Seems like everyone hated The Punisher except me. I really liked it. Yes it had an ample suplly of cheese served with it, but I had fun watching nonetheless.

The only problem is that The Punisher wasn’t a HUGE box office hit. As a matter of fact it only made $33 million domestically and $54 million world wide. Considering the film cost $53 million to make and market… and they at least made $1 million in profit. So I’m SHOCKED that the studio has officially confirmed it’s decision to go ahead and make The Punisher 2… but happy at the same time.

And the best news is that it’s NOT going to be a direct to DVD profect either. The good folks over at HNR give us this:

During a webcast Tuesday, September 27 at the Thomas Weisel Partners Consumer Conference in New York City, Marvel Entertainment vice chairman Peter Cuneo said that The Punisher 2 will be in theaters late next year.

Huray! Yeah I know… most of you think this is bad news. Oh well… more leg room for me in the theater next year. :)

Ronald Redding, a member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) has been charged after sharing his screener copy of Million Dollar Baby. The screener copy was given to him prior to voting for the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Perhaps what he didn’t know was that each screener copy that was distributed had unique watermarks attached to them. So when illegal copies of Million Dollar Baby started popping up, all they had to do was look at the unique watermark to see who the copy came from. In like 5 minutes they knew it came from Redding.

Redding now faces up to 6 months in prison and up to $250,000 in fines and settlement. OUCH!!! But hey, like I said in yesterdays Revenge of the Sith Piracy post, this guy was given a copy in trust and he broke that trust. Also, as a member of SAG he knew very well what the consequences would be if he copied it… and he did it anyway. I’ve got no sympathy for him.

I’ve always liked Mike Myers all the way back to his Saturday Night Live days. So I Married An Axe Murderer still sits in my top 25 all time favorite comedies, and his short appearance in Mystery Alaska as an old “Don Cherry” type hockey veteran commentator still puts me in stitches every time I see it.

So now it’s been announced that Mike Myers will take on a different kind of role. Myers is set to portray Keith Moon, drummer for The Who in an untitled project. The good folks over at CommingSoon give us this:

Moon’s penchant for destroying drum sets while bandmate Pete Townshend smashed his guitars helped to forge The Who’s rebellious image. Moon was just as wild offstage and the lunacy nearly overshadowed an instinctive power drumming skill that fueled The Who. The hard living caught up to Moon, who died in 1978.

The only other time Myers has even attempted a “dramatic” type role was in 54 when he played Steve Rubell. The results of that attempt were questionable. So the real question is: “Can Mike Myers be a successful dramatic style actor portraying a real life character”? I honestly don’t know… but I’m curious to see the attempt.

What do you think? Can Myers pull a role like this off?

I enjoyed Steven Spielberg’s version of War Of The Worlds… even though I wasn’t THRILLED with it. The movie did a great job of instilling that “Oh damn we’re all screwed” feeling that a lot of other apocalyptic films seem to overlook. The film also had some wonderful visuals that really struck fear and awe at the same time.

Now, Paramount Home Entertainment has announced that the War of the Worlds DVD will be released and available on store shelves on November 14th 2005. The DVD will be a 2 disk set. The good folks over at Digital Spy give us this:

The two-disc package from Paramount Home Entertainment will feature a film disc and also a disc of special features including interviews with director Spielberg and the movie’s star Tom Cruise who will be giving insights on the film’s production. Also included is a feature explaining the creation of the virtual army of the Tripod invaders, a behind the scenes look at the film’s production and a homage to H.G. Wells’ novel upon which the picture was based.

Notice that the special features doesn’t mention a “Commentary track”. I’ve heard that Spielberg doesn’t like doing commentary tracks on DVDs. I’ll be curious to see if he does one for War of the Words or not. I hope he does… it’s my favorite feature on DVDs.

Around the Web is a daily feature where we highlight some of the days movie related stories from across the internet that we think you may find interesting. If you come across something that you think we should share with the rest of the world, please contact John with the link.

