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John Orloff, the co-creator of Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas.

The move comes after Orloff signed with Verve for representation in January, the same month his high profile and high priced war drama launched. However, in February, the agency became embroiled in an internal battle amongst partners, resulting in the ousting of founding partner Bill Weinstein. Several lit clients were caught up in the churn. Brian K. Vaughan, the comics author and screenwriter, also switched agencies and signed with UTA in March.

Orloff adapted the acclaimed memoir by Mariane Pearl, A Mighty Heart, into a 2007 drama that starred Angelina Jolie and counted Brad Pitt as among its producers. He earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first screenplay for his script.

Orloff also co-wrote the screenplay for Zack Snyder’s animated 2010 feature Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,...

Screenshot: Hulu

The seasonal sci-fi favorite Independence Day, the award-winning Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and the recent theatrical release The Bob’s Burgers Movie are just three of the many notable movies premiering on the Hulu streaming service in July. There’s also the fantasy-action-comedy The Princess (pictured), an original Hulu film starring Joey King,...

Zack Snyder is possibly the most polarizing mainstream filmmaker of the 21st century. His name alone is enough to launch a thousand angry tweets, and the most passionate writing about his work is exclusively found in the comment sections of websites like this one. Snyder’s critics really seem to hate him, and Snyder’s fans really seem to hate his critics. At this point, a Marvel / DC movie crossover might be a lot more plausible than finding any sort of common ground between those two camps. Is Snyder a master or a hack? A misunderstood myth-maker, or a meathead with a movie camera?

One thing we can say for sure is that no contemporary auteur has more awesomely investigated what it means to be a hero in a fallen world. The Pasadena native has leveraged a remarkable music video portfolio into a big screen career filled by obsessions with power and its corruption.

What’s in a name? A branding challenge, perhaps, for Rise of the Guardians, the DreamWorks Animation film that got off to a slower-than-expected start this weekend. The film is part of a high-profile parade of fantasy and superhero projects that center on characters who call themselves “the Guardians” but, so far, none have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. To guard against confusion, here’s a who’s who guide to the Guardians Glut.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010): These Guardians are a noble group of warrior owls who uses their armor...

Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, from the studio behind Happy Feet, is out on DVD and Blu-Ray Triple Play from 11th April. We’re So excited by this film that we’re now offering you the chance to win one of three Blu-Ray discs.

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with this fantasy adventure based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. Young owl Soren marvels at his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, mythic winged warriors who fought a great battle to save all owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. When he and brother Kludd fall from their treetop home and into the talons of the Pure Ones, it’s up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave owls. Together they seek the Great Tree, home of the Guardians – the only hope of...

Zack Snyder's animated film "Legend of the Guardians The Owls of Ga'Hoole" is now available on blu-ray and DVD. Yet there are always consumers unsure if they want to purchase a film to own and add to their growing collections.  That's where video rentals and the On Demand service comes in.  The animated feature starring the voices of Geoffrey Rush, Helen Mirren, Emilie de Ravin, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, and Hugo Weaving is now available On Demand for the extremely low price of $2.99, giving you and your family to relieve the adventure in the comfort of your own home.Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure "Legend of the Guardians," based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who...

Chicago – The best parts of a Zack Snyder picture have consistently been the opening title sequences, from “Dawn of the Dead”’s apocalyptic montage to “Watchmen”’s brilliant prologue scored to Bob Dylan’s “The Time They Are A-Changin’.” Snyder’s latest problematic novel adaptation, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is no exception.

The film kicks off with a promising opening shot from an owl’s perspective, soaring through the air to show off the spectacular work of the animators. Billowing clouds, breathtaking waterfalls, and towering trees provide the photogenic framework for the gorgeously lensed owls, and for a fleeting moment, the film succeeds in capturing the exhilarating freedom of flight. Yet the film instantly falls apart once the owls open their beaks and celebrity voices come tumbling out.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

More than any recent computer animated adventure, “Ga’Hoole” begs the question: why go...

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole didn’t receive a kind reception from critics when it first hit theaters. The story about two child owls who get separated from their family only to engage in a Cain and Abel story did not resonate well in the hearts of adults.

