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In 2006, Stephen King wrote an apocalyptic horror novel that remolded the contagion metaphor into something atypical. While zombies are front and center in this paranoia-fueled tale, these creatures are not reanimated corpses who have mutated beyond recognition, à la the infected in "The Last of Us." Instead, these zombies are former cell phone users who have transformed after a global network signal called The Pulse is sent out, turning them into rabid killers. This novel, "Cell," captures the unprecedented chaos brought about by this unlikely situation, with a struggling artist named Clayton serving as our entry point into this world on the brink of collapse.

It is worth noting that King wrote "Cell" during a time when cell phones weren't as accessible as today (to the point that they have evolved into a necessity), offering a technologically-wary perspective of a phenomenon yet to happen. This pessimistic outlook serves the purpose...

Kim Basinger is the blonde bombshell has certainly proved her bonafides as an actress, quickly going from sex symbol to respected Oscar winner. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).

She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself with a cameo appearance in “Wayne’s World 2” (1992) as the aptly-named Honey Horneé.

It was with Curtis Hanson‘s neo-noir masterpiece “L.

Exclusive: Mimi Rogers (Bosch: Legacy) and Cemre Paksoy (As the Crow Flies) are attached to star in Night Nurse, an erotic thriller from writer-director Georgia Bernstein, which will mark her feature debut.

The film takes place behind the gates of a remote retirement community, where a starry-eyed nurse is beguiled by a string of perverse scam calls. When she discovers her patient is the seductive con man behind these schemes, her innocent flirtation blooms into a lust for deception.

Eddie Linker (Ghostlight), Alex Phillips and Lucy Rogers are set to produce, with production to kick off in October.

“Night Nurse inhabits the central fantasy that allures the victim to their scammer,” said Bernstein in a statement on the project. “Unrealized desires drive my characters to trust the untrustworthy and to risk everything.”

Said Rogers, “I was intrigued by the provocative,...

Director Zack Snyder is perfectly suited to not one but two different Stephen King movie adaptations. Some directors are just perfectly suited to adapting author Stephen King’s work. Frank Darabont proved this with 1994’s incredibly uplifting The Shawshank Redemption and 2007’s incredibly bleak The Mist. The Shawshank Redemption’s brilliant dénouement is often listed as one of the most satisfying movie endings ever, while The Mist’s brutal coda is frequently called one of the meanest twist endings of all time. However, these short story adaptations come from King’s back catalog and prove that the author and Darabont make a perfect pairing regardless of a project’s tone.

Zack Snyder could prove ideal for another pair of potential Stephen King adaptations. Admittedly, Snyder is a divisive figure. However, even Stanley Kubrick’s take on The Shining annoyed both King and critics upon its release, so a bit of...

“You can ring my bell, ring my bell…”

The Losers gather at Boston International Airport to close out their coverage on Stephen King‘s Cell. Now that they’ve explored the 2006 novel, they’re dialing into the 2016 adaptation. Originally announced as an Eli Roth project two months after the book’s release, the film spent 10 torturous years in development hell before finally being unleashed.

What came to fruition is a feature by filmmaker Tod Williams that stars John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Owen Teague, Stacey Keach, and Joshua Mikel. What’s more, King himself penned the screenplay alongside 2009’s Last House on the Left scribe Adam Alleca. Was it worth the wait?

Join Losers Michael Roffman, Rachel Reeves, Ana Marie Cox, and Jenn Adams as they answer that very question. Together, they chart the entire decade-long production history, discuss the 1408 reunion between Cusack and Jackson, try to make...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, however, we talk about Oscar movies (!), or better yet, movies that were snubbed of Oscar!

Conor and I welcome the wonderful Joe Reid & Chris Feil of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. An official podcast crossover! In today’s episode, we each choose an Oscar snub that still sticks in our craw, and use them as a jumping off point for the categories of that respective year.

We reference two great past Oscar Buzz eps (A Thousand Acres & Elizabethtown), the lasting influence of Lisa Gerrard, Dan’s favorite film performance, Joe’s love for Marcelo Zarvos’ brilliant score for The Door in the Floor, Chris’ admiration of the singular costume (and production) design in Down With Love,...

