http://news.moviefone.com The Moviefone Blog is the place for movie lists, trailers, trivia, interviews and features on movies out in theaters and coming soon. http://news.moviefone.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://news.moviefone.com en-us Copyright 2013 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this headlines and excerpts feed are available for limited commercial distribution. You may repost this feed to your site provided you link back to the original story, do not edit the material, and do not remove this copyright notice. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ 16698 One of the original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory stars has nothing but praise for Tim Burton's new adaptation. Julia Dawn Cole, who played the spoiled brat Veruca Salt in the 1971 film, thinks "it's as good as the original" and admits that her son Barney "says it's better." Cole told Femalefirst.co.uk that author Roald Dahl didn't like the original film but she's "convinced he would have loved this version. It picks up on all of the darker elements of his story, which kids love." Burton's film, as you may already know, is not a remake of the original movie, but an adaptation of the book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, after which it's named. However, Cole wouldn't say that Burton's version is better than the original, as "that will always be special" to her.

More Charlie goodness:
POLL: Will Harry steal Charlie's golden ticket at the cash register?
Wonka gets a back story
The Willy Wonka Formula
Wonka's Wild about Johnny Depp
Revisiting Wonka

]]> 2005-07-17T20:50:06+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/veruca-salt-loves-charlie/ 16697
Writer/director Kevin Smith decided to unveil new models for the Chasing Amy line of In-Action Figures at the San Diego Comic Con. NewsAskew has some large format pictures of a bewildered Holden, an angry Alyssa, Banky, a defiant comic collector (who was played by producer Scott Mosier), and Hooper X. Sadly there is no official release date yet, but expect them late this fall.

Update: Smith has released concept art for the Chasing Amy diner playset on his message board.

More on Kevin Smith:
Mallrats X details revealed
Kevin Smith to direct Degrassi movie?
Kevin Smith defends Hayden Christensen
Kevin Smith's fanboy love for Revenge of the Sith
Kevin Smith Goes Bottoms Up
]]> 2005-07-17T20:07:27+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-chasing-amy-in-action-figures/ 16694

E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial: Nationwide - Loews Theatres and Sports Illustrated for Kids' Kids Film Series is showing FREE movies for kids 12 and under, every Wednesday at 11 am at the many participating theatres. On July 23th they will be presenting Shrek 2. To escape the summer heat, kids and accompanying adults will be offered free tickets and a special kids concession combo (popcorn and soda) at a discounted price of $4.25 plus tax. Click here for a list of participating theatre locations.

Saving Private Ryan: Loews is re-releasing the best movies of all time in the Loews Fan Favorites program. July is Independence month and they're showing Saving Private Ryan on Thursday, July 21st, 2005 at 8:00pm. Get your free pass for two by clicking the links below:

• Boston, MA - Loews Theatres Boston Common
• Washington, DC -  Loews Georgetown 14
• New York City, NY - Loews 34th Street
• Chicago, IL - Loews 600 North Michigan

• The Alamo Drafthouse is taking a 6000 mile road trip with 21 days of travel and 11 films which will screen in their original shooting locations, chosen specifically to intensify the viewing experience. Tickets and info on the tour can be found at AICN.

• Friday, August 19: Last Picture Show - Archer City, TX
• Sunday, August 21: It Came From Outer Space 3D - Roswell, NM
• Tuesday, August 23: Once Upon a Time in the West - Monument Valley, AZ
• Wednesday, August 24: Planet of the Apes - Lake Powell, AZ
• Saturday, August 27: Repo Man Road Rally - Los Angeles, CA
• Sunday, August 28: North By Northwest - Bakersfield, CA
• Tuesday, August 30: Bullitt Road Rally - San Francisco, CA
• Thursday, September 1: The Goonies - Astoria, OR
• Saturday, September 3: Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind - Devil's Tower, WY
• Monday, September 5: Cat Ballou - Buckskin Joe's, CO
• Wednesday, September 7: Hud - Claude, TX
  

NOTE: We are not the ones holding the contests or giving away the tickets, we're just providing you with the information. Have fun and good luck.
]]> 2005-07-17T18:57:17+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/screening-give-away-et-saving-private-ryan-and-aicns-road-tr/ 16687 Director Bryan Singer found some time to talk about the upcoming Logan's Run remake during his Superman Returns panel at Comic-Con yesterday. He said that he will proceed with the film  after finishing Superman Returns next year and revealed that the film is already in the design phase.

When asked about the source material, Singer responded that his movie will be a mix of the book, the original film as well as his own stuff. He also confirmed that the palm crystals will remain in the new version, as well as the concept of "Renewal".  ]]> 2005-07-17T18:31:52+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-singer-talks-logans-run/ 16686 Have you seen the first House of the Dead? The big screen adaption of the popular video game which turned out to be one of the worst movies ever created (check the imdb bottom 100 of all time). Even though the first film didn't make it's modest budget back, they've decided to greenlight a sequel... but why? Well, cast and crew from House of the Dead 2 held a panel at Comic-Con to explain. In attendance were writer/producer Mark Altman, director Mike Hurst, director of photography Raymond Stella (Escape from New York), actors Ed Quinn (Starship Troopers 2), Emanuelle Vaugier (Wishmaster 3), Ellie Cornell, and Cam Powell.

