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Steve McQueen’s upcoming WWII drama “Blitz” is many things — a harrowing documentation of Germany’s bombardment of London, a child’s perspective on war, an eclectic portrait of a diverse community under terrible strain — and while it may not be a full-on musical, music does play an integral part of its narrative, with lead star Saoirse Ronan showing off her stunning voice more than once throughout the film. Speaking to The Playlist for a recent interview, Ronan expressed her love for music and hope that soon, with the right collaborator, she’ll get to stretch her pipes once more.

“I’m not a singer, but I would love to be in a musical,” said Ronan. “I’d love to be in a film musical. I think that would be really fun. And I’ve decided that Greta [Gerwig] is going to write it.”

When asked if Gerwig knew she was undertaking this responsibility,...

No matter how famous one can be or irrespective of the wealth that life can throw at you, there will always be a ton of struggles to deal with. The life Madonna lived with her family was remarkable, and the relationship she shared with her siblings was as tight as it could get.

Madonna in “Like a Prayer” music video | Credits: youtube.com/@madonna

Unfortunately, the 66-year-old singer of the 1984 hit Material Girl recently lost her brother, Christopher Ciccone. Madonna was one of eight siblings and she happens to be amongst the eldest ones from the Ciccone family.

Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone lost his battle against cancer

According to The Guardian, Christopher Ciccone, who is a couple of years younger than Madonna passed away on October 4, 2024, in Michigan. It was stated that the man of many talents had cancer, but it isn’t stated for how long the musician...

A Family Affair is Netflix’s latest rom-com directed by Richard Lagravenese from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The Netflix film follows the story of Zara, a young woman with aspirations of becoming a film producer, but currently, she works as an assistant for a self-obsessed and childish movie star, Chris Cole. While Zara hates her job and boss, she still tolerates them, but things get worse when she finds out that her mother and boss are romantically involved. A Family Affair has an amazing cast, including Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, and Kathy Bates. So, if you loved the romance, banter, and hijinks of A Family Affair, here are some similar romcoms you could watch next.

The Idea of You (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

The Idea of You is a romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based...

The age gap in Solne and Hayes' relationship is a central focus, a common theme in rom-coms like "I Could Never Be Your Woman." "Love & Other Drugs" tackles serious topics like illness amidst romance, contrasting lighter rom-coms aimed at younger audiences. The secrecy of Solne and Hayes' relationship mirrors other films like "Notting Hill," exploring the challenges of dating a celebrity.

The Idea of You is centered around an unconventional romance seen in many romantic comedies before it. The Idea of You follows the love story between an older single mother, Solne (Anne Hathaway) and a young pop star, Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine). Based on a book under the same name, The Idea of You changes details from the original text, but the complications of Solne and Hayes' relationship stay the same. Due to Hayes and Solne's age difference and the former's public persona, the two are made to keep...

Actress Saoirse Ronan ("Foe") poses for the latest issue of "Harper’s Bazaar" (UK) magazine, wearing Gucci and Cartier, photographed by Agata Pospieszynka:

Ronan is a two-time 'Academy Award' nominee, receiving a 'Best Supporting Actress' nomination for her breakthrough role as 'Briony Tallis' in "Atonement" (2007) and a 'Best Actress' nomination for her role as 'Eilis Lacey' in "Brooklyn" (2015).

Ronan has also received three 'BAFTA Award' nominations, two 'Golden Globe' nominations, two 'Screen Actors Guild' nominations and a 'Satellite Award'.

Her feature film debut was in the romantic comedy "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), followed by roles in "City of Ember" (2008), "The Lovely Bones" (2009), "Hanna" (2011), "The Way Back" (2010), "Byzantium" (2012), "The Host" (2013), "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014) and "Lady Bird (2017).

March 2016, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of "The Crucible", playing 'Abigail Williams'.

Ronan played 'Jo March' in Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" (2019), followed by 'Charlotte Murchison' in...

Saoirse Ronan movies range the gamut from blockbusters to romantic comedies to historical epics. The American-born Irish actress made her acting debut in The Clinic, an Irish medical drama and her first film role was in I Could Never Be Your Woman, a romantic comedy directed by Amy Heckerling that was filmed in 2005 but not released until 2007. Ronan's career breakthrough came in 2007 with Joe Wright's romantic period drama Atonement, an adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. Her role as aspiring writer Briony Tallis brought her critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

This made Ronan, who was 13 at the time, not only a first-time Oscar nominee but also one of the youngest actresses nominated in that category for her role in the Joe Wright movie. Saoirse Ronan has enjoyed a long and fruitful career since then, working with noted directors...

