Rose McGowan has signed on to star in Napa, the directorial debut of Michael Kerr.  According to Variety, Kerr will also produce the romantic thriller from a script he co-wrote with Hans Ostrom based on Ostrom’s novel Three to Get Ready.  McGowan will play Scarlett Harding, “who gets a job as sheriff in her hometown of Napa after returning from three military tours of Afghanistan.”  If the picture at the top of this article showed a male actor, that logline would be incredibly boring.  Given McGowan’s kisser—slightly more interesting.

Nellie Nugiel (Greek) and Ellen Wander (Dolan’s Cadillac) will also produce; Wander will handle the worldwide distribution deals through Film Bridge International.  McGowan will next be seen in the TV movie The Pastor’s Wife when it premieres on Lifetime in 2012.

Every once in a while, I like to remind readers that our weekly “Top 5″ is a perpetual “work in progress.” That in mind, if you ever find yourself thinking, “Man, I wish Jason wasn’t such an idiot and would do this or that with the ‘Top 5′,” then I’m inviting you to either leave your suggestion in the comments section and/or e-mail me (colliderjason@gmail.com). The goal is to make the weekly feature as beneficial and entertaining to you, the reader, as possible. So, by all means, let us know if there is something missing that you would like to see. Now, with that out of the way…

In this week’s installment, you’ll find all of our video interviews with the cast of Conan the Barbarian, Matt’s editorial documenting what he views as the rise and fall of cult status, the first trailer and 34 hi-res images from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, news confirming all of our worst fears regarding a Blade Runner follow-up, and our visit to the Alamo Drafthouse to check out the new Fright Night with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Hit the jump for links and brief recaps for each.

A good Conan the Barbarian movie shouldn’t be that hard to make.  The character is simple.  He’s a buff, taciturn guy who caves in skulls and cuts his enemies in half with a gigantic sword.  This is Conan.  This is simple. And yet director Marcus Nispel has no idea what kind of Conan movie he wants to make.  Is it a good, old-fashioned sword-and-sorcery flick?  Is it a modern spin on the classic comic book?  Is it a campy action movie?  Is it a self-serious “realistic” drama?  Perhaps a better movie could have melded all of these elements together, but Conan the Barbarian is an absolute mess, and even worse, an absolute bore.

After years in pre-production, including a well respected but unproduced John Milius draft, an aborted Red Sonja redux and a countless hours of fan casting, Conan The Barbarian returns to theaters this Friday with Marcus Nispel directing Game of Thrones’ Jason Momoa, as the titular warrior.  Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman and Stephen Lang round out the cast of this 3D bloodbath.

Hemming closer to the fantastical Robert E. Howard books, this new Conan is stripped down and vicious. Recently, I sat down with McGowan to discuss her role as an evil priestess in the film. During our interview we discussed the joy of playing mean, why her Red Sonja film was put on hold, her character’s bizarre, but oddly sensuous appeal, the dangers of STDs in ancient times, and she gave us a tidbit on her upcoming film Fortune, where she might be playing a transvestite.  Hit the jump to watch.

The UK trailer for Marcus Nispel’s Conan the Barbarian reboot has been released. This new look at the film was apparently put together by someone with severe ADD, as you’re really not able to make out much of anything besides lots and lots of fighting and yelling. The previous trailer was kind of intriguing (save for the terrible, terrible music), but whether Nispel’s take is going to capture the cheesy fun of the original or squander in self-seriousness is still yet to be determined.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film stars Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols and Stephen Lang. Conan the Barbarian opens in 3D on August 19^th.

The red-band trailer for director Marcus Nispel’s (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot) remake of Conan the Barbarian has been released. It’s certainly epic-looking, and extremely bloody. I like Jason Momoa for the part, but after catching up on HBO’s Game of Thrones it’s really hard to look at him in a medieval/carnal context without thinking of Khal Drogo. If he rips someone’s throat out in Conan, then my ticket is 100% sold.

The tone Nispel is going for with the film works, but the music in this trailer is horrible. I first thought it was some cheesy 80’s action-movie song, then the vocals came in. It just reeks of douchebaginess. Nevertheless, the actual film looks pretty cool. The film stars Momoa, Ron Perlman, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, and Rachel Nichols, Conan the Barbarian hits theaters August 19^th in 3D.

Five character posters for Marcus Nispel’s Conan the Barbarian have been released across five different websites.  The posters show Conan (Jason Momoa), his father Corin (Ron Perlman), magician Marique (Rose McGowan), the Queen’s bodyguard Tamara (Rachel Nichols), and the film’s villain Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang).

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Conan the Barbarian opens in 3D on August 19th.

