It seems neither heroes nor villains can do it all themselves in movies these days.  A new project from writer Ahmet Zappa (The Odd Life of Timothy Green) is being compared to The Avengers as it features a mash-up of major movie icons.  Zappa’s Monster X centers on a supergroup of famous monstrous icons like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Mr. Hyde and more (ten in all).  The story centers on the characters who assemble in order to defend humanity against a greater threat.  Zappa co-wrote the script and will further develop it before shopping it to buyers, although Benderspink has optioned the initial iteration.  Hit the jump for more.

Every once in a while I use this space to tout a recently released Blu-ray/DVD that I missed in theaters but, via the magic of home video, was finally able to check out from the comfort of my couch (click here to see me gush about The Perks of Being a Wallflower). Today I’ll do the same by encouraging you to check out co-writer/director Scott Derrickson‘s horror pic Sinister. There’s nothing spectacular going on here, it’s just an effective movie with several scenes that I found genuinely frightening/disturbing. Moreover, it’s probably the last widely-released horror entry since Insidious that left me turning some of the lights on in the house shortly after it ended.

With my “Super Cool Blu-ray Pick of the Week” out of the way, this week’s Top 5 includes interviews from the set of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, some drama-inducing first set images from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a set visit recap and interviews for Park Chan-wook‘s Stoker, Jack the Giant Slayer interviews, and the first trailer and poster for director James Wan‘s The Conjuring. As you may expect, a brief recap and link to each of these can be found completely free of charge after the jump.

If you really want to learn about a movie, you want to talk to the producer.  That’s because they’re the ones that know all the behind-the-scenes stories and they’re the ones that have been battling to get the film made.  Last year, on the set of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, I was able to participate in a group interview with producer Chris Bender.  He talked about the challenges of getting Burt Wonderstone made, what it’s about, real magician cameos, “the magic bar,”  the development process, Jim Carrey’s character, working with director Don Scardino, and so much more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

It seems that every project in Hollywood these days is either a reboot, a sequel or an adaptation pulled from the pages of a comic book. We’ve got a new report that the latter is happening with Black Bull Media’s comic, The New West. The story follows disgraced LAPD detective Daniel Wise as he traverses a near-future Los Angeles robbed of its technology by an electromagnetic pulse bomb. The two issue-comic drops Wise, whose assets are only a horse and a sword, in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped mayor. The comic will be optioned by Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner of Benderspink, in collaboration with Wizard magazine founder, Gareb Shamus. Hit the jump for more on The New West.

Paramount acquired the feature rights to the DC comic The Mighty earlier this summer.  Variety reports the studio has hired Drew Pearce to adapt the screenplay.  The comic, written by Peter J. Tomasi and Keith Champagne, centers on America’s first and only superhero, Alpha One: “a cop whose life was saved by Alpha One as a child has uncovered his hero’s dark plan that will put them on a collision course of an ordinary man versus a super-man.”  BenderSpink partners Chris Bender and JC Spink (Arthur) will produce with Jake Weiner (Leap Year).

Pearce is also working on two Marvel properties at the moment in Iron Man 3 and Runaways.  This all can be traced back to No Heroics, the superhero sitcom he created for ITV2.  Read the synopsis for The Mighty issue #1 after the break.

Alex Pettyfer is freaking out.  He’s just discovered he can shoot light from his hands and it looks like he has flashlights shooting out from inside his skin.  He’s sitting in a small janitor closet in a High School hallway and I’m standing very close to director D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia).  We’re all looking at the monitors.  Timothy Olyphant, who plays Pettyfer’s guardian, walks into the closet shortly after Pettyfer and he’s telling him to relax.  As Olyphant gets him to calm down, the light emitting from his hands starts to dim until it finally goes away.  While the effect is being done practically, it looks real on the monitor.  I’m impressed.  I watch take after take of Olyphant and Pettyfer trying to get it right.  For more on what it was like to be on the set of I Am Number Four, click here.

Anyway, while on set I was able to interview Timothy Olyphant. He talked about why he wanted to get involved in the project, who he plays, and he also talked about his hit FX show Justified and Gore Verbinski’s animated movie Rango.  Hit the jump for more:

Imagine if you were offered the chance to audition for a huge Hollywood movie.  One being produced by both Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay.  Now, imagine you go to the audition.  They’re getting ready to watch you do a scene.  But instead of showing off how prepared you are, you walk out due to nerves.  Eventually, after resisting, you go back and screen test and you’re offered the lead role.  That’s the true story of how Alex Pettyfer got cast in director D.J. Caruso’s I Am Number Four.

