It has been highly talked about that Peter Farrelly (of the Farrelly brothers directing team) has been trying to create a film adaptation of the classic television show, ‘The Three Stooges.’ At a press conference for his latest film, The Heartbreak Kid, Farrelly told ComingSoon. net details about the long awaited film and if it’s indeed going to happen or not.

ComingSoon.net gives us this quote:

“It’s one of those things that’s just been tricky,” he said. “The studios all feel like women won’t go see it. I don’t agree. ‘Dumb and Dumber’ wasn’t a chick flick, but eventually women got in there. Also, they don’t think it’s going to be big overseas because no one knows of it, but again, nobody knew about ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ We are going to do it eventually.”

How can people overseas NOT know THE THREE STOOGES??! Honestly, why are studios holding back on this project? There are tons of television shows remade into movies all the time, and I have no idea why they would be holding back on a project that has both an old and young audience. (Jesus, it can’t be any worse than ‘Wild, Wild, West!’) Would you guys like to see Farrelly revamp the ‘Stooges?’

For those who were excited by the news Rodney posted the other day about Jessica Biel being cast as Wonder Woman in the new ‘Justice League’ film, I have some bad news. It seems that Miss Biel has pulled out of the project last minute.

MovieHole gives us this:

EW doesn’t actually state why Biel decided – at what’s seemingly the 11th hour – not to take on the role after all (despite the trades announcing she was as good as locked for the part), but it should please those die-hard “Wonder Woman” fans who’ve been writing into us like typing’s going out of style complaining about the casting decision.

Hmm…I wonder why she didn’t want to do the project? Was the pay cheque going to be small? Was she not interested in sharing screen time with many other superheroes? Or did she realize this movie is destined for disaster? (My guess is all of the above)

Well, if it makes you upset that she won’t be in it, I know something that will probably upset you guys even more. According to IESB.net, the rapper T.I. has recently read for the role of ‘The Green Lantern.’ Now how do you guys feel about that?

Three words. Teenage lesbian werewolf. Those three words are enough for anyone’s ears to perk up and say ‘what the f*ck?’ Apparently, Ellen Page and Olivia Thirlby (two young up and coming actresses who also starred in ‘Juno’) have been talking about the film project ‘Jack and Diane’ that they have been desperately hoping to get funding for.

FirstShowing.net gives us this synopsis and details:

Jack (Thirlby) and Diane (Page), two teenage lesbians, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough skinned heart. But, when Jack discovers that Diane is leaving the country in a week she tries to push her away. Diane must struggle to keep their love alive while hiding the secret that her newly awakened sexual desire occasionally turns her into a werewolf.

Ellen and Olivia go on to talk more about why this isn’t in anyway an actual werewolf movie. Contrary to the way that it’s described, it’s more of a relationship drama. It just falls into the category of “lesbian werewolf movie” because that’s the simplest way to identify it amongst other indie dramas.

Wow…it actually shocks me that they haven’t found funding for the film, because this sounds so out there and strange, that I think a lot of people would just want to see this project just out of morbid curiousity. Honestly though, if Ellen Page is involved, I will definitely want to see it. She really caught my attention in last year’s ‘Hard Candy’, and she’s proving to be one of the youngest sought out actresses right now. (Even if this sounds like a ‘Ginger Snaps’ rip-off with lesbians :P)

For anyone who has ever watched the original 1997 German thriller, Funny Games knows making an American remake (done by the same director, Michael Haneke) was a pretty daring and ballsy move. This movie is going to shock audiences and having such a well known cast (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt) is probably going to make the remake seem far more disturbing then the original. (It’s definitely not going to be easy to watch.)

ShockTillYouDrop got their hands on the poster for the upcoming thriller that is going to be released on Feb 15, 2008. Check it out below and the trailer if you haven’t seen it.

I always thought that Sean Patrick Flanery had the looks and the talent to get to A-list status, and never really understood why he has not managed to get there yet.

I remember the day I first went ga-ga over Mr. Flanery. It was when I first watched him play the charismatic character, Max in one of my fave films, ‘Suicide Kings’. I couldn’t believe he was the same man who played the main character in ‘Powder.’ (his most notable role…well besides playing the young Indiana Jones of course. :P)

When he was in the hit cult film, ‘The Boondock Saints’ as one of the viligantes, I was SURE his career was going to sky rocket. Unfortunately, besides straight to DVD films, and seeing him as a regular guest star on CSI and The Dead Zone, true Sean Patrick Flanery fans have yet to see him in something truly great and worthy of his presence. Hopefully, we’ll see him on the big screen again. (Or I’m just going to have to buy a new copy of ‘Suicide Kings.’ I watched it so much, it skips. :P)

IGN got a hold of some pretty awesome movie stills of the upcoming thriller, The Mist based off a Stephen King novel. After watching the trailer, recently I’m very hyped up to see this movie. (Although I must admit, the CGI creatures look very lame) Also you can’t go wrong if you have Frank Darabont directing the film. (Screenwriter and Director of ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Green Mile) Take a look at these couple of pics and click HERE if you want to see more stills of the film that is due in theatres November 21st, 2007.

