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B eloved by worldwide audiences for her performance as the feisty Kate in the Fox TV’s acclaimed mystery series “ Lost ” for which she earned a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination, Canada’s Evangeline Lilly now stars in a Silvan Elf, Tauriel, in Peter Jackson’s “ The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug .” Daughter of Mirkwood, Tauriel is as deadly as she is beautiful. A favorite of King Thranduil (Lee Pace) and Captain of the Woodland Guard, her job is to follow the orders of the King without question. However, Tauriel has a strong will and unyielding passion for what she believes is right. An expert fighter, she carries signature weapons including twin daggers and a bow and arrow. Like Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Tauriel is extremely fast and agile in battle. Although she has lived for many hundreds of years in Middle-earth, she remains one of the youngest of the Elven folk, and has rarely ventured beyond the borders of the great forest.

H e made a huge impression as the Dwarf Prince, Thorin Oakenshield in last year's “ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey .” Now, Richard Armitage returns to play the same character in the highly anticipated sequel, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” As a young Dwarf Prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. When no one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile. Now, as the strong, fearless fighter and respected leader of The Company of Dwarves, Thorin is determined to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that brought such misery upon his people.

A cclaimed Emmy®-winning director Alan Taylor , known for his work on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” brings his style and love of “epic language” to Marvel’s “ Thor: The Dark World .” Taylor admits he was excited by the prospect of helming the film, saying, “I’d come to love having one foot in reality and one foot in fantasy. All of those things were coming together in this. Thor is a unique Super Hero because he carries so much weight of history and he carries a mythology. Those things gave him the kind of stature that I found exciting.” From the beginning of his involvement, Taylor was keen on grounding the film in a sense of reality as the story takes place not only on Earth but on Asgard and other worlds of the Nine Realms as well. It was important for the director to never let the film depart from feeling both real and emotionally connected. “We’re making a big effort to ground it in a sense of ‘history,’ despite the fact that it is a made up world, “ explains Taylor. “It was impor...

T wo-time Academy Award-nominee Robert Downey Jr. returns as eccentric genius, billionaire, philanthropist Tony Stark aka the armored super hero known as Iron Man, in Marvel's new action adventure “ Iron Man 3 .” Decompressing from his heroic, near-self-sacrificial action saved New York City from annihilation (in “Marvel's The Avengers”), Tony now finds himself unable to sleep and plagued by worry and trepidation. When his world is destroyed and those closest to him threatened, Tony must find a way to save them—and in the process find himself again.

I n the new James Bond 007 adventure “ Skyfall ,” two Bond women complicate matters for the British super spy. They are played by Naomie Harris (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest”) and French actress Berenice Marlohe . Daniel Craig who plays Bond says “We’ve just been blessed with a terrific cast. The casting of the girls: Naomie and Bérénice – finding two exceptionally beautiful women who are very serious actresses and who are intelligent and work hard. For me, it has been a joy.”

C olumbia Pictures' 3D action-thriller “ Resident Evil: Retribution ,” the fifth installment of the wildly successful film franchise adaptation of the popular video game series, has been rated PG-13 Without Cuts by the Movie and Television Review & Classification Board (MTRCB). The MTRCB recommended an additional advisory: “The movie contains violence that may not be suitable for young viewers. Strict parental guidance is advised.”

W arner Bros. Pictures screened approximately 10 minutes of never-before-seen footage from New Line Cinema and MGM’s upcoming epic “ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ,” which showcased the filmmaking innovation of 48 frames-per-second (fps), doubling the typical frame rate of 24 fps. The footage was part of the studio’s presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). The film, slated for worldwide release beginning December 14, 2012, is the first major motion picture to be made using this state-of-the art high-frame-rate technology.

W arner Bros. has just unveiled the one-sheet and banner artworks for its upcoming animated spectacle, “Happy Feet 2”! The sequel to “Happy Feet,” the Academy Award®-winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. In the film, Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven—a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model.