• Wrecking Crew - “based on his story as a former drummer of the rock band ‘Bad Religion’. The memoir details his after-fame experience playing on an amateur baseball team made up of what he describes as members of “the Hollywood underclass”. While the team of castoffs and has-beens finds success on the baseball field, off the field they struggle with their own battered, damaged lives” This sounds like a great idea fora movie to me
• Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in a new romantic comedy called ‘Holiday’
• I know What You Did Last Summer 3 and xXx 3 coming stright to DVD
• NYTimes say Serenity is better than Star Wars
• Albert Brooks new film “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World” - In “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World,” he plays a comedian sent by the State Department to India and Pakistan with a couple of minders to find out what makes Muslims laugh, so everyone can get along better in the post-9/11 world. I think this is a killer idea for a film!
• The new Robert Iger era at Disney - It’s about bloddy time
• Broken Lizard’s “Nutcracher” - a film about a big, mean linebacker who starts to lose his football skills and turns to ballet to get his edge back
• Luke Willson to get castrated - Don’t worry ladies, it’s only for his new movie “Barry Munday”

Ryan Reynolds is a bright up and coming star, and we here at The Movie Blog have expressed our feelings towards Reynolds in the past. The Movie Reporter has an interview with Reynolds which was held during some publicity for his new movie Waiting… . He comments on a question about The Flash and whether or not he is a fast runner.

Yeah, there are so many issues with that, that’s a humongous movie, if it does go I am sure it has to go through all the appropriate channels. I imagine God is financing it I don’t even know, I don’t know what it would cost to do that movie but it’s all that sort of stop motion stuff it would just be a huge feat but it something I am excited to do and I know David Goyer’s really into it so. Yeah, yeah, hopefully … Uh, well by the time they get it made no (laughing) I’ll be a fossil I’ll be a golden girl but uh yeah I think the magic of film will help me out a little bit but I can run pretty fast I’ve stolen a thing or two in my life.

I like Reynolds; he was the only character who I enjoyed in Blade: Trinity -well Jessica Biel was really hot- and I was pleased with the The Amityville Horror remake. Reynolds displays his comedic attitude very well, and it’s obvious that he is serious about maintaining the muscle in order to keep up with his acting peers.

Do I think Reynolds will make a good Flash? It would be interesting to see. Like many times, it all depends on how the story is laid out. Will it be DC dark and serious like Batman Begins, or will it be saturated with comedic tomfoolery?

The Flash is a great character but can be tricky in live action. I did enjoy the TV series staring John Wesley Shipp, but that was a half hour show -maybe a hour- which is rather easy to maintain audience attention.

What are your thoughts on Reynolds being The Flash? What elements do you think are essential for a successful Flash story?

Ok, this is getting worse than the whole “Who will be Bond” thing! Keith Richards is in and out and in and out and in and out of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 more often than his teenage groupies pants. A few weeks ago we told you that he was now final in his decision to be “out” of the film. Well surprise surprise… it looks like that’s all changed.

the back and forth ping pong action continues for us as the good folks over at Cinema Blend give us this:

Often unreliable news resource WENN reports that Richards has agreed to appear in the film as Captain Jack Sparrow’s father, at least according to Orlando Bloom. “We’re going to have an appearance by the great Keith Richards,” says Bloom.

Look, I’ve gone eon record a number of times and said that I think Keith Richards would be a fantastic novelty for Pirates (as long as it’s a small part and not some leading role. If it’s a leading role then get a real actor). But this is getting silly. Either he’s in or he’s out. They’re already well into filming for heavens sake! Make up your minds!!!!

Eight people have been charged with crimes related to illegal theft (which begs the question: What exactly is LEGAL theft anyway?) in connection to screener copies of Revenge of the Sith being released over the internet the day BEFORE the actual release of the film in the theaters.

The good folks over at Guardian give us this report:

Court documents allege the piracy began with a screener copy of the film at a post-production facility in Lakewood, California, where one of the defendants worked, and ended with the movie being released online the day before its worldwide release.

Ok, now I know that I’m often criticizing the movie industry for focusing too much on internet piracy. I also tell them all the time that they can’t fight the internet. HOWEVER…. when you’ve got a guy (or guys) who work in a production house and is contractually obligated to respect the property they are working on… and then that guy (or guys) steal it from the production house and release copies online for others to download… then I think you drop the hammer on him.

This isn’t a case is little Billy in his bedroom downloading a crappy copy of The Girl Next Door that he FINDS on the internet. This is a guy who the film makers TRUSTED with their film… and then they betrayed that trust… took a copy and released it for the world to take. That’s wrong. They got caught… and I have no sympathy for them. Am I off base on this?

This one just boggles my mind. Jodie Foster’s new film Flightplan is a bad movie. I would suggest boycotting it just for that reason alone. However, I would NOT recommend boycotting Flightplan for the reasons being offered by the Association of Flight Attendants.

This group of whiners is crying about how flight attendants are portrayed in the film. The good folks at the BBC report the following:

Flight attendant unions in the US have asked members to boycott new thriller Flightplan, saying it depicts in-flight personnel as “unhelpful and uncaring”.

In the film, currently topping the US box office chart, Jodie Foster plays a mother who loses her child on a plane. But her attempts to locate her daughter are stymied by sceptical airline staff. “This disrespect to our profession is not going to fly,” said Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).