I want to be the first one to say that “vampire horror” is going to be the next string of horror films we will be seeing for a while. (Good-bye “torture porn.”) The next vampire project underway is from ‘Blade’ writer (and director of Blade 3) David Goyer. He will be directing the film adaptation to the graphic novel (penned by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden), ‘Baltimore.’ (Also known as ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire.’)

Comingsoon.net gives us this:

Just-published by Bantam, the graphic novel tells the story of the awakening of supreme evil on Earth. Lord Henry Baltimore is bitten by a demonic vampire bat on a WWI battlefield. The plague destroys his family, and Baltimore creates a team to hunt and fight the Red King, the embodiment of all evil.

David Goyer is one busy man these days. He’s signed to director “X-Men” spinoff, Magneto, and worked on Doug Liman’s ‘Jumper.’ This sounds like a promising project, (especially since it’s based off something Mike Mignola has done) and although I have some doubts about Goyer’s ability to direct a decent vampire movie, (didn’t care for ‘Blade 3) I think he’s hopefully going to learn from past mistakes and do well with this project.

Prepare to hear the worst remake news since we found out that the Thundercats were being remade into teenage rockstars dressed as Cats fighting crime.

Knight Rider was an iconic staple of 80s night time TV. Clearly the springboard that launched David Hasselhoff into worldwide fame often credited to Baywatch.

Now we get an update on the Knight Rider movie, in which the Hoff tried to cast himself and Orlando Bloom through a leaked rumour campaign. Well this won’t be a Knight Rider: The Next Generation, but rather a heavily influenced Transformers vs Knight Rider show.

MovieWeb reports:

The telefilm is scheduled to air later this season. If the TV movie is a hit, a series will follow shortly afterward. It could be on the air as early as next fall. Dave Andron is currently writing the screenplay, which will see the car shifting into different shapes and fighting off other evil shape-shifting cars.

So will Autobots wage their Battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons?

Or is this just implying that (presumably) KITT will be a car that can transform into other vehicles and such instead of giant robots.

I guess if they make the car TOO high tech it would seem a waste to pit him against villains that are mere mortals committing crimes. They have to raise the bar of the badguys too and give them transforming supercars too.

I think I liked this idea better when it was the animated tv show MASK

William Shatner once said that the role of Kirk in JJ Abrams Star Trek Prequel is “uncastable”. I happen to agree to some extent with that statement. Shatner didn’t mean that no one could do the job, just that the character became so synonymous with Shatner himself that anyone you got to play Kirk would actually be playing William Shatner playing Kirk.

So no matter who they choose, someone is going to have issues with it. I am undecided about the most predominate casting rumour for Kirk to date.

AICN says:

Well, allegedly Mike Vogel has been cast as James T. Kirk for JJ Abrams’s upcoming STAR TREK movie.

How true is it? I have no idea at the moment. It certainly seems like IESB is confident about their source, and Vogel is starring in CLOVERFIELD/1-18-08/etc. right now, so maybe JJ saw something he really liked as those dailies came rolling in.

Rumour or not, the fact that Vogel is currently working with JJ on the mysterious Cloverfield movie makes you wonder if his experience with Vogel would influence such a casting choice? It wouldnt be the first time a director would choose an actor he has worked with before.

I don’t know Vogel well enough to imagine him in the role. Do you think he would do the job well?

In my childhood, while other kids were pretending to be cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians, me and my friends were all acting out the part of the charcters of GForce. Well technically the show wasn’t called GForce, it was called Battle of the Planets. It wouldnt be until decades later that I would find out my favourite childhood show was actually ripped from the Japanese Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.

Also shown around the same time was Astroboy. I watched this while waiting for GForce to come on, so it has its place in my sheltered youth, but not as deep and impacting as Gatchaman would be. So to hear that they are making CGI Animated feature films on both of these franchises is incredble news for me. Even better, Imagi Animation is taking on the job.

First Showing

If you saw the CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie this year, then you’re already familiar with the work that Imagi Animation Studios does. Following the somewhat success of that film, Imagi has lined up two new features that for have captured my interest. The first is an adaptation of a Japanese TV show titled Gatchaman that TMNT director Kevin Munroe is directing. The second is a feature film version of the Japanese cult cartoon series Astroboy.

Check out the poster art for these films, or go to First Showing for a look at the bigger ones.

These are both such incredible posters. I love them.

As people likely know already, both John and I share a love of Star Wars. We have yet to face each other on the grand battlefield of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, however he has made a fan film where the closest I got to such an accomplishment is to have a lightsaber duel with TMB Alum Wormwood that nearly broke my ankle.

