30 Nov – Malaysian and Singaporean moviegoers are going to get one of this year's best movie treats as they will have the opportunity to witness a nine-minute sneak peek of the 2013 blockbuster "Star Trek Into Darkness" exclusively at TGV Cinemas and Shaw Theatres Lido in Singapore before "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" IMAX 3D screenings. Early this week, Paramount Pictures had already announced that the special brief footage of Abrams's "Star Trek" sequel would only be played in 500 IMAX 3D theatres across America before the screening of the Peter Jackson "Lord Of The Rings" prequel. Now, after receiving the confirmation of Warner Bros. Pictures in Malaysia and Singapore, the distributors of "The Hobbit" in this region, audiences here will also be able to enjoy the same privilege. As long as one is headed for the IMAX 3D screenings of "The Hobbit", moviegoers would be able to view the first nine minutes of "Star Trek Into Darkness", which would be locally distributed by United International Pictures Malaysia and Singapore. J.J. Abrams stunned audiences with his successful reboot of the popular sci-fi movie franchise with "Star Trek" back in 2009 which grossed over US$385 million worldwide. This time, the New York-born director is back to helm the camera for the sequel, alongside screenwriters Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The sci-fi feature will see Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg and John Cho reprising their respective roles in the film. "Star Trek Into Darkness" will be released in Malaysia and Singapore on 16 May next year.
Apart from the sneak peek, rumours of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" shown in 48 Frame Per Second (48 FPS) at Malaysian cinemas might just be true as there are 10 cinemas in the Klang Valley (GSC and TGV) which are currently undergoing tests to confirm if the said version of "The Hobbit" would be made available for screening. The common screening rate for movies shown at the cinemas runs at 24 FPS. The double 48 FPS rate would allow for a smoother, realistic looking motion rendering with clearer detailing that's much more so than a movie seen on High Definition screens. Catch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" during this holiday season, starting from 13 December.