The Bearded Trio

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Final Trailer Hits The Web Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment have released the final trailer for J.A. Bayona's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom , the fifth installment of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park franchise. What's It All about? It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire...

Spielberg Set To Direct His First DC Universe Movie We have some breaking news tonight as we hear that Steven Spielberg is set to step into the realm of the DC Universe and direct Blackhawk.  What's more the screenplay will be by long time Spielberg collaborator, David Koepp. DC's Statement on the new Blackhawk Spielberg collaboration Here's what DC has to say on the amazing news: Fresh on the heels of Ready Player One (which features cameo appearances by Batman, Harley Quinn, Batgirl and more), Steven Spielberg is ready to dive into the DC Universe proper with Blackhawk, a just-announced feature film from Spielberg, Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures based on the classic DC series about a squadron of WWII-era pilots. Blackhawk, which Spielberg is hoping to direct, will be his first featured centered around characters from the DC Universe. In announcing the film, Warner Bros. Pictures Group Chairman Toby Emmerich said, “We are so proud to be the s...

Don’t miss the start of the Kieron Gillen’s biggest Star Wars story ever in comics! After building their forces in complete secrecy, the Rebel Fleet is finally ready. But how long will they be able to stay hidden from the dark clutches of the Empire – and Darth Vader himself? Star Wars fans won’t want to miss series writer Kieron Gillen’s epic landmark issue where all may be lost…and all hope may die! “When I was asked to take over the book, having a big story for the magical issue #50 was very much in my goals,” said Gillen. “As such, I've spent the first twelve issues building up to this, which is basically the biggest story I've told in Star Wars. It's an event-level tragedy on an epic scale, and it’s designed as the key bridging piece between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. I also haven't written Darth Vader in ages, so now's the time to start having my lightsaber fun again!” Since the comic’s launch in 2015, fans have followed the legendary journey ...

MAD Magazine Relaunch Includes All New Digital Offerings Including an Official Twitch Channel and THE MAD PODCAST! We've featured a number of iconic MAD magazine covers on this site over the years that featured a Steven Spielberg or George Lucas movie.  Who can forget the Close Encounters parody cover or the various Star Wars ones in the instantly recognisable MAD style?  Well the mad MAD magazine is back. The Relaunch In celebration of the relaunch of MAD Magazine and today’s debut of a new issue no. 1, America’s #1 humor magazine is revealing a new kind of MAD-ness with its first-ever digital channel debuting April 20 on Twitch at twitch.tv/madmagazine . The iconic brand will also extend its digital presence with The MAD Podcast!, an all-new bi-monthly series launching this summer on iTunes, Stitcher and the newly improved MAD blog. Available on newsstands and via digital download today, the June 2018 issue of MAD Magazinemarks a fresh look for the fan-favori...

Steven Spielberg Has Brought In A Gross Total Of $10bn at the Worldwide Box Office Ready Player One has reached $475m at the worldwide box office and thanks to this number it sees Steven Spielberg directed movies pushed over the overall ten billion dollars at the worldwide box office.  This of course means that all his movies combined over the decades see Spielberg the first director to achieve this dizzying high number.  His closest rivals are Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), James Cameron (Avatar) and Michael Bay (Transformers) who all sit around the $6bn mark. Steven Spielberg has said in a previous interview that he isn't that concerned for box office takings especially these days when it comes to his movies and doesn't look back.  'I make movies and I work a lot and I look forward all the time. I don't often look back' Spielberg said.  His recent movies such as Lincoln and The Post were made by Spielberg because he wanted to make them.  Spielberg sa...

ISLE OF DOGS Starring the voices of Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton,  Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum,  Bob Balaban,  Kunuchi Nomura, Greta Gerwig Frances McDormand, Fisher Stevens, Lieve Scrieber, Courtney B. Vance,  Harvey Keitel, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton Story by Wes Anderson Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Kunichi Nomura Screenplay by Wes Anderson Directed by Wes Anderson Out of Four The first thing one has to know about Isle of Dogs is that it is a Wes Anderson film, because if you happen to really dislike Anderson's films, this is really not going to be for you. If you have not ever seen one and have now frame of reference, there's very little that can be done to prepare you for what to expect: this movie is as off-beat as a semi-mainstream animated film can possibly get, and while it's not necessarily inappropriate for kids, it is not aimed at little ones and features some intensity and disturbing moments that may be too much for them. I...

Making of Featurette from 1977 is a must watch for Star Wars fans This 'making of' feature from 1977 originally featured on the LaserDisc and thanks to YouTube we can now watch it whenever we want.  It really is full of retro goodness and is an interesting watch.  Because it's from 1977 the cast including George Lucas don't really realise how big this movie is going to be and seeing them trying to explain the movie and certain scenes is rather amusing. The documentary is narrated by William Conrad, with appearances by Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and of George Lucas to name a few. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Clapperboard The Empire Strikes Back Special from 1980 was guaranteed to be discussed the next day in the school playground If you are of a certain age (in your forties) and grew up in the UK then you may remember a show from the late 70's and early 80's called Clapperboard.  It was hosted by Chris Kelly and was movie themed.  I remember watching this show as a kid with the hope of getting a new clip to an upcoming cinema release.  Remember, these were the days before instant information so here in the UK with out three TV channels, any news on Star Wars for example was grabbed with both hands. Imagine my excitement when a whole show of Clapperboard was dedicated to Star Wars?  Well this particular episode which was originally broadcast in 1980 was 25 minutes of Star Wars behind the scenes magic. It was filmed during the Empire Strikes Back exhibition at Selfridges in London (a further exhibition was held at Harrods for Return Of The Jedi in 1983). Interviewe...

Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions, wins the BAFTA Games Fellowship Award at the BAFTA Games Awards 2018. Ex-Lucasarts genius, Tim Schafer  accepted the BAFTA Games Fellowship Award on Thursday in London.  Tim brought us classics such as Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle to name a few.  Schafer said: “It’s kind of bewildering,” he says modestly, “because there’s nothing quite like this in America. It’s not like just being awarded with something, more like being welcomed into something. I enjoy that feeling.” Tim Schafer founded Double Find Productions which has brought us fine games such as The Cave and Broken Age. On the night, Giant Sparrow's What Remains of Edith Finch was crowned Best Game while Hell Blade picked up five awards.  List of winners are: Best Game: What Remains of Edith Finch Original Property: Horizon Zero Dawn Music: Cuphead Game Design: Super Mario Odyssey Evolving Game: Overwatch Narrative: Ni...

The Barry Norman Student Bursary has been launched today as a fitting legacy to esteemed broadcaster and journalist Barry Norman.  It has been established to provide financial support into education for those who wish to follow in his footsteps and seeking a career in media, journalism or film. The Barry Norman Bursary will offer a grant of £2000 which will be jointly funded by the Barry Norman family and from sales of Barry Norman Pickled Onions which are sold in Waitrose, Tesco and Ocado. Students who have a conditional or unconditional offer to study on a relevant course within film, radio, broadcasting, television or journalism are invited to enter. To apply, a submission piece must be made, the creativity of which is up to the candidate but they must show a passion for the industry, have a financial need and an offer to undertake either a BA or MA course in 2018. Applications must be made by 15th June 2018. A panel of judges, which will include Barry Norman’s own ...

Exciting New Star Wars Themed Ad From Renault Has Chewbacca and The Millennium Falcon Protecting Their Kadjar Car Renault have launched a new advertising campaign that features the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story .  The commercial features the Renault KADJAR which is a rather nice looking SUV (or 4 by 4 if you live in the UK.) The advert is full of Star Wars and this particular one is part of their "Alternative Road" promotion.  A mother and her son are being chased by Cloud Riders so Chewbacca is on hand to protect them.  The Millennium Falcon sweeps in to help with the protection of the Renault Kadjar. Also, to back up this new partnership between Renault and Lucasfilm, the French company are offering customers in Europe a go on a VR unit where you can witness new scenes with Han and Chewie. Renault have this to say about their new advert: "we'll find out how taking the alternative road led Han Solo to meet his mighty future co-pilot, Chewbacca. Now, t...

Ready Player One Hits $400 Million At The Box Office Last week we reported Ready Player One had hit $300 million at the box office in its first week of release.  Well the Steven Spielberg directed movie based on Ernest Cline's novel is still taking the box office by storm. The Warner Bros. release has now taken $398 million at the box office worldwide and domestic sales (U.S.) sees the movie breaking the $100 million mark.  These figures don't include Monday and Tuesday sales which when added will most definitely see Ready Player One over $400 million at the box office.  This is after only two weeks, so with at least another week on release we are likely going to see it close to taking half a billion dollars at the box office.  Not a bad run and it will see the first Steven Spielberg movie since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008 to hit the half a billion mark.  That movie took $786 million worldwide with a budget of $185 million....