And they did the only thing they could do... admit that the first film was horribly bad, and tried everything they could to distance this film from its predecessor. Altman stated that the intent of the panel was to get the crowd excited to see House of the Dead 2, adding "as hard as that will be." The small room was only filled a third to capacity. Altman and actress Cornell are the only one of two survivors to make it to the second film. Altman pointed out that Hurst was a flesh and blood human and not, as some people had feared, Uwe Boll (the director of the first film) under a pseudonym. "Uwe Boll has nothing to do with this film!" The audience applauded.

They showed the trailer for the film, which IGN says made it look like a cross between "the Dawn of the Dead remake, Aliens, and, oddly, Porky's." Three clips were shown, including one with Sticky Fingaz, who plays the big hero role. But they pull a big fake out out by killing him right away. They show him transform into a zombie while "on the move," which is something never done before. Other clips showed what IGN called "standard genre fare".

If you care enough, you can read the full report at IGN by clicking the link below.]]> 2005-07-17T17:41:22+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-house-of-the-dead-2/ 16650

• ComingSoon takes a look at the King Kong toy line
• A look at the alien abduction thriller Night Skies
• IGN's Blog-a-con
• Bruce Campbell talks upcoming projects
• Natalie talks Vendetta
• Posters, Books & More Pics From Comic-Con

The Cinematical Comic-Con rundown is after the jump.

•  Previously on Cinematical:

• A recap of The Corpse Bride panel
• Futurama direct-to-DVD movie confirmed
  
• Bruce Campbell takes on Hollywood and the MPAA
  
• Zathura panel report
  
• The Fountain panel recapped
  
• SAW 2 Teaser Trailer revealed
  
• A recap of the V for Vendetta panel
• Harry Potter footage previewed
• Sneak Preview Review of Red Eye
• Clive Barker talks
  
• Stealing Optimus Prime's License Plate
  
• A recap of The Scanner Darkly panel
• A recap of The History of Violence panel
• A recap of Digital Bits' DVD Producers 2005 panel

]]> 2005-07-17T16:33:32+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-web-watch-2/ 16684 Disney held a panel discussion for their superhero family action comedy Sky High at Comic-Con. In attendance was director Mike Mitchell, screenwriter Paul Hernandez and actor Bruce Campbell, who plays Coach Boomer in the film. Reports from the panel say that it turned into "The Bruce Campbell Show," and the other guests didn't really get to say much of anything. This is somewhat funny because I'm pretty sure Campbell's role in the film is fairly small.

Anyway, you can read about the humorous, if uneventful panel after the bump...
Hernandez admitted that he originally "tried to sell it as TV series," but that never happened. Bruce Campbell pointed out that "Kurt Russell did his first Disney movie like 40 years ago."

Campbell pretended to throw a fit when someone asked if his character was related to Ash, the character he plays in the Evil Dead series. Next, someone asked if Campbell was "a hero or a sidekick?" He pretended to get even madder before calming himself down. He explained, "Russell Crow and I have anger issues."

Another attendee asked what it was like working with former Wonder Women Lynda Carter. Mike Mitchell said "She's hot!" While Campbell offered, "She hit on me in the parking lot."

Okay, so nothing much really came of the Sky High panel.
]]> 2005-07-17T14:46:26+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-sky-high-panel/ 16648 Director Tim Burton sent a video greeting along with a clip from his new stop-motion animation film The Corpse Bride. The lengthy clip, which made its debut at the convention, revolves around Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) rehearsing his wedding vows the day before his wedding. His role-playing in the forest has the unintended effect of waking the Corpse Bride, a dead woman left at the altar by a man a long time ago. The Bride's convinced that Victor is her new true love, and pursues him. Bonejangles, a beatnik, jazz-singing skeleton (voiced by Danny Elfman) and his band of bony jazz blowers tell Victor the legend of the Corpse Bride. This musical sequence is one of four musical numbers in the film.

Quint at AICN writes "This musical number isn't as instantly classic as the best songs in A Nightmare Before Christmas, but it's really damn catchy and the scat that Bonejangles does is just awesome." "We have a full... animated head on this [movie]," director Mike Johnson said. "The corpse bride was such a complicated puppet that animators said it was like working with three puppets."

New camera methods helped speed up production. Johnson said, "We shot Corpse Bride using digital still cameras... so that helped a lot."

When asked if Jack Skellington might make a guest appearance in the film, Abatte laughed off the question, "His agent wouldn't let him out of his contract."

ComingSoon also has a thirteen minute audio interview with producer Allison Abbate and co-director Mike Johnson.

Note: This blog post was compiled from various panel and news reports from ComingSoon, IGN, and AICN, which are linked throughout.]]> 2005-07-17T13:15:55+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/comic-con-the-corpse-bride-panel/ 16647 According to actor Martin Klebba's official website, the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be called Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End. Klebba plays the character Marty in the original Pirates of the Caribbean and the two sequels which are now being filmed back to back.

