
Lots of casting news to catch up on, so here it is in brief:
Hit the jump for more.

Last year’s Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival included screenings of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan & J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, a Jon Favreau-hosted double bill of Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and Warren Beatty opened the festival with his 1990 film Dick Tracy. The event sounded like a lot of fun and proved more than insightful with some truly swell panels. The line-up for this year’s iteration of the festival has been announced, and as expected it’s a fun mix of old and new films with special guests galore. Hit the jump for more info.

Open Road Films announced today that they have acquired distribution rights to the sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D and have slated the film for release on October 26th. Adelaide Clemens stars in the film as a young girl who, on the eve of her 18th birthday, is plagued by nightmares and the disappearance of her father. She soon discovers that she’s not who she thinks she is. Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean and Deborah Kara Unger reprise their roles from the first film, and Clemens is joined by series newcomers Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Carrie-Anne Moss, and Malclom McDowell.
I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the franchise, but I’m assuming those who enjoyed the previous entry will be happy to finally see this sequel after a six-year wait. You can check out some intriguing set photos here and here to appease you until this Halloween. Hit the jump to check out the full press release.

Many children around the world can’t sleep on Christmas Eve because of the excitement that Santa Claus brings; I couldn’t sleep for fear he’d murder me with an axe. That’s part of being brought up with classic horror movies such as Tri-Star Pictures’ 1984 Silent Night, Deadly Night. Now, Anchor Bay would like to re-awaken my old nightmares as they’ve picked up rights to Silent Night, a modern interpretation based loosely on the original. The picture, from The Genre Company and Inferno’s Ember Productions, was scripted by Jayson Rothwell (The Order of the Seven) and will be directed by Steven C. Miller (The Aggression Scale). Silent Night will also star Malcolm McDowell (Halloween) as Sheriff Cooper, “a small-town hero ready for some big-time action.” Hit the jump for more on Silent Night.

Let’s be honest, the Home Alone franchise has been dead ever since Alex D. Linz tried to sit in for Macaulay Culkin as an all new character defending his house against criminals in Home Alone 3. A young Scarlett Johansson even appears in that film, but she probably wants to forget that as much as we do. Since then another terrible sequel with a new young actor bringing Kevin McCallister back into the mix and new burglars featuring French Stewart, but nobody has really been paying attention. Now, on the brink of the predicted end of the world, ABC Family has announced the apocalyptic sounding sequel Home Alone 5: Alone in the Dark. Hit the jump for more.

Gary Oldman wrapped up his 3-day, 7-film retrospective at New York’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema with a fun, extended Q&A after Wednesday night’s screening of his Oscar-nominated performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The first time Academy Award nominee fielded questions from a theater filled with hundreds of his fans with nearly an hour. Oldman also hung around for autographs, pictures and additional questions. Hit the jump for stories from the set of The Dark Knight Rises, his paralyzing doubt on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and what he thought while watching Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is often a touchy subject between myself and some of my film-enthusiast friends. As a fan of the film, I often find myself defending its audacity and sense of humor as a satirical work. In return, some of my aforementioned friends point to the film’s iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” scene in arguing two things: 1) the film goes too far in making its “point” and 2) that I have a sick sense of humor.
Regardless of your feelings towards the film and/or that particular scene, it’s hard to deny the unsettling first impression and lasting impact that they have on you as an audience member. As a result, I was delighted to hear Malcolm McDowell describe the five-day shoot that eventually lead to the controversial scene in his own words. Even if you’ve already read our interview with McDowell and Leon Vitali (if you haven’t, be sure to check it out by clicking here), I recommend hitting the jump to see the former talk about the events that helped lead to one of Kubrick’s most memorable scenes.

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Malcolm McDowell and Leon Vitali for the upcoming 40th Anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi satire, A Clockwork Orange, which hits stores on May 31st. While most of you know McDowell from his career defining turn as Alex in Kubrick’s film, Vitali is also an important part in the filmmaker’s legacy. After first collaborating with Kubrick on Barry Lyndon, where he played the role of Lord Bullingdon, Vitali became a friend and adviser to the iconoclastic director. After Kubrick’s death, Vitali was put in charge of the DVD restoration of all of Kubrick’s films.
We got to chat for about an hour, so this interview is loaded with great information on both the artistic elements of acting in a film and the technical minutia of actually making a film. We discussed everything from the invention of Steadicam, to Kubrick’s often blunt interactions with actors, to Anthony Burgess’s original thoughts on the film adaptation of his novel, and much, much more. Hit the jump for the full interview.

Carrie-Anne Moss and Malcolm McDowell have joined Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean, Kit Harington, and Radha Mitchell in the upcoming horror sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. Moss and McDowell will play Claudia and Leonard Wolf, but the press release doesn’t offer any details on those characters. For those just tuning in, here’s the synopsis:
For years, Heather Mason (Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by terrifying nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her in Silent Hill forever.
Hit the jump for the press release along with a new image from the film.

