor and will Clara's friendship survive as they embark on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy? The Doctor has changed. It's time you knew him."
• 2014 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL DIRECTOR REVEALED? - Much as we'd like to openly dub IMDb as a wholly credible news source, honestly, it tends to be sketchy at best. Thankfully, the aforementioned news of who'll helm the annual Doctor Who festive special this December doesn't come from them, deriving instead from the online CV of Paul Wilmshurst (obtained by news outlets such as ours via Caroline Cornish Management). Best known for his work on the UK drama Strike Back, Wilmshurst (who hasn't officially confirmed or denied the news as of yet) also directed both the seventh and eighth episodes of Who's new series (reportedly titled "Kill the Moon" and "Mummy on the Orient Express" and written by Peter Harness and Jamie Mathieson respectively), which indicates that either Steven Moffat or one of his fellow execs deemed the quality of his initial efforts to be so great that he warranted an immediate reprieve. Stay tuned for more details on the Twelfth Doctor's first full Christmas adventure as we move closer to Season Eight's climax in November!

Doctor Who will return with a new series of action-packed time-travelling escapades this August 23rd on BBC One, BBC America and in cinemas worldwide.

New Doctor Who DVDs, Production Details & Plot Teasers Announced

Source: BBC Shop

August 23rd marks the first day of the reign of Peter Capaldi. Are you ready?
BBC Worldwide and executive producer Steven Moffat have today announced details on upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray releases and the production of the eighth season of their hit science-fiction drama Doctor Who. The show's cast and crew kicked off their globe-spanning marketing event The World Tour in Cardiff this morning, confirming a host of rumours surrounding the future of the programme (both in televisual and retail form) during a range of interviews with entertainment media correspondents and the hordes of fans who queued diligently for a seat at the subsequent première screening of the new series' opening episode, "Deep Breath".

Much of the news contained within this article comes direct from the horse better known as Steven Moffat's mouth and can therefore be summarized via the bullet-point list of comments which readers will see below. Before that, though, we're now able to confirm (thanks to a promotional email submitted to On-Screen by BBC Shop earlier today) that "Deep Breath" will be released as a standalone title on DVD (for an RRP of £9.99) and Blu-Ray (£11.49) this September 8th. Although the dedicated Whovians amongst our readership will surely wait out the superior The Complete Eighth Series box-set (due to hit stores this November), that the "Deep Breath" vanilla package will feature the 10-minute behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the episode's production that is due to air as part of its upcoming cinema screenings (along with a 5-minute prequel and a live Q&A session streamed direct from Leicester Square) should be more than enough of a lure to convince some members of the fandom to part with a tenner or more (depending on where and when they shop, of course).

Now let's move onto the meat of today's updates on Doctor Who's future, namely the hints which the Moff provided at the first in a number of international events scheduled to comprise the so-called World Tour. Once you've gained a firm hold on a substantial pinch of salt in one hand (this is the Master of Deception who assured us that no classic Doctors whatsoever would appear in "The Day of the Doctor, after all), read on to discover what's (possibly) next for the Beeb's most acclaimed TV series to date (and after that, be sure to check out Lizo Mzimba's report on the Cardiff screening, which features new footage aplenty from Season Eight, below the text):

• ON THE GROWING SUCCESS OF DOCTOR WHO SINCE ITS REVIVAL - "Russell [T Davies, Doctor Who's show-runner between 2005 and January 2010] said 'we could get 10 years out of this'. None of us could imagine that nearly ten years later it would be getting a bigger and bigger reaction every year. So that's just phenomenal, absolutely amazing. It's terrifying, but dear God I will miss these days when I'm back on BBC 28."
• ON NEW TARDIS CREW MEMBER DANNY PINK - "[He's] our secret weapon!"
• ON THE 2014 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - "We're not letting [lead stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman] off the hook because they're going to be doing the two premières [the latter of which took place in London this evening] today, then they're going off on the World Tour, then they're coming back to shoot Christmas. There's no let-up, not when you're on this show!"
• ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - "We've only just done the 50th! After the huge fuss over 50 years of Doctor Who, I think it's time to settle down and move forwards. So we're not planning that...unless I'm lying."
• PETER CAPALDI ON THE DOCTOR'S LATEST CHARACTER ARC - "You'll see the Doctor struggle with who he is and whether the morality he cleaves to is an accurate representation of his spirit."