Perhaps that’s because Director Zack Snyder (Superman: Man of Steel, Sucker Punch) and screenwriters John Orloff (Anonymous) and Emil Stern (Tenderness) did not intend for it to be an overly gritty film in the vein of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Instead, the team set out to service the original novel series of Kathryn Lasky as best they could. They do so to modest success. The soul of the story, a young owl that triumphs over great adversity is still there, which will be enough to hit home with younger audiences. However, some key details were...

The Other Guys: "It's meathead humor -- homophobic, macho bravado oneupmanship -- but as meathead humor goes, it's inspired, tinged with off-the-wall splats of pop-absurdity. When Will Ferrell is on his game, no one does it better -- it's early Adam Sandler's temperamental explosions stretched into a full length movie and tossed with goat fucking, blasphemy, and juvenile punchlines. But it's also comedically brilliant, and you find yourself repeating some of the better lines to yourself in the hopes that you can hang on to them before IMDb populates their quote section, because there are 15 to 20 "punch you in the ovary" gems. All that was really missing from The Other Guys, besides the fact that this brand of humor isn't new anymore, was a Brick Tamland character, though Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson -- in their brief appearances -- help close that gap." - Dustin Rowles

The A-Team: "Of course,...

  

Here are this weeks DVD/Blu-Ray and Netflix New Releases:

DVD/Blu-Ray New Releases:

The A-Team:

Synopsis:

There's more action, more adventure - and more attitude - in The A-Team Extended Edition, which includes a never-before-seen version of the film with spectacular added footage not shown in theaters!

Buckle up for an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Sharlto Copley. Convicted by a military court for a crime they didn't commit, a daring team of former Special Forces soldiers must utilize their unique talents to break out of prison and tackle their toughest mission yet. It's going to take guts, split-second timing and an arsenal of explosive weapons...this is a job for The A-Team!

Cyrus:

Synopsis:

John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Oscar® Winner Marisa Tomei star in this quirky, hilarious story about love, family and cutting the cord. Not-so-recently divorced...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Gasland" (2010)

Directed by Josh Fox

Released by New Video Group

"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"

Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg

Released by Mpi Home Video

"Exit Through the Gift Shop" (2010)

Directed by Banksy

Released by Oscilloscope Laboratories

If you haven't caught up on the year's best documentaries in time to fill out your top 10 list, three of them will be hitting DVD shelves this week, beginning with Josh Fox's Sundance award-winning "Gasland," an exploration of the "hydraulic fracturing" going on in own backyard, a type of drilling that has spread to 34 states in the U.S. and has left a host of reservoirs of toxic waste and frequent gas explosions along the way. For something less serious, but equally compelling, there is also Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," which follows the...

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a delightful, dark fairy tale of epic scope that has a mythical feel to it. It was directed by none other than Zack Snyder (who will also be directing the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan vision Superman: Man of Steel) of 300 fame, so I knew going in that this movie would have a highly stylized feel and look to it.

Based on the first three books of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, Zack Snyder faced quite a challenge in the telling of this tale. It wasn’t a big surprise to me that this movie had more than just a touch of darkness. It is, after all, a movie about struggle, legends, and triumph; and despite other less than favorable reviews, I really enjoyed this piece of avant-garde cinema.

Then again, I grew up on wonderfully illustrated Grimm’s fairy tales,...

Filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. The film is based on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. After his claim to fame with movies like 300 and Watchme, this will be his first animation movie. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. The film features the voices of ...

Two CGI animated movies, neither of much distinction and little helped by uninteresting 3D. Except for some fearsome bats, the characters in Legend of the Guardians are owls, all speaking with Australian accents except for Helen Mirren, though she did have her first significant movie role down under in Michael Powell's Age of Consent. Based on what are claimed as a series of "beloved books by Kathryn Lasky", it's a dull, morally uplifting tale of a battle to the death between two types of owl, the Pure Ones, who are proto-fascist aggressors, and the Guardians, who defend democracy and protect the weak. Given that the warriors don metal helmets and razor sharp spurs, much of it looks like cock-fighting.

A co-production between animators in Mumbai and Hollywood, Alpha and Omega is clearly influenced by The Lion King and centres on the rites of passage among wolves in Jasper national park in the Canadian Rockies.

