Since it was announced that Anne Hathaway had been cast as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises, the internet has been asking, “Okay, she’s been cast as Selina Kyle, but will she be Catwoman?” Well, Bleeding Cool‘s Brendon Connelly was able to ask Wally Pfister – Nolan’s cinematographer – a few questions about the beautiful Ms. Hathaway and may have been led to answer a few telling questions:

Talking of the screentests, Kevin asked:

“So, Wally you shot Anne’s screen test for Catwoman?”

To which he replied in the affirmative. That’s a yes to Kevin saying “Catwoman”, not “Selina Kyle”. Hmmm.

Pfister added, a little later:

“She looks phenomenal in the wardrobe.”

I couldn’t let that lie. Later, I came back to it and asked if this meant what it seems to mean:

“Brendon, I’d get fired and I wouldn’t even get to shoot the picture… I can’t really say, but I definitely want to be around next year…”

So, did Pfister let the cat out of the bag (PUN!)? In my opinion, this seems to be awfully telling that we may get to see Anne Hathaway suit up as Catwoman, but as with any of these cryptic interview answers we can never be too sure – especially with a Nolan film . . .

The Dark Knight Rises is slated for a Summer release next year and Chistopher Nolan has stated he plans to start shooting in about 12 weeks!

So what do you think? Is this at least semi-confirmation that we are indeed going to see Catwoman in Nolan’s third and final Batman installment? Sound off in the comments!

The winner for Superhero of the Month‘s January contest to redesign Black Cat has been chosen! Above you can see the winning piece by artist “YestherDey” who won a collection of Black Cat comics courtesy of Dan’s Comics!

You can head on over to ShotM and check out all of the submitted work for January’s Black Cat contest and get the low down on February’s contest: Harley Quinn! I’ve mentioned it before here on BSR! and I’ll mention it again, if you aren’t checking ShotM regularly you’re missing out on some great original takes on classic comic book heroes and villains (and just some really good art in general)! So add them to your bookmarks, and find them on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date!

We’re back with another episode of The Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast!

The podcast features the stars and producers of The Big Movie Mouth-Off film review show, which appears here at Big Shiny Robot! and on Xfinity (Utah On Demand and Channel 6).  That lineup is: Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment, Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine, and Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

To download the latest episode from iTunes, follow this link .

There, you should rate and subscribe to the podcast.

This week, we talked about:

• Oscar nominations
• Razzie nominations
• The downfall of the MPAA

Listen! Let us know what you think! Spread the word!

With last week’s episode setting the bar for The Clone Wars. The dialogue here seems ripped from every corner of Palpatine’s movie dialogue and I couldn’t love it more.

This is going to be an interesting series of episodes and I love the places they’re going.

The pervasive feeling from the entire last episode and from this clip of this one is that unsettling feeling of the Domain of Evil scenes from The Empire Strikes Back. Let’s see if they can knock this one out of the park, too.

From the press release:

Before the Jedi can leave Mortis, Ahsoka Tano is taken captive in an attempt to entice Anakin Skywalker to join the dark side. Meanwhile, the mysterious Father tries to prevent a disastrous showdown between his children which would upset the increasingly precarious balance of the Force. Two potential destinies become clear in “Altar of Mortis,” the second chapter of a three-part Clone Wars storyline – airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Friday, February 4 on Cartoon Network.

No stranger to the Star Wars universe, Sam Witwer has previously given his likeness and his voice to Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed videogame series. Witwer returns to “a galaxy far, far away” to portray the Force-powered Son in The Clone Wars – and while his Starkiller embarked upon a journey of redemption, Witwer is finally able to give himself fully to the dark side.

“The character of the Son has very similar motivations [to the Emperor],” says Witwer, “You have the Son, who’s the dark side of the Force, you have the Daughter, who’s the good side of the Force, and then you have the unifying Father, who’s the balance between the two. The Son believes that the balance is skewed and that he should have more influence – and if he could have more influence, the galaxy could be a better place. For that reason it is chiefly important for him to get his hands on Anakin and influence him as fast as he can. My character, the Son, absolutely targets Anakin.”

Currently starring as vampire Aidan in Syfy’s Being Human, Witwer enthusiastically embraces his place as a burgeoning icon of genre entertainment. But despite being so entrenched in the darker, adult aspects of supernatural mythologies, his heart remains far, far away.

“Clone Wars is continuing to push the limits of what’s possible in Star Wars,” he says. “It is the best kids show ever made. Ever. I take it very seriously. What I love about this Mortis story is that it is all of the Star Wars movies wrapped up into three Clone Wars episodes, and completely mythological. It’s going to be something that’s really exciting.”

A new picture of Captain America has debuted on the cover of Empire!

I’m all about this Cap costume, I really couldn’t imagine a better “real-world” interpretation of a costume that definitely wouldn’t translate straight over from the comic books! Of course, there’s some people pointing out that this big “debut” is on the cover of a British magazine – but really, what does it matter? Empire is a solid publication and it’s not like Captain America is only being released here in the US.

In any case, look, enjoy, comment!

On Location News have posted a slew of new photos from the set of Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot (if you couldn’t tell by the over-zealous use of watermarks)! These pictures give us the best look at the new Spider-Man suit to date, and I have decided I like it.