Exclusive: Timberman-Beverly Productions has partnered with filmmaker Tod Williams (The Door In the Floor) on a drama series focused on the rarely explored origin story of one of history’s most iconic figures, Napoleon Bonaparte. The project, which is being taken out to the streaming marketplace, hails from ABC Signature where Timberman-Beverly is under a deal.

Bonaparte’s rise to become the emperor of France is possibly the grandest epic driven by a single individual in all of human history, except it isn’t the story of an individual at all. It’s the story of a family, more specifically, a mother and her eight children, rising up from obscurity to become the most powerful dynasty in the world. Beautiful, unruly, intelligent, and competitive, but united as a pack of wolves when threatened. In this family, blood is thicker than everything.

The series will explore Napoleon the son, brother, and...

Kim Basinger celebrates her 66th birthday on December 8, 2019. The blonde bombshell has certainly proved her bonafides as an actress, quickly going from sex symbol to respected Oscar winner. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).

SEERobert Redford movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself...

For composer Marcelo Zarvos, working on “Dark Waters” with Todd Haynes was “the highlight of my career.” He describes the director as “an incredible artist” who “is absolutely unafraid of music, and very aware of the potential and power of music.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Zarvos above.

See Todd Haynes movies: All 7 films ranked worst to best

The Focus Features release is a docudrama about a corporate defense attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who uncovers a long history of environmental pollution by the DuPont Chemical Corporation. In its style, the film shares a lot in common with investigative dramas like “All the President’s Men” (1976), “The China Syndrome” (1979) and “The Insider” (1999). That’s a change of pace for Haynes, who’s best known for his romantic period dramas “Far From Heaven” (2002) and “Carol” (2015). So the filmmaker “was looking for something quite different” from Zarvos’s score too.

What he wanted was...

Fear the Walking Dead alum Kim Dickens has been tapped to star opposite Lily Mae Harrington In Queen Fur, Showtime’s drama pilot from writer Eileen Myers (Masters of Sex). Michael Mosley (Seven Seconds), Jon Foster (Like Father), Joshua Mikel (The Walking Dead), Keith Machekanyanga (Timeless) and Spencer Howell (Ithaca) also have been cast as regulars should the pilot go to series.

Created, written and executive produced by Myers, Queen Fur is set in a small town in Central Florida – a place where beauty pageants, gun culture, Cuban revolutionaries and Southern hospitality co-exist and collide. And at the center of it all is Macy Dunleavy (Harrington) – a curvy, sexy, unapologetic high school dropout who is finding her womanhood and is ready to seize a big opportunity.

Dickens will play Macy’s mom, a former local beauty queen.

Mosley will play Todd, a local gun salesman. Mikel is Ryan, an associate of Todd.

Novelist John Irving has signed with Gersh, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

Irving won an Oscar in 2000 for adapting The Cider House Rules, his own novel. Other novels of his that have received the big-screen treatment include The World According to Garp, The Hotel New Hampshire, A Prayer for Owen Meany (adapted as 1998’s Simon Birch) and A Widow for One Year (made into the 2004 film The Door in the Floor).

Irving’s other accolades include three National Book Award nominations (including a win for Garp) and an O. Henry Award for the 1981 short story “Interior Space.” His...

By Todd Garbarini

Curtis Hanson’s Academy Award-nominated film, L.A. Confidential (1997), celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and is the subject of an exclusive screening at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre. The 138-minute film, which stars Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kim Basinger, will be screened on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:30 pm.

Please Note: Actress Kim Basinger, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in addition to the Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild Award for her role as Lynn Bracken, is scheduled to appear in person for a Q & A following the screening.

From the press release:

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

20th Anniversary Screening and Tribute to Oscar-winning writer-director Curtis Hanson

Q & A with Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger

Tuesday, May 9, at 7:30 Pm at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre

Laemmle Theatres...