Could the title mean that the plot has something to do with the end of the world, or that they're on a quest to find the literal world's end? Could be interesting...  ]]> 2005-07-17T11:52:08+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/pirates-of-the-caribbean-worlds-end/ 16646 Passion of the Christ director Mel Gibson is ashamed of his first ever on screen kiss, according to ContactMusic. The kiss was with another man in a movie entitled Summer City. Gibson says, "It was a cheap, nasty movie that was cranked out in three weeks on a tiny budget." Gibson won the role during his graduation year at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art. He never received the $450 he was promised for performing the embarrassing movie scene with Steve Bisley. Ironically, the pair have since worked together in the stage production of The Hostage and in the first Mad Max movie.  ]]> 2005-07-17T09:42:41+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/17/mel-gibson-ashamed-of-gay-kiss/ 16644 Bruce Campbell says Hollywood is "creatively bankrupt." At a Comic-Con question and answer session, the cult actor went through the list of films that came out this summer, deconstructing each one. "First of all, every A-movie is a now a B-movie," he said. According to Campbell, any movie that relies on costumes and aliens falls into the B-movie category.

• On War of the Worlds: He complained that the idea was tired, "every 50 years they do something with that idea."
• On Batman Begins: "Well, this was a good one. It took 'em five tries."
• On Bewitched: "Hollywood has a file drawer 30 years deep."
  

He urged the crowd not to support the "same horsesh*t you're getting out of Hollywood." Tounge in cheek, he added, "Except Sky High," which he stars in. He then went on a tirade refering to the MPAA's decisions as "stupid" and "embarrassing." "The MPAA can kiss my ass so hard it can come out the other side." He questioned why it was wrong that violence is much more acceptable than nudity on television: "You can shoot a boobie, but you can't kiss it."
 It wasn't just about the films, it was also about the actors:

• On Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: "Well, I can guarantee that I don't give a rat's ass about them."
• On Ashton Kutcher: He joked that the actor would reprise his role in the Evil Dead remake.
• On Ben Affleck: "William Holden can kick Ben Affleck's ass any day of the week."

]]> 2005-07-16T23:59:33+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/comic-con-bruce-campbell-takes-on-hollywood-and-the-mpaa/ 16645 IGN talked with Futurama voice actor Billy West (who voices Fry, Zoidberg, the Professor, and many more) at San Diego's Comic-Con International, and it was revealed that a brand-new direct-to-video Futurama movie has been greenlit. There is also an option for a second movie as well. This is great news for Futurama fans, and it may also pave the way for other canceled shows to make their way back to audiences in the direct-to-DVD model.  ]]> 2005-07-16T23:04:32+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/futurama-movie-confirmed/ 16639 Producer Joel Silver, star Natalie Portman, co-producer Grant Hill and co-creator David Lloyd were on hand to show off an exclusive clip which started with a startled Portman running and hiding from "pursuers who want her to give up the identity of the vigilante Vendetta - a masked marauder carrying out his own version of justice on the streets of London." A voice asks Portman if she understands the information they are after. She answers "Yes." Then the voice asks, "Are you ready to tell us the identity of V?" She answers, "No." We then cut to scenes of Vendetta (played by Hugo Weaving) taking out his enemies one by one with a knife. The trailer closes with the voice-over from Hugo Weaving saying "Remember, remember the fifth of November."
In the panel, Portman revealed that she prepared for the role by reading some of the graphic novels' source materials, such as The Gunpowder, Plot, Macbeth and Twelfth Night. This later inspired her to read other comics and graphic novels. "Working from a graphic novel gives such rich textures to work off of."

A comic fan asked why Alan Moore didn't sign off on the project. David Lloyd, co-creator and artist on the original series, answered that Moore would only be happy with a page-by-page adaptation. Lloyd said he only "wanted a great script that captured the essence of the original books."

"After The Matrix films the boys (Andy and Larry Wachowski) were burned out," Joel Silver explained. "They had worked with James McTeigue (2nd unit photographer) on The Matrix films and that's who they wanted to direct it." While this movie may be helmed by somebody else, Silver stated "It's a Wachowski Brothers movie." Silver acquired the rights for V For Vendetta along with Watchmen back in 1988.

ComingSoon also ran a 16 minute audio interview with Portman, Silver, Hill and Lloyd which you should check out. IGN has text interviews with Joel Silver and Natalie Portman.

Note: This report has been compiled from reports from Coming Soon, MovieWeb, IGN and AICN. Photo credit goes to AICN, where you can also find a lot more pictures from the panel.
]]> 2005-07-16T22:33:03+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/comic-con-v-for-vendetta-panel/ 16540 The film I most wanted to see at Sundance 2005 wasn't at Sundance. It was showing in Salt Lake City as part of Slamdance, the indie alternative film festival to Sundance's more mainstream indie festival. I was unfortunately unable to make the trek to the city to see the documentary.

Now, according to Variety, Ringers: Lord of the Fans has been acquired by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Carlene Cordova's documentary tracks the cultural influence of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Ring. books. Think the movie Trekies but with LOTR fans. The film is narrated by Lord of the Rings hobbit Dominic Monaghan. Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Clive Barker and David Carradine also appear in the movie.  ]]> 2005-07-16T21:23:57+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/sony-buys-a-ring/ 16640 Lions Gate Films revealed a teaser trailer for SAW 2 at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con. In the film, Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg) is investigating the bloody aftermath of a grizzly murder and has the feeling that it is the work of Jigsaw. This tine there are eight strangers, unaware of their connection to each other, who are forced to play out a game that challenges their wits and puts their lives in jeopardy.

You can check out the teaser trailer at the link below.  ]]> 2005-07-16T21:02:25+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/saw-2-teaser-trailer-revealed/ 16634 "I hate PG-13 horror movies! Give me back my puking children!" Novelist and Horrormaster Clive Barker proclaimed slamming his fist into the table. Barker along with toy maker Art Asylum has revealed a new plush toy line to show off at this week's San Diego Comic-Con. The Jump Tribe toys will hit store shelves later this year, packaged with original stories written by Barker about the individual creatures. Barker also shared some information about a few horror film projects he is working on:

• Midnight Meat Train revolves around a photographer's search for a subway serial killer. The movie is being directed by Independence Day's Patrick Tatopoulous, and is being partly filmed in New York.
• The Plague centers around a group of teens that emerge from mysterious comas and turn on their parents. It's being filmed in Winnepeg.
• The Scarlet Gospels is a new 500-page book he's writing about "a man with pins in his head." The author says the book is a collection of erotic text and illustrations.

 ]]> 2005-07-16T19:59:30+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/comic-con-clive-barker-talks/ 16636

Must Love Dogs: New York City, NY - MovieContests.com and Warner Bros. Pictures are giving away double passes to the advance screening on Thursday, July 28th, 2005. For your chance to win, fill in your name, your info, and your answer to the skill-testing question in the Entry Form on the linked website. Multiple entries will be deleted. The contest ends on Saturday, July 23rd. The answer to the skill-testing question is: My Dog Skip.

Must Love Dogs: Boston, MA - MovieContests.com and Warner Bros. Pictures are giving away double passes to the advance screening on Monday, July 25th, 2005. For your chance to win, fill in your name, your info, and your answer to the skill-testing question in the Entry Form on the linked website. Multiple entries will be deleted. The contest ends on Wednesday, July 20th. The answer to the skill-testing question is: My Dog Skip.

The Island: New York City, NY - Dreamworks Pictures & FearsMag.com invite you to enter to win a pass for you and a guest to see a screening on Wednesday, July 20th at 7:30pm. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

Devil's Rejects: New York City, NY - Lions Gate Films and FearsMag.com invite you to enter for a chance to win passes for you and a guest to see a screening on Wednesday, July 20th at 8:00pm. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

Stealth: Oklahoma City - To get tickets to an adcance screening stop by The Black Chronicle Newspaper located at 1528 NE 23rd St. to pick up a complimentary pass for you and a guest. Passes are limited so first come, first serve and only one pass is allowed per person.

NOTE: We are not the ones holding the contests or giving away the tickets, we're just providing you with the information. Have fun and good luck. Thanks to toxiktwin, microdvd and Fatwallet for contributions.  ]]> 2005-07-16T19:26:44+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/screening-give-away-must-love-dogs-the-island-stealth-and-dev/ 16633
Have you seen the license plate from the Transformers truck?  The plate has been stolen twice from the MACK truck advertising the movie at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. The truck has now been upgraded with extra security personnel. Fans have been going to great lengths to steal the plate and the staff at Comic-Con has so far been unable to adequately secure the area.
 ]]> 2005-07-16T19:05:36+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/comic-con-stealing-the-transformers-plate/ 16531 Who knew there was an Australian Project Greenlight and didn't tell me? Colin Friels (Darkman, Dark City) and Bruce Spence (Star Wars Episode III) will star in the Australian Project Greenlight movie, Solo. Writer/director Morgan O'Neill script recently won Movie Extra's 'Project Greenlight Australia' $1 million filmmaker competition. Colin Friels will star as Barrett, an enforcer who works for a group of businessmen known as "The Gentlemen", who operate within the Sydney Underworld. Barrett needs to get out of the game, which is, of course, easier said than done. The movie will begin filming in Sydney later this month and will also star Bojana Novakovic (Marking Time), Angie Milliken (MDA), and Linal Haft (Soft Fruit). The finished film will get a theatrical release before screening on Movie Extra.
 ]]> 2005-07-16T14:35:49+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/project-greenlight-australia-goes-solo/ 16550 There's just so much going on at the San Diego Comic-Con this year that we just don't have the room to fit it all. Luckily we can provide you with the links:

• Ain't it cool news has an update on all the cool movie related toys at the convention.
• Flickr has a bunch of photos from the convention floor.
• TheForce.net has your Star Wars convention coverage which includes lots of toyline news.
  
• We have:
• A recap of The Scanner Darkly panel
• A recap of The History of Violence panel
• A recap of Digital Bits' DVD Producers 2005 panel
  

 ]]> 2005-07-16T08:19:16+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/16/comic-con-web-watch/ 16557 Comic-Con International is going strong, so keep it tuned to Cinematical all this weekend for updates from the panels and show floor. Already we have recaps of a bunch of panels including: A Scanner Darkly, A History of Violence, and DVD Producers 2005.