I don’t think much can go wrong if a film has Helen Mirren in it. The first impression I had about ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’ was that it was an animation film that would appeal to the art house crowd. The Australian film is based on the fifteen book series by American author Kathryn Lasky, which ended with the 2008 publication of ‘The War of Ember’ – the movie is based on the first three novels. Although ‘The Owls of Ga’Hoole’ (seriously, try to say ‘Ga’Hoole’ you can&rsquo...

Jackass 3D trumps Bruce Willis in Red at the Us box office. Ron rounds up what happened...

It's a sign of the times, I suppose. An action comedy with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren makes a second-place debut behind a bunch of jackasses. Specifically, the all-star action comedy team of Red debuted behind the jackasses of MTV's Jackass and their third big screen gross-out, Jackass 3D. Red 's box office take was very impressive, at $21.7 million, but Jackass 3D was a record smashing success.

Jackass 3D's opening weekend gross was $50.3 million. That's more than Scary Movie 3. Hell, that's more than every other fall movie ever made. That's a pretty impressive opening, when you consider just how many movies get shoved into box offices in September and October. The 3D definitely helped in that respect, and not just because it added an extra few dollars to the gross.

First things first: Zack Snyder’s foray into computer animation is stunning. Would we expect anything else from a former commercials and music video director? Since Dawn of the Dead he’s proved himself a fearless sort always willing to make faithful adaptations of other people’s work. Some would say too faithful, although he improved the ending of Watchmen, whose comic book finale would never work on screen.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is based on the books of Australian author Kathryn Lasky. The detail in the owls; their movement, wings, eyes and bodies is beautiful. There’s nothing remotely clunky – it is a graceful and highly artistic rendering.

What Legends doesn’t have is emotional engagement. Make that zero engagement. You’ll watch it and long for it to be Watership Down with owls! Instead you get an occasionally thrilling story but you won’t connect to any character.

A typical fantastic adventure tale based on Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a book series written by Kathryn Lasky, The Owls of Ga'Hoole takes fun and unpredictable turns as it winds its way through the tree branches and eventually settles in the tree of your memory. Soren, a young barn owl and a natural born flyer, is a dreamer whose fanciful attachment to heroic legends irritates his brother, Kludd, who considers himself a realist. Soren's pacifistic nature keeps their relationship harmonious, until a life-altering event pulls them in opposite directions. The animation is absolutely...

The new computer-animated fantasy/adventure flick "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" may look pretty, but its story is a dark and convoluted puzzle.Based on the first three installments in Kathryn Lasky's series of "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" books, the movie encompasses a lot of plot during its 90-minute runtime and rarely stops to take a breath. To make matters worse, the story is tremendously complicated for a children's flick.Jim Sturgess voices Soren, a yountg Barn Owl who gets great pleasure from listening to his father's stories about...

Owls have not had the best PR lately. What with the persistently insulting blog Hungover Owls and Hedwig serving as Harry Potter's man-servant. Lucky for the species, they now have Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, to pull up their image. Zack Snyder directs a 3-D abridged incarnation of the first three stories of Kathryn Lasky's 15-book children's series. It is a tale of Good, the Guardians, versus Evil, the Pure Ones. The film's young hero, Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess) and his brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) are kidnapped from their hollow and taken to the barren wasteland evil finishing school of the Pure Ones' leaders Nyra (Helen Mirren!) and Metal Beak (Joel Edgerton). Having been brought up with the legend of the Guardian warriors, Soren escapes to elicit their help...

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, based on the novels by Kathryn Lasky, is the latest in a long line of literary adaptations based on a young adult fantasy novel (See The Seeker, The Golden Compass, and Percy Jackson.  Or rather, don't.)  Legend of the Guardians, with its animals that behave just like humans, shares more in common with Don Bluth's criminally underrated The Secret of Nimh.  The film is original in that it is probably the only movie about owls doing battle with weapons and armor that you are ever likely to see. The hero is a young owl...

Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0

Chicago – Krome Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment knew that a video game tie-in for “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” was required and could have done the bare minimum, as so many releases for kid’s movies do.

Children have a lower threshold for entertainment than teens or adults and, consequently, tie-ins for kid’s movies usually fail on their own unique level of awful. They are usually creatively bankrupt merely because they can be and still sell copies to kids who just want every piece of merchandise related to their new favorite movie. Comparatively, the tie-in for “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is a relatively entertaining and effective title. The game is unlikely to convert people who haven’t seen its source or don’t at least already know the books by Kathryn Lasky, but it works on its own terms.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is the latest film from Zack Snyder—of 300 and Watchmen fame—and is thus a step content wise in a completely different direction from the cinematically stunning and extremely graphic content of the director’s former movies. With this current piece, the impressive visuals are still very much present, but the story is based off of the popular Guardians of Ga’Hoole children’s book series by Kathryn Lasky. I personally wasn’t sure what to expect—seeing that such a clash of storylines and...

The writer discusses adapting the screenplay as well as his upcoming movie Anonymous, about William Shakespeare

Writer John Orloff's career began when Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg read a screenplay he wrote called Soul Of The Age, which is about the authorship controversy surrounding many of William Shakespeare's most famous plays. That led to an opportunity for Orloff to write several episodes of the Emmy Award winning mini-series Band of Brothers.

In 2007 the writer's adaptation of Mariane Pearl's memoir A Mighty Heart was released starring Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, and it earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay. Since then Orloff has been hired to pen several high profile scripts, including a film based on the life of "James Bond" author Ian Fleming called Fleming for Leonardo DiCaprio, and an adaptation of The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. Not to mention that his screenplay about Shakespeare,...

Director Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" opened as the No. 1 movie of the weekend with a solid $19 million total. The sequel to Stone's iconic film about the world of Wall Street, the film reunites the director and Michael Douglas, who won an Academy Award for playing Gordon Gekko. The new film features Shia Labeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, and Frank Langella. (Check out my review of "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" right here).

Debuting at No. 2 is Zack Snyder's "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole." Based on the first three books of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series by author Kathryn Lasky, the 3-D animated tale features a talented voice cast headed by Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, and David Wenham among others. The Warner Bros. tale sold $16.3 million worth of box-office tickets. (Watch my review of "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" right here.

This is a clip from Legend of the Guardians (featuring the voices of Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jay Laga’aia, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham). Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure Legend of the Guardians based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

If you’re Oliver Stone, not-so closeted pinko commie wannabe, capitalist greed has been very good indeed. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”, Stone’s sequel to his ’80s hit, topped the box office with an estimated $19 million. Though that number is below expectations, first place is first place, and I’m sure Stone, who has struggled at the box office with his last few movies, will take it. Zack Snyder’s “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” pulled into second position in its debut with an estimated $16.3 million. Based on the series of young adult novels by Kathryn Lasky, “Guardians” is an expensive CG movie from Snyder, who has been pretty hit and miss at the box office lately as well. The only big studio release opening opposite “Wall Street” and “Guardians” was the Kristen Bell romantic comedy “You Again”, which also underperformed, landing in fifth place with $8.3 million.

The estimates are in and it looks like, for once, the financial analysts got it right… I mean the box office analysts. Oh, what’s the difference anyway? There was indeed enough equity left in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street premise after 23 years to put the sequel – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – in the top spot for the weekend with an estimated $19 million.

Title Weekend Total 1 Wall Street 2 $19,000,000 $19 2 Legend of the Guardians $16,300,000 $16.3 3 The Town $16,000,000 $49 4 Easy A $10,700,000 $32.8 5 You Again $8,300,000 $8.3 6 Devil $6,500,000 $21.7 7 Resident Evil 4 $4,900,000 $52 8 Alpha & Omega $4,700,000 $15.1 9 Takers $1,600,000 $54.9 10 Inception $$1,200,000 $287.1

With that $19 million from the film’s 3,565 locations, Wall Street 2 looks like it will be director Oliver Stone’s biggest debut; although when the $18.7 million of 2006’s World Trade Center is adjusted for inflation the two films stand about equal. Still, after the debacle that was W. (the 2008 feature ended its run with a sad $25.5 million in total) and the dismal summer...

Legend of the Guardians was an incredibly fantastic movie! It seems that there were a lot of mixed feelings among people leading up to its theatrical release. Personally, the trailer for the film instantly sold me on it. The animation looked incredible, and I knew that the story the film is based off of was solid enough to make for an entertaining film.

Having now seen the film, I have to tell you the trailer doesn’t do any justice to the movie at all. The trailer barely gives us a glimpse at what The Legend of the Guardians has in store for you. This movie was fantastically amazing, beautiful and action packed! Zack Snyder did an incredible job directing the movie and bringing this story to life. I was completely in awe from beginning to end.

The CGI animation was breathtaking, it was seriously some of the best animation...

This is a clip from Legend of the Guardians (featuring the voices of Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jay Laga’aia, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham). Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure Legend of the Guardians based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

'Money Never Sleeps' takes $7 million in theaters on Friday.

By Mawuse Ziegbe

Michael Douglas and Shia Labeouf in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"

Photo: 20th Century Fox

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" ($7 million)

#2 "The Town" ($5 million)

#3 "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" ($4.6 million)

#4 "Easy A" ($3.6 million)

#5 "You Again" ($2.8 million)

Proving money still talks — at least, to moviegoers — "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" took the top spot at the Friday box office. Michael Douglas' return as Gordon Gekko, 23 years after he powered the cautionary money, power and success tale of the original "Wall Street," rang up $7 million in ticket sales.

Another cash-grabbing flick, "The Town," also scored big with audiences, landing in the second-place slot. The film, which follows vault looters (Ben Affleck), ladies (Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall) and the law (Jon Hamm) as they get caught up in the nefarious Boston bank-robbing underworld,...

'Money Never Sleeps' takes $7 million in theaters on Friday.

By Mawuse Ziegbe

Michael Douglas and Shia Labeouf in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"

Photo: 20th Century Fox

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" ($7 million)

#2 "The Town" ($5 million)

#3 "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" ($4.6 million)

#4 "Easy A" ($3.6 million)

#5 "You Again" ($2.8 million)

Proving money still talks — at least, to moviegoers — "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" took the top spot at the Friday box office. Michael Douglas' return as Gordon Gekko, 23 years after he powered the cautionary money, power and success tale of the original "Wall Street," rang up $7 million in ticket sales.

Another cash-grabbing flick, "The Town," also scored big with audiences, landing in the second-place slot. The film, which follows vault looters (Ben Affleck), ladies (Blake Lively and Rebecca Hall) and the law (Jon Hamm) as they get caught up in the nefarious Boston bank-robbing underworld,...

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is the most bitchin' piece of '70s van art that you've never seen. As adapted by Zack Snyder from Kathryn Lasky's children's books, it's very much Happy Feet crossed with 300, a continuation of his thematic fascination with mythmaking and fetishistic use of slow-motion. It looks positively gorgeous, and there's a good chance that it'll scare your kids just as much as hold them rapt.

Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess) is our would-be hero, a fledgling flier with a fondness for the lore of the Guardians. His brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwantan), doesn't hold out such hope when both are kidnapped by the Pure Ones, an army of evil owls led by Metal Beak (Joel Edgerton), and he is quick to turn into a soldier among their ranks. However, Soren escapes and seeks out his heroes for help.

Having your fluffy birds...

A New clip has been released from upcoming animated fantasy Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.

The video, entitled Use Your Gizzard, is included below.

Released in 3D in UK cinemas on October 22, the film features an all-star voice cast including Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.

Based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky, the film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favor from his younger sibling.

But Kludd's jealousy...

Director Zack Snyder has earned the title of "visionary director" after only three films. Which, if you think about it, is quite an accomplishment all to itself. He first gained the attention of fans and critics alike for his remake of George A. Romero's classic horror film Dawn Of The Dead. The director then followed that up with two movies both adapted from comic books, the extremely successful "sword & sandal" movie 300 based on legendary comic book scribe Frank Miller's popular graphic novel. And Watchmen, based on equally legendary comic book writer Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest comic books of all-time.

His latest project is the 3D animated family film, Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which opens in theaters on September 24th, and is based on the successful series of books by author Kathryn Lasky.

