Fed up with watching found footage horror movies? Imagine how their makers must feel. “I hadn’t used a tripod for five years!” laughs writer-director Paco Plaza, over the phone from Barcelona. The Spaniard is talking about the period he and co-director Jaume Balaguero spent making the first two films in the [REC] franchise — 2007′s [REC] and 2009′s [REC] 2. The pair of films detailed one truly terrible night in the life of a Barcelona apartment block as first its inhabitants and then their rescuers attempt to avoid being infected by a zombie virus. The original [REC] itself helped infect the horror genre with the found footage bug through its 2008 U.S. remake, Quarantine, and has now spawned another sequel, Plaza’s solo-directed [REC] 3: Genesis, which is currently available on VOD and hits cinemas Sept. 7.
According to tradition, a “Cockney” is a someone who was born within earshot of the bells of London’s historic St Mary-le-Bow church. Meanwhile, a “zombie” — at least since George A. Romero’s undead classic Night of the Living Dead — is a revived corpse who enjoys luncheoning on the innards of the still-breathing. Put them together and what do you get? That’s right, a revived corpse who was born within the sound of “Bow bells.” And the new British horror comedy Cockneys vs Zombies, which stars Michelle Ryan (the Bionic Woman revival), Alan Ford (Snatch), Honor Blackman (Goldfinger, cult TV show The Avengers), and the-largely-unknown-in-America-but-absolutely-awesome Richard Briers.
Inevitably, comparisons will be made between Cockneys vs Zombies — which receives its U.S. debut at this September’s Fantastic Fest — and Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, a high-water mark of the Londoners-versus-undead-lurchers genre. And it is worth pointing out that Briers’ costar in the long-running ’80s Brit-com Ever Decreasing Circles, Penelope Wilton, played Simon Pegg’s mum in Shaun. (The pair’s fellow Ever Decreasing cast member Peter Egan should feel free to start rehearsing the line “I’ve been bitten by a blinkin’ zombie!” round about…now.) On the other hand, the new red-band Cockneys trailer does make it look like a (foul-mouthed and gore-drenched) hoot.
Take a “butcher’s” (Cockney rhyming slang: “butcher’s hook”/”look”) and see if you agree.
In 2005, Donald Trump announced plans to build two golf courses and a 450 bedroom hotel at the Menie Estate on Scotland’s east coast. The bad news for local residents? Trump’s golf complex was to be situated on the Menie Estate’s dunes, a beautiful wilderness area and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. The bad news for Trump? British journalist Anthony Baxter decided to make a documentary about what he regarded as a David-and-Goliath struggle between the local population and the Apprentice star.
Baxter’s film, You’ve Been Trumped, debuts today at New York’s Angelika cinema and opens in Los Angeles on August 17.
Below, the director talks about why he decided to take on The Donald, getting arrested for his efforts, and why even he can’t help explain what’s going on with Trump’s hair.
The last film River Phoenix acted in, Dark Blood, is finally finished and will screen at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht in September , The Hollywood Reporterreports.
Dutch director George Sluizer has been recently working on the film — which you can check out an early trailer of here — after abandoning it nearly 20 years ago.
The Hollywood Reporter states, “In the film, River Phoenix plays Boy, a young widower living on a nuclear testing site in the desert. While he waits for the end of the world, Boy carves Katchina dolls that supposedly contain magical powers. His life is disrupted when a Hollywood jet-set couple travelling across the desert become stranded after their car breaks down. Boy rescues the couple and then takes them prisoner. Dark Blood also stars Judy Davis, Jonathan Pryce and Karen Black.”
Phoenix was filming the movie in 1993, when he passed away on Halloween at age 23.
With an all-star cast to rival such ensemble rom-coms as Mamma Mia or New Years Eve, the trailer for The Big Wedding arrived online today. Written and directed by Justin Zackham (The Bucket List), the movie features Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton as a couple who have to pretend to be happily married after a bitter divorce. This is because their adopted Chilean son’s biological mother is attending his marriage and doesn’t believe in divorce. If you think that’s a lot to keep straight, there’s also Katherine Heigl, no stranger to a rom-com, playing their exasperated daughter, and British actor Ben Barnes playing the adopted son who is preparing to wed Amanda Seyfried. No doubt Susan Sarandon will be stealing scenes as De Niro’s current love interest. The cast is rounded out by Topher Grace and Robin Williams. If the trailer below is any indication, I predict the film contains a reaction shot from one of those pug-dogs quizzically turning its head to the side and a scene where the Chilean mother says “Dios Mio!”
The organizers of Fantastic Fest have announced the first wave of film programming for this year’s event, which includes Dredd 3D, the Shining documentary Room 237, and the U.S. premiere of British horror-comedy Cockneys vs Zombies. The Karl Urban-starring Dredd 3D will screen on Sept. 20, the opening night of the genre festival which is hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse’s South Lamar location in Austin, Tx. The festival runs until September 27.
Twi-hards traveled far and wide to attend today’s Comic Con panel for Breaking Dawn — Part 2, the last movie in the Twilight franchise. Don’t believe us? Meet Elizabeth, a Twlight fan from Australia to check out the fun.
We were on the scene after the panel let out today to talk to her and several other fans. Click below to get their thoughts on saying goodbye (and to see a freak dressed like trash). READ FULL STORY »
Naomi Watts is playing Princess Diana in the upcoming movie about the last years of her life. The Oliver Hirschbiegel-directed film, currently titled Diana, examines her relationship with Dr. Hasnat Khan (Lost’s Naveen Andrews).
Previously, Watts said in a press release, “It is such an honor to be able to play this iconic role — Princess Diana was loved across the world and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen.”
But now we finally get to see the first official photo of Watts as Diana. Judging by the hair, the kind eyes, and the diamonds, Watts has the right look. READ FULL STORY »
Once in a while, the agents of director Nicholas McCarthy will pitch him on the idea of making a found footage horror movie. How does McCarthy respond to this seemingly reasonable request? “I’ll be like, ‘F— off!’” says the filmmaker.
To be clear, McCarthy has nothing against the found footage genre per se. But his own tastes run to a more rigorously composed visual approach as evidenced by his fondness for the films of horror maestros Val Lewton (Cat People) and Dario Argento (Suspiria) and his own debut move, The Pact. In the supernatural thriller Caity Lotz (MTV’s Death Valley) recruits the help of a cop, played by Casper Van Dien, after her sister disappears and she herself is attacked by some unseen force at the house of her recently deceased mother. “It is quiet and a little bit eccentric,” McCarthy says of his film. “But when I was growing up I saw so many films in multiplexes that were just that, that were unusual little horror movies.”
Some might say that Joe Manganiello’s statue routine in Magic Mike was too darn short. (Some = me)
Luckily, when Manganiello stopped by EW last week to talk True Blood and Magic Mike, the actor explained in detail what went into filming the scene, which featured his character Big Dick Richie painted head-to-toe in gold paint. (Magic Mike choreographer Alison Faulk was the first to tell us things got a little crazy while filming this scene.) In short? The words “possessed stripper” come to mind.
Watch below as Manganiello explains (and dances a bit) as EW continues its not-totally-necessary-but-also-completely-necessary coverage of Magic Mike. READ FULL STORY »
