After battling Mr. Freeze for years, Batman knows a thing or two about chilly encounters. It’s no different for new Batman actor Ben Affleck, who stars in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” as the new Caped Crusader, and just led a headfirst charge against a new icy nemesis: “The Ice-Bucket Challenge.”

Affleck accepted the ice-bucket challenge, intended to raise ALS awareness, after being challenged by Tyler Perry. In his video, Affleck calls out four new names: Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Patrick Harris, Matt Damon, and his own wife, Jennifer Garner. In fact, by the end of the Affleck video, you can scratch one name off that list…

With Affleck (and Garner) drenched, the time came for Jimmy Kimmel to get in on the fun. Except it wasn’t fun. Kimmel quickly became a cautionary tale that the ice bucket challenge is no bueno when it involves dunking ice on the so-called “Netherlands.”

Kimmel closed by reinforcing one of Affleck’s call-outs, demanding three people — “Matt, Effing, Damon” — to get out from “Behind the Candelabra” and get in on the challenge.

Still no word from Damon, but for now, another celebrity got into the ice-bucket challenge game, sans pants:

Of course, it’s James Franco. Of course, he’s not wearing pants. Why would James Franco need pants to accept the ice-bucket challenge?

Josh Wigler

Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri.

@roundhoward

When “Saturday Night Live” reopens for business this fall, one of its longest-lasting and most instrumental voices will no longer be around for the ride.

Don Pardo, the legendary announcer whose words guided “SNL” for almost four decades, died in his sleep on Monday evening, NBC confirms. Pardo was 96.

Pardo was the announcer for “SNL” from the very first episode in 1975, missing only one season of the historic late night sketch comedy series (from 1981 to 1982). His booming voice accompanied virtually every episode of the series to announce the regular cast members, musical guests, and special hosts.

In 2010, Pardo was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. After breaking his hip in March 2013, Pardo was forced to miss two episodes of “SNL.” He was back at work the following September, introducing the cast just as he always did, with that iconic voice of his. It would be his final season of the show.

In the hours following his death, remembrances for Pardo are beginning to pour out, including from current “SNL” cast member Bobby Moynihan:

Leave your remembrances for Pardo in the comments below.

Josh Wigler

Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri.

@roundhoward

Let’s keep this short, just like the superhero at the center of his news: “Ant-Man” has begun.

Director Peyton Reed announced the start of shooting on Marvel’s “Ant-Man” on Twitter today, writing:

For “Ant-Man,” it’s been a long, hard, and not always pleasant road on the way to production. Edgar Wright came and went, after numerous years developing the project. The search to replace Wright was difficult and public, ultimately landing on Reed, director of “Yes Man” and “The Break-Up.” All throughout, casting was solid: Paul Rudd signed on as modern Ant-Man Scott Lang, with Michael Douglas signing up shortly after to play original Ant-Man Hank Pym. Also aboard: “House of Cards” and “The Strain” veteran Corey Stoll as the film’s villain, Yellowjacket, and Evangeline Lilly as Pym’s daughter, Hope, expected by many to assume the Wasp mantle.

Soon, we won’t have to make assumptions. Soon, “Ant-Man” will be here. For now, production is underway, with a release date less than a year away: July 17, 2015.

Josh Wigler

Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri.

@roundhoward

One of Robin Williams’ final films might be forced to move on without the late Oscar-winning actor’s talents.

In one of his last remaining roles, Williams was set to voice a character named Dennis the Dog in “Absolutely Anything,” a UK comedy starring Simon Pegg and members of Monty Python, focused on an otherwise normal human being who receives godly powers thanks to extraterrestrial hijinks. In the film, Pegg’s character consults with his dog, voiced by Williams, now able to talk thanks to Pegg’s character’s new powers.

Sadly, The Telegraph reports that Williams may not have completed recording his voice work in “Absolutely Anything,” leading to the very real possibility that filmmakers will have to recast the role. In an interview with the outlet, Pegg says he’s not sure if Williams had finished his work as Dennis the Dog or not.

“I’m not sure Robin had completed doing his voice in the movie,” says Pegg. “He was doing the voice of my dog and I hope that he had completed it because it would be a real shame not to have him in it. And of course there will be a degree of sadness there, but the work he did do would have been done with his usual verve and brilliance.”

Lionsgate UK didn’t confirm the Telegraph’s story about Williams’ involvement in “Absolutely Anything.” Aside from that picture, Williams still has three movies that will see the light of day in the coming months: “Merry Friggin’ Christmas” with ...

It’s been six years since “The Dark Knight” hit theaters, but even now, the brutal rivalry between Christian Bale’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker remains one of the all-time greatest comic book movie conflicts.

Today, more than 30 new behind-the-scenes images of Batman and Joker have resurfaced online, chronicling the now iconic interrogation scene just past the midpoint of “The Dark Knight.” Check them out:

Uploaded onto Imgur, the collection of “Dark Knight” photos features commentary from director Christopher Nolan, who explains why the Batman-Joker interrogation scene was one of the first sequences shot for the film.

“It was actually one of the first things that Heath had to do as the Joker,” says Nolan, quoted from an interview with Hero Complex. “He told me he was actually pretty excited to tear off a big chunk early on, really get one of the Joker’s key scenes up in the first three weeks of a seven-month shoot. He and I both liked the idea of just diving in, as did Christian.”

In the film, the scene shifts between chilling conversation to extremely physical interrogation, once Joker reveals that Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes’ lives are in danger. The violent nature of the scene owes thanks to well-choreographed stunt work, but also letting Ledger and Bale experiment with their characters’ chaotic chemistry.

“I had never seen anybody sell a punch the way Heath was able to with Christian. I got the violence I ...

“Scarlett Johansson-ite! I was way off.”

