[This is a re-post of my review from the Toronto International Film Festival.  Seven Psychopaths opens today.]

A way to work through writer’s block is to write about the writer’s block. At least you’re writing, and you may get something more creative than if you had carefully mapped out your path. I’m not sure if writer-director Martin McDonagh suffered a case of writer’s block on his way to creating Seven Psychopaths, but the end result is brash, brilliant, wickedly fun, and the best film about screenwriting since Adaptation. Psychopaths is viciously funny, delightfully clever, and meta without being cloyingly self-conscious. McDonagh’s machine-gun script races with energy fueled by wild performances from stars Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Walken. The movie doesn’t simply break through writer’s block; Seven Psychopaths gleefully blows the block to hell.

Earlier today, we showed you our exclusive poster for Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths by Chris Thornley.  The film centers on a screenwriter (Colin Farrell) suffering writer’s block, who then gets drawn into the mayhem created by his two dog-napping friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) after they kidnap a shih tzu belonging to a psychotic gangster (Woody Harrelson).

Five other character posters have been posted on various websites, and you can check out those posters after the jump.  A seventh poster will be selected from artwork submitted to the movie’s official Facebook page.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Abbie Cornish, and Tom Waits. Seven Psychopaths opens October 12th.  Click here to read my review.

CBS Films has released seven clips from Martin McDonagh‘s upcoming film Seven Psychopaths.  The film centers on a screenwriter (Colin Farrell) suffering writer’s block, who then gets drawn into the mischief of his two dog-napping friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) after they kidnap a pooch belonging to a psychotic gangster (Woody Harrelson).  I had an absolute blast with the flick when I saw it at TIFF, and found the movie to be painfully funny and incredibly clever.

Hit the jump to check out seven clips.  The film also stars Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, and Tom Waits.  Seven Psychopaths opens October 12th.

A red band trailer for director Martin McDonagh‘s (In Bruges) dark comedy Seven Psychopaths has been released.  The film follows a trio of dognappers (Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken) who steal the wrong shih tzu and end up running afoul of a psychotic gangster (Woody Harrelson).  I actually think I slightly prefer the green band trailer, but the cast is still aces in this clip.  Walken again steals the show with his genius looks/delivery, but there really doesn’t seem to be a weak link anywhere.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Tom Waits, Gabourey Sidibe, Abbie Cornish, and Olga Kurylenko.  Seven Psychopaths opens on October 12th.

Yesterday, we showed you the entertaining trailer for Martin McDonagh‘s Seven Psychopaths.  The movie follows a trio of dognappers (Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken) who steal the wrong shih tzu end up running afoul of a psychotic gangster (Woody Harrelson).  But the gangster is only 1/7th of the film’s group of psychopaths, and CBS films has released seven character posters highlighting the eponymous lunatics.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Abbie Cornish, and Tom Waits.  Seven Psychopaths will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, and opens domestically October 12th.

The first trailer for Seven Psychopaths has been released, and it left a big smile on my face.  It looks like director Martin McDonagh has delivered the same darkly comic verve he brought to In Bruges, and the entire cast looks terrific.  I’m particularly impressed that the trailer quickly breaks down all the psychopaths and still squeezes in the brief synopsis: three hapless dog kidnappers steal a pup from a gangster.  When you pair a brilliant cast with McDonagh’s comic sensibilities, you probably have a great movie in store.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Gabourey Sidibe, Abbie Cornish, and Olga Kurylenko.  Seven Psychopaths opens on October 12th.

As most of you know, I recently did an epic hour-long video interview with director Guillermo del Toro, and every day this week I’m posting part of it.  For today’s installment I’ve got del Toro talking about DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians and co-directing the 3D stop-motion animated iteration of Pinocchio with Mark Gustafson.  Here’s some of the highlights from what he said:

• Rise of the Guardians is the first DreamWorks Animation film that del Toro was able to work on from inception.  He came into Puss in Boots in the middle of production.
• Del Toro and the other people involved were giggling when they watched the opening to Guardians because they couldn’t believe they got away with putting “a dark, moody, and poetic piece” in a big studio movie.
• The images that have been released for Pinocchio are from when Gris Grimly was in charge of production, so del Toro is going to redesign some of the characters now that he’s co-directing. However, the character of Pinocchio will remain the same.
• They’ve already started puppet construction on Pinocchio and del Toro now has to get Nick Cave to start writing the songs for the film.
• He hopes to begin voice recording by January or February of 2013.
• The script is in its fourth or fifth draft, and del Toro has to do one more pass himself then they’ll start casting the film.
• His dream casting is to have Tom Waits as Geppetto.
• Ron Perlman will play a character named Mangiafuoco, who in the Disney version was called Stromboli.

