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Tuesday, November 3
Jackie Earle Haley recently spoke to MTV about the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, where Haley will take over the iconic role of Freddy Krueger, and revealed that it will "be a little darker, and a little more serious" than the original. According to a review of Nightmare posted on AICN, the movie is full of dark imagery, but other than that is described as having "slick production value with little meat to sink your teeth into."
The review's few positive mentions mostly deal with Haley's performance, calling it "no nonsense, to the point, smarmy, ugly, repulsive and just plain vile," which we swear is a compliment. Pretty good praise for a role that Haley says he won after online fans said he'd be perfect for the part.
The first I heard about it was people were suggesting me on the Internet for the part of Freddy. And I thought that was pretty cool. I found out my agents were already talking to [Platinum Dunes producer] Brad [Fuller] and stuff, and it had already started. It was pretty exciting.
Looks like the fans were right. If the early review is any indication, Haley may be the only thing that Nightmare got right, though there is plenty of time between now and the April 30, 2010, release date to make changes.
Posted 11/3/2009 by Ryan
Related: Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street
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Friday, October 30
Connie Britton is not known for horror movies. In fact, the Friday Night Lights actress told the NY Post that it took Rob Zombie and the casting of Jackie Early Haley to convince her to take a role in A Nightmare on Elm Street, the remake of Wes Craven's 1984 horror movie — a movie Britton admits she's only seen parts of.
I've known Rob Zombie for a long time and he's always been telling me, "Connie, you gotta make a horror movie!" But I was still too chicken. But when I heard Jackie Earle Haley was doing Freddy, I thought that this was the time. But in retrospect, now that I've seen a good part of the original, it made no difference because what we do in the new one is so substantially different.
Britton is playing the mother of heroine Nancy (Rooney Mara), but isn't sure that her role is as strong in the remake as it was in the original.
The truth is, I don't think the role is as well represented in the movie as it could have been. My sense is that the focus won't be on my character as much as I previously thought, but we'll see.
We have a feeling that the focus will likely be on Freddy hunting down Nancy, but that's just us.
Next Showing: A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 16, 2010
Posted 10/30/2009 by Ryan
Related: A Nightmare on Elm Street | Friday Night Lights | Connie Britton | Rob Zombie | Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street
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Friday, October 23
Since the trailer arrived for the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, fan reaction has been mixed. Producer Brad Fuller did some damage control on his blog, telling fans that Freddy Krueger's look was not yet complete, nor was Jackie Earle Haley finished creating Freddy's voice. ShockTillYouDrop recently asked Haley about his reaction to the trailer, which was pretty upbeat.
I think it's awesome and it feels great. I think the trailer looks really good. I know there's a lot of people out there that wished it was Robert [Englund] and I get that, I completely understand that. He really made the character incredibly iconic. He's iconic as well, so for me, it's just such a real honor to get to step in and have a go at that character. I think it's looking pretty good.
That's the spirit! What do you think of the trailer? (You can watch it here, if you haven't seen it.)
Next Showing: A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 16, 2010
Posted 10/23/2009 by Ryan
Related: Brad Fuller | Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street
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Monday, September 28
The new teaser trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street was supposed to premiere before screenings of Zombieland, but Nightmare producer Brad Fuller revealed it would arrive online sooner on his Twitter page, which promised a MySpace reveal.
As promised, he added the teaser trailer to his MySpace homepage at midnight. Now fans finally get a sneak peek at the remake/reboot of the Wes Craven classic with Jackie Earle Haley stepping in for Robert Englund as Freddy. Rooney Mara, Thomas Dekker, Kyle Gallner, and Katie Cassidy co-star with Samuel Bayer directing.
Next Showing: A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 16, 2010
Posted 9/28/2009 by Ryan
Related: Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street | Samuel Bayer
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Saturday, September 5
Terminator fans weren't enough to keep canceled TV show The Sarah Connor Chronicles on the air after two seasons, but that doesn't mean the concept is entirely dead. Thomas Dekker, who played John Connor in the TV show, told Digital Spy that a full-length movie is being developed.
They've spoken about doing a TV movie. Well, not a TV movie, but kind of like a direct-to-DVD movie. Obviously it's difficult because the show is based on a movie and they just had [Terminator Salvation] come out, so it's kind of hard to make a moviewith our show because everyone has kind of forgotten about us. But they're hoping, at least when I spoke to [producer] James Middleton, that's where they are with it.
Dekker, meanwhile, will have his hands full with Freddy when Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 16, 2010.
Posted 9/5/2009 by Ryan
Related: Thomas Dekker | Terminator Salvation | Nightmare on Elm Street
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Friday, July 24
Just days ago, a shadowy photo of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street was revealed online, and now a menacing, yet equally dark, poster has finally arrived. Obviously, Haley's appearance as Freddy is being kept a secret. For now.
Nightmare on Elm Street is a "re-imagining" of the 1984 original about a killer haunting the dreams of children with a glove filled with knives. Besides Haley, Rooney Mara and The Twilight Saga: New Moon's Kellan Lutz star.
Next Showing: Nightmare arrives in theaters April 16, 2010.
Posted 7/24/2009 by Ryan
Related: Kellan Lutz | Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street | Rooney Mara
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Wednesday, July 22
Surprise! He's burned and he wears a sweater!
No matter how iconic the look of Freddy may be, it's hard not to want a peek at everyone's favorite sarcastically creepy dream terror, especially with Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) in the iconic role. A new, dark and horrifying image has arrived online and that's so dark it's hard to see if it's Haley or just a publicity still of Robert Englund during his days as Freddy.