“Flight attendants continue to be the first line of defence on an aircraft and put their lives on the line day after day for the safety of passengers. “This unfair characterisation undermines the image we project as first responders.”

Ok, first of all I HATE it when any group thinks they’re above being shown in anything but a PERFECT light. That really drives me nuts. But what’s worse… is that of all the things wrong with Flightplan… how they portrayed Flight Attendant isn’t one of them.

The film showed the characters acting totally properly and doing their jobs. The movie also showed them as real people who reacted in a strange situation as any other ordinary person would. There was nothing wrong with how the flight Attendants were portrayed at all. I just think they’re upset the Flight Attendants weren’t set up as the “heros” of the movie and want to cry about it.

Avoid seeing Flightplan because it’s a bad movie… not because this group of sucks are crying about it.

Dallas the Movie has been talked about on The Movie Blog for a while now… but this week the frenzy officially got started as Variety released it’s list for who is in talks to play certain roles. The list is a proverbial who’s who of “A” list actors (well… some of them anyway).

So here’s my question. How on earth do you turn a running… decades long soap opera into a 2 hour movie? Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying they CAN’T do it… I’m certain they can. I only ask that question out of pure wonder! If they can come up with an effective script that really pulls it off I’ll be VERY impressed.

So the good folks over at Time Out have given us the run down on the names being thrown around for roles in Dallas. Here they are:

The most high-profile role - that of super-villain JR Ewing - appears to be a four-way battle between box-office heavyweights John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones.

As for Sue Ellen, the current favourite to play her is Catherine Zeta-Jones, although both Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez aren’t far behind in the pecking order.

Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon are apparently eyeing up the role of Pamela, while youngster Lucy should (almost inevitably) be played by Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson or Mandy Moore.

Matthew McConaughey and Owen Wilson are in talks to play Bobby Ewing, while Jane Fonda may well take on the role of family matriarch, Miss Ellie.

Now keep in mind that filming isn’t supposed to even start for about a year… so any names you hear could drastically change, and I’m sure they will. Looks like Dallas the Movie is going to be the next “Who will play Bond” or “Who will the Spider-Man villain be” issue. And we have a full year to hear about it. Oh joy.

The AFI list has become something I look forward to every year. Lists are great. Pure subjective fun that always starts a discussion. I’m sure this years list is no exception… The top 100 musical scores in film.

To my total delight, the #1 score of all time was John Williams’ work for Star Wars (the original, even though I thought his stuff on Empire Strikes Back was even better). Here’s the rest of your list

#2 GONE WITH THE WIND
#3 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
#4 PSYCHO
#5 THE GODFATHER
#6 JAWS
#7 LAURA
#8 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
#9 CHINATOWN
#10 HIGH NOON

To see the full 100 list you can go here. Thanks to Simone for letting me know the list was out!

New Line Cinema has purchased the comedy “Boob Job” and Michael Markowitz will be writing the script [Via: The Hollywood Reporter].

The idea was hatched when New Line exec Cale Boyter spoke at Benderspink’s recent weekly company lunch where industry members give career seminars. “Cale told a really funny story about a guy whose wife had gotten implants and it ruined the guy’s life,” J.C. Spink said. “We all agreed that that would make a great movie.”

I know this premise may be rather used, but it honestly sounds like it could be very funny -and of course have some nice ta-ta’s in it-. Throughout my college years, I worked as a bartender for a nightclub here in Buffalo NY. While living this vampire’s lifestyle, I witnessed stories like this unfold before my eyes each Friday and Saturday night. You would see a women come in who you’ve seen a number of times before, but this time she looks like she gained a few pounds in the personality region and lost a few pounds in the boyfriend area. A common tale told by men who pushed their women to get implants -which can be fun for the whole family-.

A movie based on a women’s change, not only in her appearance but her personality as well, can relate to many men out there who this has happened to, or even those who know someone. The metamorphosis both physically and mentally would pave the way for some very uncomfortable but humorous situations for our hero. I can see this type of role working very well for an actor like Ben Stiller. His nervous and flustered reactions would cater very well to the type of character who would be dealing with this dilemma.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a weak story line, or one that has promise? Also what are your feelings on the myth (or not) of a women changing her personality drastically post enhancement? I would be interested in hearing from both men and women on this one.

Serenity is a film I’ve been looking forward to for a long time… and now here it is. Based on the all too short lived show Firefly, Serenity marks what I’m sure will be the first of many Joss Whedon excursions to the big screen.

