Q. I’m rather shocked that, not only you Clint, but your colleagues, haven’t run anything on the Robert Sanchez allegations. You did know him, right? – Ryan

A. Of course I knew, Robert – we’d worked together for years. But I refuse to comment on the situation, and I think you’ll find the other web guys do too…. and for good reason. You see, fact of the matter is, the ‘victim’ has been through enough – I don’t believe the story needs to be given any more media attention; it’s been sufficiently covered everywhere. More so, Moviehole is a “movie news” site not a Crimewatchers blog.

I’m good friends with a lot of the web guys -  in fact, I’d count Garth Franklin (Dark Horizons), Josh Tyler (Cinema Blend), Brad Miska (Bloody Disgusting), and Dave Davis (JoBlo), among some of my closest pals – and we have been for the best part of a decade; we’ve had a lot to do with each other…always talking on the phone; some of us are even working on projects together – but you’ll find I’ve never discussed any of their lives on the site either. And I don’t plan to – even if they go through something major. It ain’t my business, it ain’t your business. When we discuss a Fugitive, you can count on it being about Richard Kimble.

Q. Hey, You not know what good Superman movie is! You too old to know and be in with the good Superman movies! That’s why you love Superman Returns!- Benjamin Lane

A. Excuse me, got a prune stuck in my throat….[ahem] They’ve always said that “Superman IV : The Quest for Peace” was big with the illiterate crowd. Thoughts?

Q.Dude, you’re spot on with “Superman Returns” – it was a fantastic addition to the series. It had real heart that one but it also encompassed, no matter what they say, a heap of action and adventure – Gaz

A. It sure did. It was a great bookend to Donner’s film, too. Can you imagine the response to the film had one of the alternative earlier incarnations of “Superman” (the Burton, Ratner or McG films) gotten up instead?

Q. Clint, fucking great words on “Superman Returns” – you not only know your shit, you know your Supermen – Brandon Routh was great. Can you give us a clue who you’ve heard may be on WBs radar to play the new guy? – Alex

A. All I can really say is, he’s not a household name – yet.

Q. I ran across your review of “Casualties of War” on Rotten Tomatoes…. one of the Greatest War Movies Ever Made? Really? What kind of a moron are you? – Charles Shepherd

A. Seemingly one that knows a lot more about film than you, Chuck. I think you’ll find you’re in the minority there – “Casualties of War” was not only one of the best reviewed films of the year, but is now deemed one of the more realistic interpretations of the war (with ‘the enemy’ not always the side you’re fighting against) put to film. It’s also one of the best Brian De Palma films – but, judging by slamming of this one, I assumed you’ve never cared to watch “Body Double”, “Scarface”, “The Untouchables” or “Blow Out”, right?  So you’ve likely no idea what a Brian De Palma is, let alone what a Brian De Palma film is. (I also offered Charles the chance to speak on the phone about this, defending my review of “Casualties of War”. Not surprisingly, he didn’t respond to the proposal). Happy 14th Birthday, mate.

Q. Hey, What can you tell us about your trip to the set of “Tron 2″ in Canada? Did it look like the original? – Arek

A. Arek, can’t speak about that particular set visit yet. That, and a couple of others, should be up around Chrissy.

Q. Have you ever met Christian Bale? is he a knob? – Pete Lowring

A. Quite the opposite, Pete. I’ve known Christian for years – he’s a fan of the site, and was one of the first to really get behind it; as a consequence, when he revealed to me his interest in playing Batman (many, many years ago) we helped kick off the campaign to get him cast (You can read about it in a great little book by David Hughes called ‘Comic Book Movies’). I’m aware Christian’s got a temper (we’ve all heard the audio), but I’ve personally only ever found him to be a congenial, helpful guy – so that’s all I can go on.