Give “Cell” points for narrative expediency. It wastes no time bringing about the complete collapse of Western Civilization. Over the elapsed time of a single phone call, graphic novelist Clay Riddell (John Cusack) watches the normal bustle of his surroundings at a Boston airport erupt in a full-scale brawl. The inciting incident isn’t an act of domestic terrorism, but a mysterious electronic pulse that turns all of the terminal’s cell phone users into unrepentant rage monsters. Because Clay was on a pay phone, he’s able to watch in horror as employees and passengers alike descend into a series of increasingly horrific, animalistic displays.

Despite the indiscriminate nature of these newly-birthed beasts (some are violent, some seem intent on self-harm, some seem content to convulse), the sight of innocent bystanders getting launched over escalator handrails and a member of the airport security detail ripping out the intestines of...

Simon Brew Jul 5, 2016

Samuel L Jackson and John Cusack star in Cell, from Stephen King. Here's the new trailer...

Just a quickie: a new trailer for Cell has landed. Which we thought you might like to see...

Cell: April 2016

The next Stephen King-based project to make it to the big screen will be Cell, which is heading our way from Paranormal Activity 2 director Tod Williams.

Cell stars John Cusack, Samuel L Jackson and Isabel Fuhrman, and it tells the story of a strange signal that goes out across mobile phone networks, that consequently turns people into zombie-like savages.

Based on Stephen King’s novel, the author co-wrote the screenplay with Adam Alleca, and Cell heads to UK cinemas on August 26th.

We’ve got a trailer for the film and synopsis here, so as tradition dictates, we shall do them in turn.

Trailer first….

And here’s the synopsis…...

We've been covering this adaptation for a few years now, so it's great to see it finally speeding towards the finish line. The first trailer and a fresh poster for the Stephen King adaptation of "Cell" has landed and it looks decent.

We also have release dates! Cell hits Ultra VOD June 10th and then theatrically and on VOD July 8th.

Directed by Tod “Kip” Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor), Cell is based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Stephen King, who adapted the screenplay along with Adam Alleca (The Last House on the Left).

Synopsis:

When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals, struggling graphic artist Clay Riddell [Continued ...]...

10 years ago, iconic author Stephen King published a new novel entitled Cell, which was quickly eyed for a movie adaptation months before it was published. After a decade of development, which saw a number of filmmakers come and go, Lionsgate and Saban Films are getting ready to release Cell in theaters nationwide on July 8, preceded by an Ultra VOD release starting June 10. Today we have our first look at this thriller, which shows how technology is turned against us in frightening ways.

Stephen King's best-selling novel is brought to terrifying life in this mind-blowing thriller starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. At the Boston airport, Clay (Cusack) witnesses a scene of chaotic mayhem when an electronic signal turns hundreds of cell phone users into rabid killers. Desperate to find his estranged wife and son, Clay teams with a train driver (Jackson) to battle the horde of murderous "phoners...

At long last the first trailer for the feature film adaptation of Stephen King's Cell has been released! I've been anxiously waiting for this movie since I first read the book and it's almost here. The movie stars John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Isabelle Fuhrman and it looks like a solid adaptation. King, who co-wrote the script for the movie, previously said:

“I enjoyed working on ‘Cell’ and love the way it turned out. Kip Williams has made a scary and thoroughly entertaining movie. But you may want to put your cell phone in the freezer after seeing it.”

Cusack and Jackson previously worked together on the big screen adaptation of 1408, which I really enjoyed. It looks like they were able to bring that same magic to bringing the story of Cell to life. Here's the synopsis:

When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network...

Saban Films just announced they've acquired the Us distribution rights to the post-apocalyptic horror film Cell starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan, The Hunger Games). That means the film will see some kind of release (hopefully) in 2016.

Directed by Tod “Kip” Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor), Cell is based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Stephen King, who adapted the screenplay along with Adam Alleca (The Last House on the Left).

Synopsis:

When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals, struggling graphic artist Clay Riddell (Cusack) bands together with a small group of fellow sur [Continued ...]...

Saban Films has acquired the Us distribution rights to sci-fi horror film Cell starring Golden Globe nominee John Cusack (Love & Mercy, Being John Malkovich, 2012), Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) and Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan, The Hunger Games).

Directed by Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor), Cell is based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Stephen King, who adapted the screenplay along with Adam Alleca (The Last House on the Left).