• New Line Cinema has picked up the rights to the critically acclaimed comic book Ex Machina by creators Brian Vaughan and Tony Harris.
• Sony Pictures has launched the official website for Screen Gems' Underworld: Evolution, which includes a Flash teaser and a first look at the new poster.
• Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have revealed the teaser poster for Ghost Rider at Comic-Con. Also check out this high resolution teaser of Ghost Rider himself.

•  New Line Cinema has hired Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On, The Grudge) to direct Parasyte, based on a 12-part Manga comic book series by Hitosi Iwaaki. The film will combinine live action and CGI.
• Seems like Halle Berry won't shut up about X-Men 3 and the future (or lack there of) the series and SHH has the quotes.
  
• Microsoft and Marvel announced a licensing agreement that will give Microsoft exclusive rights to develop and publish massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) featuring Marvel's iconic universe of superheroes for use in games developed for the Xbox 360(TM) system.
  
• X-Men 3 is scheduled to begin shooting at Vancouver Film Studios on August 2nd.
• Chistopher Reeves's widow Dana is launching a new range of Superman dog tags, which will be sold next week, begining July 18th across America to raise funds for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
• SHH has an update on the big screen adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit comic book from a Comic-Con 2005 panel. Since they are only in the early stages of pre-production, there wasn't a lot of news. There's still no director, star, or production designer yet.
  

]]> 2005-07-15T22:09:25+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/geek-report-unerworld-2-ex-machina-ghost-rider-parasyte-x-m/ 16528 The man behind the movie adaptation of 1980s soap Dallas, Robert Luketic has spent years researching the project, even having spent time with Texas' richest families. For the movie adaptation he's upping the value of the family's wealth. He tells website Moviehole.net, "We're going to build the new Southfork. We're going to build runways besides the house and applying for permits with the FAA (US Federal Aviation Authority) so we can build a temporary tower so we can get Boeing 747s in."

Luketic still refuses to talk about casting, which is rumored to feature Brad Pitt, John Travolta and Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Travolta playing JR Ewing: "I can't even deny that rumor. It's going to be a big cast."
 ]]> 2005-07-15T21:01:39+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/robert-luketic-goes-to-dallas/ 16533 There is still hope!!!! Fantastic Four star Jessica Alba has vowed never to date another actor, because she detests their huge egos. She says, "I'm way too high maintenance to be in a relationship with an actor. I don't need a man who spends as much time in front of the mirror as me." She does on to say that men in the business are much bigger divas than women. When she used to do action scenes in Dark Angel she had to play it rough: "If you hit an actress accidentally she'd take it on the chin, but the guys would take a 20 minute break and ask for x-rays. It was unbelievable. I'd tell them, 'Come on, man. You're supposed to be a tough guy.'"

Alba must know, too -- she's has had a string of actor boyfriends, including ex-fiance and Dark Angel co-star Michael Weatherly and Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg. Alba is currently with Fantastic Four assistant director Cash Warren, who she met during filming.
 ]]> 2005-07-15T18:05:27+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/jessica-alba-wont-date-actors/ 16539 For the record, I think this whole media backlash against Tom Cruise is stupid. For a while we even banned Cruise related stories. But everytime we post a TomKat related story it seems to become one of the more popular blogs of the day, so it's clear that some of our readers want this stuff. So instead of posting a blog everytime Tom Cruise goes to the bathroom, we created the Cruise Update, (now Tom Cruise in 60 seconds), where we could group a bunch of stories together. And I guess we'll continue to do this until the media backlash dies down or you guys stop caring (please, when will you stop caring?), whichever comes first:

 

• Yesterday we relayed a story from ContactMusic about how Nicole Kidman said that her marriage to Cruise wrecked long term friendships because her husband was so private. It seems that our source (ContactMusic) misquoted Kidman for the story, and that Kidman was not blaming her "shutdown" on Tom, but instead on herself.
• Sir Michael Caine is concerned Tom's relationships with taller women are doomed: "I keep hearing she is going to be the next Mrs Tom Cruise - she's a bit on the tall side." But Caine is impressed by how confident his Batman Begins co-star Katie Holmes has become since the romance beganL"I remember Katie as a quiet little girl who wouldn't say boo to a goose. Obviously some metamorphosis has gone on there.
• Kidman refused to socialise at Hollywood functions when she first married Cruise: "I would sit at dinners and wouldn't speak. I was 22 when I got married, and I had this huge, famous, movie-star husband. I felt like nobody wanted to hear anything I had to say."

]]> 2005-07-15T17:28:55+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/kidman-misquote-caine-talks-tomkat-and-more-tom-cruise-in-60-s/ 16544 Digital Bits held a "DVD Producers 2005" presentation at Comic-Con International. The presentation started with a Q&A with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson who was filming a DVD bonus feature for some unknown film, but it isn't King Kong. He admitted that he has hours and hours of behind the scenes footage from his older films like Meet the Feebles and Bad Taste, and that he plans to do something with it in the next year if he can arrange the time. He also stated that he and New Line unofficially (read: nothing has been signed) would like to do a "Super Uber Lord of the Rings" DVD box set. I can't even imagine such a thing. What would such a set include that isn't on the special editions now? Jackson says he wants to do it showing the making of the film "from a different perspective." Whatever that means. It was also mentioned that the King Kong web videos at KongisKing.net will continue up till the release of the movie, then they'll switch to working on the DVD fully.