Take a look at new images of actress Saoirse Ronan, posing for the April 2023 issue of "Document Journal", photographed by Malick Bodian:

Ronan is a two-time 'Academy Award' nominee, receiving a 'Best Supporting Actress' nomination for her breakthrough role as 'Briony Tallis' in "Atonement" (2007) and a 'Best Actress' nomination for her role as 'Eilis Lacey' in "Brooklyn" (2015). 

Ronan has also received three 'BAFTA Award' nominations, two 'Golden Globe' nominations, two 'Screen Actors Guild' nominations and a 'Satellite Award'.

Her feature film debut was in the romantic comedy "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), followed by roles in "City of Ember" (2008), "The Lovely Bones" (2009), "Hanna" (2011), "The Way Back" (2010), "Byzantium" (2012), "The Host" (2013), "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014) and "Lady Bird (2017).

March 2016, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of "The Crucible", playing 'Abigail Williams'.

Ronan played 'Jo March' in Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" (2019), followed by 'Charlotte Murchison' in...

With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania representing the best opening of the franchise, we wanted to know what your favorite Paul Rudd movie is. Are you more a fan of his comedic roles or has his turn as Ant-Man been more your speed? Instead of listing all of the Marvel films separately, we used Ant-Man to represent all his ventures in the miniature making suit. if you don’t see your favorite, please let us know in the comments.

Favorite Paul Rudd MovieMac and Me (1988)Clueless (1995)Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)Romeo + Juliet (1996)The Locusts (1997)Overnight Delivery (1998)The Object of My Affection (1998)200 Cigarettes (1999)The Cider House Rules (1999)Wet Hot American Summer (2001)The Shape of Things (2003)2 Days (2003)Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)P.S (2004)The Baxter (2005)The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)The Oh in Ohio (2006)Diggers (2006)Night at the Museum (2006)Reno 911!: Miami (2007)I Could Never Be Your Woman...

George Clooney (“The Midnight Sky”) and Michelle Pfeiffer (“French Exit”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.

In Netflix’s “The Midnight Sky,” George Clooney — also the film’s director and producer — plays dying scientist Augustine Lofthouse. The year is 2049, the setting is the Arctic Circle, and before he dies, Augustine desperately wants to tell a spaceship returning to decimated Earth to go back to the inhabitable moon of Jupiter it had been sent to explore. In the forthcoming Sony Pictures Classics farce “French Exit,” Michelle Pfeiffer plays the arch socialite Frances Price, who also plans to die — after her money runs out, that is (thus the film’s title). Augustine and Frances would have nothing to say to one another, but Clooney and Pfeiffer chatted up a storm — about being working parents, their new movies and,...

Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada), actor O-t Fagbenle worked for years in English theater and in a number of on-screen roles projects before crossing the pond to try his hand at work in the States. When he first arrived on the Us film and television scene, he considered it “unchartered territory” because there were no well-known black British actors to show him how it worked. Fagbenle booked roles in movies (“I Could Never Be Your Woman”) as well as TV. Now, he is enjoying success in the second season of dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

What made you decide to give acting in the States a shot?

My family is very nomadic — my mom in particular traveled the world as a young person, and her father before that, and I guess I have that inside me. I came to the States less to find...

Since we forgot to celebrate Saint Patricks Day and since Brooklyn is fresh on DVD, let's talk everyone's favorite current Irish lass! Saoirse Ronan is only 21 years old (she turns 22 next month) but she's already logged over a decade of work having started as a child in a Irish television series called "The Clinic". Her first movie role was as Michelle Pfeiffer's daughter in the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman shot in 2005 though it took along time to emerge due to behind the scenes studio and distribution dramas. Her breakthrough Oscar-nominated performance in Atonement (2007) quickly followed. She's now ascended to a real movie star with her warm engaging film-carrying work in Brooklyn (2015).

Let's repeat a bit of Oscar trivia since it's quite impressive and important: Saoirse Ronan (nominated at 13 and 21) is only the 4th child star in history to received an Oscar nomination before and after...

Take a look @ new images of Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan ("Brooklyn") in the latest issue of "Interview" magazine:

The Irish-American actress is a two-time 'Academy Award' nominee; receiving Best Supporting Actress nomination for her breakthrough role as 'Briony Tallis' in "Atonement" (2007), and a 'Best Actress' nomination for her role as 'Eilis Lacey' in "Brooklyn" (2015). 

Ronan has also received three 'BAFTA Award' nominations, two 'Golden Globe' nominations, two 'Screen Actors Guild' nominations and one 'Satellite Award'.