While Pettyfer is still relatively unknown, next year will see the twenty year old Brit lead two vastly different films that get released within a month of one another (February and March).  Up first is I Am Number Four, and then CBS Films releases Beastly.

Anyway, a few months ago I got to visit the set of I Am Number Four (read all about it) and while there I got to participate in a roundtable interview with Pettyfer.  During the interview he talked about how he got cast, what it means being the lead, and he also talked about the universe of I Am Number Four and the rest of his cast.  Hit the jump to read or listen to what he had to say:

While D.J. Caruso was rumored to be directing a number of projects after Eagle Eye and Disturbia, he eventually decided to take on the sci-fi action-thriller I Am Number Four for DreamWorks.  Since we’ve covered the film extensively during the casting process, you might remember that the movie is being produced by Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay (who almost directed it himself).

I Am Number Four is about a group of aliens that have landed on Earth.  They’re just trying to survive.  Other aliens are after them.  The one that’s being targeted currently goes to High School.  He’s recently met a girl.  All he wants is to fit in and to stop moving around all the time.  Just as he finally gets happy, he starts to get some newfound powers, and that’s when he’s finally targeted and he has to fight to survive. For a lot more on the movie, read my set report.

Anyway, a few months ago I got to visit the set of I Am Number Four and participate in a roundtable interview with Caruso.  He talked about why he wanted to take on this project and how he got involved.  He also revealed a ton about the universe these characters inhabit and what might be coming up in future installments.   Hit the jump for more:

While moviegoers have seen a lot of Teresa Palmer over the past few years in films such as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Bedtime Stories, for her upcoming sci-fi action thriller I Am Number Four, we’re going to see a new side: action star.  That’s because in director D.J. Caruso’s upcoming movie (produced by Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay), Palmer plays a mysterious outsider who eventually kicks some serious ass on screen.

A few months ago I got to visit the set of I Am Number Four while the production was shooting in Pittsburgh (read all about it).  On set I was able to do a roundtable interview with Palmer and she talked about the challenges of getting ready to film all the action and she also revealed who she plays in the movie and why it’s such a cool part.  Hit the jump to read or listen to what she had to say:

When director D.J. Caruso cast Dianna Agron (Glee) as the lead in his sci-fi action thriller I Am Number Four, he took a chance on a rising young star.  After all, while Glee was getting a lot of press, there was always the chance the show would flame out.  But if you follow ratings, you know Glee is bigger than ever, and the casting of Agron looks like a great move.

Anyway, a few months ago I got to visit the set of I Am Number Four (read all about it here) while the movie was still being shot.  While there I got to do a roundtable interview with Agron and she talked about who she plays, why she wanted to play a character that was so different that her role on Glee, the differences between making a movie and a TV show, training for the role, what it’s like working for director D.J. Caruso, and she talks about meeting Steven Spielberg.  Hit the jump to read or listen to what she had to say:

Alex Pettyfer is freaking out.  He’s just discovered he can shoot light from his hands and it looks like he has flashlights shooting out from inside his skin.  He’s sitting in a small janitor closet in a High School hallway and I’m standing very close to director D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia).  We’re all looking at the monitors.  Timothy Olyphant, who plays Pettyfer’s guardian, walks into the closet shortly after Pettyfer and he’s telling him to relax.  As Olyphant gets him to calm down, the light emitting from his hands starts to dim until it finally goes away.  While the effect is being done practically, it looks real on the monitor.  I’m impressed.  I watch take after take of Olyphant and Pettyfer trying to get it right.

But let me back up a second.

At the beginning of July, I got to visit the Pittsburgh set of DreamWorks upcoming sci-fi action-thriller I Am Number Four.  Since we’ve covered the film extensively while casting was underway, I’d like to think most of you are familiar with the project.  But don’t worry, after the jump I’ll tell all you newbies about the movie and also recap my two nights on set.  As Dianna Agron said during her interview, “It’s Rebel Without a Cause…with aliens.”  Curious?  Hit the jump: