News

Actress Vanessa Marquez -- who played Wendy Goldman on "ER" -- was shot and killed by police ... and authorities believe Vanessa had mental issues stemming from an eating disorder. Vanessa's landlord called South Pasadena police Thursday afternoon, saying he was concerned for the actress. When police arrived she became combative and waved what cops believed was a semi-automatic handgun. Police shot her at least once in the torso. It turned out she was brandishing a Bb gun.

Former President Barack Obama has reportedly been called to serve jury duty next month, according to The Chicago Tribune.

On Friday, Chief Judge Tim Evans reportedly told county commissioners during a budget hearing that Obama had not only been called for jury duty in Cook County, but that he was also planning on serving it, according to the Tribune.

“He made it crystal-clear to me through his representative that he would carry out his public duty as a citizen and resident of this community,” Evans later told the newspaper.

“Obviously, we will make certain that he has all the accoutrements that accompany a former president,...

Happy 77th birthday to one of our favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd!

The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.

Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."

In honor of his 77th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.

1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.

2. He stands an impressive 6'1."

3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...

Happy 75th birthday to one of our favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd!

The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.

Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."

In honor of his 75th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.

1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.

2. He stands an impressive 6'1."

3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...

How much is it worth to Kevin Bacon to never have to do the "Footloose" dance ever again? Twenty bucks, apparently. During an appearance on Wednesday's "Conan," Bacon told the late night host that when he goes to weddings he slips the disc jockey a Hamilton to not play the famous song. The actor also revelaed that he almost didn't get the lead role in "Footloose" because the female head of the studio said he wasn't "F---able." Fortunately, the male director and producer convinced her that Bacon was. To prove that he was,...

My advance reading copy of Shivers VII didn’t include an introduction, and the table of contents gave no indication there would be one added to the finished and published edition. I’ve gotten used to anthologies leading off with some sort of mission statement or manifesto (sometimes, these missives are better than the stories that follow), but I guess hitting the seventh entry in a series indicates you know what you’re doing, and readers should know what to expect. After plowing through the 26 stories in Shivers VII, I’d say agree that no introduction is necessary. Like the six volumes before it, this is an anthology of rare quality, a collection of contemporary fiction that provides an excellent snapshot of where the genre stands today, and a roadmap to where it’s going. However, it’s important to remember where the genre came from even as it continues to move forward,...

If you just can't get enough of Andre Toulon and his army of dastardly puppets, Full Moon Features has the deal for you! You can own a box set of the first seven Puppet Master films with a bonus eighth special features disc for... what?! Twenty bucks?!

That's right; for just $20 you can follow the adventures of Blade, Torch, Leech Woman, Jester and Decapitron, but the deal is for a very limited time. The box set, which usually sells for $100, is being discontinued, so this is your last chance to own this extremely collectible item. The bonus eighth disc contains 45 classic Full Moon Features Trailers. What a great way to relive some of your favorite films.

The sale ends Friday, June 7, at 12:00 noon Pt. Just visit the official Full Moon Features site and grab your limited box set today. You know you won't be disappointed!

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Slacker

Directed by Richard Linklater

Written by Richard Linklater

1991, USA

In 1990, Slacker put Richard Linklater and Austin Texas in the spotlight. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, “Slacker is a movie with an appeal almost impossible to describe, although the method of the director, Richard Linklater, is as clear as day”.

Slacker came out around the same time that Douglas Coupland released his book, Generation X, and the young filmmaker became an instant spokesperson for an entire generation. While Generation X as a whole sometimes seemed to lack direction, its filmmakers devoted their early careers to making powerful statements about contemporary society and their generation’s role in it. Linklater (Suburbia, Dazed and Confused) emerged as the reluctant messenger for a generation labeled, packaged and sold as a defiant demographic dedicated to shredding whatever classification society tried to mark them as. Nominated for the...