Hit the jump for more.

It seems like director Guillermo del Toro adds another project to his “to-do” list every month, but welcome news came last week when it was announced that del Toro is planning to co-direct his first stop-motion animated feature.  The filmmaker is spearheading an adaptation of Pinocchio alongside co-director Mark Gustafson, based off of author Gris Grimly’s dark interpretation of the story that takes place in Italy between World War I and World War II.  Though the year-long filming process on the 3D feature doesn’t begin until next summer, del Toro recently revealed a few names that may or may not end up as part of the voice cast.  Hit the jump for more.

At this point, it’s going to be very tough for the cast of In Bruges director Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths to get any better. He’s already got Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken lined up, and now Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) have joined the line-up. Farrell stars as a screenwriter struggling with his latest script, titled Seven Psychopaths, who gets roped into a dog-napping job by his friends (Rockwell and Walken). Things take a turn when the beloved Shih Tzu of a psychopathic gangster goes missing, and the trio find themselves on the run.

Mickey Rourke was originally in talks to play the gangster, but recently turned the gig down (calling director McDonagh “a jerkoff” in the process). Harrelson will take on the role of the gangster, which pairied with the casting of Waits makes for a big step up from Rourke in my book. I loved the hell out of In Bruges and I’m anxiously looking forward to the writer-director’s follow up, especially given the fantastic cast he’s put together. Hit the jump to read the full synopsis for the film. [Update: We've been sent the full press release for the casting announcement, which is now included after the jump.]

With director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus expanding into 500 additional theaters this Friday, it’s finally time to post my video interviews with Gilliam and Verne Troyer.  As most of you already know, the film is a fantastical tale set in the present day about a traveling carnival show where visitors pay to pass through a magical mirror and enter a world of their own imagination.  But Doctor Parnassus long ago made a bet with the devil, which is coming due.

While I wasn’t sure how Gilliam was going to pull off making this film come together after the death of Heath Ledger, not only does the film work, it’s Gilliam’s best work in years and you should really try and check it out.  Hit the jump for my interviews:

At first glance, the death of Heath Ledger combined with his posthumous Oscar® for The Dark Knight would seem to overshadow his final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, an independent feature from a director whose last two films flopped both critically and commercially.  But in an unexpected triumph, director Terry Gilliam shows that his limitless imagination can keep the outside world behind the theater doors and invite audiences to step inside the world he depicts on the screen.

Finally opening on Christmas Day is director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.   While I wasn’t sure how Gilliam was going to pull off making this film come together after the death of Heath Ledger during production, not only does the film work, it’s like he meant to do it all along.  In case you’re unaware, Gilliam had some of Ledger’s friends step in for him (Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) when the characters go into some of the various worlds. For more on the film, I recommend checking out the clips and reading the synopsis and my thoughts here.

To help promote the film, I was able to speak with Lily Cole.  In the film, she plays the daughter of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer).  During our interview we talked about working for Terry Gilliam, how grateful she is the film is finally getting released, going to college in Cambridge, what she has coming up, and a lot more.  Check it out after the jump.  And if the film is playing in your area this weekend, I definitely recommend checking it out.

I saw a screening of Heath Ledger’s final film, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”, the other day and am surprised to say….it completely works and the film was great.  Director Terry Gilliam has made his best work in years and even with other actors having to step in to help complete the movie, nothing felt forced and it’s like it was meant to be this way all along.

For those not familiar with the movie, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is Heath Ledger’s final performance as he died while filming.  After he died, production was halted as Gilliam tried to figure out how to salvage what he had.  To make it work he got  Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law to step in and play Heath Ledger’s character at different points in the movie. While you’re probably thinking there is no way this could work…I thought the same thing and I was 100% wrong.  Trust me, the film is a big surprise and it’s absolutely worth seeing. Anyway, while the film doesn’t get released till the end of December, we’ve been given seven clips from the movie and they’re after the jump. Take a look:

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” gained immediate notoriety upon Heath Ledger’s untimely death. Suddenly, the film was no longer a production followed only by Terry Gilliam’s loyal fans. It became the focus of many curious eyes, all wondering if Ledger’s film could ever come to fruition when he wasn’t able to complete it. While it’s easy to wonder what the film could have been without Ledger’s passing and the re-writes and cinematic magic required to complete it, it’s just as easy to appreciate what Gilliam made of it. Click through to jump into the Imaginarium…

At Comic-Con I was lucky enough to see some footage from Terry Gilliam’s new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and score an interview with the man himself. He talked creativity, Don Quixote, and of course, Heath Ledger. Read on for details on the footage and the interview: