Well, sort of. Probably as close as we’ll ever get to the real thing anyway. It’s the first worldwide live community screening of the movie, and here’s how it works:

- Buy the Blu-ray disc of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” available on Dec. 8, 2009. Buy it on Amazon.com!

- Be one of the first 100,000 BD-Live community members (accessible through a BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc played on an Internet-connected Blu-ray player) to RSVP and secure a spot for the screening. 

- Log in on Dec. 12, 2009 at 12 PM PST (3 PM EST) and simultaneously watch the movie together with Daniel Radcliffe and director David Yates, and hear an interactive Q&A where fans can ask questions about the film to Daniel and David, directly from their home.

In addition, more features for Blu-ray owners:

• An exclusive introduction to the upcoming Harry Potter Ultimate Editions by Daniel Radcliffe
• My Commentary – Fans are able to post user-generated Picture-in-Picture commentary over the film and share it with their friends and other BD-Live community members
• Live Community Screenings – Allows users to send invitations and have a virtual screening with friends and family while chatting together through the BD-Live platform
• Facebook Connect – Allows users to interact with their Facebook friends, update their Facebook status while in BD-Live and invite their Facebook friends to Live Community screenings.

Image: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

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The studio specializes in offbeat films like “Juno,”  “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “The Wrestler,” and it’s heartening to think that Fox Searchlight films have been nominated for at least five Oscars in each of the past three years, including a best picture nom for all of them.

I say heartening because I always appreciate when the less mainstream films – the quirkier, more character driven films — earn audience kudos. It means that we really do want thinking-person films that are rich in story and overall production, rather than the slam-it-out commercial movies that populate theaters in droves.

But will Fox Searchlight take that journey up to the awards podium this year? As Zeitchik suggests, the studio has a good shot at picking up awards for writing and acting for “(500) Days of Summer,” the offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her. It’s just the sort of film people love (watch the trailer here).

More after the jump, including the “Amelia” trailer…

Another Fox Searchlight film garnering buzz is “Amelia,” the Mira Nair directed biopic about legendary pilot Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor. Sure, they’ve all had some stinker films, but they also have nine Golden Globe and Oscar noms between them.

It’ll be interesting to see how Fox Searchlight shakes out this year during awards season. Take a look at the “Amelia” trailer. It really does look like a gorgeous film.

Image: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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GENESIS II, 74 minutes, 1973. “My name is Dylan Hunt. My story begins the day on which I died.” Set between now and the era of the starship Enterprise, this story follows Hunt (Alex Cord), who awakens after 154 years of suspended animation into a post-apocalyptic world that’s torn between the peace-loving citizens of Pax and the militaristic, mutant Tyranians. Both want Hunt to join their cause. But the Tyranians have two cruel weapons to persuade Hunt: a device of torture called a stim. And an alluring mutant (Mariette Hartley) with two navels … and one ice-cold heart.

Planet Earth, 74 minutes, 1974. The time is the 22nd century. The place is the Confederacy, a matriarchy where men are enslaved and impotent. The hero is Dylan Hunt (John Saxon), a handsome 20th century scientist awakened from suspended animation – just the “breeder” a Confederacy dominatrix (Diana Muldaur, who went on to play Dr. Pulaski in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) has been waiting for! In this sequel to “Genesis II,” Gene Roddenberry puts a reverse spin on women’s lib in an action-filled tale set in a gleaming world of futuristic cities, underground sub shuttles, palm-sized computers and skintight uniforms. Can Hunt defy the Confederacy and free his downtrodden fellow males, or is he doomed to slavery on “Planet Earth”?

Plenty of 1970s-era goodness in these two DVDs! If you’re a fan of the “Star Trek” universe or Gene Roddenberry, they’re definitely worth a look.

Images: Warner Archive

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Executive producer Tyler Perry decided to open up about his own personal demons in a letter on his Web site.

“I’m tired of holding this in," he wrote. “I don’t know what to do with it anymore, so I’ve decided to give some of it away.”

“Precious” tells the story of a teenage girl who endures molestation and physical abuse. “I watched all the things that Precious, a 16-year-old girl in the film, went through. I watched her mother be unusually cruel to her, and I realized at that moment that a large part of my childhood had just played out before my eyes,” wrote Perry.

The letter reveals some of Perry’s painful memories as a child, including the beatings his mother endured from his father, and an incident of molestation to Perry himself. “I got a call not long ago from a friend. He told me that a man that I knew from church when I was a kid had died and … his family was trying to reach out to me to see if I would pay for his funeral. I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself.”

More after the jump…

He also talks about the time his mother tried to leave his abusive father, loading him and his two sisters in an old Cadillac and heading to California.

“When he realized she was gone, he called the police and reported the car stolen, as it was in his name,” wrote Perry. “My mother was arrested, and my two sisters and I were put in the cell with her. He and my uncle drove from Louisiana to California to get us. We spent several days in jail waiting for him. He bailed her out and couldn’t wait to get her into the car. He got into the back seat with us and beat her black and blue from California to Louisiana, as me and my sisters watched. Even though I was only two or three, I know that this had to have some effect on me.”

I’ve been a big fan of Tyler Perry’s immense success in Hollywood, and now more than ever. He’s released six feature films in three years, writing all of them and starring in four. Five of those films have collectively grossed upwards of $250 million worldwide. Both Perry and Oprah Winfrey, another producer on the film, are donating all of the proceeds to charity.

Both of these people didn’t grow up in the best circumstances, but the fact that they’ve made such positive changes in their lives – and helped others make changes in their lives – is amazing.

“Precious” New York premiere pictures

“Precious” Trailer

“Precious” Cannes premiere pictures

Images: INF; Lionsgate

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For one thing, you have to educate everyone in how to pronounce it. And for another – raising hand here — anyone who writes about it will undoubtedly get it wrong at some point. It’s just a pain.

But even with the hard-to-pronounce-and-spell title, “Reykjavik-Rotterdam” sounds like a good film, especially with Mark Wahlberg onboard.

The remake, based on an Icelandic film directed by Oskar Jonasson that’s in the running for an Oscar, centers on a security guard and former alcohol smuggler on the Iceland-Netherlands route who’s lured back into illicit after encountering money woes.

Still, the American version of the film should have a title that Americans can read and pronounce. Just sayin’…

Image: INF; Source: Hollywood Reporter

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The studio is pairing up with Electronic Arts to turn “Spore” into an animated feature film, with “Ice Age” director Chris Wedge attached to helm. Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, who also penned the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog” and “The Return of King Doug” are writing the screenplay.

Released in September 2008, “Spore” the video game lets players create their own creatures and interact with other creatures in a Spore universe. "I’m always looking for unique worlds to go to in animation," Wedge told Variety. "From every perspective — visually, thematically and comedically — the world of ‘Spore’ provides the potential to put something truly original on the screen."

Maybe so, but since most people probably aren’t familiar with the game, I wonder if it has enough of a built-in audience who will flock to theaters. A lot of it will depend on who they get to voice the characters; hopefully, we’ll see some new voices rather than the standard Ben Stiller, Wanda Sykes, Kiefer Sutherland fare.

Image: Amazon.com

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It’s based on the true story of the Tonbridge Securitas robbery, which took place outside of London in February 2006, resulting in a haul worth $85 million. Former UFC fighter "Lightning" Lee Murray was reportedly behind the job.

Kerry Williamson is working on the script for XYZ Films, which Aronofsky is producing and may also direct. Sources include Jon Wertheim’s Sports Illustrated article, “Breaking the Bank,” as well as Howard Sounes’ nonfiction book, “Heist: The Inside Story of the World’s Biggest Robbery.”

My favorite Aronofsky films: “The Wrestler,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and “The Fountain.”

Image: INF (Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz at the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter

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While few details about the plot are known, Walden helm Michael Bostick said the story “combines originality, humor, heart and broad appeal that all ages can enjoy. It is everything Walden embraces with family comedies."

Walden has a history of thoughtful family movies like “City of Ember,” “Nim’s Island,” “Because of Winn-Dixie,” and “How to Eat Fried Worms.” All great movies!

I’ll look forward to seeing what “Gene” is all about.

Images: Walden Media

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The Tolkien Trust and publisher HarperCollins had alleged that they didn’t receive a promised percentage of the “Lord of the Rings” movies’ box office. We’re talking several billion dollars, and the suit likely would have prevented Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson from continuing with the upcoming “Hobbit” movies. 

While the terms of the settlement are confidential, at least we can rest easy knowing that Bilbo and the rest of the hobbits and creatures of Middle Earth can continue onto the big screen for more movies.

I wouldn’t mind seeing some casting news soon, though.

Image: Amazon.com

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The film is a scathing critique of Wall Street, capitalism, and what some would call greedy bankers across America. Moore admits that many of the companies that financed this film will probably be unhappy with the final product.

“Why would these companies give money to me, a guy who is diametrically opposed to everything they stand for? One of the beautiful flaws of capitalism is they will use the rope you give them to hang themselves, if you can make a buck.”

He adds, “I think this will be the last time they will give me that money.”

Even without financing, he hopes to continue making documentaries. “I’ve been saving up my money from “Sicko” to get to this day. I will always make my own movies, now I have the money to make them."

Image: INF; Source: Wenn News

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