They showed a video greeting from Superman Returns director Bryan Singer. Singer showed off the Daily Planet Plaza set, footage of Clark Kent jumping high in the air and running next to a corn field, and other various other shots of Kent. They also showed footage of a helicopter being shot against a blue screen, while Singer teased that they were going to show Lex Luthor on the set. The footage cut off before we saw him, as a joke.

There was a brief discussion of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe DVD, the King Kong DVD, and a couple others. They also indicated that DVDs were in the works at the moment for Seinfeld, Ghost Rider, Underworld: Evolution, a Cary Grant boxed set, "James Bond," Kingdom of Heaven, Superman Returns, Domino, XXX: State of the Union, Stealth, and more. They mentioned An Evening with Kevin Smith 2, the Mallrats 10th Anniversary DVD, and a Blue Thunder Special Edition. It was also hinted, but not confirmed that an X-Men 2.5 DVD might be in the works to hype X-Men 3's release.

The director of Lords of Dogtown showed alternate versions of scenes with dialogue changed to make the MPAA happy, which will be included on the DVD. They also showed some footage from the upcoming Gladiator 3 disc set which is comes out on August 23rd.]]> 2005-07-15T17:10:42+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/comic-con-digital-bitsdvd-producers-2005-presentation/ 16525
The first panel at this year's Comic-Con was Warner Independent's discussion and preview of Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. Producer Tommy Pallotta and animators Sterling Allen, Evan Cagle, Nick Derington, Christopher Jennings, as well as Philip K. Dick himself. Yes, I know, you're saying, 'Dick is dead'. A robot recreation of Dick spoke to the audience, and fielded questions.

 
They showed a comic-con exclusive trailer that was 2 minutes and 15 seconds with mostly new footage, although Quint from AICN says "the big beats of the teaser trailer were in there". Hopefully the footage will be online soon.

They also showed a scene from the movie that was about Robert Downey Jr.'s character entering the house where Woody, Winona and Keanu are lounging with a bike. In super fast, hyper speech he talks about how he got a deal on it. "It's an 18 gear bike" that he got for $50. Woody points out that there are only 9 gears on the bike and Downey starts going off about how he was ripped off.

At the panel itself they revealed that the total budget, including animation and actor's salaries is $8 million, which is incredible for an animated film if you ask me. The animators are 65-70% done animating the movie, with 5 teams of 10 animators each attacking the workload on the film. One of those teams ONLY works on the Scramble suit. They're hoping to release the film in March of 2006. When asked what the rating of the movie would be, one of the animators responded "We have boobies and frontal." This was greeted to much applause.

AICN has pictures of the whole panel including the robotic Philip K. Dick and four character posters which were on display at the event. Photo credit also goes to AICN.
]]> 2005-07-15T16:26:54+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/comic-con-a-scanner-darkly-panel/ 16444

Stealth: San Francisco, CA - Print out this free pass to a screening on Wednesday, July 27th at 7:30pm at the Loews Cineplex in the Metreon on 101 4th Street. We can't guarentee you'll get in with this pass as they may have a list, but chances are good if you arrive very early (over an hour).

Devil's Rejects: Boston, MA - Enter to win a pass to an advanced screening on July 20th at 7:00pm.

Hustle & Flow: Boston, MA - For your chance at a screening pass for two either email your name and address to: freebies@metro-boston.com, putting "Flow" in the subject line OR Listen to 101.7 FNX to win your passes. The screening will take place on Thursdat, July 21st.

NOTE: We are not the ones holding the contests or giving away the tickets, we're just providing you with the information. Have fun and good luck. Thanks to muhluni005, gomui, BSC and Fatwallet for contributions.
 ]]> 2005-07-15T10:07:43+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/screening-give-away-stealth-devils-rejects-and-hustle-and-flow/ 16443 Tom Arnold is keeping the True Lies 2 talk alive. While promoting his upcoming indie release Happy Endings, the actor told Star Magazine: "We all caught up - Jim [Cameron], Jamie [Lee Curtis], Eliza [Dushku], Bill [Paxton] and myself - to talk about True Lies 2 about a month ago in Cali. We're doing it. Definitely doing it.I'm revved." But Arnold assures us that it won't happen until the other Arnold has some free time. "Unlike Terminator, which I think they're doing without Arnold, Jim's prepared to wait for the big guy. So am I. I've been waiting for ten years now - I'm sure I can hang on a few more months".  ]]> 2005-07-15T09:02:58+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/tom-arnold-tells-some-lies/ 16441 At the premiere of his new movie, Michael Bay told reporters a story of how The Island co-star Scarlett Johansson was more than willing to go topless. Bay said that the wardrobe arrangements were frustrating the Lost in Translation starlet in one scene: "She's standing there and she says, 'I'm not wearing this cheap... bra. I'm going naked.'" Bay advised her to wear a bra as it was a PG-13 film. But Scarlett insisted that she would rather wear nothing, explaining: "Women don't normally sleep in a bra. I can't wake up in this scene wearing a bra, it's ridiculous'."  ]]> 2005-07-15T07:55:46+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/scarlett-johansson-refuses-to-wear-bra/ 16442 Bruce Campbell, B-movie actor and star of the Evil Dead series, will be starring in a new film for Dark Horse comics, in which he will play himself. Campbell tells Kotaku: "It's about a small town that is having problems with a monster and nothing's working so somebody suggests let's get the Evil Dead guy. Unfortunately, in reality I don't own a gun, I've never used a chainsaw and more die then before I got there." Production on the yet-to-be-titled film starts this fall. I can't wait to see this one.
 ]]> 2005-07-15T07:05:07+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/15/bruce-campbell-takes-on-the-world/ 16263

The Island: San Francisco, CA - WB20 is giving you the chance to win passes to an advanced screening.