We’ve got a few casting stories for you this evening. First up, Thomas McDonell (Disney’s upcoming Prom) is the latest actor to sign on for Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows. The adaptation of the 1960’s gothic soap opera stars Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfieffer, Jackie Earle Haley and Bella Heathcoate. Heat Vision reports that McDonell will play the younger version of Depp’s character, Barnabas Collins, a “self-loathing vampire living in a Maine manor who is searching for his lost love.”
Additionally, Samantha Morton (In America) and Sarah Gadon (Charlie Bartlett) have joined the cast of David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. THR reports that Morton will play the estranged wife of the lead character in the thriller, played by Robert Pattinson. Hit the jump for info on Malcolm McDowell and Dean Cain starring in the indie sci-fi thriller Mind’s Eye.

Easy A is easily one of the funniest comedies of the year. It’s witty, clever, silly, and is anchored by a breakthrough performance by star Emma Stone. Comedies set in high schools are usually a grind, but Easy A is the best one since 2004′s Mean Girls. The film even has some smart commentary on the nature of reputation in the digital age and how easier access to information hasn’t made it any easier to get to the truth, especially when a lie can be so much juicier. And in between its smart jokes and thoughtful subtext, Easy A also has a big heart. That’s essential when your protagonist is cashing in on pretending to be a skank.

Three more actors have joined Amy Heckerling’s (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) vampire-romantic-comedy Vamps. Already featuring the likes of Alicia Silverstone, Sigourney Weaver, Krysten Ritter (She’s Out of My League), Wallace Shawn, and Justin Kirk (TV’s Weeds), the film tells the story of “two young beautiful female vampires (Silverstone & Ritter) living the good nightlife in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize her immortality.” The story of my life…
Now joining the film will be Marilu Henner (the 70s TV series Taxi), Zak Orth (The Other Guys), and Malcolm McDowell. Henner will play Angela, a terminally ill woman who is “awakened” to her former attractive self; Orth as Renfield, a young/nerdy friend of Silverstone & Ritter’s; and McDowell will portray a knitting-friendly, velvet jogging-suit wearing Vlad the Impaler (amazingly that’s exactly how my high-school history books portrayed him). Hit the jump for the full press release.

Before getting started on my red carpet interview with Malcolm McDowell….a few words. While the Saturn Awards took place over a week ago, this past week has been a whirlwind of activity as I’ve been flying around the United States for reasons that will become clear down the road. This is the reason I’m not done posting all my red carpet interviews. Saying that, I’m spending today editing, so expect a lot more interviews as the day progresses. The good news about waiting is…it’s July 4th and news is very slow.
At any rate, when I saw Malcolm McDowell walking down the red carpet, I knew I’d want to speak with him. After all, as someone who has been in over 150 different films and TV shows and worked with some of the biggest filmmakers, McDowell is filled with stories. But the problem with any red carpet is you’re always rushed. Also, I don’t know how cool he would have been spending 5 minutes talking about A Clockwork Orange. Since he’s starring in a bunch of upcoming movies like Easy A, Barry Munday, Pound of Flesh, Suing the Devil, and a few others, we spent the majority of our time talking about his future projects. Hit the jump to take a look:

Screen Gems has released the first full trailer for Easy A, a modern comedic take on the classic Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, The Scarlet Letter. Emma Stone (Zombieland) stars as a high school girl who lies about her sexual exploits in an attempt to boost her reputation as well as her bank account. The impressive cast also includes Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, and Stanley Tucci. Will Gluck (Fired Up!) directs from a script by relative newcomer Bert V. Royal.
Stone is a charming star, the cast should deliver (I liked Tucci’s line in the clip), and Gluck’s high school sex romp Fired Up! was reputed to be better than it needed to be. All promising signs. Check out the trailer for yourself after the jump.

The story of a suburban ladies man who loses his testicles in a movie theater will have its world premiere at South By Southwest. Barry Munday, starring Patrick Wilson, Judy Greer, Chloe Sevigny, Malcolm McDowell, Cybill Shepard, Billy Dee Williams and written and directed by Chris D’Arienzo will unspool for the first time at 1:30 p.m. March 13 at the Paramount in Austin.
In this dark comedic drama, Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) stars as the titular character who is attacked in a movie theater and wakes up without his family jewels. (Another movie where you lose those, Patrick? Wasn’t Hard Candy enough?) He then finds out that he’s facing a paternity lawsuit and now, without the tools of the trade, decides to embrace his last chance at fatherhood.
After the jump, check out the trailer, the official plot synopsis and some images:
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