Her feature film debut was in the romantic comedy "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), followed by roles in "City of Ember" (2008), "The Lovely Bones" (2009), "Hanna" (2011), "The Way Back" (2010), "Byzantium" (2012), "The Host" (2013) and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014).

March 2016, Ronan will make her Broadway debut in a revival of "The Crucible", playing the role of 'Abigail Williams'.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Saoirse Ronan in "Brooklyn"... ...

The briefest of glances at the box office achievements of any movie featuring superheroes clearly indicates the popularity of such projects. With such huge fan followings comes instant recognition for the performers involved, and entry into the amusing game of spotting superheroes assembling elsewhere. Sometimes, these are notable movies sprinkled in between super gigs. Other, more amusing times, these are examples of superheroes assembling before they ever became the legendary alter-ego that would inevitably define them for years to come.

There are some titles that feature just a couple of superhero combinations, or superheroes with supporting characters from superhero movies. For example, Batman And Hawkeye in The Town; Ant-Man and Catwoman in I Could Never Be Your Woman; Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Nick Fury in the 2014 Robocop remake; Groot and Batman in Boiler Room; Black Widow and Captain America in The Perfect Score; and Scarecrow, Carmine Falcone and Black Widow...

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of those actresses whose career you look back on and just marvel at. For an industry that supposedly disposes of actors as soon as they start to show their age, she has endured, racking up countless unforgettable performances with a whole host of amazing directors (to name a few: Jonathan Demme, Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis, Matthew Vaughn, George Miller, and Brian De Palma). Not only has she not slowed down as the years have gone on, she's gotten better.

Next up for her is writer/director Luc Besson's "The Family," playing a mob wife forced to relocate to a rural French village after her husband (Robert De Niro) squeals on his mafia cohorts. In the movie Pfeiffer gets to curse, scream, and blow up a small French supermarket. In other words: everything you dream about while attending drama school.

We got to sit down with the radiant (and,...

• Sandra Bullock passed once on starring in Will Gluck’s update of Annie, but reports surfaced Wednesday that talks may have started up again. The Oscar-winning actress would play the part of Miss Hannigan, the cruel, often drunk head of the orphanage that houses Annie (Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis). Carol Burnett played the role in John Huston’s 1982 version of the musical. Bullock can be seen next in The Heat (June 28) with Melissa McCarthy, and then in Alfonso Curaón’s Gravity (October 4) with George Clooney. [The Wrap]

• Tom Hanks is re-teaming with his Cloud Atlas co-director Tom Tykwer...

Girls Just Wanna Have Blood: Heckerling’s Vampire Comedy a Light Bite

Director Amy Heckerling reunites with her Clueless (1995) star for a female vampire buddy comedy, Vamps, her first effort since 2007’s I Could Never Be Your Woman. Granted a limited theatrical release to be followed quickly with a Blu-ray drop date only weeks later, the film is actually getting a heavier promotional push than her last, which went straight to DVD in the Us market. There’s certainly nothing edgy about her vampire rom-com, and neither does it revamp the genre or the careers of cast and crew, and was perhaps unwisely made during a frenzied adolescent vampire craze that’s finally on the wane. What it does feature are two likeable, cutesy lead ladies and a bevy of supporting performers threaded throughout its breezy running time, unfortunately hampered by several instances of terrible CGI that should have been excised altogether.

Over the past decade or so, Amy Heckerling kind of fell off the map. She had some pretty big hits in the '80s and '90s with Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless, but the last major film she directed was Loser starring Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari back in 2000. After that she did a couple of TV episodes and a direct-to-dvd movie called I Could Never Be Your Woman, but essentially she has been M.I.A. ever since. This year, however, she is finally mounting a comeback by reteaming with her Clueless star Alicia Silverstone for a comedy about... vampires. Ugh. Vamps revolves around two female vampires (Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter) living in New York City who just like to party and have a good time. When one of them becomes smitten with a guy named Van Helsing, however, she just might be jeopardizing their...

If you ask me, comedy crafter Amy Heckerling is among America's most underappreciated filmmakers. Not only is she the insightful writer-director behind such zeitgeist-capturing and influential features as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless, but she is also one of the few female directors to have scored multiple box office hits, including the aforementioned coming-of-age comedies as well as European Vacation and Look Who's Talking. Unfortunately, since her attempt to modernize the love story of Billy Wilder's classic comedy The Apartment for the Generation Y, painfully titled Loser, flopped at the theaters and was a miss with critics, Heckerling has had little luck. Her 2007 comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman, which starred Michelle Pfeiffer and reunited Clueless alums Paul Rudd and Stacey Dash, was a $24 million feature that banked less than $10 mil worldwide despite some critical acclaim. This brings us to Heckerling's latest: Vamps, a spirited comedy...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 13, 2012

Price: DVD $22.99, Blu-ray $24.99

Studio: Anchor Bay

Krysten Ritter (l.) and Alicia Silverstone love the nightlife in Vamps.