When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals, struggling graphic artist Clay Riddell (Cusack) bands together with a small group of fellow survivors to trek across a decimated New England to seek answers and reunite with his son.

Saban Films President Bill Bromiley said, “Stephen King is widely recognized as a master of the horror genre.

Affonso Gonçalves with this Ace win for editing True Detective (2014)Affonso Gonçalves is a man that every actress lover ought to both thank and envy. Over the course of his career in TV and film he has been privvy to a consisently vivid series of strong and sometimes downright iconic performances by several of our greatest actress. He's helped shape the way we see them, too.

His career began in earnest with as an assisant editor on Todd Solondz's cult hit about a nerdy teenager Dawn Weiner in Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) and soon thereafter he was editing multiple films for Ira Sachs and other independent minded directors. In the 20 years since his debut he's edited performances by Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive), Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce), Kerry Washington (Night Catches Us), Michelle Williams (The Hawk is Dying), Kim Basinger (The Door in the Floor), and  Patricia Clarkson...

On Twitter Watch, Donna Murphy wrote 'Once upon a time a witch needed 2 text some1 from the woods. In honor of the new year trying this twitter thing. pic.twitter.com2JZ2X7Zb5DMurphy received the first of her two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as 'Fosca' in Passion. Her second Tony for her portrayal of 'Anna Leonowans' in the 1996 revival of The King and I. Her Daytime Emmy Award came from her first television film, HBO's Someone Had to be Benny.This talented and respected actress has had a diverse career, making a number of appearances on both the big and small screens, working in such films as The Bourne Legacy, Tangled, World Trade Center, Spider-Man 2, The Door in the Floor, Star Trek Insurrection, Center Stage and The Astronaut's Wife. Murphy has also appeared on television shows The Mentalist, Damages, Law amp Order and The Practice.

Just over one year ago, we learned that John Cusack would return to Stephen King territory by starring in the apocalyptic thriller Cell. The film follows a father desperately trying to find his wife and son after some sort of catastrophe begins spreading via cellular telephones. Now Cusack will have familiar company as Variety reports Samuel L. Jackson has come on board to star. Jackson and Cusack both starred in 1408, which was also based on Stephen King's writing. And if that wasn't enough of a reunion, 1408 producer Richard Saperstein is producing. He seems to like King's work since he also produced The Mist in 2007. Tod "Kip" Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor) is directed the film with production set to begin in January. The project is being sold at the American Film Market, but since production is so near, we're guessing this isn't one of those...

Exclusive: ICM Partners has signed Tod ‘Kip’ Williams, the Gotham-based director who last helmed the found footage sequel horror hit Paranormal Activity 2. He’s next directing Tangier, a Tom Pabst-scripted indie that will be produced by Traffic‘s Laura Bickford. I’ll always remember Williams for having the stones to take it upon himself to charm author John Irving into giving him a free option on his bestselling novel A Widow For One Year. Irving had never heard of Williams, who had only directed the festival film The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole. His producer, Ted Hope, had an in with Irving in that the author was briefly his wrestling coach at Exeter. That got Williams a foot in the door, and he sold Irving on his pitch to take only a portion of a sprawling tale (most of Irving’s books are sprawling tales), and make that the focus of the film.

No, not like that, you filthy perverts; but oh, how we love the way that your minds work. We're talking about the latest Stephen King adaptation that's been announced just in time for Cannes. Read on for some new details regarding Cell.

From the Press Release

On the eve of the Cannes Film Market, Benaroya Pictures and Miscellaneous Entertainment’s newly formed international sales company, International Film Trust (Ift), has added a new title to their Cannes slate - the Stephen King adaptation Cell, starring John Cusack - it was announced today by Ift President Ariel Veneziano.

Ift has acquired the remaining international territories for Cell, based on the novel by Stephen King, with Benaroya Pictures now on board to finance and co-produce.

Cell stars Golden Globe nominee John Cusack (2012) and will be directed by Tod "Kip" Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door In The Floor).

Richard Saperstein (The Toxic Avenger,...