Q.I’m sure you are as frustrated as I am with Hollywood rebooting movies, let alone rebooting movies less than ten years old (the only Reboot I particularly liked was ”The Incredible Hulk”…but then again it was more of a workable mismash. ”Casino Royale” was good but me and a lot of Bond fans I know are beginning to miss the “History” of it all. It stuck around so long for a reason… true it was losing depth fast, but all that takes is a good story and a new director. Now things like Blofeld, Spectre, James’ Wife…etc are completely gone..and for true fans of the film, those emotional moments are now being replaced with one’s that just don’t seem to hold as much oomph to the universe. And after watching fight scenes in ”Quantum of Solace” be almost a shot by shot rip off of some Jason Bourne fights…
already this rebooted series is starting to lose depth. In my own honest and humble opinion, I think although the two newest films are good enough to be Bond, I think maybe they should go the way of Never Say Never Again…but again, just my opinion). That was a long parenthetical, I apologize… I’ll step off my soapbox. Anyway, the reason I’m writing is mainly to vent (and most of that is out of the way). I just read the article on The Reboot of The Bourne Series. My first reaction was absolute repulsion… but being a fan of both books and film, I am kind of curious what pre-amnesia Bourne would be… and I am also very keenly interested in the franchise (and character) becoming bigger than the star and living on. I’ll be there for the prequel, as long as the studio keeps the original trilogy canon. They could also carry on past the third one and do stuff with Carlos The Jackal (who was the main villain in the first book). But then again, I don’t think the studio really cares what I think. Anyway, thank you for hearing me out. Sorry to bother you and all that. – Danny Warren

A. I hear ya, man. And look, the studio mightn’t necessarily care about what you, personally, think… but they do listen to the filmgoing community’s complaints and feedback. And if only for the backlash that erupted when those ‘Bourne’ reboot rumours surfaced (which, I believe, Damon started), the studio has now opted to do a third sequel to the Matt Damon series – rather than prequelize the series. As we speak, Tony Gilroy is writing “The Bourne Legacy” (I too would love to see Carlos the Jackal, but since the other films haven’t stuck too closely to the Robert Ludlum books on which they’re based on, I suspect it’ll be a different villain) and though he’s playing hard-ball (telling anyone that will listen that he’s only going to do the film is Paul Greengrass directs), I don’t think there’s going to be any need to replace Matt Damon.

Q. Hi Clint. I’ve really enjoyed your site this year. I visit only two sites regarding film – yours and AICN. Moviehole is a really good site. I remember back in the mid nineties, I thought the Weinsteins were these hipsters making great films.Then i read Down and Dirty pictures. My respect for them went out the window. Now with the flop which is ”Nine” ( Kate Hudson is the best barometer for a flop out there ) how are these guys still in business? Outside of ”Inglorious Basterds” – it’s flop after flop! – Mitchell Hall

A. Thanks champ. You’re right – The Weinstein’s aren’t just, er, “difficult” to work with they have been hanging on by a thread. When Bob and Harvey split from Disney in 2005 and formed TWC, they were capitalized with $500 million in debt and $700 million in equity. They have since burned through all that cash, and aside from the small profit they made on “Basterds”, have little to show for it. Luckily for TWC, Goldman Sachs recently bailed them out, offering to pay not only the company’s debts but fill their pockets up, too – and it’s, rather shockingly, an interest-free loan too! I’m thinking Goldman Sachs, like Ambac before them, must’ve been smashed when they agreed to aid in the “restructuring” of the company.

Q. Clint, What was your first job in the media industry? How did you get about getting it? Tips for a budding reporter? – Bianca Mirojick

A. Hey! I started in commercial radio when I was about 17. I was persistent, so that’s how I got in the door initially, but usually, you’ve got to have some education and training behind you – particularly if you want to “move up the ladder”. In fact, I would later discover that without a degree, or some kind of qualification, you’re not ever going to get a pretty name plate on your door – thus, I’d later spend several years at University. So… yeah…It’s a combination of working-your-way-up (taking the jobs that nobody else wants to do; even offering to do that job for ‘nothing’ until you’ve proved yourself) and schooling. Though, obviously, I didn’t need a degree to run a website, my years at university have come in handy elsewhere- the business I run, the corporates I’ve worked for, the films I’ve produced, and the sales position I have at a distribution company. And, I have to admit, several other media positions were only made available to me based on the fact that I was a University graduate – a lot of the big companies, particularly in the media industry, still take notice of a piece of paper (which, I will admit, sometimes isn’t fair – because someone unqualified may be just as right for the job). If If you’re seriously thinking about a job in the media industry that ‘pays’ (something of an average wage), I’d suggest a mixture of on-the-job training (offer to volunteer somewhere) and schooling. If, however, you don’t want to make any money, and are willing to donate your time to benefit others, what I would suggest is a career in freelance journalism or running an entertainment website full time (As my web colleagues will attest to, it takes years to make a cent out of an entertainment website! Took Moviehole about five years before it started to turn into a profit-makin’ business that required registration, GST privs and an individual tax return).