Saturday, November 7

• Simon Pegg Updates Paul

  There hasn't been much word regarding Simon Pegg's newest film, Paul, about two British slackers who decide to go to Area 51 in search of aliens after a trip to Comic-Con only to discover an actual alien. There's been one still released, which doesn't really show very much, and actor Jason Bateman talked about getting a gift from his Paul co-stars, but that's about it.

  Apparently, even Pegg is aware of the lack of news, because he recently offered an update to his fans in the forum of his web-site.

  Hi all

  Thought you might like to hear how things are going on the Paul front. It's been a while since we wrapped now and with the absence of Lance B's video blogs, I guess things must seem to have gone very quiet. Rest assured the good (space)ship Paul is progressing apace. Our venerable and brilliant director Greg Mottola [Superbad], is currently ensconced in an edit suite in NYC with Oscar winning editor, Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire ... and Spaced, Shaun and Fuzz), putting together the first pre f/x cut. The next phase of the process will see Greg and Chris continue to hone and cut the movie and will of course entail the complex process of bringing Paul himself to life, combining the efforts of ace f/x wizards, Double Negative and further work with The Green Hornet himself, Mr. Seth Rogen. Rest assured all is going well and we're all very excited. More news of a kind as we encounter it.

  Simon

  Paul also stars Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Jane Lynch and Rogen as the voice of Paul.

  
  
  Next Showing: Paul is expected to debut in the U.K. in 2010

  Posted 11/07/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Jason Bateman | Simon Pegg | Shaun of the Dead | Hot Fuzz | Paul

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• The Weinstein Company Really Wants to Make a Hellraiser Remake

  Despite pushing back production on Halloween 3-D due to possible financial woes within the company, The Weinstein Company is still keeping its fingers crossed about getting a Hellraiser remake off the ground after two years of attempts. At the American Film Market, ShockTillYouDrop reports that The Weinsteins included a synopsis for the remake, listing no director or writer but creator Clive Barker as Executive Producer in their AFM guide.

  The re-telling of Clive Barker's classic horror masterpiece. Based on Barker's critically acclaimed novella The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser tells the story of an unfaithful wife who attempts to assist her dead lover in his escape from hell. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of forsaken demons — lead by one of the most enduring horror characters of all time, Pinhead — he must force his former mistress to bring him the necessary human sacrifices to complete his body. Clive Barker's Hellraiser promises to be a terrifying journey into the darkest corners of the soul.

  Producer Bob Weinstein told Variety in September that he was planning to go "back to doing what I do best," which apparently means sequels for franchises like Scream, Spy Kids, and a Hellraiser sequel in 3-D. Weinstein seemed confident that financing for the sequels wouldn't be a problem.

  There is no question that financing is readily available to produce and market these films. I am eager to expand our scope in the 3D business.

  Looks like he is doing just that.

  
  

  Posted 11/07/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Robert Weinstein | Clive Barker | Hellraiser

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• William Shatner in Star Trek 2? Says It's Up to J.J. Abrams

  Star Trek director J.J. Abrams has made it no secret that he would like to have William Shatner appear in Star Trek 2, even planning a lunch to talk with him about it.

  At a recent unveiling of a wax figure of Shatner as Captain Kirk, Shatner said that his participation in the sequel is entirely up to Abrams.

  I have no plans, because I don't make those plans. JJ Abrams has my fate wrapped up in his two little hands. I would love to be in the next Star Trek, if he so thought that would be good for it.

  
  

  Posted 11/07/2009 by Ryan

  Related: William Shatner | J.J. Abrams | Star Trek 2

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Friday, November 6

• Four New Kick-Ass Teaser Posters Debut

  Lionsgate has released four new teaser posters for Kick-Ass, director Matthew Vaughn's dark, teen superhero movie adaptation of the comic book by Mark Millar.

  Each of the four posters spotlights one of the movie's "heroes": Aaron Johnson as Dave "Kick-Ass" Lizewski, Nicolas Cage as Damon "Big Daddy" Macready, Chloe Moretz as Mindy "Hit Girl" Macready, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris "Red Mist" D'Amico.

  Also, we should mention that the official Kick-Ass movie site is up and running, though with only limited content for the time being.