So to see ANY news about Star Wars gets my attention. There is a lot of talk about Star Wars coming to TV but a real lack of quality Star Wars games on PC or Consoles since Jedi Academy.

There is a fine line between games cinematic qualities and movies themselves that it almost seems appropriate that I found this clip through Cinema Fusion.

This game looks incredible. I planned on getting an XBox 360 eventually anyways so this just sets the date.

I will own one by the time this game comes out.

I mentioned the other day that I was highly anticipating IronMan next summer and its been SUCH a geek devotion that it almost makes me feel like I am cheating (and a little guilty) to say that I forgot all about Batman: the Dark Knight for a moment there. Oh my dark mistress of geekdom, Dark Knight has won me over again. I flip flop on these two more than a politician following polls at elections.

Now we get a REALLY good look at Heath Ledger as the Joker, and I am more convinced than ever that this was the right choice.

Im wondering why there is a Batman with a gun standing next to … Batman. Also, Heath looks SO wicked as Joker. I wonder if he is dropping the accent or is Joker going to be Australian now?

And yes, I know these were posted online a while back, but in my very busy life I am just tripping over them now, so I am sharing my excitement over it.

Click Here to visit Movies.com to see their whole collection of stills from this film.

Veteran actor Ralph Waite (best known for ‘The Waltons’) has joined the cast of the Ace Ventura sequel (that’s destined to be direct to DVD) as “Grandpa.” (Oh dear)

MovieHole gives us this:

Directed by David Mickey Evans (“The Sandlot”, “The Final Season”) the new film sees Ace Ventura’s son (Josh Flitter) step up to the plate when his mother is wrongly arrested for stealing a baby Panda.

Does anybody know what ‘Dumb & Dumberer,’ ‘Son of the Mask,’ and ‘Evan Almighty’ have in common? They’re all prequels or sequels to Jim Carrey movies that SUCK! Honestly, without the presence of Jim Carrey in the follow ups to movies he made famous, you’re asking for disaster. Also, make another sequel to the ‘Ace Ventura’ series anyways? The last one was probably my least favorite Jim Carrey film. Why make another one?

Are you guys going looking forward to another Jim Carrey-less sequel?

Will the remake craze ever end? (Not any time soon unfortunately) There are probably two things you readers are doing right now. You’re either rolling your eyes or swearing at the computer screen. ( I managed to do both after finding out this news) It turns out that the beloved classic a lot of us grew up on is being seriously considered for a remake, and you’ll never believe who they’re considering to play Daniel Larusso.

Moviehole gives us this:

Jerry Weintraub, who produced the 1984 original, is teaming with Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment to do the new version, says IGN Movies. Glad that Jerry’s involved, and terrific to know someone with such a unique vision as Will Smith is producing, but you’ll never guess who’ll be playing the new Larusso? Will’s son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith.

Okay…I’m going to calm down. I am NOT going to trash a nine year old child, because that’s just plain wrong. (Although, I really wish Will Smith would let someone ELSE cast his kid in a movie, so the world would know if Jaden has the acting chops to get into a movie without his daddy’s help.) This is horrible casting…just for the fact that this actor is TOO young to play this role. Are they trying to revamp the remake for a kiddie audience? What’s next? Casting Hiro from Heroes as Mr Myagi?

Bring back Ralph “has been” Macchio. Christ, even bring back Hilary Swank, but don’t remake the movie…not like this.

News about eighties classic remakes always sadden me. It means it’s just one day closer to possibly seeing my fave film of all time ‘Weird Science’ get remade. (Just to warn you if that happens, it will be a sad day for yours truly. :P )

Hi there guys. Once again, sorry about my lack of posting this week, but as some of you know, I’m in California at the moment getting ready to show my movie, Prince of Peace - God of War at the San Diego International Film Festival. We screen it on Saturday… I can’t even begin to tell you how nervous I am. Anyway….

What you may not know is that the movie is also opening at the film festival in Orlando this weekend. It was brought to my attention that a local paper “The Orlando Weekly” just included Prince of Peace - God of War in their article entitled “Our top-10 selection of films not to be missed at the Global Peace Film Festival”

They went on to say this:

“Central to John Campea’s engaging documentary is the question of how it is that 87 percent of self-defined Christians are able to rally fists in support of war when one would assume that conflict is not what Jesus would do. The film is a heady affair, too, wherein the “Just War” crowd are intellectually pitted against the pacifists in a debate as to the directives implied in the Bible. While it may seem a distant, simple - even annoying - feast of hypothetical subject matter, the underlying question may be an open door into the religious right’s base politics. Have they skipped Jesus and leapt straight to the Crusades? And why? God knows.”

I am beyond a nervous wreck right now, but excited at the same time. If any of you are in Orlando for the festival and catch the screening, please email me your feedback… I’d love to know how it goes

Michael from moviesonline snagged some more photos of the upcoming and probably more gruesome film from the Saw series. One pic is from a new trap….(I already feel claustrophobic from looking at it) and a picture with Jigsaw alive and well. (he was killed in the previous film) I wonder how they’re going to explain that. (My theory is the movie is not linear with the other films.) Enjoy and tell me what you think!