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy adventure Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, which follows a young owl named Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), who is enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors that once fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

Based on the beloved and popular books by Kathryn Lasky, Legend is a story that shows the importance of following one’s dreams, in order to make them real, and is brought to life by a stellar cast of actors voicing the owls, including Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, David Wenham and Anthony Lapaglia.

During a press conference for the film, director Zack Snyder, executive producer Deborah Snyder and actor Jim Sturgess, who voices the heroic young Soren,...

'Legend of the Guardians' reviews - what do the critics think? -- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole opens in theaters today. Many fans of the children's novels by Kathryn Lasky are looking forward to seeing this 3D adaptation, but sometimes a lot gets "lost in translation" in moving a story from book to film. What are the early reviews looking like for this movie? Books on Film takes a look for you. Early reviews are running pretty much 50/50, unfortunately. At RottenTomatoes.com, for example, they rank the film 48% from all the reviews they have...

Owls wearing gladiator helmets while battling with swords and fire seems like a strange concept for an animated family film but Zach Snyder mostly pulls it off in the emotionally heavy but visually stunning Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, adapted from the first three tales in Kathryn Lasky’s 15-book children’s series. The posters and trailers are selling the film as a feel-good movie for the kiddie set. It’s not. The youngest audiences will be charmed by the opening scenes of the owl brothers Soren and Kluud arguing in their treetop home. Romantic Soren loves to tell intricate stories of the mythical owls known as the Guardians of Ga’Hoole to his younger siblings. This opening is cute but the movie quickly dives into the darkness as Soren and Kludd are soon attacked by an angry boar then captured by an army of evil...

It’s tricky business when trying to compress three novels from a popular fantasy series into a single movie. In fact, it hardly ever works (Eragon, Golden Compass, Cirque du Freak) and premeditated sequels never see the light of day. So flying against the “wind” is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. Adapted from the series of novels by Kathryn Lasky, this 91 minute feature will try to be one of the rare fantasy flicks to use the compressing-material formula and find success.Right from the start, the 91 minute running time instantly dampens...

It’s tricky business when trying to compress three novels from a popular fantasy series into a single movie. In fact, it hardly ever works (Eragon, Golden Compass, Cirque du Freak) and premeditated sequels never see the light of day. So flying against the “wind” is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. Adapted from the series of novels by Kathryn Lasky, this 91 minute feature will try to be one of the rare fantasy flicks to use the compressing-material formula and find success.Right from the start, the 91 minute running time instantly dampens...

'The Legend of the Guardians' is based on the books 'Guardians of Ga'Hoole' written by Kathryn Lasky. The film is based on the first three of these books to be exact. Young owl Soren (Jim Sturgess, 'The Other Boleyn Girl'), and his older brother Kludd (Ryan Kwantn, 'True Blood') disobey their parents and go outside their nest. They are both too young to fly very well and end up falling and hitting the ground. Before they can get their bearings, the are scooped up by wicked owls and taken to St. Aggies Orphanage where they are separated. Soren is made to...

Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess) in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Photo: Warner Bros. The term "auteur" gets thrown around a bit too liberally without much care for what it actually means if you ask me, but there is no mistaking, for better or for worse, Zack Snyder is a bona fide auteur. Snyder burst onto the scene with his Dawn of the Dead remake, but has since become known for his hyper-stylized direction of the surprise hit 300 and the lackluster comic adaptation Watchmen. Snyder's style is unmistakable and there's no doubt he's the one behind Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, or "The Owl Movie" as it has come to be known in some circles.

What's more mysterious is how Snyder went from three hard-r rated films to a PG-rated animated adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's children's books. The subject matter doesn't suggest this...

Animated movies in 3-D and IMAX are becoming the norm for viewing. This story, based on the book series ‘Guardians of Ga'Hoole’ by Kathryn Lasky, is enhanced by these added features, as it presents the surreal world that’s all around us yet lives in our fantasies and dreams…Soren (Jim Sturgess), a young barn owl along with his brother while out learning how to fly, are kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, purportedly to be an orphanage. They soon discover that owlets are ‘moon blinked’ (brainwashed) into becoming soldiers to do the...