I’ve been very impressed with the quality of visual effects I’ve seen in the commercials and trailers up to this point… but now the time has come for rekoning. Serenity opens nation wide this Friday (Stupid Richard got to see it already a few weeks ago at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and just loved it. You can see his review here)

The early reviews are now coming in and they are basically looking positive… although not entirely. Here’s what some of the critics have to say:

“An A-grade experience. The writing is impeccable, the chemistry among the cast is fantastic, the performances are great, and the action is non-stop!”
Clint Morris, MOVIEHOLE

“Good old-fashioned entertainment that delivers primarily through its storyline, it’s a bit like Star Wars with a dash of Indiana Jones-style action.”
Urban Cinefile Critics, URBAN CINEFILE

“Bounces around to sometimes memorable effect but rarely soars.”
Derek Elley, VARIETY

“Whedon, who always delights in blending genres and tones, has assembled his most frantically disparate collection of pop culture quotations, boldly and cleverly going where plenty have gone before.”
Matt Singer, VILLAGE VOICE

At this moment Serenity has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Positive… but not as positive as I was hoping to see. It’ll be interesting to see how the rating changes as more reviews come in. Personally I think this movie is going to be exceptional… but I’ll have to wait till Friday to see.

The other day Richard posted a story about a potential Spike (a vampire character from Buffy the vampire slayer and Angel TV shows) movie (see the post here). Since I loved the Angel TV show I’d be interested in this… although I’d rather see an actual Angel movie with Spike in it. But oh well…

At any rate, Joss Whedon has shed some more light on the topic by coming right out and saying the wheels are indeed in motion. The good folks over at MovieHole give us this:

Things stand that all of the art guys — the people who would be involved artistically — have been trading phone calls going, “Wouldn’t this be cool? Wouldn’t this be cool?” We don’t have a paradigm set up yet. We don’t have anything solid to announce. I’m just making sure that the creative people I need are in place before I set up a whole deal and then James Marsters goes, “Gosh, you know? That’s kind of behind me now.” Or [if] I don’t have a writer I can trust, because I don’t have time to do it all myself; I need one of my peeps. And there’s no greater peep for something like this than Mr. [Tim] Minear. I’m optimistic that I will actually have something to say in the near future, but at this point it’s still me and my buddies going, “Wouldn’t it be cool?”

To me that sounds pretty conclusive that a Spike film is in the near future. In the interview Joss mentions a few other former cast names that would appear in the project… saddly David Boreanaz (Angel) wasn’t one of them. Oh well.

Courtesy of IESB’s The Movie Reporter we have the scoop on what went down at the Mallrats 10th Anniversary DVD release and signing, which was held at Secret Stash West in Los Angeles. Among the personalities who attended were Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier and Jason Lee -who showed up late-.

The Movie Reporter also has published a series of video interviews which can be viewed using Windows Media Player. Kevin’s interview covers a few interesting topics. He discusses the new store in LA, his weight and work in Vancouver Canada, Southland Tails, The Passion of the Clerks, and how he washed his hands of directing the The Green Hornet.

This was a shocker. Kevin replies to a question on the Green Hornet project stating that he has handed in his script work but will not be directing the film. He actually says he is not talented enough to direct a project of this type. I find this hard to believe. I am a big fan of Kevin Smith’s talents and I think any project that has a comic book origin would be perfect for this man. Kevin has written Daredevil and Black Cat books and has an extensive knowledge of this style of story. Perhaps he is just being humble and truly didn’t want to deal with the bull shit.

Check out the video interviews and let us know what your thoughts are.

I figure I could probably write a a top 200 list of the WORST movies from TV shows list… but that takes longer and quite frankly I don’t have that kind of initiative, so we’ll stick with the much shorter “BEST OF” list. A list that doesn’t even deserve to be 10… so I’m sticking with 5.

So here is the list of the 5 best films ever made that were based on a television show

5) George of the Jungle
Ok, I know it was slapstick and silly… but at the same time it was completely charming, funny and had a lot of life to it. I know that of all the movies on the list this one will probably get the most negative feedback… but it was still a fun and enjoyable flick to watch so it comes in at #5.

4) Charlies Angels
Yeah, the second one sucked stones, but the first Charlie’s Angels flick had excellent action and a lot of hard laughs along the way. Man they should have just walked away after the first one.

3) Mission Impossible
Also under the category of “They should have stopped after 1″, the first mission Impossible was not a pure action flick like many were expecting… it was more of a thinking man’s thriller with some action. Imagine that… a guy’s flick that made you think. Good stuff!

2) The Fugitive
TV show or not, this movie is killer! I have a very hard time thinking of any weaknesses in it at all. Fantastic cast, well directed, great plot twists, solid action and a very satisfying ending. This is a wicked fricking movie and has a spot in my top 50 films of all time.