Benaroya Pictures and International Film Trust have acquired the rights to the remaining international territories for Cell, the forthcoming film based on the bestselling Stephen King novel. The film is set to be directed by Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2). Read on for the full press release.

(Cannes, France) – May 15, 2013 – On the eve of the Cannes Film Market, Benaroya Pictures and Miscellaneous Entertainment’s newly formed international sales company, International Film Trust (Ift), has added a new title to their Cannes slate: the Stephen King adaptation, Cell starring John Cusack, it was announced today by Ift President Ariel Veneziano.

Ift has acquired the remaining international territories for Cell, based on the novel by Stephen King, with Benaroya Pictures now on board to finance and co-produce.

Cell stars Golden Globe nominee John Cusack (2012) and will be directed by Tod “Kip” Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door In The Floor).

Richard Saperstein (The Toxic Avenger,...

News of a Stephen King adaptation generally draws extreme reactions - either disgust or clueless joy. I.ll cop to being part of that latter group, though my enthusiasm is always kept in check by the sheer number of of projects he regularly has in development. As fans lay in wait for further development of 11/22/63, The Stand and The Dark Tower, at least one long-gestating project is starting up again. Screen Daily reports Tod Williams has been tapped by Cargo Entertainment to adapt King.s novel Cell. Williams' most notable credit is his lukewarm sequel Paranormal Activity 2, though his earlier take on a John Irving novel for the film The Door in the Floor was much more concise and enjoyable. Production on Cell will begin in May with Williams working from a screenplay written by King himself along with Last House on the Left remake screenwriter Adam Alleca. King...

Promised Land is the new contemporary drama directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk). Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company’s expansion plans. With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company’s offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge. The film will be...

Who would you like to play the role of a dirty grandpa--Jeff Bridges or Michael Douglas? Vulture reports that Bridges has been offered the lead in Universal Pictures' comedy Dirty Grandpa, which is being penned by John Phillips. If Bridges passes on the role, the studio plans to offer the part to Douglas. The film follows a "soon-to-be-married uptight grandson who is tricked into escorting his lascivious and recently widowed former Army general of a grandfather to spring break in Florida." This should be a pretty raunchy movie, since Phillips is also writing the Bad Santa sequel.

I could believe both actors in this role. Bridges' roles in Crazy Heart and The Door In The Floor make him a good candidate for this role. His comedic timing in The Big Lebowski should also be taken into consideration. As far as Douglas goes, Solitary Man and Wonder Boys are two good roles to consider.

The cinematography in the “Batman” series has been impeccable, as well as the cinematography in “Inception” and “Moneyball.” The man behind that impeccable level of cinematography, Wally Pfister, is now going to put his skills to the test as a director. According to ScreenRant via Deadline, his directorial debut will be a currently untitled screenplay by new writer Jack Paglen, based on a treatment by Annie Marter, a production assistant on films like “Girl, Interrupted” and “The Door in the Floor.” The film’s principal photography is expected to begin this fall. There’s no concrete word on what the film’s synopsis is, but it is assumed, according to ScreenRant, that the [ Read More ]...

How a filmmaker makes the leap from domestic drama (The Door in the Floor) to haunted house scare-fest (Paranormal Activity 2) is beyond my own level of understanding — but something about the latter experience might have made Tod Williams want to stick around. According to Deadline, the writer-director will next craft an adaptation of Christopher Buehlman‘s Those Across the River, which Mike Medavoy and Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road will produce.

Set in “a small Southern town in Georgia in 1935,” the story tells of a “Wwi veteran [who] moves there with his new wife after they inherit a home passed down through his family.” Plans to “write a book about his grandfather, an evil plantation owner,” are curtailed upon the realization “that there are some crazy things going on, including residents that are being killed and eaten.” The mystery might be rooted in the town putting a stop to “a...

