Half (2 out of 4) of JJ Abrams feature filmography as a director is dedicated to Star Trek, however he has admitted that when he was a kid, Star Wars was ‘more his thing.’ Even so, last month we reported that Abrams said he was not interested in helming the upcoming “Episode VII” Star Wars film (due out in 2015). Now, in a sidebar in the new issue of Empire Magazine, Abrams reveals more about how he was approached by Disney, and why he said ‘no’…

“There were the very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to Star Trek, and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t…

Yep, that’s Ellen McLain lending a perfectly replicated GLaDOS voice to the computer systems of Pacific Rim’s mega mechs. Someone—perhaps even del Toro himself—on the film crew is an avid Portal fan and decided McLain’s modulated tones jives perfectly with punching giant beasts in the face. Considering everyone’s favorite evil AI wouldn’t ever get caught actually helping humans, that’s an impressive feat.

I was right.

If you’ve been wondering how Carrie Underwood looks in a nun’s habit, you’ll find out soon enough: The “American Idol” winner, five-time Grammy winner and country superstar has been cast as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s upcoming live broadcast of “The Sound of Music,” the network announced Friday.  

“Speaking for everyone at NBC, we couldn’t be happier to have the gifted Carrie Underwood take up the mantle of the great Maria von Trapp,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt in a news release. “She was an iconic woman who will now be played by an iconic artist.”

Hmm. I’m not sure I…

Well this is somewhat surprising: “Planes,” the direct-to-video spin-off of Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” films, is now getting a wide theatrical release next summer. It will hit theaters on August 9^th, alongside Neill Blomkamp’s Matt Damon-led sci-fi extravaganza “Elysium” and “We’re the Millers,” a comedy starring Jason Sudeikis andJennifer Aniston that is being directed by “Dodgeball” helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber. “Planes” was originally supposed to debut on home video in the fall (a European theatrical release was always planned). The movie is either really, really good or must be tracking…

Universal’s been unambiguous about its desire to see a Snow White and the Huntsman 2, but it’s been less clear about the direction it wants that sequel to take. After the studio fast-tracked the follow-up in June, news broke in August that Snow White (Kristen Stewart) could but cut out of the equation altogether — only for the studio issue a denial and insist that they were still “exploring all options.”

Now it looks like they’ve finally made a decision. Stewart is following up last month’s comments about the “strong possibility” of her return with an actual confirmation.

...

“Oh,…

Jack Reacher is an above-average crime thriller with an effortlessly beguiling performance from Tom Cruise. At times it lacks compelling motivation, or sophisticated action, but for what it lacks it aims to replace with a good helping of drama, mystery, and a high body count.

“Jack Reacher has the distinction of being little more than it initially appears to be: a clumsily condensed mystery/thriller novel made into a movie that offers little more than every other clumsily condensed mystery/thriller novel made into a movie.” —James Berardinelli

Storyline

An innocent-looking brute…

The holidays are upon us! There’s Christmas in the air.

Between now and the 26th, the site is going to be pretty quiet. For me, I have an all day Christmas event at Church on Saturday, a big day of worship and a special service on Sunday, traveling on Monday, and a big family Christmas day on Tuesday.

I don’t know Joseph’s exact plans, but I know he will be busy with family and friends as well.

We’ll be back to a semi-normal schedule on Wednesday where we’ll post a few things, and of course, record The MovieByte Podcast live at 6:30 PM Central Time. We hope you’ll join us then.

In…

TJ wraps up the week with news of the ‘Jack Reacher’ red carpet premiere cancelation due to the Newtown shooting, as well as some irritation at the perceived pandering of Paramount over guns in the film later in the week, Anthony Pascale’s shot by shot analysis of the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ trailer, as well his his thoughts on the IMAX nine minute preview. Anthony also guested on ‘The MovieByte Podcast’ this week. We then move on to ‘The Smurfs 2’ trailer, which looks stupid, the filmography 2012 video, which is wonderfully edited, Cinema Sins’ ‘Everything Wrong with The Avengers in 3 Minutes’ video, the relaunch of Movieology as a podcast (be sure to check it out), TJ’s review of ‘The Hobbit’, Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in ‘Les Mis’, Dreamwork’s ‘Turbo’ trailer, which looks lackluster, and what to see this weekend. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

On this week’s episode of In the Queue TJ and Alex discuss the pilot episode of Revolution and it’s implications for the rest of the series. We also give a quick update on what’s new in the Netflix Instant catalog.

Join yours truly and Alex Arena as we talk about the Revolution pilot episode.

I’ve also taken over the editing and mastering of the show, I think you’ll like the audio quality better in this episode than the first episode. And I also found some cool show music! Check it out and let us know what you think! Also be sure to rate us in iTunes! It helps!

In the Queue on…