Doctor Who will return with its feature-length season opener, "Deep Breath", on BBC One and in cinemas worldwide this August 23rd.

Warner Bros. 2015-2020 Superhero Film Release Dates Announced

Source: Screenrant

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's revised launch date is just the beginning!
Warner Bros. Pictures have today announced an alteration in the release schedule of their upcoming superhero crossover film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as official launch windows for not one, not two, but nine new films based on DC Entertainment properties coming to cinemas between 2015 and 2020.

Before we reveal the aforementioned, hugely ambitious release schedule in its entirety, let's first momentarily analyse the Dawn of Justice update. It's all too easy to forget that here in the UK, Dawn's release date was already shifted to April 29th, 2016 so as for Warner Bros. to avoid it clashing with the domestic première of Captain America 3 on May 6th that year, yet by moving Dawn forward to March, the studio has taken a bold step in their campaign to secure and capitalize on the project's box office potential. Given that Prometheus 2 is the only other major blockbuster due to launch that month, it seems a fairly safe assumption that the much-anticipated Justice League of America prequel will dominate both the domestic and Stateside box offices right from the outset.

When it comes to ambitious moves, though, Warner has far bigger fish to fry, as evidenced by their acquisition of almost ten key release dates for further as-of-yet-untitled DC superhero movies (Shazam, Justice League of America and Man of Steel 2 likely amongst them). Will their increasingly desperate attempts at kick-starting a fully-fledged DC Cinematic Universe pay off? Until we've witnessed Dawn in a year and a half's time, passing informed judgement on the matter is challenging to say the least, but what we are able to assert at this juncture is that for all its faults, Man of Steel demonstrated more potential as the foundation for an enlarged narrative continuity in its opening sequences than Superman Returns or its classic predecessors ever achieved. If nothing else, we can't fault the studio's sheer audacity in confirming these dates so far in advance, even if using the adjective 'risky' to describe this multi-tiered slate of blockbusters would represent the understatement of the year. Here's the full release schedule for Warner Bros.' upcoming superhero films as it currently stands:

• BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE - March 25th, 2016
• TBC DC FILM - August 5th, 2017
• TBC DC FILM - June 23rd, 2017
• TBC DC FILM - November 17th, 2017
• TBC DC FILM - March 23rd, 2018
• TBC DC FILM - July 27th, 2018
• TBC DC FILM - April 5th, 2019
• TBC DC FILM - June 14th, 2019
• TBC DC FILM - April 3rd, 2020
• TBC DC FILM - June 19th, 2020

Keep it locked at On-Screen for all the latest details on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the future of the DC Cinematic Universe and of the superhero genre as a whole!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Extended Edition Promotional Clip Released

Source: Hypable

Home is behind, the world...well, fans know the drill by now.
Warner Bros. Pictures have today released the first official footage from their upcoming retail-exclusive motion picture The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Extended Edition via a promotional video. As its name suggests, Desolation - Extended Edition will beef up the running time of the original cut of the second instalment in Peter Jackson's controversial trilogy of Hobbit film adaptations by 25 minutes, bringing the revised running time to a total of over three hours (186 minutes, to be specific).

Those intending to press 'Play' below might first be well advised to level their expectations, since there's little to be gleaned from the clip that can broaden our understanding of the increasingly dense mythology of Middle-Earth to any substantial degree. Regardless, even if it's lacking in purposeful content, the video does maintain the prequel trilogy's tendency to prioritize humorous over dramatically stirring set-pieces, not least as much of its brief play-time is spent depicting Bilbo's somewhat comedic struggle to navigate the not-so-sturdy vines and in doing so avoid the sinister clutches of the mysterious lake which confronts the Company of Dwarves. A potent teaser for the Extended Edition retail re-release this clip mightn't be, yet with extras such as The Appendices - Parts IX and X bringing the running time of the multi-disc set's VAM (Value Added Materials) to more than nine hours, that won't likely deter Hobbit diehards from purchasing the much-vaunted compilation (or the inevitable trilogy of Hobbit Extended Editions which is sure to follow soon after The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies launches).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Extended Edition will be available in all good DVD and Blu-Ray retailers from November 3rd and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will follow suit by waging war in UK cinemas nationwide this December 12th.