1) The Untouchables
This is easily the greatest film based on a TV show ever made. Brian De Palma (who also directed Mission Impossible, Scarface and Carlito’s Way) crafted a wholly engaging story of the Capone/Ness war. Nominated for 4 Oscars (Sean Conery won best supporting actor for it). It was ROBBED at the Oscars in 1988… there is no chance in hell The Lat Emperor should have won best picture over this classic. One of the all time truly great films. “Isn’t that just like a wop… bringing a knife to a gun fight”.

So there you have it folks. How would your list look different?

There’s been a lot of speculation going around about who the villains in the upcoming Spider-Man 3 film will be. Well, according to Kristin Dunst, it’s Thomas Haden Church as Sandman and Topher Grace as Venom.

Personally I’m still concerned about the idea of using 2 big villains in the film. If the bad Batman films taught us anything it’s that using multiple main villains can end in disaster. But, it can work if done right… I’d just feel better about it if they focused on one guy (my choice would be Venom). The good folks over at FilmForce give us this:

Dunst is quoted at Zap2It as saying, “We have really great people though as the villains in this film, Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace — Venom and Sandman.” She added, “Maybe I wasn’t supposed to say that.” But when a journalist expressed disbelief that Sandman lookalike Church would be playing Venom, Dunst corrected her gaffe. “It’s the other way around. You’re right.”

Now, keep in mind that this COULD just be a publicity stunt. I doubt Kristen Dunst is that much of a fool that her bosses main rule (don’t reveal the villains) is one that she’s forget. Also keep in mind that she hasn’t read the script yet. In general what she’s saying sounds credible… but I won’t die of shock if I find out she was just lying.

One thing is for sure. If Grace is Venom, then there won’t be any body suit like there was for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Veonom will be full blown CGI all the way. As a former Special Effects guy I’m really curious to see how well they’ll pull that off. Your thoughts?

Don Adams died at age 82 on Sunday. The Howard Stern Show discussed the carrer of Adams this morning, covering his great work on the sitcom Get Smart. If you are not so familiar with this Nick at Nite rerun -those closer to my age- you know him as the voice of Inspector Gadget, and his role as the harbor master in Back to the Beach.

Adams had been ill for some time. Receiving a hip replacement a few years back and suffering from liver disease, which caused his passing.

Don Adams was a comedic icon of his time and his character from Get Smart looks to have a resurrection in the making. Currently Steve Carell is in pre production for the “Get Smart” Movie, playing the character coined by Adams.

Don Adams; we here at The Movie Blog salute you!

Everyone knows by now that Halo the game is being made into Halo the Movie. Also, most people already know that it’s going to suck because that’s what video game movies do. And now Peter Jackson’s name is being attached to the project… but only by massive Halo fans and their wishful thinking.

Too many sites over the weekend have been regurgitating a rumour that Peter Jackson is going to be the guy to direct Halo the Movie. However, that rumour was shot down almost as quickly as it appeared. Universal already confirmed that Jackson is NOT going to direct it. However, I could have told you the rumours were false even before Universal said it for the following reasons.

1) I guaran-damn-tee you that NO credible director would put their name on this disaster waiting to happen. You will not see Jackson, or Spielberg, or Howard, or Coppola, or Scorsese, or Nolan, or Singer EVER EVER EVER get associated with this film. Not just because video game movies are jokes, but mostly because the game company has already said they are going to keep control of the movie, and no director worth his salt is going to take ANY direction from a company that knows NOTHING about making movies.

2) After doing everything he still needs to do for King Kong, Peter Jackson is going to get started on The Lovely Bones. They’re looking to get Halo The Movie out within 2 years… so the schedule just doesn’t work.

I don’t want to get too long winded here so I’ll end the list there. Mark my words, there will not be a credible director taking the helm of Halo The Movie. It won’t happen unless Wong Kar-wai loses everything he owns in a Mahjong game and Microsoft backs up a dump truck full of money minutes before the loan sharks show up to break his knees. But other than that… no chance in hell. Your thoughts?

Oh today is just full of good news!!! The Dukes of Hazzard SHOULD have been an EASY $120 million box office movie. They should have made that much in their sleep. However, after the Dukes of Hazzard opening weekend, word got out REALLY fast about how horrible it was… and the Box office momentum ground to a halt. The movie made about $77 million.

