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Archive for January, 2010

Here’s a list of our hottest stories and best comments this week, in case you missed anything. (Our most-read new story of the week? The video of the weird roles Lost’s actors had before they became stars.) Think of this week-ending roundup as a DVR for SCI FI Wire.

Enjoy!

THIS year will see the release of a film called Crackula. It’s nothing to do with what it might sound like, but I bet the title has grabbed your attention.

It’s written and directed by Larry Simmons, who was among top 250 in Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project Greenlight, the American TV contest for up-and-coming filmmakers, in 2004.

Simmons is CEO of Detroit-based production company At Risk Entertainment, which is releasing the bizarrely-named Crackula sometime this year.

Larry told me: “Crackula is a story about three college freshmen – all girls – who get involved in the world of psychic readings. That connection becomes deadly when it’s revealed that the psychic is part of a cult.

“Soon, one girl disappears and her friends fear the worst. Inside the world of the psychic, her brother and another man create a web of death. The leader of the cult is a bad-ass black man in a suit. It’s a cool film.”

Simmons says there are no known stars in the R-rated film but they have the attention of several distributors who want to screen it when post-production is complete.

The title sounded to me like a weird pun on Dracula and it doesn’t take much imagination to start thinking of other possible meanings for Crackula. I looked it up and found it’s urban slang for a crackhead who, like a vampire, stays up all night (feasting on drugs rather than blood) and sleeps all day.

But Larry responded: “Neither the title or the film has anything to do with drugs, crack, crackheads, etc., at all… it’s just the title. We have sparked tons of controversy with it, which has been great.”

Well, okay, I’m still none the wiser on why exactly the name Crackula was chosen but, admittedly, I am intrigued by it all.

The latest big studio romcom is about to land in our laps with When in Rome. It has the requisite lovey dovey elements: The earnest wishes for love, slapstick hijinks, siblings having all the romantic luck, ineligible suitors, grandiose displays of affection… You get the idea. It’s all right there in the trailer (although I do find myself chuckling at that dark dinner clip).

There’s nothing new about the typical romantic comedy, but this one does inspire me to wish about a world that could be. What if Kristen Bell’s cinematic career wasn’t filled with romantic turmoil, but rather fare that would make Veronica Mars proud? Instead of the wish-stealing, retreating couples, and kidnapped spouses, what if we got roles that continued to make Bell a name of note? She’s the Nancy Drew-esque star who, under the hands of Rob Thomas, inspired Kevin Smith and Joss Whedon to appear on the show. Critics and fans heaped praise on her performance as the teen detective, but as the show was axed, so was the same magic.

However, I think it’s still there, waiting to be tapped. In honor of Ms. Mars and Bell’s potential, here are seven roles I’d rather see her in. Check them out and weigh in with your own picks below.

Filed under: Casting, Fandom, Cinematical Seven, Lists

Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Better Roles for Kristen Bell

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Walt Disney Pictures has released five new hi-res images from Tim Burton’s 3D re-imagining of “Alice in Wonderland.”

“Alice in Wonderland” movie plot: From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure “Alice in Wonderland”, a magical and imaginative twist on some of the most beloved stories of all time. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror. The all-star cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover. The screenplay is by Linda Woolverton.

Capturing the wonder of Lewis Carroll’s beloved “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) and “Through the Looking-Glass” (1871) with stunning, avant-garde visuals and the most charismatic characters in literary history, “Alice in Wonderland” comes to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D on March 5, 2010.

You can check out hi-res versions of each by clicking them.

For more movie info, photos, posters, concept art, trailers you can go at “Alice in Wonderland” FilmoFilia Movie Page and you can also visit our “Alice in Wonderland” Photo Gallery (more than 120 images!)

Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland

White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland

I’ll be representin’ We Are Movie Geeks at the Academy Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning and bringing you coverage of the 82nd Academy Award Nominations, followed by a report on all the nominees.

The press release from AMPAS:

Beverly Hills, CA (January 26, 2010) — Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Anne Hathaway.

Sherak and Hathaway will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered. Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards Web site, www.oscar.com.

Last year Hathaway received her first Oscar nomination for her leading role in “Rachel Getting Married.” She first came to national attention in the 2006 sleeper hit “The Devil Wears Prada” opposite Meryl Streep. Hathaway will be seen next in “Valentine’s Day,” followed by the role of the White Queen in Tim Burton’s remake of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Love and Other Drugs” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. Her other film credits include “Bride Wars,” “Get Smart,” “Passengers,” “Becoming Jane,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Princess Diaries.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Last year’s Academy Awards telecast opened with a flashy, musical number from Hathaway and Hugh Jackman that would’ve made Bob Fosse proud. For a second look at their performance, click here…