The vampire craze meets the era of the party girl in the 2012 comedy-romance film Vamps, starring Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) and Krysten Ritter (TV’s Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23) as two eternally young party girls (guess why they’re eternally young…!) navigating the dating world in the Big City.

Remember when vampire movies used to be horror films and not romantic comedies?

Goody (Silverstone) and Stacy (Ritter) are addicted to the night life, clubbing and hooking up, all the while keeping a big a secret: They’re actually modern-day vampires. But even with lifetimes of dating experience behind them, the duo realizes they still have a lot to learn about love when Stacy unexpectedly falls for the son of a vampire hunter, and Goody runs...

For 20 years Michelle Pfeiffer was a constant presence on the big screen. She was nominated for three Oscars (for "Dangerous Liaisons," "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and "Love Field") and starred in big hits including "Batman Returns," "What Lies Beneath" and "Dangerous Minds." And then, after 2002's "White Oleander," Pfeiffer stepped back from stardom to focus on her family. She lent her voice to an animated "Sinbad" movie, starred in a romantic comedy with Paul Rudd that went direct-to-video ("I Could Never Be Your Woman") and didn't return to theaters until 2007's "Hairspray" and "Stardust." She hasn't dramatically ramped up her...

We're celebrating twins daily at 2:22 pm while we're in Gemini

Gratuitous Anecdote! I've always loved to draw and in my high school years it's what people knew me for. I won the High School's Departmental Award in Art (Do they still have departmental awards? Hell, do they still have art classes?) in that heady stretch of graduation celebrations where they keep honoring star pupils. One day early in my senior year or maybe it was at the end of my junior year, the art teacher asked one of the students to pose for the class. A guy I didn't know volunteered and I felt totally inspired. Instant crushing helps. He loved my drawing and we became fast friends after the class. The first day I went to his house after school I was stunned to see a whole house full of doppelgangers. He had one of those families...

The poster for Saoirse Ronan's latest Byzantium has just been released. It's a vampire movie from Neil Jordan who is no stranger to supernatural beasties (see also: The Company of Wolves, Interview with the Vampire, The Crying Games ... what? There's no other explanation for how indelibly creepy Miranda Richardson is in that movie!)

Question: When will Saoirse Ronan ever be cast as a non-lethal girl again? The ridiculously talented young star (who just turned 18... god, time flies) just keeps playing killers whether literally or metaphorically. Let's review:

Atonement (2007) Destroyer Of Lives

The Lovely Bones (2009) Dead Girl 

Hanna (2011) Assassin

Violet and Daisy (2011 still awaiting release) Assassin

Byzantium (coming soon) Vampire

Order of the Seven (coming soon... another Snow White movie) Warrior 

The Host (coming soon) Dangerous Possessing Alien 

How I Live Now (coming soon) Normal Girl Thrust Into Violent Survival Mode

Second generation vampiress Saoirse Ronan in "Byzantium"

I realize...

At the young age of just eighteen, Alicia Silverstone made a mark on pop culture like few do by leading Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling, her first film since 2007’s I Could Never Be Your Woman.

Over a decade and a half later, the pair are now working together again for a new project, Vamps, and MTV have got the first teaser poster for the film, due out next year.

“As upstanding, politically correct Extended Life Forms (ELFs), the pair fit twelve-step “Sanguines Anonymous” meetings to help curb the temptation of human blood in between their clubbing and dating schedules. When love steals into each of their lives, the pair’s destiny is set on a new course and they must make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality—and maybe much more.”

On the surface of it, this isn’t really a project that interests me all...

Amy Heckerling: Amy Heckerling directed the starting point for a generation of brilliant high-school films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High before moving on to the stellar European Vacation. In 1989 and 1990, she hit a creative stumbling block, directing the successful but excruciating Look Who's Talking films before bouncing back in 1996 with Clueless. Unfortunately, it was soon after that success that she crapped out, directing Night at the Roxbury, Loser, and most recently, the straight-to-dvd clunker, I Could Never Be Your Woman, with Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer. She does have another film in the works, Vamps, with Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter, but the movie (pictured below) seems unlikely to save her directing career.

John Landis: One of the very best comedic directors of the 1980s, Landis hit an unprecedented successful streak, starting with Animal House and ending with Coming to America. In between, there was Spies Like Us,...

Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige are all about young love in Submarine.

Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company will release the 2010 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film Submarine on Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 4, for the list prices of $39.99 and $29.98, respectively.