John Williams Scores Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  Watch In 360 VR. Join John Williams and Rian Johnson in this fully immersive experience that puts you on the set of The Last Jedi, and inside the scoring stage with Williams and the 100+ piece orchestra as they record the score for the film, all while surrounding you in stunning 360 VR. No extra hardware is required.  Just watch the video and while holding down your mouse move the cursor from left to right to see the full panoramic view. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now available on Digital, Blu-ray and 4K UHD: http://di.sn/6000Dnsak . Soundtrack available now: http://disneymusic.co/TheLastJediWS The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Ready Player One Music Video With Plenty Of Lucasarts Gunship have released a new video and it tells the story of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One in five minutes.  What makes it extra special is that the whole video is done in the style of a classic point and click adventure game, in particular a Lucasarts SCUMM™   adventure.  This has become one of my favourite music videos of all time.  The song that accompanies is perfect and has a sense of Ready Player One intrigue about it. Seriously though, how good would a Ready Player One adventure game be?  I could think of two ways this could be done.  The first would be in classic style, so keeping the retro theme just like in the music video.  Tim Schafer are you listening?  The second way would be an episodic adventure in the style of TellTale Games.  After all, you can do anything and be anyone in The Oasis so why not have each episode with a different character, story and scenario? ...

Collections Celebrate Beloved Characters and New Adventures from the Next Standalone Star Wars Film As fans around the world count down to Solo: A Star Wars Story’s debut on May 25, Lucasfilm today unveiled product collections inspired by the highly-anticipated Star Wars film. The cross-category assortment spans action figures, role-play products, apparel and more that take inspiration from the upcoming movie, with comic and book titles launching in May. “The latest Star Wars adventure celebrates iconic characters like Han Solo and Chewbacca, and introduces a host of new heroes,” said Paul Gainer, head of Global Product Management and Distribution, Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products. “Through innovative toy features and product experiences, our SOLO collection brings this new story to life for fans and families around the world.”  Retailers in the U.S. including  Walmart ,  Amazon , and  shopDisney.com  will host pre-orders for select...

On top of the exciting release of the trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story , we also have the reveal of the official theatrical poster. Check it out below! Source: StarWars.com The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

A new trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story Has Arrived Here it is! The official full-length trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story has finally arrived! Filled with humor and adventure, the new trailer gives us a fresh look at the main characters, plus glimpses of ones not seen before in the previous teasers. Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany. Ron Howard directs “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shea...

Ready Player One Is Spielberg's First Movie Since Tintin To Reach $300M Ready Player One is taking the cinema box office by storm and has reached $300 million in its first week.  Warner Bros. will be pleased.  China has falling in love with Ready Player One with takings sitting at $143 million, that's almost half of the takings overall making the movie Warner's best performing movie in that part of the world. Ready Player One is currently Spielberg's best performing movie since The Adventures of Tintin in 2011.  That movie took $374 million worldwide and Ready Player One is knocking on that door in just one week.  Here's the box office numbers for Spielberg directed movies since 2008: The Post - $169m The BFG - $183m Bridge of Spies $165m Lincoln - $275m War Horse - $177m Tintin - $374m Crystal Skull - $787m The encouraging numbers for Ready Player One will make the sequel that author of Ready Player One, Ernest Cline spoke about in a previous inte...

A QUIET PLACE Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward Screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinky Directed by John Krazinksi Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs Out Of Four To start off with an irrelevant tangent (because I love a good irrelevant tangent), I'm a big fan of finding silly, obscure connections in movies. I'm also a big  Jack Ryan fan, the following are some bits of trivia that amuse me: The first two actors to play Tom Clancy's  famous CIA analyst (Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford) appeared together in Mike Nichols Working Girl. Alec Baldwin and the fourth Jack, Chris Pine, voiced Santa Claus and Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians.  Wonder Woman seems to have a Jack Ryan fixation (you can figure that one out for yourself.). Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) also has one, having co-written films with Ben Affleck and the fifth (wow, there have really been five?) Ryan, John Krasinski. ...