I don’t know if this even matters and no one is surprised, but it’s just been confirmed that young star Shia Labeouf will reprise his role in Transformers 2 as well as director Michael Bay. The film is expected a release date for June 26, 2009.

Moviehole gives us this:

As the trade states though, there’s a battle of wills between DreamWorks’ David Geffen and Steven Spielberg and leadership at Paramount conglom Viacom that may see that date change.
Michael Bay is also expected to return for the sequel. And yes, it will be released on DVD in both HD and Blu-Ray. Maybe.

This is great news (except for the possibility of a date change for a later date) because besides having robots in Transformers, Shia Labeouf and (gulp) Michael Bay onboard are sure signs of building up great hype for the sequel. I’m sure Michael Bay is also happy to hear that the film will be on BOTH HD and Blu-ray as well. :p

Russell Mulcahy (director of the ‘Highlander’ series) directed the recent box office success ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ and now that he’s directed a zombie flick, he’s now moving onto another beloved monster genre, the VAMPIRE genre. Mulcahy is signed to direct the upcoming vampire film based off a novel by Steven-Elliot Altman called ‘Zen in The Art of Slaying Vampires.’

ComingSoon.net gives us this:

The protagonist is turned into a vampire as he and his lover are attacked in lower Manhattan. She dies, and he struggles to overcome his murderous instincts and thirst for blood through Zen meditation. A struggle for his soul ensues between the bloodsuckers and the zen masters.

I don’t know if this movie sounds brilliant or incredibly stupid. A vampire overcoming his killer instincts through ZEN meditations?! That doesn’t even work for me when I’m STRESSED!

Although, Russell Mulcahy is a fine director and a viligante vampire flick sounds highly tempting for me considering I love vampire and viligante films. (It can’t be any worse than this year’s ‘Rise: Blood Hunter.’)

I’ll guess we’ll have to wait to see who has been cast in the roles….then we’ll know if this is going to be a film that’s going to suck or something we should SINK our teeth into.

If you are trying to remain spoiler free for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, then you may want to skip this post. Apparently a “Dancing Russian Soldier” has leaked cruicial plot points.

And we can’t deny the words of dancing Russian Soldiers, so…

Monsters and Critics says:

Tyler Nelson has revealed ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ sees the adventurous archaeologist taken hostage by the Soviet army while he is searching for a priceless crystal skull in the jungles of South America.

Nelson, who signed a nondisclosure document, also claims Cate Blanchett will star as one of the evil interrogators who tortures Jones to find the skull’s hiding place.

Nelson told the Edmonton Sun newspaper: “I saw Harrison Ford strapped to a chair and being interrogated.”

During the scene, the Russians threaten to kill Jones’ ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen, and their son, who is portrayed by Shia LaBeouf.

Director Steven Spielberg is reportedly so furious with Nelson - a professionally trained ballet dancer who was cast as a “dancing Russian soldier” - he has cut his scene.

So they guy gets fired for leaking this info. I think that is appropriate.

If he signed a nondisclosure, shouldnt he be getting sued and blacklisted all over Hollywood (Dancing Russian Soldiers are in high demand you know)

But is this a deliberate leak? Is it even true?

Sounds like something you would see in an Indy movie.

It seems that all superhero news lately is revolving around Iron Man and the Justice League movie. I am against the Justice League movie for a couple reasons, but this news really caught my eye like cleavage on a waitress.

Movie Web says:

It looks like Warner Brothers has found its Wonder Woman. According to Variety, Jessica Biel is in talks to star as the famous Amazonian in the big screen adaptation of Justice League of America.

This is the first bit of casting news to be released in conjunction with the upcoming film. Other super heroes in the process of being cast include Superman, Batman, The Flash, and Aquaman.

I have to say that aside from Biel’s natural super power to be HOT, this is a good choice. She is incredibly athletic and very fit.

I saw Chuck and Larry because there was a scene with Biel in a catsuit in it. Yeah, I am shallow.

But even still, this glimmer of hope still doesn’t outshine my distaste for how this movie is being handled. I said it before, and I stick to it. They should have made solo movies of all the actors then get THOSE actors to agree to a hefty pay cut to star in a Justice League movie.

That is how it should be done. (It wont)

So by this standard I insist they make a solo Wonder Woman movie (not in the 40s) and make Biel wear the WonderBra.

I first heard about ‘Midnight Meat Train’ months ago, when I read John Campea’s extensive set visit, and I have been anticipating seeing the first trailer of the film based off a terrifying Clive Barker story. Bloody Disgustijng has got their hands on it, and let me tell you now, I can not WAIT to see this film. It looks like a mix between Christopher Smith’s Creep and Eli Roth’s Hostel all rolled into one (hopefully) horrifying thrill ride!