Set in Wales, the movie tells the story of Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts, Jane Eyre), a 15-year-old boy who is prone to daydreaming, listening to French crooners and concocting various self-absorbed fantasies. Reality sets in when Oliver finds himself submerged in a handful of serious challenges: Plotting to lose his virginity with a quirky new girlfriend (Yasmin Paige, I Could Never Be Your Woman), struggling to salvage his parents’ (Made in Dagenham’s Sally Hawkins and Vanilla Sky‘s Noah Taylor) marriage and keeping his mom from taking up with the self-help guru next door (Paddy Considine, Red Riding).

Written and directed by Richard Ayoade (TV’s The Mighty Boosh...

Vampires are everywhere, with Fright Night and the new Twilight just two of the fang-friendly films coming our way, along with the one we’re all waiting for: Ninjas Vs. Vampires, it’s now such an accepted convention that we now no longer require any suspension of disbelief.

Enter into the ring Amy Heckerling, whose Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless and I Could Never Be Your Woman (well, I liked it), give the forthcoming vampire rom-com film Vamps a decent amount of expectation and momentum, and today the film’s Facebook page has unveiled some tasty set pictures including one of star Sigourney Weaver looking a little like her role in Ghostbusters, albeit a touch more vampiric.

Synopsis? Why, certainly…

When two sexy female vampires living it up in modern-day New York City each falls in love with a human, they must make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality—and maybe much more.

Amy Heckerling's newest offering in quite some time (well with the exception of the sub par Paul Rudd vehicle 'I Could Never Be Your Woman') is combining blood sucking females with giggles in her upcoming project 'Vamps'. And best of all the two sexy leads are played by Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter! And now we have our first batch of images from the production featuring the two said hotties plus our first peek at Sigourney Weaver and Malcolm McDowell in their roles as Cisserus and Vlad respectively. 'Vamps', which was also penned by Heckerling herself, co-stars Richard Lewis, Kristen Johnston, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk, Dan Stevens, Marilu Henner, Zak Orth and Todd Barry. Check out the new stills below....

One of our all-time favorite supporting ladies staged a big return Memorial Day weekend, with Stacey Dash's starring turn on VH1's "Single Ladies."

The Queen Latifah-produced primetime soap has "Sex and the City" aspirations, and for a lot of viewers, it may be their first time seeing Dash since she introduced "hymenally challenged" and "vehicular sex" to the pop culture lexicon as Dionne Davenport in "Clueless."

She's been a busy little bee, though. Here are some of our favorite (and least favorite) uses of her talent since we fell in love with her in 1995...

Low: "Illegal in Blue," 1995

Capitalizing on a "Clueless" boost, this direct-to-video noir came out around the same time as Dash's theatrical breakthrough. Unfortunately, it also included a pretty gritty sex scene.

High: "Clueless: the series," 1996-1999

Alicia Silverstone may have had "better things" to do after the film -- we saw "Excess Baggage,...

This weekend's teen-assassin thriller Hanna will no doubt do for talented young Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan what the overhyped The Lovely Bones was supposed to do -- firmly establish her as one of the most intense and fascinating actresses under 20 on the scene today. But she's shown promise ever since her little-seen (in the Us, anyway) 2007 feature debut, the comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (available on DVD from Weinstein Company) written and directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless).

Paul Rudd would like to create his own superhero. The "How Do You Know" actor has developed a whole persona for his proposed character, who he has named Doctor Thesaurus, and even decided he wants his superpower to be based on a popular word puzzle game.

"Doctor Thesaurus. I think he'd be called maybe Charles Thesaurus," he said. "Chuck to his friends, of which there is really only one. And my superhero abilities are really on a smaller scale. I'm absolutely unbeatable at Scrabble. That's it. That's my power. Able to use a triple word score at any given turn."

Paul, 41, has played several wimpy characters in movies such as "I Could Never Be Your Woman", "P.S." and "Over Her Dead Body", but insists he is very different in real life, though he admits he hasn't done any physical work for a long time.

He told Shortlist magazine, "I made...

Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange Move over, Robert Pattinson… Malcolm McDowell, the guy who wreaked havoc in the streets of London in Stanley Kubrick‘s A Clockwork Orange (1971), has been cast as Vlad the Impaler in Amy Heckerling‘s horror comedy Vamps, the writer-director’s first project since the 2007 Michelle Pfeiffer-Paul Rudd vehicle I Could Never Be Your Woman. For those ignorant of vampire history, the bloodthirsty Wallachian prince Vlad was presumably the inspiration for Bram Stoker‘s Count Dracula. And for those ignorant of Robert Pattinson history, according to Ancestry.com Vlad was Pattinson’s distant cousin. Written and directed by Heckerling, among whose credits are Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Look Who’s Talking (1989), and Clueless (1995), Vamps follows two hip New York City vampires, Goody and Stacy, who fall in love — with humans, from what I understand. That upsetting turn of events will lead to a crucial decision about their immortality.

