Hammer Films is a Gothic horror legend, thanks to their tremendous output during the ’70s. The company is back in full swing today, adding the upcoming Woman in Black to their prolific and chilling library. Mr. Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, is starring in the adaptation of the 1983 ghost tale by Susan Hill, which hits theaters on February 3. He plays a young lawyer who is sent to a remote English village where dark secrets and a mysterious woman haunt him. It’s a throwback tale reminiscent of Hammer’s classic supernatural stories.
We felt inspired by Hammer’s timeless take on the ghostly woman to explore other “women in black” — cinema’s clichéd, frightful feminine figures. Since February is also Women in Horror Month, what better way to celebrate than checking out some of film’s “scariest” female character types? Click through for more, and share your picks below.
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Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. We’ve got seven new trailers for you this week; check ‘em all out after the jump.
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Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. This week’s eleven trailers include several peeks at next summer’s blockbusters, which are presumably rolling out in front of the big holiday releases. But there are some smaller (and stranger) titles hiding in there as well; check ‘em all out after the jump. Read More »
Sean Penn, never the wallflower, has some opinions he’d like to share about his latest film, The Tree of Life. His thoughts may surprise you! (If you know absolutely nothing about Sean Penn, that is.) The actor told the French publication Le Figaro, “I didn’t at all find on the screen the emotion of the script, which is the most magnificent one that I’ve ever read. A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the film without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact. Frankly, I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context! What’s more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly.”
While Penn’s complaints may have resonated with the refund-refused moviegoers of Connecticut, most have seen it as rather bad form—particularly for a critically-acclaimed picture that is still in general release. On the other hand, he’s certainly not the first actor to publicly diss his own work; we’ve collected some of our favorites after the jump.
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According to the NY Post, when Lady Gaga was asked who she would want to play her in a hypothetical movie about her life story, she responded, “I’ve always been a big fan of Rosario Dawson. Oh, you know what, I would have Marisa Tomei play me. I am such a Marisa Tomei fan. All my friends call me Marisa when I get angry. Because my New York accent just flies out of my body and I start smacking my gum.” Well, even setting aside the fact that Rosario Dawson’s Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent would, um, kind of change the story and that Marisa Tomei is 22 years older than Lady Gaga, we don’t think these are remotely appropriate choices. This is why Lady Gaga will have an agent to help her decide who should play her in the movie. And also, she’ll have, you know, us. Click through for our picks for the best actresses to play Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, AKA Lady Gaga, in the movie of her life.
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1. After weeks (months? 25 years?!) of speculation, Larry King announced on his show last night that he’ll be stepping down from his talk show in the fall, but continuing to work with CNN on specials. We want to be the first to suggest Lady Gaga for his replacement host. [via Media Decoder]
2. Jonah Hex may have bombed, but Megan Fox is married. She and 90210 alum Brian Austin Green got hitched in a secret ceremony in Hawaii late last week. [via Perez Hilton]
3. Some really exciting news for New Yorkers: Verizon will start selling Apple’s iPhone starting in January. Could this mean no more dropped calls? [via Bloomberg]
4. There are three security cameras and a baby in your first look at Paranormal Activity 2. [via Vulture]
5. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones are bringing Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisy to Broadway for the first time in October. [via LAT]
Bonus stream: Dirty Projectors + Björk – “All We Are”
At long last the trailer for Jonah Hex (aka the Josh Brolin/Megan Fox cowboy-with-superpowers movie) has been released. And let us tell you, it’s 2 minutes and 30 seconds of shoot ‘em up and blow ‘em up heaven. That is, if your idea of heaven is lots of explosions and a corseted, Southern-accented Megan Fox who apparently keeps a Derringer in her bustle. Of course she does. The trailer begins with a creepy twist, but we’ll consider the graphic crow imagery a throwback to the film’s comic book roots. If nothing else, it looks waaaay better than Wild Wild West, though in terms of old-timey outlaw flicks, we’d rather save our collective breath for a Deadwood resurrection. Peep the trailer after the jump and let us know if it’s on your must-see or must-avoid list for the summer.
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The Razzies are a Hollywood institution, awarding the hilariously worst of movie-making for thirty years now. They are conceivably even more interesting than the actual Oscars, considering the Oscars have never dragged Tom Green off the stage because he refused to stop playing the harmonica.
The nominees for the 2009 season have just been announced, with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Will Ferrell’s execrable Land Of The Lost “leading” the pack with seven nominations each. However, unlike the Oscars the Razzies are still confined to only five Worst Picture Nominees (All About Steve, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Land of the Lost, Old Dogs, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to be exact), leaving out notable films that surely deserve recognition for their failures.
After the jump are a few movies we would have included. Tell us which ones you think should have made the cut.
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This SNL Digital Short was the only part of last night’s Saturday Night Live season premiere — which was hosted by Megan Fox — that made us laugh out loud. Bonus points for the cameo by her boyfriend, Brian Austin Green. But that’s not what everyone is talking about: Cast newbie Jenny Slate dropped an accidental f-bomb during a so-so skit called Biker Chick Chat. Le scandale! Kudos to Slate, Fox, and Kristen Wiig for not missing a beat, though there was definitely an “oh shit” vibe in the air; surely someone at the FCC understands the emotional stress of making your SNL debut and will cut her a break? Read More »
Saturday Night Live turns thirty five tomorrow night. Fortunately for the show, a 35th birthday doesn’t mean purchasing a Camaro and learning the difference between Medium Brown and Light-Medium Brown in the Just For Men catalog. Still young at heart, 30-something birthdays find us looking back on our younger, thinner years, fondly recalling nights spent with the Church Lady, Roseanne Roseannadanna, and the dude behind the counter at the Samurai Delicatessan. The season premiere also means Megan Fox, whose name makes our collective minds wander. What will she wear? How will she look? And is she any good at playing the cowbell? Here are five classic SNL characters we think Megan Fox would do a good job reviving. Read More »