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way." - Johnny Nash

Greetings from the apocalypse! Jimmy Cliff sang that song on the soundtrack for "Cool Runnings," and now that spring is in full effect I've got a spark in my step and an abiding hope that this weekend will mark the beginning of a fruitful harvest from the movie gods ... or another season so dreadful it'll make me wish I'd died with John Candy. A geek classic and a remake of a geek classic are stomping their way into theaters, let's see how they stack up …

Friday, April 5

Pow! In Theaters

The big budget Hollywood remake of "Evil Dead" won't so much swallow your soul as burp it out. Directed by Uruguayan newcomer Fede Alvarez, this offering is bigger and slicker but lacks the energy and homemade invention of Sam Raimi's original,...

While these might not be the most flattering set photos of Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine, fans couldn't care less.  We already brought you some concept art and set photos from a "Japanese prisoner of war camp," but now we have some images from the set in the "Canadian Rockies."  While these photos are actually from the shoot taking place in Australia, it's been suggested that The Wolverine is following Frank Miller's early storyline which puts the eventual X-Man in the frozen north tracking a man-eating Grizzly Bear.  Hit the jump to see the behind-the-scenes shots. Thanks to Cbm for the heads up on the set photos.  They also provided a bit of insight into the reason for the Canadian setting.  In Miller and Chris Claremont's Wolverine storyline, the titular character discovers that the mad Grizzly had been poisoned by a local hunter.  Using his heightened tracking skills,...

Spencer's crazy sister is also looking crazy-guilty! Do you think she channeled her inner Nanny Carrie on Alison? The Feb. 27 episode of Pretty Little Liars reinforced one of the most valuable life lessons ABC Family has ever taught me: Parents, especially dads, are never to be trusted. Ever. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) did a little snooping into their creepy dad's business dealings and discovered a $15,000 cash transaction he made to a private investigator to look into Alison's (Sasha Pieterse) disappearance. But it's what the girls didn't see that has me worried: a missing gun! Also, Mr. Hastings appears to know a lot more than we thought. He told Spencer he knew Melissa had been sending Alison threatening texts, so he hired the investigator to make sure Melissa had nothing to do with Alison's disappearance. (Twenty bucks says she took the gun, y'all.) And did anyone else think...

It's been several weeks since we last mentioned the anthology we're all chomping at the bit to see - The ABCs of Death - and to make sure everyone remembers to vote for the 26th director slot, a new promo video has been released, entitled "T Is for Twenty Bucks". Voting has been extended until November 1st so read on for all the details!

The ABCs of Death is an anthology horror film featuring segments directed by over two dozen leading talents in contemporary genre film from around the world. The feature is comprised of 26 individual episodes, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet inspiring a single word about death. Currently in pre-production, the film's producers reserved the 26th director slot for a worldwide contest to find tomorrow's next great horror filmmaker. A winner will be chosen after online voting ends on November 1, 2011. Click here...

Drafthouse Films has released the first promo clip from The ABCs of Death, which is currently in pre-production and set for release next year. This innovative horror anthology will be comprised of 26 short films, each from a different director, which represents a gruesome death for each letter of the alphabet. Click on the video player below to watch a promo teaser for Jason Eisener's upcoming segment entitled T Is For Twenty Bucks.

Click to watch The ABCs of Death: T Is for Twenty Bucks!

The ABCs of Death comes to theaters in 2012. The film is directed by Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Bruno Forzani, Hélène Cattet.

Allegedly, these are pictures of Heidi Montag. Allegedly, Heidi Montag was — at one point in time — a topic of discussion among people with brains? Allegedly, this woman is supposed to be 25 years old (in Earth years!) Allegedly, she celebrated her birthday last weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, where tickets to attend cost money! Twenty bucks! To spend time with this person! Allegedly, this person is not Mr. Potato Head with scraps just kind of …dangling from her “face.” I dunno, looks like Mr. Potato Head to me! [via Yeeeah!]...

Richard Linklater made a splash back in 1991 with his independent low budget film Slacker. The film was unique in its structure and seemingly plotless film, following a single day in the life of an ensemble of mostly twenty-something youths in Austin, Texas. The film followed various characters and scenes, never staying with one character or conversation for more than a few minutes before picking up someone else in the scene and following them. A similar idea was also explored at around the same time in a film called Twenty Bucks, that well followed a 20 dollar bill around for a day.