Subject: Paul Stephen Rudd, 41-year old American actor/screenwriter

Date of Assessment: July 30, 2010

Positive Buzzwords: Apatow, teflon, sarcasm, wit

Negative Buzzwords: Apatow, stuck in a rut

The Case: Mixed feelings run amuck with this week's subject. Exactly how does one criticize a comedic actor who has risen the top of his game yet still simultaneously (not to mention arguably) disappoints? With a resumé that runs far and wide, there's just no practical method to discuss every detail of Paul Rudd's career, but it would be an understatement to declare that he's doing quite well. After all, Vanity Fair saw fit to feature Rudd as one of Comedy's New Legends. Not only that, but Rudd seems unflappable even after some box-office flops and also appears to have discovered the fabled Fountain of Youth. Whatever his secret is, he could bottle that shit and sell it to every comedic actor who moves to Hollywood.

Ok, so Amy Heckerling's directing career hasn't exactly gone that well since the days of Clueless. Her last film I Could Never Be Your Woman, despite starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan, went directly to DVD, and the only person who wants to talk about 2000's Loser is Jason Biggs himself. But I'm holding out hope for Vamps, a comedy Heckerling is directing with Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter starring as a pair of young female vampires enjoying the New York City nightlife, with Sigourney Weaver as a "bloodthirsty stem vampire," whatever that means. Now leftover 3rd Rock From The Sun and Curb Your Enthusiasm fans can share my cautious hopes. Kristen Johnson and Richard Lewis (via THR) have joined the cast, Johnson as a Mrs. Van Helsing who is naturally suspicious when her son comes home with Ritter's vampire character, and Lewis as an Aclu lawyer...

This was supposed to be a post for the second trailer of Dinner for Schmucks, starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd (and even Zach Galifianakis). But then I watched the trailer, and not only was it underwhelming, but I was kind of appalled at all that talent wasted for a Jay Roach movie. Also, in nowhere in the trailer does Paul Rudd dance. What's the point of casting Paul Rudd if he's not dancing, people. It's like hiring Josh Holloway and asking him to keep his shirt on. Or casting Christina Hendricks in a burqa 'n' sandals movie. Why?

So, as though to make up for the lack of Rudd dance moves in the Schmucks trailer, I bring you: The Five Best Paul Rudd Dance Sequences.

You're going to thank me for it.

I Could Never Be Your Woman

"Late Night With Conan O'Brien"

Overnight Delivery

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart...

A couple of our more popular Seriously Random Lists in the past were lists that explored once popular actors and actresses who have seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth (or at least, no longer appear in movies with which we are familiar). People like Rene Russo or Paul Reiser, who were once ever-present, and then just vanished. Today, we're going to do the same with directors. It's more difficult with directors because they work behind the camera and, in many cases, weren't very familiar to begin with. But you knew their movies. Many of the directors below had considerable success before all but vanishing -- some of them still work, on TV or making Direct-to-dvd movies or movies no one has ever heard of. But the fall from their peak has been precipitous and, in some cases, mysterious.

10. Joe Dante

Signature Movies: Gremlins, Gremlins 2, The Howling, Twilight Zone: The Movie,...

I love Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I like Clueless plenty too, but pretty much every other Amy Heckerling picture has failed to click with me - and her last movie I Could Never Be Your Woman almost broke me. I remember when I was 16 and I shuffled off to see Look Who's Talking and actually thought that because the Fast Times woman had directed it, things were going to work out a whole lot better than the trailer suggested. So, when I hear today that Look Who's Talking is getting remade, I can't manage anything more than a shrug. Is it even a good idea? Talking babies that don't actually talk? Or will they talk now, seeing as the CG revolution has turned cinema FX on their head in the 20 years since the first Look? Pajiba report that Neil Moritz is producing the remake and is currently on...

Sigourney Weaver's seems like she's had a surprisingly quiet career for someone who was in some of the greatest science fiction movies of all time, as well as Avatar. I've never seen her disappoint, so I suppose that bodes well for Amy Heckerling's Vamps.

Yes, that means another vampire movie is coming your way. These don't sparkle, but they probably don't tear out throats or bathe in blood, either, which is always mildly unsettling. Vampires are supposed to tear out throats and bathe in blood. If they're not going to do that, the what kind of a world do we live in, I ask you?