Dukes of Hazzard: Boston, MA - EDGE is giving away passes to a special advance screening on August 1st. Winners MUST be available to claim their prizes at the EDGE "Dukes of Hazzard" Party at Club Cafe on Friday, July 22nd. Winners must be able to present themselves to the EDGE staff between 9PM-11PM. No prizes will be mailed to winners. Check your email on July 20th, as all event prizes will be awarded then. Note: Club Cafe is a gay bar/restaurant.

Rhythms of the World: San Diego, CA - To get advanced ticjers to the new IMAX movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center all you need to do is go to Goodwill Industries Retail Store in the Mission Square Shopping Center - 1006 Mission Avenue - Oceanside - 760-439-3301 and pick them up. Limit 2 passes per person. (Each pass is good for one person) Passes are FREE while supplies last. No purchase necessary.

NOTE: We are not the ones holding the contests or giving away the tickets, we're just providing you with the information. Have fun and good luck. Thanks to
kimplovely, YoungAmerican, ixtennyoxi, BSC and Fatwallet for contributions.  ]]> 2005-07-14T16:15:33+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/screening-give-away-dukes-of-hazzard-the-island-and-rhythms-of/ 16265 Corey Feldman has revealed that he was once part of a group of child actors who were preyed upon and molested by a gang of Hollywood pedophiles, according to ContactMusic. Feldman told the media, "We all knew all of these people that were older guys that befriended us and we thought, 'Hey, how cool that we've got an older friend that wants to take care of us or hang out with us,' and you come to find out they were all child molesters." Feldman says there were so many of them.

The older guys would first try to become friends, than offer drinks and drugs: "And then you go home and you pass out and you wake up in the middle of the night and someone is touching you inappropriately." Feldman didn't have the courage to say anything about it. "Instead, my way of dealing with it was I would lay there and pretend to be asleep and let him do whatever he felt that he had to do." But Feldman was eventually was able to confront it: "I said, 'Listen, you ever touch me like that again and I'll kill you,' and that was the point that it stopped."

Just a little disturbing.

And Feldman claims that he is sure that Michael Jackson isn't a pedophile because of these real life encounters...
 ]]> 2005-07-14T13:14:49+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/the-lost-boy/ 16250

BlueTights.net has a first look at Lex Luthor's house (pictured right) from the upcoming Superman Returns.

With Transformers screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci heading to Rome and start working on J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible 3, DreamWorks and Paramount have moved the Transformers movie back from November 17, 2006 to July 4, 2007.

DeadPool claims to have read the screenplay for the Punisher sequel, which he says is titled The Punisher: War Zone. He talks about the details in his blog, but beware of possible spoliers.

Majesco Entertainment is creating a video game based on the Ghost Rider movie for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PlayStation Portable platforms. The game will see release in summer 2006 and comic scribes Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti are writing the game's story, which will pick up after the events in the upcoming film.

MovieWeb has your first look at some character profiles from the upcoming Disney adventure, Sky High.

TheForce.net has the first Star Wars report from the show floor at Comic-Con.

SHH scooper Inthegame has an unconfirmed description of a possible Superman Returns game teaser which will be included with "Madden NFL 06".

In Roger Ebert's review of War of the Worlds, he took the Tripod's design to task claiming the "Three legs are inherently not stable." Well, in this weeks Movie Answer man column, Ebert asks a Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab to see if he was correct.

Previously on cinematical:

• Pictures from Comic-con
  

 ]]> 2005-07-14T11:19:41+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/geek-report-lex-luthors-house-transformers-on-the-move-and-mo/ 16266 Former Dukes of Hazzard star Ben Jones wrote an open letter to fans on his website, asking them to boycott the new movie adaptation, and calling it a "sleazy insult". Jones says that the profanity and sexual content in the film will make a mockery of the original family friendly show. How does he know? Has he seen the movie? Nope, but he claims to have read a copy of the script.

"Basically, they trashed our show. It's one thing to do whatever movie they want to do, but to take a classic family show and do that is like taking I Love Lucy and making her a crack head or something." He strongly recommends that true blue Dukes fans "hold their noses and pass this one up." Ben Jones played Cooter Davenport, a role played by Anchorman's David Koechner in the new movie.  ]]> 2005-07-14T09:18:45+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/cooter-wants-you-to-boycott-dukes-of-hazzard/ 16262

Tom Cruise spent $10,000 for a meal to celebrate his 43rd birthday earlier this month. Cruise recruited chefs from around the world to cook for his guests on board a yacht owned by the Church of Scientology.