As the photo shows, Freddy has kept his signature hat and striped sweater. The only part of Freddy that will be slightly altered is his face, though it will maintain a grotesque appearance reports IGN from their recent set visit. The filmmakers are taking a darker approach with the remake, as discussed by producer Brad Fuller:
I think that our dreams are much closer to the first film than anything else. These nightmares are truly nightmares and that's one of the things that [director] Sam Bayer is so great about. We all have nightmares, but it's a difficult thing to communicate what they feel like, and I think that's what Sam is really doing an amazing job with.
Haley also thinks the remake is going to darker places:
I think we're focusing less on the camp and a little bit more of the scarier side. More of a serious side. And there's definitely, I think, a little more focus on, you know, what makes this guy who he is...I'm playing a boogeyman, you know? So that's what I'm really trying to embrace, but at the same time find out what makes this boogeyman tick. So there is room to look at his past and to see what's happened and to see what makes him who he is — to see what's made him the boogeyman that he is. But I think it's really important that Robert Englund and New Line have done such a fine job over the years of creating this world and this character. It's fun to kind of re-envision but at the same time we need to remain true, to a point, of who Freddy is and what the franchise represents. It's neat to get to re-envision it, but at the same time you don't want to go so far that we've left out what makes it so cool.
Posted 7/22/2009 by Ryan
Related: A Nightmare on Elm Street | Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street | Samuel Bayer
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Monday, July 6
Warner Bros. and New Line Pictures must be feeling very confident about their Nightmare on Elm Street remake. The movie is still many months away from its April 16, 2010, release date and yet Jackie Earle Haley, who plays the crazed, psychotic killer Freddy Krueger, revealed to BloodyDisgusting that he is signed on to terrorize teenagers for another two movies. Three movies total? "Yeah," said Haley.
Reports also have Rooney Mara, who will play heroine Nancy Thompson, returning for a second Nightmare as well. A remake of Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, perhaps?
Posted 7/6/2009 by Ryan
Related: A Nightmare on Elm Street | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | Jackie Earle Haley | Nightmare on Elm Street | Rooney Mara
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Tuesday, June 30
With almost every horror movie franchise being remade recently — Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre to name a few — Nightmare on Elm Street wasn't far behind. Robert Englund has been the only actor to appear in the series as Freddy, the dream-wandering psycho killer until Jackie Earle Haley was cast for the remake. In an interview with FearNet, however, Englund seems perfectly content to not be involved with the new Elm Street and sounds pretty excited about what director Samuel Bayer has in mind:
I really am looking forward to how they exploit the dreamscape with CGI and all of the new technologies that they have at their fingertips. That is something I think that is appropriate and that's what I'm looking forward to. My feeling is that [producer] Michael Bay — this guy has more money than God — would not put his name on this if he didn't have some real love for the franchise. He wants to reboot it and reimagine it, and I hope he wants to reimagine it and make it different.
Englund seems pleased with Haley wearing the knife glove this time around and is very taken with Haley's interpretation of the character;
I love Jackie's character. Jackie is not big, and I think that Jackie'ssize is gonna really work for him as Freddy Krueger. Because I've always in my mindset imagined… One of the metaphors or one of the images I've used for Freddy is a little rabid dog that just bites your ankle and holds on. A little yelping dog. And I think Jackie brings that, with his own physicality, to the role, without ever having to work it a little bit. He doesn't really have to work that. He brings that naturally with who he is, which I think is really part of the way I see it.
Englund hope Haley will be allowed to make changes as well:
I'd even like to see Jackie dressed a little differently. Jackie's a wonderful young actor. Let him make it his own. I always used to think of alternates to what I wore in that and I would say, after wearing that sweater for eight movies and a television series, "Maybe he would wear overalls, because he's a janitor." Maybe the hat could be different; maybe it could be a baseball hat or an old frayed baseball hat or something. Maybe the sweater is a vest or maybe it's an old thermal undershirt, those colors or something like that. I mean you've got to keep some of the mythology there. Obviously he's got to be burned and everything. But I sort of hope they avoid my silhouette, and I hope they alter the glove a little bit, rough it up a little bit or make it more [David] Cronenberg or something. I don't know. I just want them to liberate themselves.
Remakes can often not live up to the original, and Englund is sensitive to that fact, but doesn't want that held against the Elm Street remake:
The remakes are tricky. But it's something Hollywood's been doing since the 1920s. I mean they've remade A Star is Born six times. I'm in one of them for God's sake!
Next Showing: A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 16, 2010
Posted 6/30/2009 by Ryan
Related: Robert Englund | A Star Is Born | Michael Bay | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | Jackie Earle Haley | Halloween | Friday the 13th | Nightmare on Elm Street | Samuel Bayer
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Friday, June 12
MTV recently spoke to Twilight star Kellan Lutz about his upcoming role in 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street remake. When asked about the reboot, he said "It's very similar to the original, but with new characters. It's a really great cast, and the script is great."
Also joining Lutz is Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) as Freddy Krueger, and TV stars Kyle Gallner (Smallville, Veronica Mars) and Thomas Dekker (The Sarah Connor Chronicles). What do you think — does Elm Street need a remake? And should it be a 90210-style teen slasher? We're not sure even Lutz's Twilight fan following is going to be enough to save this one.
Posted 6/12/2009 by Jenny
Related: Kellan Lutz | Thomas Dekker | Jackie Earle Haley | Kyle Gallner | Nightmare on Elm Street