There seems to be a pretty solid line drawn in the geek community with regards to liking and hating the new Spidey suit. I like the new direction, it brings in a good mix of Ultimate Spider-Man, 2099 Spider-Man, and Classic Spider-Man to give us fans something new instead of just a rehash of the movie costume that came before it. I’m glad Webb and company have taken some liberties with the costume while still staying faithful to the “feel” of the original costume and I can’t wait to see it in action on the big screen. Even if you disagree and hate the costume, keep in mind that the most important thing is that it’s a solid movie – I firmly believe that if the script and acting are all great, those who hate the costume will be willing to overlook it, and maybe even come to like it! Marc Webb’s untitled Spider-Man film is set for release on July 3, 2012.

Enjoy the pictures below and feel free to share your thoughts on the costume in the comments below!

It’s crazy to think that 14 years ago today I was skipping school with Clang! Boom! Steam! to see Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope on the big screen for the first time.

I was a junior in high school and this might have been the biggest, coolest, thing I did during High school.

We slept out overnight in the cold Utah winter to see it at The Academy theatre in Provo, Utah. A one room movie palace that was one of the last few of its kind. Sadly, it’s since been torn down to make for a high rise… I must have bought tickets to see it three times that first day. And there was nothing so tremendously exhilarating as seeing the Star Wars logo appear on the screen for the first time. I mean, I’d seen Return of the Jedi as a baby, I was three when it came out and it’s truly my earliest memories, but this time… This is the first time I knew what was going to hit me.

Sure, there were problems with the Special Edition. Han not shooting first and Jabba the Hutt, but there were so many additions to this version of the film that made it that much more intense and incredible. My favorite addition to the Special Edition of A New Hope, more than any other, was the inclusion of the scene with Biggs toward the end. It turned his loss into something truly heartfelt and much less anonymous.

On the other hand, it’s been 14 years since some people began to turn on the saga. And instead of going quietly into the night and ignoring it, they’ve become one of the loudest minorities in the world (particularly on the Internet) about how much Star Wars has sold out or turned into something they hate or whatever.

But I don’t care. On that cold January morning, during the first matinee, 14 years ago, none of that existed, and I was left with the pure and holy experience of seeing Star Wars on the big screen for the first time.

Truly, one of the best and most memorable days of my life.

You can pre-order the Blu-ray’s of Star Wars from Amazon and receive them on September 27th, when they come out.

Big Shiny Robot is proud to introduce the Laser Brain podcast as our newest addition to our podcast offering!

The Laser Brain podcast features three college-age roommates, Nick, Patrick, and Tristan, waxing philosophical about their lives, the occasional geek topic, and pretty much every horrible thought and anecdote that comes to their minds. First brought to our attention by Patrick on the BSR Forum, many of us bots have become addicted to these guys’ “unique” (see: Vulgar, Rank) sense of humor, anticipating a new episode every week – which may speak volumes about some of us bots here . . . But I digress. This podcast is more adult-humor oriented than geek-oriented, but we hope you will enjoy laughing at/with these guys each week as you sit at your boring desk-job as much as we do!

We will be bringing you a new -and very NSFW- episode of Laser Brain every week on our iTunes feed as well as on their podbean page.

So for your enjoyment*, the first new episode to appear on BSR!, Laser Brain Episode 10!

In this is episode three roommates discuss their infamous sexual misadventures, the pressures of becoming internet stars, realizing your girlfriend hates your penis, and the importance of personal hygiene.

• Listen on iTunes
• Listen on Podbean

*Enjoying Laser Brain and laughing along with these guys may mean you are a horrible person – which we fully support.

Tomorrow sees the release of Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray and I must say I couldn’t be more pleased. Always a favorite of mine since childhood, the 1951 version of Alice is the high water mark in adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s novels.

Released in 1951, it took Disney 18 years to get his vision of Alice in Wonderland off the ground and his effort couldn’t have been better spent. The adaptation of the source material is unconventional, the characters are charming, the music is wonderful, and the nonsense is brilliant.

This is a crowning achievement amongst Disney’s animated pantheon.

I’ve seen this film a hundred times, easily as many times as I’ve watched Star Wars, and I was delighted to see the Blu-ray version. It does not disappoint. This film has never looked more crisp and new. In fact, I watched it with my son and he commented that the DVD version we’ve been watching together for years looked like a comic book and now, on Blu-ray, it finally looked like a real movie.

As for bonus features, it contains all the features from the previous DVD releases and some unearthed introductions that Walt Disney had prepared for showing the film on television. Because of the luke-warm critical response to Alice in Wonderland, it wasn’t rereleased in theatres until the mid seventies, instead it was played every few years on television starting in 1954. The introductions Walt Disney filmed for them are an interesting (and always welcome) look back to his television aura.

Everything about this film holds up, and there’s a good reason that it is by far and away my favorite animated Disney film bar none. The voice of Alice is soothing to me like a lullaby and this film is stupendous.

The Blu-ray comes out tomorrow and since it comes with the DVD version for the kids, don’t hesitate to snatch it up.

This is the trailer for the upcoming series of Doctor Who. It was originally aired after the Christmas special. I’m pretty excited for this series which will be broken up into two parts this year. The first 6 or 7 episodes will star airing this spring and will leave us on a big cliffhanger until the fall. Also this year will see the Neil Gaiman penned episode!