Bloody Disgusting gives us this synposis:

Bradley Cooper stars as an inquisitive photographer who comes across Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), a butcher who uses the subway system as his killing floor. But who is he killing for and where is he delivering the meat of his victims?

Vinnie Jones as the bad guy? Bradley Cooper playing the protagonist instead of playing an annoying prick or psycho path? Count me in for this one! Click HERE to view the full trailer and watch out for ‘Midnight Meat Train’ when it releases early 2008.

Well, it actually looks like the next Terminator movie (*cough ATROCITY cough*) is somewhat underway. IGN got to talk to James Middleton (consulting producer of the FOX TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) about the details and questions fans wanted to know about the new Terminator sequel that’s bound to suck….I mean, thrill. In the interview he mentioned how the same writing team from Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines are onboard and they have yet to find a director, but will very shortly. (Hmm….sounds promising already!) They also are planning and hoping to go into pre-production by October of THIS year.

IGN gives us this quote from James Middleton:

It will follow the events of T3 and be post-apocalyptic. It’s not known whether Nick Stahl and Claire Danes will return, but John Connor and Kate Brewster are in the script. Middleton said the participation of Stahl and Danes would depend on many factors, including the thoughts of the eventual director and others involved. Also, while John and Kate are part of the story, the movie will feature a new hero as the main character. Middleton likened it to how “Ben-Hur was influenced by Jesus Christ, but it was his story. Much in that way, this character will be influenced by John Connor.”

Okay….does anyone else feel like they’re going to explode or is it just me? Are they serious to think that anyone wants to see another Terminator film without the actual TERMINATOR in it?! Honestly, the only reason why I watched the last film was because of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even he couldn’t make me forget the absence of Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and of course, JAMES CAMERON. The last film was a slap in the face for true Terminator fans, and now they want to punch us in the gut as well?
This movie has no director. No one from the last film confirmed to return, and they’re planning on going into pre-production in OCTOBER?!

I feel like starting a “Boycott Terminator 4!” group on Facebook. Who’s with me? :P

X-Files fans rejoice! It looks like the much rumored X-Files sequel is quickly becoming a reality. Movieweb got the first exclusive of the news when they had interviewed David Duchovny for the DVD release of the television series.

When asked about the X-Files 2 movie, this is what David told MovieWeb:

It’s at… the script is written and as far as I know we’re all trying to shoot in December at some point. We would all love it if we could keep it a secret and just give everybody a fresh experience of not knowing what the movie’s about. I know if I was a fan of the show I would kind of be excited to be surprised.

This is awesome news! Especially if the film does start production in December, because then it would beat the upcoming strike in June 2008. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are terrific actors who have both continued to show off their acting skills in very different films and television shows, (*Check Gillian Anderson in the new revenge flick “Closure” on DVD…AWESOME!) but we all know when we seem them onscreen, we only see Mulder and Scully.

Although, I do agree with Mr. Duchovny when he says the plot should be secret. Take for example the upcoming Sex and The City movie. I probably know all the important plot points by now, and have probably ruined any sort of surprise factor I would have had if I didn’t read so much in entertainment news.

Hopefully you guys feel the same way? So what are your thoughts? Are you ready to see Mulder and Scully hit the big screen again?

This makes for some interesting news. Hollywood director, John McTiernan (who brought classics such as ‘Die Hard,’ ‘Predator,’ and ‘The Hunt For Red October’) was sentenced to four months in jail after refusing to withdraw his guilty plea to a charge with lying to the police about his connection to private detective, Anthony Pellicano.

Yahoo News Reports:

When he entered his plea last year, McTiernan said he lied when he told an FBI agent the only time he used Pellicano’s services was during his divorce. In actuality, he said, he hired Pellicano to wiretap Charles Roven, a producer who had worked with him on the 2002 box-office flop “Rollerball.”

Wow…all I can say is “what the hell?” Jesus, why would you wiretap one of your producers on a failed movie project? Did he want some dirt on him? You have to wonder what was going on in John McTiernan’s head while he had this man spied on. (We’re not even going to get into the details about him wiretapping his ex-wife!)

Again, all I can is “What the hell?!”

Are you female? Have you ever longed to be a “scream queen?” More importantly, do you want a sh*t load of money? Well today’s your lucky day! After Dark Film’s second annual Horrorfest is looking for a new Scream Queen to be crowned Miss Horrorfest 2007. The winner of the competition will win 50,000 dollars and a one year contract as the official spokesperson for After Dark Films. (Groovy!)

Here’s more details from MoviesOnline:

To win the coveted title of Miss Horrorfest 2007, contestants must submit a 90 second video on YouTube explaining why they should be selected as the next Miss Horrorfest. All entries should include the words “MISS HORRORFEST” and “HORRORFEST, NOVEMBER 9-18, 2007” somewhere in the video and must be submitted by September 30, 2007. YouTube users have the ability to influence the selection of Miss Horrorfest by viewing the entries and ranking them with stars. The more viewers and the more stars a submission has, the greater chance a contestant has of winning the Miss Horrorfest Competition.

