Carrie Fisher's Death, the New Alien: Covenant Trailer & Dunkirk's New Star ­– The CineFiles Ep. 1

Written by Matt Campbell The Cine-Files Did you hear about Hollywood’s freshest new face? That whole Covenant thing? Or what about the passing of an iconic Star Wars actress? No? We've got you covered. Welcome to "The Cine-Files," a weekly show where we zoom in on the most buzz- worthy news Hollywood and the indie scene has to offer. #3: Alien: Covenant’s First Trailer ‘Twas the night before Christmas and some pretty terrifying creatures were stirring through the house. Santa came early this year and on Christmas Eve, unveiled Alien: Covenant’s first trailer. And it is bloody. Serving as both a sequel to Prometheus and a prequel to the original Alien, Alien: Covenant is about a crew who travel to the far stretches of the galaxy in search of an uncharted paradise. But as the red band trailer shows, it proves to be anything but. We witness some pretty horrific stuff; facehuggers, backbursters and a new species of alien, a Neomorph, which you probably missed if you blinked. Not to be outdone, the famous Xenomorph shows up at the end and spills a whole lot of blood. With Michael Fassbender returning and newcomers Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and James Franco joining, Alien: Covenant is sure to be one of the New Year’s biggest releases. #2: Dunkirk Unveils its Star Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic, Dunkirk, has its lead! But he isn’t your typical Hollywood A-lister. No, it’s not Harry Styles! It’s 19-year-old newcomer, Fionn Whitehead! In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nolan discussed how important it was for him to cast an actor who was new and unknown in order to reflect the British soldiers’ inexperience during Operation Dynamo – a mission to rescue allied forces trapped on a beach. Whitehead took the challenge in stride, showing up weeks before filming to prepare for the harsh, war-like conditions by swimming in full army garb. While we might be used to Nolan casting big name leads like Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio, the director’s authentic vision will likely have audience salivating for its July release. Before we get to our final pick, don’t forget about these flicks that came out this week. 20th Century Women (2016) Paterson (2016) Fences (2016) #1: The Death of Carrie Fisher On December 27th, at the age of 60, Carrie Fisher passed away. Known for her iconic role as Princess Leia of the Star Wars franchise, Fisher went into cardiac arrest during a flight from London to Los Angeles and despite initial reports that she was in stable condition, passed away four days later. Not only was Fisher a prolific actress, but also a mental-health advocate, having herself struggled with bipolar disorder and addiction. She was also an outspoken feminist, fighting sexism and ageism in Hollywood throughout her career. An overlooked fact was that Fisher was a talented screenwriter, often doctoring the dialogue and improving scripts for George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Landis, just to name a few. Carrie did finish her work on Star Wars: Episode VIII, so audiences will get to say goodbye to Princess Leia one last time. May the force be with her, always. So, what did you think of this week’s Cine-Files? What film news should we have mentioned? For more movie magic published everyday, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.