Those might as well be the foolish words spilling out of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels’ mouths based on the newest posters for their upcoming return to big-screen idiocy, “Dumb and Dumber To.” The Farrelly Brothers-directed sequel is still a few months away, but it’s already enjoying a fun bump in the marketing campaign, thanks to two new posters inspired by “Lucy,” the Scarlett Johansson action thriller about a super-powered woman who suddenly gains 100% access to her own brain.

Here’s Lloyd…

He’s pretty dumb.

Here’s Harry…

He’s even dumber.

And Here’s Lucy…

Maybe the dumbest? But you can’t argue with success.

“Dumb and Dumber To” makes fools of us all on November 14.

Josh Wigler

Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri.

@roundhoward

At long last, “The Giver” has arrived — but does it have enough color to survive?

That’s the key question critics are batting back and forth as reviews for this weekend’s “The Giver,” directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Lois Lowry’s 1993 novel of the same name, start to trickle in. Starring Brenton Thwaites and Jeff Bridges, “The Giver” takes place in a future society devoid of color and emotion, preferring authority-abiding Sameness to the dangers of diversity. The classic young adult novel is a key predecessor of stories like “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” but how does it hold up as a film of its own?

Some reviewers are happier with the results than others. Here’s a look at what folks have to say about “The Giver,” from its colorful cast to its color-free world:

The Story
“Thwaites plays Jonas, who lives in a black-and-white world. Literally. Color, unpredictable weather and interpersonal conflict have been carefully excised from the society he was born into — an unnamed city-state, set on a mesa ringed by clouds, where identical dwellings house family units whose members aspire to perfect Sameness. Daily injections of passion-inhibiting drugs help in that quest, as does a total ignorance of history. Memories of mankind’s unruly past have been erased, known only to a single Receiver of Memory (played by Bridges, who appears to have filled his cheeks with cotton in search of the perfect grumbly-gruff Voice of Experience).

“Upon their ritualized graduation from childhood, the Chief Elder ...

If it’s a Marvel Studios movie, it’s going to sync up with another Marvel Studios movie.

Ever since “Iron Man,” the films under the Marvel Studios umbrella have linked up with one another — even the far-space epic “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which features Thanos, the grim, grinning face of evil glimpsed at the end of “The Avengers.” It will be no different for “Ant-Man,” next summer’s all-new superhero movie from director Peyton Reed and starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas.

Exactly how “Ant-Man” links with the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe remains to be confirmed, but a new rumor suggests that some characters from the “Captain America” franchise will appear in the first act of the film. Look away now, if you’re worried about possible SPOILERS…

According to Latino Review, four faces from the “Captain America” movies will emerge during a prologue sequence centered on Hank Pym, the Ant-Man technology inventor played by Michael Douglas. Those characters are…

Peggy Carter…

Howard Stark…

Arnim Zola…

…and a young Alexander Pierce.

It’s an interesting possibility, one that seems even likelier considering Marvel is about to launch “Agent Carter,” an eight-episode ABC series focused on Hayley Atwell’s 1940s-era spy, and rumored to include Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark as well. Could this be a sign that Arnim Zola and Alexander Pierce will appear on “Agent Carter,” as well — and perhaps even Hank Pym?

Nothing is confirmed, but it’s all fun stuff to chew on while we wait to see ...

Old dogs, new tricks. That’s the mission statement of the “Expendables” franchise, the series of action films that sees Sylvester Stallone assembling all of his old 1980s action hero pals for one more run at the big-screen.

The hard-knuckled action series has its fair share of supporters and detractors. Both sides tend to agree that when it comes to an “Expendables” film, more often than not, you get what you pay for. It appears to be no different in the case of “The Expendables 3,” directed by Patrick Hughes, and in theaters now. This time out, the franchise adds genre veterans Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes as new heroes, and Mel Gibson as the villain. Do they bring enough juice to make the new “Expendables” worth checking out — or should this film be destroyed?

Certainly, reviews of “The Expendables 3″ aren’t exactly over the moon, but many agree that Banderas, Snipes and Gibson keep things entertaining enough. Read on for more of what critics are saying about the latest “Expendables” excursion:

The Story
“Kicking off with the rescue of ex-Expendable Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes) after eight years spent in Russian clutches with access to neither scissors or razor, this third instalment of Stallone’s geri-action franchise serves up an armored prison train, choppers, planes, speedboats, tankers, trucks, jeeps, missiles, guns and knives to make Crocodile Dundee wee himself in its first 15 minutes. Everything explodes, Caesar (Terry Crews) winds up in critical care and the target of the mission, arms dealer Conrad ...

Here’s an interesting development for any and all “Walking Dead” fans who ships Daryl Dixon and Carol — or Daryl and Beth, or Daryl and Michonne, or Daryl and any other lady, for that matter. It turns out that Daryl might not swing that way.

In the letters column of “The Walking Dead” #130, reader Nick Muller writes in to praise writer Robert Kirkman about one of the book’s newer characters — a long-haired, zombie-killing badass named Jesus, who just so happens to be gay. Muller then asks Kirkman if Daryl Dixon might be gay, writing:

“Absolutely nothing has given any indication that Daryl is straight and the relationship between him and Carol makes it seem even more likely that he is not only gay but that Carol is probably the only person he has confided in so far, and I feel like little hints have been dropped about it as well along the way but maybe not. I thought of this a long time ago but now I am pretty certain of it after the most bad ass character in the comic book turned out to be gay. I feel like if you had your way that Daryl would turn out to be gay since it’s true to the comic book and makes total sense for his character. So the real question is, would AMC let that fly?”

For his part, Kirkman answers the question head-on, without revealing spoilers. He says that AMC “absolutely would” allow for Daryl to be gay, adding:

“All ...

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