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Watch Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter in the Trailer for Amy Heckerling’s ‘Vamps’

By Judy Berman on

We were overjoyed to hear that Clueless director Amy Heckerling was re-teaming with Alicia Silverstone for a supernatural comedy called Vamps. But it was over two-and-a-half years ago when the news broke that Silverstone and the wonderful Krysten Ritter would star as the film’s titular party-girl vampires. With few recent updates, we feared that Vamps was stuck in production hell. Thankfully, that is not the case. The movie now has a trailer and a release date (November 2nd), and this first glimpse is very promising.

First and foremost, the cast is excellent. We’ve got Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Johnston, Richard Lewis, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk, Dan Stevens, Todd Barry, Marilu Henner, and Malcolm McDowell. Yes, one of the problematic love interests is none other than Downton Abbey’s beloved Cousin Matthew, Weeds’ Uncle Andy plays a guyliner-wearing vamp with an Eastern European accent, and Weaver just full-on kicks ass. Watch the trailer and join in our excitement below. … Read More

Film

The Original Names of Famous Film Characters

By Alison Nastasi on

Our friends at Mental Floss published an article yesterday revealing a list of literary characters that almost had entirely different names. We agree that J.R.R. Tolkien’s Bladorthin the Grey wouldn’t have rolled off the tongue as nicely as Gandalf the Grey does and felt relieved that J.K. Rowling, Raymond Chandler, and other writing giants had the good sense to wise up.

The list left us wondering about the original names of film characters. The best fictional heroes and villains aren’t remembered solely for their names, but a creative and original moniker can make an otherwise forgettable figure truly stand out. It’s also a great way to shed an interesting light on a character’s backstory. Click through to find out what disastrous, cinematic names directors and screenwriters evaded throughout film history. If you know of a particular lemon we didn’t cover, drop it in the comments below. … Read More

Film

A Survey of Sci-Fi Sex Symbols

By Alison Nastasi on

Sci-Fi cult classic Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda as a sexy space agent, arrives on Blu-ray tomorrow. The psychedelic kitsch-fest was adapted from Jean-Claude Forest’s comic series of the same name and is adored for its comical, stylish, and erotic production. While Fonda’s ditzy, deadpan performance is charming, the actress is most remembered for her multiple skintight costume changes and a zero gravity striptease seen in the movie’s opening. The 1968 film helped establish Fonda’s sex symbol status. We took a look at the genre’s other memorable faces and figures — some human, others not so much — past the break. … Read More

Film

James Cameron Will Shoot Three ‘Avatar’ Movies at One Time

By Caroline Stanley on

At least that’s what Sigourney Weaver is saying. At last night’s premiere of her new six-part USA Network miniseries, Political Animals, she told Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411 that beginning this fall, she plans to be busy at work on a trio of new Avatar movies. While shooting everything all at… Read More

Film

This Week in Trailers: ‘Les Miz,’ ‘Lay the Favorite,’ and More!

By Jason Bailey on

Every Friday here at Flavorwire, we like to gather up the week’s new movie trailers, give them a look-see, and rank them from worst to best — while taking a guess or two about what they might tell us (or hide from us) about the movies they’re promoting. It’s a bit of a light batch after last week’s Cannes-fueled riches, but we’ve got new titles from Anne Hathaway, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Willis, Russell Crowe, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, and Catherine Zeta Jones, as well as a Cannes winner and one of our favorite docs of the year. Check ‘em all out after the jump, and share your thoughts in the comments. … Read More

Film

Trailer Park: Spies and Tigers and Psychics, Oh My!

By Jason Bailey on

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 ten new trailers for you this week; check ‘em all out after the jump. … Read More

Film

Iconic Movie Roles Impossible to Remake

By Alison Nastasi on

There’s been talk about a possible updating of Mary Harron’s American Psycho — based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis — for some time now. Word has arrived that Lionsgate is actually pushing forward with a remake of the twisted classic. The studio has brought on screenwriting unknown Noble Jones to update the story about yuppie psychotic, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), who slaughters his way through the 1980s. The studio will be hard-pressed to find another actor that can fill Bale’s (very expensive) shoes for the now famous role that became the symbol of cultural narcissism, materialism, and greed. Bale’s performance embodies everything Ellis set forth in his novel so perfectly, we think it will be impossible to top. What other iconic movie roles can never be remade? Click through to check out our picks, and leave yours in the comments below. … Read More

Film

Trailer Park: Holiday Leftovers

By Jason Bailey on

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 five new trailers for your post-turkey consumption this week; check ‘em out after the jump. … Read More

Film

Open Thread: Whither the Female Action Hero?

By Jason Bailey on

On this day in 1986, James Cameron’s sci-fi/action epic Aliens was released in American theaters. A sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 scare-fest Alien, Cameron’s picture was a smash with both audiences and critics, raking in $85 million at the box office and racking up seven Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress nod for star Sigourney Weaver. More importantly, it reinvented Weaver’s Ellen Ripley as the kind of strong, muscular, tough action hero role played almost exclusively by male stars like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The trouble is, Aliens came out 25 years ago, and a female action hero like Ripley is still the exception to the rule.

Sure, there are occasional heirs — Milla Jovovich has fronted four Resident Evil movies (with a fifth on the way), Uma Thurman did the Kill Bills, and Linda Hamilton kicked major ass in Cameron’s Aliensfollow-up, Terminator 2. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis co-starred in Thelma and Louise. And there’s Angelina Jolie, who raised heart rates in the Tomb Raider movies, Wanted, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, as well as last year’s Salt — an action lead, incidentally, originally intended for Tom Cruise. But that’s a pretty lean mixture of ladies for 25 years of moviemaking. Why is the female action hero still such a rarity? … Read More

Film

Rate-a-Trailer: Paul

By Sam Schlinkert on

Simon Pegg and his frequent co-star Nick Frost team up as both writers and actors in Paul, what looks like a parody of your typical road trip buddy comedy. Naturally the “best buddies,” a pair of comic book geeks traveling near Area 51, encounter a smoking alien (voiced by Seth Rogen), and that’s when the “trip of a lifetime” really begins. Jason Bateman plays a stern-faced, Men in Black-esque government agent, which should be hilarious (director Greg Mottola helmed a few episodes of Arrested Development), and the cast is rounded out by Kristen Wiig and sci-fi staple Sigourney Weaver. Despite an all-star ensemble, the success of this movie will rest heavily on Pegg and Frost. If internet rumors are to be believed, we need to wait for the red band trailer for the majority of the Superbad/Hot Fuzz/Shaun of the Dead-style laughs. Which makes sense. Check out the teaser after the jump and let us know what you think. … Read More