Now two decades later, the Austin Film Society and The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas are teaming up with 23 Austin filmmakers to remake Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed movie to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary. According to the Austin Film Society [via The Playlist] “Each scene will be recreated, using the original dialogue and...

It was a night of breakups, breakdowns and two new (highly suspicious) characters. Tell us what you thought of tonight’s episode!

When Spencer’s (Troian Bellisario) laptop went missing on the Jan. 24 episode of Pretty Little Liars, all fingers pointed at possible-murderer Ian (Ryan Merriman) — and why wouldn’t they? The girls know he was with Alison the night she died, and they’ve got pretty solid evidence that he may have killed her himself. Personally, I’m not exactly scared of Ian — but that’s only because I can’t stop picturing him as the tiny leprechaun in that Disney Channel movie. Who else remember that?

But all merriment aside, Ian’s not the only guy in Rosewood I’m worried about. This week we met Caleb (Tyler Blackburn), a know-it-all loner in a wool-knit cap. He had a run-in of sorts with all of the Liars, but...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Afterschool" (2009)

Directed by Antonio Campos

Released by Mpi Home Video

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]

"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)

Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh

Released by Well Go USA

Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.

Every once in a while a trailer comes out that makes you think to yourself "oh my goodness that looks like nonsense... I Can't Wait To See It!"

In my social circles that has been the reaction to the trailers and commercials for "Piranha 3D" (which is hitting AMC Theatres everywhere this weekend)!  To us, the film looks like a throwback to the great cheesy horror/gore movies of the 80's much like "The Expendables" is for 80's action films.  It also looks like it aims to deliver that kind of fun.

But aside from the beastly little fishies with the big teeth, a lot of us are also looking forward to seeing this particular cast in action together.  Most of them have been huge at one point (and for good reason) but these days don't often get the recognition they deserve to get.

So with "Piranha 3D" opening this weekend,...

You might not know this, but 50 Cent and Val Kilmer are good friends and collaborators. We spoke to them together late last year on the red carpet of the 2009 American Music Awards, and they revealed that they worked on a movie together called "Gun," that 50 wrote himself. "It's about how a weapon goes from manufacturing to its distribution point, to being in a citizen's custody — and how it ends up in the wrong hands," he said. "We watch the actual gun travel through a few different people's hands."

It's actually a pretty clever idea, not unlike the premise of another quirky little indie film, Twenty Bucks" (1993). It seems now that "Gun" is complete or close to that point, as today brings the very first trailer. And I've gotta say, it looks pretty badass. Not something that will shake Hollywood to its core, but with a cast that includes 50, Kilmer and John Larroquette,...

The end of October. This means changes in weather, the end of baseball, lots of parties with women dressed up in "sexy" versions of everything from Strawberry Shortcake to nuns, and another Saw movie to be unleashed upon the multiplexes.

You know, I gotta hand it to the filmmakers. They've crafted a wholly original new series of cheap thrillers that don't require much money, and have led it to the greatest grossing horror series of all time!

On top of which, we're six movies in, and they haven't resorted to 3-D releases, a prequel set in the old west, or Jigsaw in space yet, which means there must still be plenty of needlessly complex methods of killing people with common household rusted objects. Although I hear the next one will probably be in 3-D, so Saw VIII will probably take place aboard the Nsa Jigsaw

Anyway, with the release of...

Last night, Lisa brought NeNe home to Inglewood to meet her family. NeNe didn't expect to see so many Asian folks, and immediately removed her 10 inch heels. Her shock over Lisa's Chinese side of the family got a little silly, as she kept tugging on her friend's sleeve and asking her if she actually spoke their language and insisting that Lisa was black at heart. I'm going to give NeNe a pass though because she is actually quite sweet with old people and didn't blink an eye when it turned out that Lisa's parents are in fact adorable finger puppets. And props to NeNe for realizing that she had no place at Lisa's brother's graveside. After much hand-wringing, Lisa accompanied her family to visit her brother's resting place for the first time since his death three years ago. My stomach lurched when the scene began: There the family was, marching up the hill,...