  
  
  Next Showing: Kick-Ass opens April 16, 2010

  Posted 11/06/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Aaron Johnson | Nicolas Cage | Chloe Moretz | Matthew Vaughn | Christopher Mintz-Plasse | Kick-Ass

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• Bradley Cooper Replacing Shia LaBeouf in Dark Fields Adaptation

  Actor Bradley Cooper has been cast as the lead in director Neil Burger's (The Illusionist) latest thriller, Dark Fields, replacing Shia LaBeouf, who was originally up for the role. Cooper will play a struggling writer who experiments with MDT-48, a drug that helps him tap into his brain's full potential, making him smarter and more charismatic. However, it also has some negative side-effects, such as headaches, blackouts, and violence. After his supply of the drug runs low, he goes in search of more only to discover its origins are deadlier than he could imagine.

  Described as being in the same vein as The Game and Fight Club, the Dark Fields screenplay was adapted from Alan Glynn's book of the same name by Leslie Dixon (The Heartbreak Kid). Dixon, Scott Kroopf, and Relativity Media's Ryan Kavanaugh are producing, with Relativity's Tucker Tooley acting as executive producer.

  
  

  Posted 11/06/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Bradley Cooper | Neil Burger | Leslie Dixon

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• San Diego's Comic-Con Creator Shel Dorf Dead at 76

  With the San Diego Comic-Con now running like clockwork as one of the biggest gatherings for comics, movies, and any other vaguely nerdy pop-culture ephemera in the world, it's hard to believe that it's largely the work of one man.

  Shel Dorf, a comic book collector who moved from Detroit to San Diego, put together the first con back in 1970, which was attended by 300 people. The most recent SDCC, this past August, was attended by 125,000+ people, with next year only promising more.

  Dorf, who died on Tuesday, stopped running the convention after 1984, complaining that it had been taken over by Hollywood and other media pursuits when originally it really was just about appreciatiating comics, their creators, and their collectors. While Dorf's fanaticism for the medium's fandom dropped off a bit later in his life, he is fondly remembered for the recognition he brought the art form during the long years before it reached widespread acceptance.

  SDCC has posted a remembrance from R.C. Harvey, Comics Journal columnist and longtime friend of Dorf, here.

  
  

  Posted 11/06/2009 by reelz

  Related: Dick Tracy

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• Why HAL 9000 Sings "Daisy Bell" in 2001: A Space Odyssey

  OK, if you haven't seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, get to the nearest video store now. And don't listen to your friends who tell you it's boring. Try to imagine seeing it in 1968 in the midst of the "Space Race," and try to imagine you've never seen Star Wars, whose visual effects were a direct result of those in Stanley Kubrick's movie.

  With that bit of evangelism out of the way, let's talk HAL. Yes HAL, the spaceship computer system whose calm, icy voice (well, actually it was Douglas Rain's voice) made him one of the most terrifying villains in movie history. Rather than include a spoiler, we'll simply say that at a crucial moment, HAL starts singing the 19th-century ditty "Daisy Bell."

  For those who've seen the movie: Ever wondered why Kubrick and author Arthur C. Clarke decided on "Daisy Bell" as the tune of choice? Well, according to a recent article in Switched.com, the choice was the result of a trip Clarke made to Bell Labs in the early '60s. There, programmers introduced him to the IBM 704 — the first computer to "sing" — and a performance of "Daisy Bell." Inspired (or perhaps disturbed) by what he heard, Clarke decided to work the song into the script for 2001, which he co-wrote with Kubrick.

  One last observation: HAL served as a warning against the dangers of technological advancement ... and this computer rendition sounds like a precursor to that lovely thing we now know as Auto-Tune. The horror!

  
  

  Posted 11/06/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Stanley Kubrick | Arthur C. Clarke | Douglas Rain | 2001: A Space Odyssey

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• Sacha Baron Cohen to Play an Ambulance-Chaser Fighting for Justice

  We wouldn't call Borat and Bruno full-fledged documentaries, since the title characters were fictional extensions of Sacha Baron Cohen's twisted psyche. Nevertheless, the movies' antics were steeped in reality, creating a kind of pseudo-vérité.

  But now, it appears that Cohen has decided to abandon the candid-camera shtick altogether. Variety writes that the 38-year-old British comedian has founded his own production company, Four By Two Films, and will go to work producing a new fictional project scripted by Peter Baynham.