Life on the Road Announced

Source: Collider

You wanted more David Brent? Well, you've most certainly got more David Brent!
BBC Films have this week announced that Life on the Road, a new motion picture written and directed by British comedy icon Ricky Gervais, will enter production in 2015. Branded as a cinematic spin-off from the Beeb's hit business-themed TV series The Office, the film is all but guaranteed to star Gervais as well, since its central protagonist is none other than David Brent.

Chances are - if the character's recent flawed attempts at kick-starting a musical career in the Comic Relief telethon and various YouTube sketches are any indication, at least - that Brent's fortunes won't be particularly notable in Life's early stages. Whereas most screenplay writers would envision this downbeat starting point as a prime opportunity to depict a rags-to-riches narrative, though, part of what makes Gervais' projects (both televisual and cinematic) so damn refreshing is their enduring dedication to subverting our expectations, a trait which we truly hope will carry through to this long-awaited continuation.

As a worthy substitution for casting and/or concrete production details, BBC Films have even unveiled the first plot synopsis for Life. The tantalising précis reads as follows: "We find out what Brent is doing now and what's happened in the last 15 years since his redundancy from his beloved Wernham Hogg [the Slough-based company by which Brent was originally employed in The Office]. He's a sales rep now, selling cleaning products up and down the country, but has never really given up on his dream of being a rock star. Brent is followed on his self-financed UK tour. [...] He [eventually] has to take a few weeks off work and cash in a couple of pensions because the session musicians in the band are costing him more than he's getting in ticket sales. Tragic."

Stay tuned to On-Screen for more details on Life of the Road's production and release schedule as they arrive on the web in the coming months!

Terminator: Genisys Announced

Source: Superhero Hype

Is it just us, or have we finally found a clear victor for this year's most-likely-to-be-misspelled film title?
Lead star Arnold Schwarzenegger has today revealed the official title for the fifth instalment in Paramount Pictures' long-running Terminator film franchise. Starring Arnie, Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke (as Sarah Connor, no less!), The Great Gatsby's Jason Clarke (here playing John Connor) and even Doctor Who's Matt Smith (in a TBC role), the increasingly divisive follow-up to 2010's Terminator: Salvation will effectively reboot the series' increasingly convoluted narrative continuity, although Paramount are keeping their lips firmly sealed with regards to the extent of the aforementioned retcon and its implications for future instalments in the planned trilogy.

Whilst it would initially have seemed safe to assume that the beloved star who first uttered the immortal words "I'll be back" (and who'll appear in The Expendables 3 later this month) just fell prey to a Freudian slip in the process of writing his latest Instagam photo description (the accompanying image for which can be seen above), that the pic in question featured Arnie stretching out on-set on a chair which visibly displays the movie's official logo all but confirms that Terminator: Genisys is what we're getting next year, whether we like it or not. The actor's Instagram post also revealed that shooting on the project has now concluded, so keep it On-Screen in the next few weeks, as a teaser trailer or (at the very least) promotional images definitely aren't out of the question at this stage in the production process.

Terminator: Genisys will travel back in time to land in cinemas worldwide on July 1st, 2015.

Alice In Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass Plot Synopsis & Production Details Released

Source: High Def Disc News

Have you ever wondered just who the Mad Hatter's father is? Disney certainly hopes so...
Walt Disney Pictures have this week announced details on the production and narrative of their upcoming fantasy film Alice In Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass. A loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1871 children's novel Through the Looking Glass, the long-awaited sequel to 2010's Alice In Wonderland will see Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter reprise their roles as Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Queen and the Red Queen respectively.

The star talent doesn't end there by any stretch of the imagination, however. Detailing the mighty cast ensemble in their first official press release for Looking Glass, the studio reveal that Sacha Baron Cohen (Les Miserables; The Dictator) will portray Time in the follow-up, whilst Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1) will play the Mad Hatter's father, Ed Speelers (Eragon) will play James Harcourt and Toby Jones (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Doctor Who ("Amy's Choice")) will voice the enigmatic Wilkins. As if all of this info weren't enough to raise our anticipation considerably for an otherwise needless successor to a mediocre motion picture, we've even been graced with the first (admittedly brief) plot synopsis too: "[Through the Looking Glass] revisits Lewis Carroll's beloved stories with an all-new tale that travels back to Underland - and back in Time." Stay tuned to On-Screen for more details on Through the Looking Glass' production schedule and box office potential as they land on the interwebs!

Alice In Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass will leap through the rabbit hole and onto the big-screen in cinemas worldwide on May 27th, 2016.