[sigh]

Anyway, Heckerling has had a decidedly uneven track record -- she's directed some of the greatest movies of my generation -- Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless (and I have great fondness for Johnny Dangerously) -- and she's directed some absolute crap (A Night at the Roxbury,...

We all fell in love with Alicia Silverstone on some beautiful day in 1995, whenever we first saw Clueless and said to ourselves, "Man, this movie should have been dumb, but instead it is amazing." Since then Silverstone hasn't exactly had the career she deserved, showing up in random movies like Stormbreaker and attempting a TV series in Miss Match. Same goes for the director Amy Heckerling, whose last film I Could Never Be Your Woman went straight to DVD. Could a reunion be the key for them both? I hope so! News broke today that Silverstone will star for Heckerling in Vamps, a comedy about two female vampires living in modern-day New York City and loving it, until both fall in love and must make choices about their immortality. Co-starring with Silverstone will be Krysten Ritter, who popped up in Confessions of a Shopaholic and 27 Dresses but will have her...

I'm just not going to let you all forget about the Dune remake you're trying to ignore, which is already set up with director Pierre Morel, who directed last weekend's monstrously awful From Paris with Love. From what I understand, there was a very good script that Peter Berg was working off of when he was attached as director, but they've decided to scrap it, probably on account of it being decent. Studios don't like decent movies -- they like theme park rides with actors that they can convert into 3D. All of which is why some dude named Chase Palmer has been hired to inject Morel's ideas into the existing Josh Zetumer script for Dune, and by new ideas, I mean: Little photo booths that you and your family can get your picture taken at. And don't forget to buy the "I saw Dune and Survived" T-Shirt on the way out the door.

Screen Daily reports that Silverstone and Heckerling will work in a sub-genre that shall become stale once the Twilight series is over and done with. Silverstone will join the well cast Krysten Ritter in Vamps - a modern-day tale of two female vampires who live it up in New York until love enters the picture, when each has to make a choice that will jeopardise their immortality. - You can be forgiven if you feel that you've lost track of the Clueless pairing Alicia Silverstone and Amy Heckerling. They were once at the top of the film world, the year was 1995 and then both filmographies would eventually include television work (here's a retro Charlie Rose clip of Heckerling). The filmmaker tried a comeback, not to long ago -- but got screwed over by the distribution company in charge of 2007's I Could Never Be Your Woman. Screen Daily...

Screen Daily is reporting that Alicia Silverstone will reunite with Clueless director Amy Heckerling on her latest project, a vampire romantic comedy, entitled Vamps. Apparently, it will "be a modern-day tale of two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality." Sounds like a vampire-themed version of Gossip Girls. Lets hope this isn't just a last minute attempt to capitalize on the Twilight craze. But honestly, who better than Heckerling, who has been responsible for some of the better teen films of the 80's and 90's, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless and European Vacation. She has only released two films in the last decade, 2000's teen comedy Loser and the 2007 romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman. Silverstone will play one of the female vamps, alongside Krysten ...

On Sunday The Film Experience's Nathaniel Rogers brought me along to a dinner in honor of (500) Days of Summer, where both the cast and writers and director were on hand to schmooze with various writers and industry people who have the power to influence the movie's Oscar chances (let me be clear, I was just a guest-- no one thinks that of me). While Nathaniel and I didn't wind up eating alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt or anything, we did luck out and somehow sit down at a table with Amy Heckerling, the Clueless director who also recently directed Nathaniel's favorite actress, Michelle Pfeiffer, in the straight-to-dvd I Could Never Be Your Woman. While that movie didn't work out so well release-wise, Heckerling is already at work on her next project Vamps, which follows two female vampires looking for love in modern-day New York. Krysten Ritter, of What Happens in Vegas and...

Rumor Alert!

Or, rather, 'Possiblity Alert'! And one you haven't heard yet. The other evening at a dinner party, I chatted briefly with writer/director Amy Heckerling (of Clueless fame). Since her very last feature I Could Never Be Your Woman starred Michelle Pfeiffer, you know I couldn't resist gushing about my favorite actress. The conversation quickly drifted to Saoirse Ronan, who played Pfeiffer's daughter in that film. Heckerling was very proud to have discovered her (...Woman preceeding Atonement, production-wise) and wouldn't you be?

Leaving the party later, I wished Heckerling well on her new comedy Vamps which should go before cameras in the spring. Remembering me as that weirdly obsessed pfan-guy, Heckerling clasped her hands together in supplication and said 'I hope I get Pfeiffer for it.'

[Collective Pfan Gasp!]

Has an offer gone out? Could Pfeiffer finally have a vampiric role? The movie is still in preproduction with only Kristen Ritter signed.