[Update: We've been sent the high resolution versions of the character posters, and have included them after the jump]

On the “Bombshell” episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, actress Rose McGowan guest stars as Cassandra Davina, the main attraction at a swingers club where Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) go undercover to solve the case of a stabbing victim found in a parking garage. While there, they meet Cassandra’s boyfriend, Doug Loveless (guest star Ryan Hurst), who makes the detectives wonder just how far jealousy can push someone.

During a recent interview, Rose McGowan talked about what drew her to the role, the challenge of playing this complex and layered character, being a fan of SVU, how kind and generous the cast and crew were, and what a treat it was to be included on the list of amazing guest stars that the series has had. She also talked about how she is currently filming the thriller Rosewood Lane, about a radio talk show psychiatrist named Dr. Sonny Blake (McGowan), who moves back to her hometown, where she notices her neighborhood paper boy’s unusual behavior. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

The seductive supernatural thriller Dead Awake is set against the backdrop of a mysterious tragedy that shattered the lives of three people a decade ago, and which sets them on a path to uncover the truth that lies between the living and the dead. When Dylan (Nick Stahl), a depressed assistant at a funeral parlor, decides to fake his own funeral to see who will show up, he ends up befriending a mysterious street junkie named Charlie (Rose McGowan) and is reunited with an old love from his past (Amy Smart), whom he abandoned 10 years prior. He then must confront his past and get the answers to an old mystery before he can proceed with the business of living his own life.

In this exclusive interview with Collider, actress Amy Smart talked about her desire to work with the film’s director Omar Naim, how much she enjoyed working with Nick Stahl and Rose McGowan, that psychological horror can often be much scarier than outright gore, how she would love to emulate the careers of Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet, and how she’s hoping to do another comedy soon. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Back in February, IESB reported that Lionsgate’s Conan the Barbarian reboot would be released in 3D.  While never confirmed by the studio, thanks to Collider reader Max, we have our first look at the promo poster for Conan 3D.  If you saw the previous promo poster for Conan, the new poster is exactly the same except it now has the cast listed and the word 3D below Conan.

While I’m a fan of movies that have been filmed in 3D, I’ve been extremely let down by everything I’ve seen that’s been post converted.  I cite Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, and The Last Airbender as examples of bad post conversion.  Obviously as time goes on, post conversion should get better and I’ll be less critical of a film going 3D in post.  But so far…nothing I’ve seen tells me we should be excited to watch Conan in 3D.  Saying that, the one constant I hear about good post conversion is that it takes time.  With no release date for Conan, perhaps they’ll do it right and surprise us all.

Conan stars Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan, Ron Perlman, Rachel Nichols, and Stephen Lang.  It’s slated to open in 2011.  For more coverage on Marcus Nispel’s Conan, click here.

Another day, another trailer premiere with Ben Affleck at the center.  The clip for Affleck’s directorial effort The Town debuted earlier this week, and The Weinstein Company has just released a trailer for the Sundance entry The Company Men.  Director John Wells (ER) surrounds Affleck with the likes of Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson, Maria Bello, and Rosemarie DeWitt.  Check out the trailer after the jump.

With filming on Marcus Nispel’s (Pathfinder, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Conan movie happening right now in Bistriza, Bulgaria, a few images from the set have hit the net.  While I’d love to tell you we’ve got Jason Momoa as Conan or Rachel Nichols in some awesome looking outfit, for now you’ve going to have to make due with a few images of a muddy village.  But for fans of the Conan franchise who have been waiting a long time for this movie, it’s something.  Hit the jump to take a look.

Megan Fox has reportedly been offered the title role in Red Sonja, an adaptation of the sword-and-sorcery comic of the same name.  Once upon a time (circa 2008), the film was set to star Rose McGowan and directed by Douglas Aarniokoski (Animals) with Robert Rodriguez producing.  Cut to today and all those people are out but Millennium Films is still moving forward with the project.

According to Pajiba, Millennium has put an offer to Megan Fox to play the metal-bikini clad heroine.  As Pajiba notes, it would give Fox a chance at her own franchise and making a name for herself in films outside of the Transformers series.

For those unfamiliar with the character, hit the jump for more info.

The other day I got to talk with Danny Trejo on the set of Predators along with a number of other online journalists.  While we are embargoed from talking about Predators, we’re allowed to cover other projects.

As most of you know, Danny recently shot Machete with director Robert Rodriguez.  The film is based on the trailer that was featured in Grindhouse and it’s loaded with an all star cast like Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson, and Rose McGowan.

So when we talked to him about Machete, he talked about what it was like to work with such an all star cast and he confirmed the rumors that it might be getting released this April.  Also, when we asked him if Machete was a one off or did he think there could be sequels, Trejo replied, “we want Machete, Machete Kills, and Machete Kills Again.  Every time I text him, he’ll text me back, Machete 2, coming up.”  While those titles might be jokes between Trejo and  Rodriguez, I kind of like them and hope they’re real.

Hit the jump for everything he said on Machete.