More than halfway through October now, and it's high time for a followup to the first "Scary Monsters" roundup of the year, the one that pointed to several ongoing month-long cinephilic celebrations of Halloween. Before taking a look at a few recent and upcoming releases, let's begin with a list, namely, Glenn Kenny's at MSN Movies, the "50 Scariest Movies of All Time." At Some Came Running, Glenn kicks himself for forgetting to include Erle C Kenton's Island of Lost Souls (1932) with Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi: "In my defense, I've long held that it's not a real 'greatest' list unless it complains at least one completely bone-headed and inexcusable omission, and the omission of Souls, I would say, constitutes a particularly distinguished instance of such." Update: At Criterion's Current, Susan Arosteguy lists "10 Things I Learned" about Souls — factoids, some odd, some nifty, some a little spooky. Update, 10/21:...

Premiering at the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival in June to – mostly – rapturous applause, Albatross is a coming-of-age comedy-drama centring on verbose, would-be writer Emilia’s incendiary effect on a struggling author, Jonathan (Sebastian Koch), and his respective family, including wife Joa (Julia Ormond) and daughter Beth (Felicity Jones.

Last week, HeyUGuys had the opportunity to speak to the films riotous writer Tamzin Rafn about Albatross’ inspiration, the trials and tribulations letting her script be made into a film, how she felt about Niall MacCormick as a director, her neglected yet brilliantly titled rom-com and her plans for the future.

Here is said interview in its full, unabridged glory.

___________

HeyUGuys: Firstly, what was your inspiration behind Albatross?

Tamzin Rafn: Albatross wasn’t my first screenplay. My first ever screenplay was a rom-com called Audrey Disorderly – a great title given the disorderly mess of the writing in it – and it...

Academy Award-nominated actress Carey Mulligan will be honored with the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin will receive the “Hollywood Spotlight Award” at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony

Hollywood, Calif., Oct. 10, 2011 – The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, are pleased to announce that Academy Award-nominated Carey Mulligan will receive the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” and Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin will receive the “Hollywood Spotlight Award,” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. “It is a privilege to honor Carey Mulligan, Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning,...

After revealing the new trailer today, the next poster was also released. Paramount Pictures released a poster for the upcoming J.J. Abrams-directed “Super 8” on Apple iTunes. Here is the official synopsis of the film: “In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.” The film stars Elle Fanning (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Door in the Floor”), Kyle Chandler (“Early Edition,” “Friday Night Lights”), Ron Eldard (“Black Hawk Down,” “House of Sand and Fog”), Noah Emmerich (“The Truman Show,” “Beautiful Girls”), Gabriel Basso (“The Big C,” “Alabama Moon”) , Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee...

This explosive new thriller arrives in theaters on February 25th, and will be made available on VOD February 18th

Will Canon directs the explosive, high-energy thriller Brotherhood, which hits theaters on February 25th, and will be available on VOD this weekend starting February 18th. Featuring a stellar cast of up-and-coming new stars that include Trevor Morgan, Jon Foster, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Arlen Escarpeta, this non-stop visual pummeling will have you soaked in sweat by the last breathtaking reel.

College freshman Adam Buckley (Trevor Morgan) sits blindfolded in the back of a van outside of a convenience store as the final step of his initiation into the Sigma Zeta Chi fraternity comes to a close. Minutes later he finds himself dealing with the fact that a fellow-pledge just got shot while doing it.

Frank (Jon Foster), the senior fraternity brother in charge of the night's events, is able to get...

Mimi Rogers has had a varied career as an actress - appearing in sitcoms, thrillers, and dramas (you should really go out and see 'The Door in the Floor') - poker player, and now feature film producer. Her first film as a producer was Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable', hitting DVD and Blu-Ray on February 15th. I was able to talk with Rogers about the film's production, making an action film with very little CGI, how the business treats actresses of a certain age, the working advantages of sitcom formats, and of course, a little poker talk...

Unstoppable seems to be your first foray into feature film producing - is that correct?

Yes, in terms of a feature film, it's the first one that's made it to the screen.

How did that come about?

My husband and I produce together, and this was a story that he found about eight years ago,...

When video game developer Oren Peli launched his microbudget horror opus “Paranormal Activity” on an unsuspecting populace in 2009, its “Blair Witch”-esque found-footage narrative of an average couple’s home becoming the scene of a demonic crime struck a chord of jangled nerves everywhere.