Nicole Kidman says that her marriage to Cruise wrecked long term friendships because her husband was so private. She tells Glamour magazine: "Part of me shut down, put up barriers and became very insular. It was very hard to keep friendships alive during that period." Since the couple split in 2001, Kidman has rediscovered her childhood friends.

Cruise bought Dakota Fanning a mobile phone for her 11th birthday: She says, "My mom and dad wouldn't let me have a cell phone but Tom got me one for my birthday! It's really funny, 'cause on my cell phone I pretend that I'm on the phone when I'm not and I'll pretend that I have messages when I'm just out on the street." I'm not sure about you guys but that girl freaks me out. And now we learn she walks down the street pretending to talk on the phone... weird, very weird.

Kidman says she's disappointed her daughter Isabella is so against femininity. She's always encouraging her to dress like a proper girl: "She won't go near a dress. She thinks I'm too girlie."

 ]]> 2005-07-14T08:29:09+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/cruise-update-tom-buys-dakota-a-cellphone-spends-10-000-on-bi/ 16252 ComingSoon.net has your first look at the 2005 Comic-Con International in San Diego, taking place Thursday through Sunday, with pictures from the various movie displays on the floor. After the jump we have a full rundown of the pictures so that you don't have to waste your time clicking through the slide show...

 

• Props from Peter Jackson's King Kong including a Kong vs. T-Rex model, Kong with Girl model,
  
• Narnia Weta workshop models, models, and more models
• Harry Potter models
• Lord of War signage
• The car from Devil's Rejects
• A Transformers mac truck and more signage
  
• A Underworld: Evolution Werewolf and wardrobe
• The Hell Cycle from the Ghost Rider
• Star Wars: A Lifesize Darth Vader, Clone Trooper helmets, Lego Chewie, Lego starships.
  
• The Batman Begins area which includes Scarecrow's wardrobe, utility belt props, The Bat mask.
  
• Spider-Man hanging from the rafters
• Fantastic Four: A Life-sized Thing.
  

]]> 2005-07-14T07:46:39+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/14/pictures-from-comic-con/ 16059

Fantastic Four star Michael Chiklis says a sequel might be coming fairly quickly: "I've heard grumblings that we might start as early as next spring," Chiklis told Access Hollywood on Monday. "I think they'll only get better and better from here."

From October 6-9th, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar in Austin, Texas will host Fantastic Fest.

KryptonSite has spoilers for Season 5 of Smallville -- for those of you who want to ruin it for yourselves.

Jim Johnson, an umpire for the Inland Valley High School All-Star Softball game, has a role in Superman Returns. He also appeared as a referee in The Longest Yard.

Buy a Mech on eBay for $40,000! If I had the cash, I know would.

Previously on Cinematical:

• "It's a story of a boy and his car" -- or, how they're going to ruin the Transformers movie.
• Avi Arad calls you an Idiot, says Ratner is very cinematic.
  

• Film Screenings at Comic-Con
• Comic-Con movie and Television Panel Schedule
• Mallrats X DVD details revealed
  

 ]]> 2005-07-13T15:15:52+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/13/geek-report-fantastic-sequel-may-start-filming-next-spring-and/ 16037 BreakingNews.ie reports that Ashton Kutcher lashed out at the paparazzi this past weekend, after spotting photographers outside his Hollywood home. According to the report, Kutcher lunged into the vehicle and began ripping the shirt off one of the phtographers. The second cameraman reportedly caught the entire incident on film, and when Kutcher realized he was being filmed, he backed off and apologised for his outburst. The photographers didn't call authorities.

So, our question is: Who would watch a reality show following the adventures of the paparazzi?
 ]]> 2005-07-13T11:20:45+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/13/poll-kutcher-lashes-out-at-paparazzi/ 16066 U-571 and T3 director Jonathan Mostow is scheduled to start shooting the remake of Swiss Family Robinson early next year at Queensland's Warner Brothers Studios. And, rumor has it that Disney wants to sign Lindsay Lohan for one more role before she makes the transition to adult roles (I was going to write adult films, then reluctantly used the backspace key).

An insider says: "Linday's just talk at the moment...but that's someone they want. It might depend on whether she's happy to be part of an ensemble, and not the headliner".

Mostow, a busy guy, is also attached to a fourth Terminator movie, Real Steel, Tonight He Comes, and a remake of the 1966 film entitled Seconds.  ]]> 2005-07-13T10:45:51+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/13/the-swiss-family-lohan/ 16064 "Idiots," Marvel CEO Avi Arad says of the online fams who have had a negative reaction to the selection of X-Men 3 director Brett Ratner. "Did you see Red Dragon? Did you see that?" Arad asks before mentioning The Family Man, "which is totally different, a very emotional story." Then, you have two giant Rush Hour comedies.

"What are they thinking? This is a great filmmaker. Do you know how much experience this guy has? Let alone his new Jessica Simpson video? This guy knows what he's doing."

Arad says that Ratner has already made lots of changes to the Zak Penn/Simon Kinberg script "that are very good, because he's thinking picture, not words. He's very cinematic."

Brett Ratner thinking very cinematic??? I think I'm going to puke.  ]]> 2005-07-13T10:09:50+00:00 http://news.moviefone.com/2005/07/13/avi-arad-calls-you-an-idiot/