Contestants also have the option of participating in one of four live auditions to be held in Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Dallas, TX between now and September 30th. For audition details, including casting dates, times and locations, log-on to www.youtube.com/horrorfest and follow prompts for information on live auditions.

Hmm…instant popularity…free horror movie goods..and a whole lot of money? What are you waiting for future scream queens? Get your webcams ready and shock the world! To view the videos click HERE and to judge the submissions, click HERE

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a case in entertainment where both sides have acted with such stupidity. Ok, here’s the background as I understand it:

- Peter Jackson didn’t think New Line was being above board with their accounting on DVD sales for the first Lord of the Rings movie.

- Jackson demanded to see the confidential proprietary books of New Line

- New Line refuses turn over private books and asks Jackson to sit down with them to talk about the problem and try to resolve it

- Jackson proceeds to act like Jackass. “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Peter Jackson. I do things how I want, and if you don’t bow to my will we’ll go straight to court. I’m too important to sit down and try to resolve the problem any other way first before resorting to that.”

- New Line proceeds to act like Jackasses. “How dare you speak to us, the all powerful New Line, that way! Even though it could solve things, we are going to dig in our heals and refuse to budge on this because… well… just because damnit! For we are New Line.”

- Jackson: “Give me the books. Grrrrr”

- New Line: “Sit down and talk first. Grrrrr” (proceeds to pound chest)

- Jackson: “Oh yeah? I’m going to write ludicrous, bordering on dishonest open sob letters to my completely biased fans and talk about how mean you’re being to me”

- New Line: “Oh yeah, well we’re going to put out totally distorted statements about what an ungrateful pig you are, just a millionaire trying to get more millions… and just for good measure… we’re kicking you off The Hobbit”

- Jackson: “You can’t fire me from The Hobbit! I QUIT!”

- New Line: “Grrrr”

- Jackson: “Grrrr”

On and on and on it’s gone now forever. This thing could have been resolved ages ago if Jackson just agreed to sit down and negotiate with New Line… or if New Line just agreed to turn over the books. But both have been stubborn to the point where it doesn’t even matter who was right anymore.

THAT BEING SAID….

New Line has taken it to a new level. In the ongoing court case, the Judge ordered that New Line submit to the court certain documents. I worked in law for a few years… so let me explain… when a Judge tells you to do something… YOU BLOODY WELL DO IT. Well… New Line decided they were too important to listen to a nobody like a Judge. The folks at Yahoo News give us this:

A ticked-off federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the studio to pony up a $125,000 penalty for failing to turn over documents related to the case, in which Jackson claims the studio used creative accounting to cheat him out of millions in royalties from the first chapter in his big-screen trilogy, 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

In his Sept. 18 ruling, U.S. Magistrate Steven Hillman said New Line not only failed to comply with his previous court orders to produce the paperwork and emails, but he suggests that New Line “haphazardly” searched for the requested documents and may have destroyed potential evidence.

To say this looks sort of suspicious is like saying Paris Hilton is sort of useless. Let me be totally clear here: I do not like how Peter Jackson has handled himself for the duration of this whole thing… at all. That was never contingent on who I thought was “right” and who I thought was “wrong” in this case. There is a proper process for doing things, a proper way to do things…. Jackson in all his self importance snubbed his nose at all of that and acted poorly in the process…. BUT HAVING SAID THAT….

It sure does look like New Line has indeed been the bigger Jackass of the two now doesn’t it?

I am a big fan of Peter Jackson’s work (I recently called Return of the King the best all round movie ever made), and while I’m totally fine with someone else directing the Hobbit (it could be as good or even better than Rings), I still would RATHER see Jackson back for it. Let’s just hope sanity and cooler heads prevail here soon, that they get this ugly matter behind them… and all parties just get back to the business of making movies… preferably The Hobbit… preferably together. Just my two cents worth.

As most of you know, I’ve been talking about the upcoming film “Pathology” for a while now. The film stars Milo Ventimiglia (Peter on Heroes) and is created by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (The guys who brought us Crank). I got to visit the set (see picture above) and watch about 20 minutes of this film…. trust me…. it’s going to absolutely rule. It’s creative, INTENSE and original (at least as original as a movie can be these days) and has some KILLER performances in it.

The very first family friendly version trailer has been released… I’m not really thrilled with it, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I’ve seen an R rated type version already that JUST RULES. Still, most people really like this PG trailer, and I think you will too.

Pathology hits theaters November 30th. Start spreading the word:

Here are some of the other movie related news items floating around the web today that you might be interested in:

- Newman from Seinfeld in talks to join Punisher movie This is not a good sign. Not that Wayne Knight isn’t a good comedic actor… but the fact that they would get him for it would suggest something about the movie’s direction.