After the Magic Movie Elves™ transformed his initial $15,000 investment into a $200 million dollar pot-o-gold, they also made a sequel appear the following October. Oh, you wacky Elves, what sort of mischief did you cook up this time?

Well, the Elves (with the help of a new filmmaking team overseen by Peli) made a damn scary movie, and they call it “Paranormal Activity 2.” This time around they’ve upped the ante, from a mere single camcorder in a suburban bedroom, to a way bigger house chock full of surveillance cameras rolling all the time.

Initially they record seemingly mundane activities of Dan and Kristi Rey as...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Tesis" (1996)

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

Released by Widowmaker Films

Long out of print, "The Others" director Alejandro Amenabar's debut about a grad student's discovery of a snuff film is being remastered and rereleased by Widowmaker Films.

"Alice in Murderland" (2011)

Directed by Dennis Devine

Released by Brain Damage Films

A year after Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" scared the bejeezus out of kids in multiplexes everywhere, this horror take on Lewis Carroll's classic fairy tale aims to do so intentionally on DVD players around the country.

"America, America" (1963)

Directed by Elia Kazan

Released by Fox Home Entertainment

Elia Kazan's most personal film based on the story of his uncle's immigration to the United States from Turkey, where as a Greek his family is persecuted, was already released as part of last year's Kazan boxed set, but now will be...

Paranormal Activity 2 (Blu-Ray)Paramount Home Entertainment2010/Rated R & Unrated/91 & 98 minsList Price $39.99 – Available February 8, 2011You know how it goes: movie makes a ton of money, Hollywood figures, “let's make another one.” In the case of Paranormal Activity, it was a phenomenal success having been acquired by Paramount/Dreamworks for $350,000, ultimately earning $194 million at the box-office worldwide. Oren Peli's independent supernatural horror film is one of the most profitable movies every made based on return on investment. The weekend the film opened nationwide, it managed to beat the latest installment of Saw, another horror series that also originally began as a small independent outing. Sprague Graydon (TV's “24”) makes a more convincing lead as Katie's sister Kristi. Though Peli's film featured a handful of effective scares, it failed to work for me personally. Movies with irritating characters who react to bizarre situations in the dumbest way possible tend to annoy me. While...

No movie springs from a vacuum. There are always influences from past examples of the genre, from the previous work of the filmmakers and stars, even from similar films that don’t quite work. If you want to understand where a movie is coming from, take a look at where it’s coming from. In Paranormal Activity 2, more regular folks in an ordinary suburban house are haunted by supernatural visitors while some cheap camcorders spy on it all for your entertainment. This flick sprang from (among other films): • Paranormal Activity (2009), of course, the movie that started it all by reproducing the gotcha thrills of a carnival funhouse -- boo! -- without even the bonus visceral experience of being jostled around in a bumper-car ride. • Poltergeist (1982), and discover all sorts of bad things that can happen when you build your suburban tract home on an old Indian burial groun.

Watch the latest TV spot for the horror film “Paranormal Activity 2″ by director Tod Williams (Wings Over the Rockies, The Door in the Floor) and starring Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Walking Distance). Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex, THe Losers) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51) produce. Click Here for more photos, news and videos from Paranormal Activity 2. Synopsis: Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli’s wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and more from “Paranormal Activity 2″, Paramount Pictures and [...]...

I suppose there’s a sort of cleverness in the direction Paranormal Activity 2 decided to take. Sequels are typically about one-upping their progenitor films by being bigger, faster, louder, more-er of everything. But screenwriters Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon, and Tom Pabst and director Tod Williams (The Door in the Floor) went in the other direction: They aped the look and feel of Paranormal Activity but made everything else smaller and lesser. It’s a bold choice, if an odd one. And almost entirely predictably, it utterly fails to pay off. What amusement value there was in Paranormal Activity came in its novelty: we hadn’t seen a film quite like this before, as the haunting of an ordinary young American couple terrorizing by a demon in their ordinary suburban house played out entirely via the camcorders they set up to document their experience, and to try to figure...