  Accidentes will tell the story of an "ambulance-chasing personal injury attorney of Latin descent" (played by Cohen) who helps a poor immigrant with a case against his wealthy employer. Ambulance-chasing, huh? We'll be interested to see what that means.

  Cohen struck a deal with Universal for Accidentes and also got Columbia to commit to another starring vehicle. Cohen will script that project, as yet untitled, with Baynham, Anthony Hines, and Dan Mazer, the trio who collaborated with Cohen on Borat and Bruno.

  
  

  Posted 11/06/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Sacha Baron Cohen | Dan Mazer | Anthony Hines | Peter Baynham | Bruno | Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

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• Hobbit Director Talks Dragons and Spiders and More

  In an in-depth interview with Total Film, Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro lays out his vision for The Hobbit in detail and talks about how he plans to take creature design out of the shadow of The Lord of the Rings. In conceiving these creatures, he says he will "keep the DNA in the same gene pool as the Rings trilogy," but with some critical differences.

  ...in the trilogy most of the creatures are brutish or inarticulate. In The Hobbit, the creatures speak: Smaug has beautiful lines of dialogue; the Great Goblin has beautiful lines of dialogue; many creatures do. So we had to design them with a different approach because you are not just designing things that are scary.

  I also wanted some of the monsters in The Hobbit to be majestic.

  I wanted the Wargs to have a certain beauty so that you don't have a massively clear definition: what is beautiful is good and what is ugly is not. Some of the monsters are absolutely gorgeous.

  Of course, the most anticipated of these creatures is the dragon Smaug. It's something that del Toro has been working especially hard on, and he promises something really unique here.

  ...we're finishing his colour palette and a little bit of the texture. But the bulk of the design took about a year, solid. It's because of the unique features of the dragon.

  Early in production I came up with a very strong idea that would separate Smaug from every other dragon ever made. The problem was implementing that idea. But I think we've nailed it.

  And then there are the spiders of Mirkwood.

  Well, they are the progeny of Shelob, but Shelob was quite a promiscuous girl [laughs]. She mated with many partners. And insects and spiders are incredibly adaptable creatures. There will be spiders.... They are more creatures of the shadow, more creatures of the deep forest. They are not earth nesting. They are nesting in the canopies so physically they have adapted to that environment.... With Shelob, she was quite low to the ground so she moved like a tank. Our spiders have to feel massive but be very nimble.

  What comes through most in this interview — which is well worth reading in full — is just how much fun making this movie is for him. And from all the hints he drops, it looks to be massively fun for the audience as well.

  
  

  Posted 11/06/2009 by Bill

  Related: Guillermo del Toro | The Hobbit

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• Resident Evil: Afterlife Set Photos, Tweets, and Casting News

  Resident Evil: Afterlife is currently shooting in Toronto, and Milla Jovovich has begun using her Twitter account to update fans on their progress. She began by mentioning a scene with Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller "on a skiff approaching the huge ship" with the cast enduring freezing temperatures. Just a day later, a few photos from that set have surfaced online.

  Missing from the photo is new cast member Sergio Peris-Mencheta, who ShockTillYouDrop reports was recently added to the cast in an unspecified role. If he's "lucky," he may end up in one of Jovovich's tweets.

  so, Wentworth, Ali and i are doing this scene right now where chris r.[Miller] and clair r.[Larter] run into the V22 hangar, guns blazing, trying to shoot Wesker [Shawn Roberts], but to run in groups firing weapons is VERY dangerous. and the last time we all did a scene when we were all firing together, i could feel my hair flying up from the guns behind me.and one of Wenty's shell casings pegged Boris Kodjoe right on the ear. ouch.

  and its supposed to be super heroic with all of us shooting thru a wall of undead as we run towards a potential escape route...but in the end we all end up looking like such a**holes, cause we're all trying to dodge eachothers bullets and shooting one another...tripping and sliding thru the gravel, falling in a most unimpressive manner! lol!so stupid! we look like such imbeciles!

  And it was all captured in 3-D by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson. Well, the whole episode might make the DVD.

  
  
  Next Showing: Resident Evil: Afterlife is scheduled to open August 27, 2010

  Posted 11/06/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Paul W.S. Anderson | Boris Kodjoe | Sergio Peris-Mencheta | Milla Jovovich | Ali Larter | Wentworth Miller | Resident Evil: Afterlife

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