- Sarah Paulson has joined the cast of “Will Eisner’s The Spirit”

- Batman crew member dies in film shoot “A crew member involved in the filming of the new Batman movie has died in a car accident on the set, police said on Tuesday. The special effects technician was killed when his 4×4 vehicle crashed into a tree during a dummy film run involving the “Batmobile.”

- Production wraps on Alone in the Dark 2 Hooray…. oh wait…

- More solid crew added to Wolverine “Oscar-nominated cinematographer Donald McAlpine has joined the production. growing crew of WOLVERINE! He’s worked on flicks from Peter Pan to Narnia to Predator to his Oscar nom on Moulin Rouge.”

- Eli Roth to Direct an Episode of Heroes: Origins Meh… I’m no longer much of a Roth fan… and after watching the sub-par Season premiere last night, I’m not as big of a Heroes fan anymore either

- Face/Off : Two-Disc Special Edition (DVD) This movie rules on so many silly levels

- Dominic West is Jigsaw in ‘Punisher: War Zone’ “Funny, I was expecting someone more well-known, but I guess with recent appearances in 300 and Hannibal Rising and a recurring part on the popular television series The Wire, West is still more famous than Cinderella Man’s Considine”

Lionsgate announced recently that the much anticipated horror musical, Repo! The Genetic Opera has began principal photography this week in Toronto, Canada. The film is being directed by Saw series director, Darren Lynn Bousman and being written by Terrence Zdunich and Darren Smith. (creators of the 2002 stage production) Most people by now know the electic cast which includes notorious party girl Paris Hilton, “spy kid” Alexa Vega, “Devil’s Reject” Bill Moseley, Buffy’s Anthony Steward Head, and singer Sarah Brightman.

Moviesonline gives us this:

Directing a full-length filmed version of the story has always been a goal for Bousman, and he is enthusiastic about the cast that has been assembled for the production. “I’m very excited to be bringing this story to life with each of these outstanding performers,” Bousman raves. “They bring so much flair to Repo’s bizarre fantasy world while entirely disappearing into their shadowy characters.”

Ever since meeting Darren Bousman, I knew how passionate he was about making this film project a reality. I truly believe it is a movie which will really define himself as a talented horror movie director, instead of constantly being known as “the dude who does the SAW sequels.” He has already directed the stage production in 2002, and directed a very well shot short film adaptation of Repo. (Starring the ever so cool Michael Rooker) This movie is tailor made for Darren, and I can’t wait until he surprises and thrills audiences around the world with REPO!

Yes I know, a “Boll Epic” are two words that sound as strange as the words “free prostitution” together, but it does exist(the EPIC that is) and it’s coming sometime soon whether you like it or not. Uwe Boll’s epic adventure, “Dungeon Siege” was supposed to be split into two films, because it was just too long. However, Boll has confirmed that the movie is going to be one PAINFULLY long film.

Moviehole gives us this: Boll tells Bloody Disgusting,

“No, it will be one long movie now, and the DVD will be even longer. But for theaters it will be one big movie because 70% of the big money action would come in the 2nd part, so we said we cannot do it, everybody will be disappointed. People will say, “They want to get money
out of us two times”. So we had to make the decision to go for a really long movie.”

How does this man do it? How is he able to get big stars to appear in his disastrous films? (The money must be good!)Am I looking forward to this? Hmm…..let me tell you this. I was probably one of the very few people out there who was forced to watch the “Lord of The Rings “ trilogy, and felt like Malcolm Mcdowell in ‘Clockwork Orange.’ (Not saying they were bad films…just NOT MY CUP OF TEA.) So, you can imagine how I feel towards watching a “Uwe Boll EPIC adventure” film. I’ll watch Postal, but not this.

The lack of any legitimate Transformers 2 announcements out of Paramount has been odd to down right eerie. Generally speaking, when a franchise film that has every intention of being a franchise hits it out of the park as significantly as Transformers did (Nearly $700 million worldwide and still counting), a studio will be VERY quick to capitalize on the early buzz and put out some news of plans for the follow-up film. Thus far… all has been silent on the Transformers front. Until today.

The good folks over at ComingSoon have let us know that Paramount has “officially” set a release date for Transformers 2. The date is June 29 (correction - 26th), 2009. So considering how much of a fan I was of the first film (just saw it on IMAX this weekend and ran into Michael Bay while there), why am I not breaking out the streamer and confetti at this news? Well… that’s simple… because it’s meaningless news.

The reason I call it meaningless news is that it doesn’t mean anything. They’ll change that release date for sure… unless they can FINISH FILMING by June 2008… because that’s when the strike will start. So it’s all well and good for them to come out and announce a release date for the movie… but unless they plan to get their collective asses in gear and start making the movie SOON… that date is totally meaningless.