Here’s another new movie clip from the horror film “Paranormal Activity 2″ by director Tod Williams (Wings Over the Rockies, The Door in the Floor) and starring Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Walking Distance). Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex, THe Losers) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51) produce. Click Here for more photos, news and videos from Paranormal Activity 2. Synopsis: Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli’s wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and more from “Paranormal Activity 2″, Paramount Pictures and [...]...

Watch a brand new movie clip from the horror film “Paranormal Activity 2″ by director Tod Williams (Wings Over the Rockies, The Door in the Floor) and starring Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Walking Distance). Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex, THe Losers) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51) produce. Click Here for more photos, news and videos from Paranormal Activity 2. Synopsis: Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli’s wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and more from “Paranormal Activity 2″, Paramount Pictures [...]...

Here’s audience reactions from a screening of the terrifying new horror film “Paranormal Activity 2″ by director Tod Williams (Wings Over the Rockies, The Door in the Floor) and starring Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Walking Distance). Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex, THe Losers) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51) produce. Click Here for more photos, news and videos from Paranormal Activity 2. Synopsis: Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli’s wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and more from “Paranormal Activity 2″, [...]...

Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical

The Movie: 'Paranormal Activity 2,' directed by first-time genre filmmaker Tod Williams ('The Adventures of Sebastian Cole,' 'The Door in the Floor') and literally starring a cast of unknowns: not only are the actors not famous, but Paramount has done their best to keep us from learning their names. It is a sequel to Oren Peli's sleeper indie hit 'Paranormal Activity,' which cost $15,000 and grossed $108 million domestically last fall.

The Target Audience: Horror fans of all stripes, including those who can't or won't stomach the heavier, gorier fare that's become the rage over the past few years. Teens. People on dates.

Continue Reading...

Filed under: Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical

The Movie: 'Paranormal Activity 2,' directed by first-time genre filmmaker Tod Williams ('The Adventures of Sebastian Cole,' 'The Door in the Floor') and literally starring a cast of unknowns: not only are the actors not famous, but Paramount has done their best to keep us from learning their names. It is a sequel to Oren Peli's sleeper indie hit 'Paranormal Activity,' which cost $15,000 and grossed $108 million domestically last fall.

The Target Audience: Horror fans of all stripes, including those who can't or won't stomach the heavier, gorier fare that's become the rage over the past few years. Teens. People on dates.

Continue Reading...

Watch the ‘Now Playing’ trailer for the upcoming horror film “Paranormal Activity 2″ by director Tod Williams (Wings Over the Rockies, The Door in the Floor) and starring Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Walking Distance). Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex, THe Losers) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51) produce. Click Here for more photos, news and videos from Paranormal Activity 2. Synopsis: Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli’s wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and more from “Paranormal Activity 2″, Paramount Pictures [...]...

Saturday Pm Update: Sources tell me Friday's and Saturday's North American grosses and weekend and cume for the Top 10 are: 1. Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount) New [3,216 Theaters] Friday $20M, Saturday $14M, Weekend $43.5M The success of Paranormal Activity 2 is a classic case of, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Like the sleeper smash original, the sequel was made for a bare bones budget of $3 million and now is the biggest horror opening ever (record held by Friday The 13th at $40.5M). The director of the first Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli, stayed on as producer along with Akiva Goldsman and Jason Blum. Katie Featherston, who was at the center of the first film's action, also returned. Paramount set Tod "Kip" Williams to direct the sequel after first choice Kevin Greutert departed when Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures enforced an option that made him the director of Saw 3D, the film that opens against Paranormal 2 on Halloween weekend.

Paranormal Activity 2 is the Prequel / Update to last years blockbuster hit Paranormal Activity. In this film we get a background on what led to the events in the first film. We have the two characters from the first film Katie & Micah and also Katie’s family…her sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, their dog, niece’s boyfriend and of course the Demonic force with a bit more attitude this time around. This was filmed in the same first person perspective as the first one with footage from security cameras. It has a bit more shock value than the first, but I don’t think it really surpasses the first film scare wise.

The people behind Paranormal Activity 2 clearly learned a lesson from the debacle of Blair Witch 2: Book Of Shadows; they’ve hewed scrupulously close to the original film in style and tone. The result is probably the...