A few weeks back the non-actress Jessica Simpson made some comments about a sequel being in the works that would take the Dukes to London. However, the new word on the street is that the studio and other cast members aren’t interested in doing another Dukes of Hazzard flick. The good folks over at Moviehole give us this:

Johnny Knoxville tells Moviehole that that’s a load of garden soil. In fact, he’s seemingly against a sequel. [Funnily enough, a distributor's release schedule recently emailed in, show's a "Jackass 2", due next year].

Co-star Seann William Scott tells Dark Horizons that he’s not very keen on returning to Hazzard County either. “There’s a lot of hateful people about that film too”, laughs Scott. “It made a lot of money, which is great, but I don’t think well do a sequel for it. The reviews are so bad. I think they’re just psyched they made a bunch of money. They could have had they made a more conscious effort to make it funny throughout the whole film instead of just 20 minutes of funny and then a bunch of cool car stuff”.

Oh yes!!!! Let sanity reign! Could this be the begining? Could this be the sign that MAYBE we are starting to send Hollywood the message that we’re tired of them putting non-actors in leading roles and dishing us “Dude Where’s my Car” humour? And could it be that the studios may actually be listening to us? Maybe not… but this is still the best news I’ve heard all day.

FIle this one under the “good news of the day” category. It seems like all those Evil Dead remake rumours floating around (some of which it should be mentioned were floated by Sam Raimi himself), seem to be just that… just rumours. And why do I consider that good news? Because of the other rumours that Ashton Kutcher was supposed to play Ash. Thanks goodness this isn’t true.

So why do I think the Evil Dead remake is… well… dead? Because of Sam’s brother Ted Raimi. The good folks over at M&C give us this:

According to Dark Horizons, cult-hero Ted Raimi, brother of Sam Raimi, was recently asked about the proposed remake. His response was something of a shocker, “Yes, I have this to say about it: there won’t be one as far as I know. That’s all I know. I mean there might be, there might be one but as far as I can tell there isn’t. Nothing’s going on with it at the moment”

Now granted, this is Ted and not Sam shooting the Evil Dead remake down… but it’s still good news! I hope this thing stays dead… unless they decide to get Bruce Cambbell back. That would rule. All hail the king baby!

Variety reports that Ted Naifeh’s comic Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is set to be adapted into a major motion picture.

Courtney Crumrin is a yong girl who’s parents are obsessed with money and their social rank. The family moves into the home of their rich uncle, Professor Aloysius Crumrin. Old man Crumrin’s huge Victorian mansion is par for the course in the well-to-do neighborhood of Hillsborough. However, as Courtney soon discovers, Uncle Aloysius has a sinister reputation throughout the district, and his home is shrouded in dark rumor. And while this new arrangement allows the greedy Mr. and Mrs. Crumrin a much-desired boost in social status, Courtney feels as though she’s landed in a nightmare. Her new school is filled with spoiled rich brats just as shallow and selfish as her parents. She quickly finds herself an outcast. And if that weren’t bad enough, the moldering old mansion seems to house even stranger creatures than Mom and Dad or Uncle Aloysius.

I love comic book movies as much as the next geek but one thing I like even more is when a small circulated comic gets the greenlight for the big screen. The story doesn’t carry as much hub-bub and comic book movie stereotypes, plus fans who are familiar with the characters can have a more intimate experience with the film. “The Night Things” is one of those comics, a modern Grimms fairy tail of sorts, sweet and fun with just enough darkness to creep you out a bit.

The only information we have at this time is that Graham Tallman is set to write the script, and we will probably see a 2007 release date announced within the next few months. This has the potential of being something special.

They crawl about the dark corridors, just out of sight. They crunch bones in the corner. And sometimes they’ll climb up on the bed and watch Courtney while she sleeps. Mom and Dad don’t notice them, but Uncle Aloysius knows all about them. He calls them “the Night Things.“

Okay, this is a proper trailer now and Twitch had the link from IGN. Not that teaser rubbish we saw before, but one with actual footage.

I’ve got to say despite the 23 seconds of non-Saw II footage, the rest seems pretty interesting. You get the premise from it and some of the tension, and it looks to be in a similar style to the first. It might not disappoint you know. Hey, it’s got Donnie Wahlberg in it, and he’s a good actor. So maybe they’ve got that part covered off this time.

Check out the trailer and then post back your thoughts.

Fancy some horror and scares in your life? Well I do, I love horrors, I love being scared, I really don’t know the psychology of it but I love the feeling…just not for real though, I do like the fact I can walk out, come home and be safe.

I also love trailers, they really should be considered a separate art form. They can be superbly effective and give a movie a really good voice, they can destroy it, they can give everything away, or they can just damn work and make you want to see the movie with enough tease that you want to go see it. The amazing thing is when a trailer works on a simple story, and in the case of The Death Tunnel it’s summed up almost in the first ten seconds of dialogue. It’s all you need to know and if you like scares and horror then you’re hooked. I think it looks pretty scary and quite stylish.