The REAL announcement we need to hear from Paramount here is NOT a release date… but rather a date for when they plan to start shooting. Last I heard, Michael Bay wasn’t even sure what was going on… that means serious pre-production hasn’t even started yet… which means they’re still FAR from being ready to get everyone together and start filming (a LOT of work has to be done before the cameras start rolling).

IF they can start shooting this thing by January, then getting everything done that needs to be done before the strike (provided they don’t settled the issues before that happens), then yes… a Jun 29th 2009 release date is more than possible. But right now, we still have no idea (and it looks like even Bay has no idea) when they’re going to get the ball rolling.

So yeah, a release date announcement is all well and good… what we need is a shooting date announcement for it to be worth getting excited about.

We might have to wait until 2012 to see the movie of that same name, but maybe it will be sooner. Strieber has speculated recently about Michael Bay’s intentions for the 2012: The War for the Souls movie since he bought the rights to it.

SciFi says:

“I don’t know if he will direct it for sure, but I know he is interested in directing it,” Strieber said. “Michael Bay’s company did buy the rights to 2012, though, and he will at least produce it.”

Bay, who has also directed Armageddon and The Island, and his Transformers writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci bought the rights to produce Strieber’s apocalyptic story, about the date Dec. 21, 2012, which is prophesized by Nostradamus and the Mayan calendar as being the beginning of the End of Days

I know all the Bay “fans” are just itching at that Comment button to reject the idea that Bay would direct this.

I personally have no problem with Bay getting in the comfy chair on this one. Its the kind of thing that is right up his alley. A good sci-fi film that promises a lot of adventure.

I might have to run out and get the book to this one. Sounds like a great story.

A lot of people out there loved James Gunn’s ‘Slither’, although it only got love when the movie hit DVD shelves. Now following Slither’s sleeper hit success on DVD, James Gunn is trying again to make a successful theatrical horror/sci-fi-comedy.

SciFi.com gives us this:

The comedy follows a man abducted by aliens who want to turn him into a household pet. Pets is the latest in a series of Regency deals for projects geared to a young male demographic. The film will be distributed by 20th Century Fox.

This movie sounds genius and I’m glad James Gunn is giving this experimental genre another go. It’s kind of like when the first Austin Powers came out in theatres. It made almost no money at the box office, but racked up the dough and the word of mouth when it hit video stores. The sequel made large money at the box office, and I think the same thing is going to happen for Mr. James Gunn’s next project.

If you haven’t seen Slither, I’d recommend you get your ass to the video store and watch this not so hidden gem.

Samuel L Jackson is one of my top A list actors. I like him in just about anything he has been in. He can do drama, he can do action, and even geek fare. Bernie Mac. Well let’s just say he doesn’t often register on my radar. Good thing they are in a movie together hey?

Coming Soon says:

Jackson and Mac will play two former backup soul singers who are part of a famed group. They haven’t spoken to each other in 20 years but reluctantly agree to travel together for a tribute performance in honor of their recently deceased band leader.

Now this is one thing I don’t recall Jackson ever listing as a strong suit. Singing.

Bernie Mac on the other hand, regardless of what I think of the guy CAN sing. I can see him playing a performer of some sort. But to see Jackson as a soul singer might be a little strange. Not that I think he cant play the part, but will he be doing his own singing?

Have I missed something? Can Jackson sing?

Hey there guys. Just a heads up. Since I’m not home right now (I’m currently in Los Angeles) we can’t have our Roundtable show tonight… so instead we’re going to have a rare Monday LIVE show at 6pm EST. I think we may even make it a 2 hour show just for fun. So make sure to join us at www.nowlive.com/themovieblog at 6pm EST (3pm PST). Call in and get on the air with me too. Should be fun!

Steven Spielberg’s biopic has just found its ‘Mary Todd.’ According to Newsweek, Oscar Winner Sally Field is set to play the wife of the famous President.

Movieweb gives us this:

Steven Spielberg has found a Mary Todd for his upcoming biopic Abraham Lincoln. According to Newsweek, Sally Field will play the wife of our 16th U.S. President.

Liam Neeson is set to star as Lincoln in this upcoming film. The movie will be based on the biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, which was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

I think it’s a very good casting choice, but please for the love of GOD, I hope this woman does not win another award. After her weird acceptance speech at this year’s Emmys, and of course her infamous “You really like me!” speech years ago, I don’t think I could witness yet another embarrassing acceptance speech from Ms. Sally Field. So I’m hoping she does a serviceable job….not an amazing one. :P

The guys over at “How it Should Have Ended” put out their take on Spider-Man 3. Some parts are dumb…. but a couple of parts are just priceless. Check it out.

A new Alien Versus Predator: Requiem poster has been released on the web. I know this movie is going to be a train wreck, but I just love the trailer they put out a few weeks back, and I’ve got to say I really like this poster.

This was kind of funny. The season 19 episode 1 intro to the Simpsons all picks up where the Simpsons movie leaves off… which is kind of cool. Thanks to Jared for the heads up.