The night before Zack Snyder's 3-D adaptation of the popular children's book series by Kathryn Lasky opens in theaters, fans across the country got the chance to screen it and talk with the director. ReelzChannel correspondent Steve Patterson moderated the fan Q&A session, which will be shown on tomorrow's Hollywood Dailies along with additional Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole coverage. What questions did fans ask? Find out in Steve's blog coverage of the event, and get details about where you can watch it.

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Link | Posted 9/24/2010 by reelz

Hollywood Dailies | Zack Snyder | Steve Patterson | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole...

Review in a Hurry: Visually thrilling Legend, about an idealistic owlet searching for the fabled Guardians, soars on the strength of its gorgeous 3-D animation and stellar voice cast. But the relentless darkness and intense action might upset younger viewers. Expect their talons clawing your arm. The Bigger Picture: 300 director Zack Snyder, working from Kathryn Lasky's young adult novels, this time rallies bands of birds into battle—with all the stylized spectacle you'd expect and then some. The winged warriors even sport Spartan-style helmets, though thankfully no six-pack abs or black-leather Speedos. The call to arms (and beaks) occurs after young barn-owl brothers Soren (Jim Sturgess) and Kludd...

Rendered in 3-D, director Zack Snyder’s “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” can often be a breathtaking experience. For its rapturous imagery and mythical sensibilities, “Guardians” aspires to something akin to “Avatar” or the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. In fact, the attention to texture and detail that Snyder and his team have invested in depicting everything from the film’s painterly landscapes to every individual feather of its largely avian cast is downright impressive.

Writers John Orloff and Emil Stern adapted Kathryn Lasky’s popular children novels about two warring kingdoms of owls — the noble Guardians and the evil Pure Ones. From the looks of it, Orloff and Stern do their best with an overload of characters, numerous byplays, backstory and incidents, but, finally, the job of condensing the full scope of a novel into a 90-minute fantasy flick asks too much of both the form and the audience.

From the concepts and the commercials, Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole may not sound like a project from Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen, 300, and 2004’s Dawn Of The Dead remake. It’s a CGI children’s fantasy that pits good talking owls against evil ones, taken from Kathryn Lasky’s popular book series, and it lacks the gore and grimness of Snyder’s past work. But within seconds of its opening, a feather drifts off an owl’s wing, spins in midair in ultra slow motion, then slams into full speed again. It’s ...

Nurtured in the creative bosom of author Kathryn Lasky and brought to life on the big screen by director Zack Snyder, Legend of the Guardians is an unlikely little gem featuring talking owls in a story that pits good against evil. While I have certainly grown weary of talking animal movies and films that constantly pit good against evil, there is a lot of originality in Legend of the Guardians. While Snyder certainly dipped into his 300 toolkit for the film (see slow-motion battle scenes), he opted for a unique canvas, combining a well-written story with fantastic animation.

In case you weren't aware, Zack Snyder is releasing a new movie this week. Although the 300 and Watchmen director's name isn't plastered all over every ad for it, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is his latest opus, and it's no mere kid stuff, even though the film is indisputably aimed at a younger audiences than his usual, beautifully brutal efforts. An adaptation of the first three books in Kathryn Lasky's acclaimed series of children's novels, Snyder's film combines the source material's sweeping, epic storytelling with the best of the director's distinctive visual style to create a sophisticated, mature animated film that offers thrills for audiences of all ages. ComingSoon.net joined other members of the press in Los Angeles earlier this week to talk about...

Our good friends at Scholastic were kind enough to provide us with some great prizes for two of our lucky readers. Each winning entry will receive a copy of Kathryn Lasky‘s book, Guardians of Ga’Hoole: The Capture, along with $25 in Fandango Bucks. Check out list of our winners below, along with details on the book and the big-screen adaptation currently in theaters.

About Guardians of Ga’Hoole: The Capture:

When Soren, a young owlet, mysteriously falls from his nest one evening, he’s plucked up and taken to the sinister St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Once there, he must use his wits and bravery to escape his captors. If Soren can learn to fly, he might just be able to take refuge with a group of brave owls he’d thought only to be a legend—the Guardians of Ga’Hoole!

Guardians of Ga’Hoole will soon...