Check out the downloadable 15Mb trailer through Twitch, who also have a link to a short clip and the official site. Here’s the IMDB blurb:

Movie is based on the True Stories and Hauntings of Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. This horrific Five story structure is listed as one of the Top Ten Scariest Places on Earth, due to the 63,000+ deaths within this monument of Terror. They were then carried through the massive Five hundred foot underground Tunnel to their final resting place. The story involves Five girls on a college initiation, dared to spend the night separately on the Five floors of this sanatorium, with the Five ghosts that exist within it’s abandoned corridors. Will they make it through the night? For the only way out is through…the Death Tunnel.

Unfortunately if you’re not in the US you’re not looking at a release just yet. It’s written by British brothers Philip Adrian Booth and Christopher Saint Booth (Yeah!) and directed by Philip. They’re next movie is due out the following month and is called ShadowBox, here’s IMDB again:

In the tradition of original ground breaking psychological thrillers such as Jacob’s Ladder, Deliverance and Sixth Sense comes this unusual tale of rivetting terror and suspense! A thought provoking story about the darkest Shadow cast from the brightest light in the world, the Human Soul! Set in DARKWOOD, APPALACHIA, we enter the macabre world of Ian Willows, a young man existing in a state of delirium inside an insane asylum. He is afraid of everything, even his own shadow, but that is the terrifying point! We journey through the bizarre and unsettling events that may have led him to madness…

I won’t go on, suffice to say that the blurb is a bit over zealous, however it does sound an interesting plot, again only a US release though. Thoughts on the trailer for Tunnel?

Well just outside, but crews have been moving in and working for a few days now and the filming has begun today. The weather is very windy, slightly damp, overcast and threatening rain. How do I know? I live here. No link required.

They’re filming for the next four days (or so) at Rosslyn Chapel, which is mentioned in the book, and I leave for Spain tomorrow a.m. so there’s no chance of me getting anywhere near there. That and the fact that I couldn’t even get anyone to talk to me about the faintest whiff of getting there.

Still, at least they’re using Rosslyn, and the money will help them with restorations. It’s a very beautiful place (as is Edinburgh). My advice though is to go early in the day and make the most of your entrance fee.

Oh, and I won’t start a rant about how all the real story of Da Vinci Code is almost indentical to the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln published in 1982. Everyone, including the Church, has latched onto the Code and the hype, yet just about the entire back story of the Church and the Grail, etc is uncannily like this 1982 book.

Update: Just watched the Scottish news and they can’t get anywhere near the filming either. The whole area is blocked off and the Chapel shut down for tourists. Looks like we’ll be waiting to find out about it after the filming. Lot’s of trucks around, stories from the local people annoyed about access (to what, the Chapel? It’s not a through road!) and from a tourist who wanted to see the Chapel but can’t, well stay around for a few days and you can. Oh, and the original Rosslyn Hotel talking about the crew popping in for dinner, yeah, colour me cynical, we won’t see Hanks there, but the story is good for trade. So no news out of there I’m afraid.

There’s been a bit of speculation about a Spike movie coming from Joss Whedon, but it actually looks like it might be more than rumour.

In an interview over at E Online through Coming Soon, Amy Acker talks about her new role in Alias - love that show, and watch out Alias audience abroad, there be spoilers afoot - but at the very end she says…

…Joss Whedon has spoken with her about resurrecting her role as Illyria. “He has mentioned it a couple of times,” she told me. “I mean, the last time, I talked to him a couple weeks ago and said that I had heard that Tim Minear was gonna write and direct the Spike movie, the Spike-Illyria movie, so he said that they want to do that still. I think he’s just overwhelmed a bit right now with the press for Serenity and everything!”

Sounds damn good, and the best confirmation I’ve seen so far. I hope when they do write it that the emphasis is more on the darker side of Spike and not the more jocular Buffy side…Is this the kind of hint you’ve been looking for? How would you like to see Spike on the big screen?

I was gonna name this article “Halo 2 ‘DOOMed’ to Suck” but I figured that was lame.

So am I writing this to get the vid-geeks worked up? Maybe.. But honestly, I really do mean this.

When it comes to video games, I’d like to say I know what I’m talking about. It’s sad, I know, but it’s true. I am learning as the years go by, that life brings one to play less, but that doesn’t change the fact that I get full use out of my HD Loader and in my gaming hey-days, I:
Played defender until the computer crashed from level counting.
Beat the tar outta Mike Tyson over and over and over… (007 373 5963)
Held an Unreal Tournament Server record for over two years.
Beat the original Zelda in one sitting. Twice.
Would play 4-on-1 Heretic and I’d win 30-1.
Beat both the Arcade versions of UN Squadron and Killer Instinct 2 on one quarter.