H e was most recently seen as Young Thor opposite Anthony Hopkins in the Marvel Studios hit “Thor,” directed by Kenneth Branagh. Now, 11-year-old actor Dakota Goyo stars in DreamWorks Pictures' action-adventure “Real Steel” as Hugh Jackman's precocious son, Max. “Real Steel” revolves around Charlie Kenton (Jackman), a washed-up boxer in the near-future who, because his sport has been taken over by 8-foot steel robots, now lives in a world where he doesn’t fit in. With no fights and no prospects, he is forced to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter. He earns just enough money to survive by piecing together low-end “bots” and traveling from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next for whatever prizefight he can wrangle for his automatons. Just when things can’t become any more desperate and complicated, his estranged 10-year-old son Max suddenly and unwillingly comes back into his life.

Action superstar Hugh Jackman stars in DreamWorks Pictures' “ Real Steel ” as Charlie, a washed-up boxer in the near-future who, because his sport has been taken over by 8-foot steel robots, now lives in a world where he doesn’t fit in. With no fights and no prospects, he is forced to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter. He earns just enough money to survive by piecing together low-end “bots” and traveling from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next for whatever prizefight he can wrangle for his automatons. Just when things can’t become any more desperate and complicated, his estranged 10-year-old son Max (Dakota Goyo) suddenly and unwillingly comes back into his life.

S She made her mark with a breakout stint in the wildly popular TV series, “Lost.” Now, Evangeline Lilly is set to captivate big-screen audiences as she stars opposite Hugh Jackman in DreamWorks Pictures’ futuristic action-adventure “Real Steel.” In this gritty, white-knuckle action ride, Jackman stars as Charlie Kenton, a washed‐up boxer in the near-future who, because his sport has been taken over by 8-foot steel robots, now lives in a world where he doesn’t fit in. With no fights and no prospects, Charlie is forced to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter. He earns just enough money to survive by piecing together low-end “bots” and traveling from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next for whatever prizefight he can wrangle for his automatons. Just when things can’t become any more desperate and complicated, his estranged 10-year-old son Max (Dakota Goyo) suddenly and unwillingly comes back into his life.

A s the opening of the action-adventure “Real Steel” approaches, DreamWorks Pictures shares some interesting fun trivia surrounding the film and its creation. Set in the near future, where robots have replaced boxers in the ring, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a financially strapped, risk-taking former boxer who now makes his living on an underworld robot boxing circuit, operating the metal pugilists that made his human profession obsolete.

C onsidered one of Britain’s finest actors, Jude Law stars as an enterprising journalist who has an agenda of his own, in Warner Bros.' new, gripping thriller “Contagion” from director Steven Soderbergh. “ Contagion ” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

W arner Bros.’ global thriller “Contagion” features three of today’s most admired women in cinema, Oscar-winners all: Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard. “ Contagion ” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

I nternational espionage. Global racing. Friendship. Each theme was to play a role in Disney/Pixar's new animated adventure “ Cars 2 ,” and co-director Brad Lewis, screenwriter Ben Queen and the Pixar story team, were charged with finding just the right mix for the story. In the film, star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson ) and his best friend, the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy), jump-start a new adventure to exotic new lands stretching across the globe.

A t the end of his decade-long journey playing Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe shares a sense of gratitude and pride as he, together with the cast and crew, brings the historic film series to a close in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” Radcliffe reflects, “I know I’ll never see a frame of these films that I don’t connect immediately to a memory of a place or a time or a person. Even now I can’t fully express how important it’s been to me, but I can say it was a great time and it’s something I will never be able to recreate.”

I n celebration of their recent Oscar® win for Best Animated Feature, Woody, Buzz and the rest of the “ Toy Story 3 ” gang head to the big screen again in “Hawaiian Vacation,” a 3D animated short directed by seven-time Academy Award®-winner Gary Rydstrom.

S he first played Hermione in the “Harry Potter” film series at age nine. Eleven years and eight movies later, with the final one, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” showing in July, Emma Watson is ready to close that chapter in her life. Or is she? Find out in the following interview. Question: How are you feeling now that the films are coming to a close? Are you nostalgic?

D irector David Yates lets us in on his thoughts and process while making “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” the penultimate chapter of the mega blockbuster franchise. As well as his plans after its release. Clue: A vacation from wizards is in the offing. Question: With the characters and the actors now older, and this being the final film, did you find that it was a lot different than working this time than before?

D isney/Pixar has just revealed the international pay-off poster of its highly-awaited animated feature “Cars 2” which you can see here. In the film, star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car.