While Twi-mania reaches a fever pitch this week, Amy Heckerling is quietly in pre-production on her own vampire venture called Vamps. The Parly Films rom-com is slated for a 2010 release and has already cast Krysten Ritter, but the Clueless writer/director is hoping to also snag her I Could Never Be Your Woman lead Michelle Pfeiffer. For those interested, Vamps is described as a "modern-day tale of two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality." [Film Experience]...

The cats at Film Experience got to chatting with director Amy Heckerling ( Fast Times at Ridgemont High ) who recently announced she'll be helming the blooodsucker comedy Vamps with star Krysten Ritter. Heckerling offered the site during their breezy conversation, "I hope I get [Michelle] Pfeiffer for it." Which could imply that she's courting the actress for a role. The director previously worked with Pfeiffer on I Could Never Be Your Woman . Principal photography is set to begin in March 2010 for Parlay Films. It'd be great to see Pfeiffer - who has starred in Wolf , Batman Returns and The Witches of Eastwick - don a pair of fangs.

This week, Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley assess the state of Avatar's marketing, discuss their thoughts on the Men in Black series, and lament the imminent death of Miramax. Writer/director Richard Kelly joins us for this episode. Richard Kelly's newest film, The Box, is out in theaters on Friday, November 6th. You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(At)gmail(Dot)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us next Monday at 9 Pm Est / 6 Pm Pst at Slashfilm's live page as we review The Box. Download or Play Now in your Browser: [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/slashfilmcast/Slashfilmcastep74.mp3] Subscribe to the /Filmcast: Shownotes Introduction (01:44) Introducing Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, and The Box What We've Been Watching David Chen (06:20): Saw VI, Boondock Saints Richard Kelly (20:10): I Could Never Be Your Woman Devindra (25:15): Orphan, White Collar Adam (28:10):...

halfway through the day, we freeze a movie halfway through

Confession time: I still have not seen Personal Effects, Michelle Pfeiffer's second recent straight-to-dvd mishap, the other being I Could Never Be Your Woman (see previous post). In both films the goddess has a relationship with a much younger man.

55 minutes into the movie, Pfeiffer hits on an unresponsive near

silent Ashton Kutcher. What's wrong with him?

As one of the web's most notorious pfans, you'd think I'd be more of a completist. But I am so scared to watch it. I don't know why. It's not like I've never seen her in a disposable movie before. For all I know it's good (I scanned to the middle... having still not overcome my fear). Aside from this picture, I have only a few gaps in my Pfandom. I haven't seen any of her TV work prior to moving permanently...

Sharon Stone and Carice Van Houten ("Valkyrie") will star in the independent drama "Satisfaction." Production will start in the U.K. early next year.According to Variety, the film will be directed by Anya Camilleri ("Ny-Lon"). The producers are John Evangelides ("A Good Woman") and Cerise Hallam Larkin ("I Could Never Be Your Woman").The script was written by Simon Burke. Burke's credits include adaptations of "Tom Jones," "Sons and Lovers," "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "White Teeth," "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Persuasion." The story centers on a young gigolo in London, who finds himself caught between a rich and manipulative older woman (Stone) and a younger woman (Van Houten).

What do having sex with Sharon Stone, having sex with Carice Van Houten, and having sex for money have in common? I'll give you a hint, and it's not having sex: these two actresses will play the women a British gigolo is torn between in the newest indie drama, Satisfaction. The film will begin production in early 2010, and is to be directed by Anya Camilleri (Ny-Lon). Variety reports that John Evangelides (A Good Woman) and Cerise Hallam Larkin (I Could Never Be Your Woman) will produce, and Simon Burke (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Liverpool, Ny-Lon) is spearheading the script. For an indie film, these are two hard-hitting leading ladies. Stone will play a cougar caught in a love triangle with her gigolo and his younger woman, played by Van Houten. Stone, who is 51 and single, doesn't mind playing a cougar, but made it pretty clear at the Hamptons Film Festival that she doesn't want to be...

Screen Media Films is proud to announce the acquisition of Robert Townsend’s Phantom Punch to be released first quarter 2010 on DVD. Starring Ving Rhames (“Kojak,” I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), Stacey Dash (I Could Never Be Your Woman, Clueless), Nicholas Turturro (World Trade Center), Alan Van Sprang (“The Tudors,” Saw III), Bridgette Wilson (Shopgirl, Billy Madison) and David Proval (“The Sopranos,” Irene in Time), Phantom Punch is based on the true story of Sonny Liston and the future Mohammed Ali’s knock out punch that would change his life forever. The deal was brokered with Abhi Rastogi, Managing [...]...