Bottom Line: When it comes to vids I’m not an idiot - I won’t say I’m the best but I’m not dumb. My video game playing spans across 3 different decades. And guys, (and the VERY occasional girl) I’m sorry, but I sat down and played for a good number of hours the other night and: Halo 2 sucks. No really. It does.
(more…)

The extremely famous porn actress, director, writer, producer and composer Jenna Jameson is set to follow the illustrious footsteps of another famous porn actress Traci Lords and move into Hollywood movies.

According to Moviehole she’s set to star in the movie Sin-Jin Smyth, a story about a mysterious prisoner being transported on the “Day of the Dead”, a day when the devil is claimed to appear at two places in the world at once, India and Kansas.

The film, which just had its production schedule extended (Rumor has it, to accommodate a sequel) follows two federal marshals on a midnight prisoner transfer over Halloween weekend of a mysterious man with no identity (who may or may not be straight out of Hell). No word on who the blonde bombshell’s been cast as.

Also joining the cast of the film - which stars Richard Tyson, Jonathan Davis and Lewis Smith - are Kevin Cage ["Heat"], “Grease” fave Jeff Conaway, and Reb Brown ["Captain America"].

Perhaps we’ll see Jenna as the Devil herself? Now that would be an interesting one. She was already in a movie about the Devil, The New Devil in Miss Jones! Has anyone actually seen her act, other than a few videogame voices in such games as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City?

I can’t remember where I saw this idea already, but someone can tell us, where a series uses one star to interview another star. It’s a great idea, like two for the price of one in your local superstore. Well the Sundance Channel are doing that very same thing with a series of interviews on a show called Iconoclasts, from The BBC:

…Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s London-based correspondent, will find herself the subject of questioning from film actress Renee Zellweger…

…Another interview will see REM frontman Michael Stipe questioned by chef Mario Batali.

The series begins on 17 November with Samuel L. Jackson chatting to basketball legend Bill Russell

Some interesting pairings, I’ve already seen loads of interviews with Samuel L. Jackson, I’d have loved to have seen him interview someone that he admires, or one of his acting peers that he doesn’t. That would have been interesting. How about Jackson and Sylvester Stallone, or Morgan Freeman? Those are two interesting choices. Mr Jackson if you like the idea, let John know and he can line it up on the audio edition.

However, the big hitter is reserved for the end of the series with Robert Redford interviewing Paul Newman.

Viewers will be able to watch Redford quiz his fellow actor on his life and work, from his film career to his car racing and philanthropy…The Newman and Redford programme ends the series in December.

It’ll be really interesting to see the two together and see the chemistry off screen. It’s a shame for cinema that they haven’t worked more together, The Sting and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid were amazing movies which showed off their individual talents and the remarkable charisma they had together. Will this carry off into real life? (Well as real as a televised, scripted and pre-rehearsed interview will be!)

If you could choose a pairing for an interview, who would you pick? Stallone and Arnie? Hackman and Woods? Who?

I was born in Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, you know what that means (this might tickle John and Doug) I am a true Highlander. I was born and raised in the Highlands of Scotland, by wolves. Okay, that last bit isn’t true, I’ve got a Mum and Dad, despite what John keeps calling me on IM.

However, there is a point to this story, it’s a little charming piece that I caught over at Cinematical and it makes me real happy because they mention my Birthplace.

Since 1975, the Hebrides islands off of Scotland have been without a movie theater. Anyone desperate to see, say, Transporter 2 or March of the Penguins had no choice but to go to Inverness.

That was the mention by the way. I was five then.

While that perhaps doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, when one realizes that Inverness is over 100 miles from the western Hebrides (50 by ferry + 60 by car), you begin to realize that seeing Brad Pitt might not be that important.

That said, however, residents of Stornoway (the town in which the new cinema is being built) haven’t been totally without Hollywood for the past 30 years. After the local disco stopped screening films, they began showing in the Stornoway Town Hall, a practice which has continued once a month for over 20 years. No matter what film is showing, most screenings are packed - over 1500 people crammed into the space to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and police were once brought in to subdue an unruly crowd eager to see The Perfect Storm

That’s fantastic, finally the UK’s lottery money doing something decent, rather than building real tennis courts, or upgrading the expensive seating in the most expensive Opera house in Britain. However will those days of cramming into the Town Hall be missed? Anyone from Stornoway to comment?