moviesblog.mtv.com:

Forget the idea of retro-fitting old movies for 3-D, which sometimes reminds me too much of when Ted Turner thought it’d be a good idea to colorize classic films back in the mid-80s. Vampires are a much better trend. If you don’t believe me, just check out the mash-up video “Gone with the Wind with Vampires,” which takes the all-time top-grossing (adjusting for inflation) classic and tosses in a plot involving bloodsuckers. Rhett Butler as a Civil War-era Dracula? Or is he more like a 19th century Edward Cullen? Either way, it fits.

Here are five more classics that could be retro-fitted with vampires:

“Casablanca” (1942)
Never mind that WWII backdrop, this is now a story of a city in North Africa taken over by vampires. For the most part they let the humans there function normally, as long as the undead are kept moderately fed via regular donations (and gambling losses). But if the humans attempt to flee Casablanca, the deal is off and the rampant bloodsucking begins. Keeping things somewhat in check is the neutral Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), nightclub owner and intermediary, who deals directly and indifferently with the head vampire, Renault (Claude Rains). That is until the one human he cares about shows up.

More here

Lol this is hilarious, though it would kill my teacher to see one of his favorite classics like this . And I love how Dracula blends so well in some scenes.

What do you think of these vampire retro classics?

This OBS Speaks Out article was written by Anastasia Albom, a journalism student of OBS staff member Bertena.

Sasha Badreeva tells me, “Vampires are not real, but they are like a dream come true”. They may not be to everyone’s taste, but Vampires have got women, and fans like Sasha, in a frenzy. Despite these damned creatures of the night feasting on the blood of humans, many mortal women find them irresistible.

The infatuation with a Vampire seemed to be rooted in dark sadistic sexual thought that most would not even think of revealing. Then in stepped Edward Cullen.

The protagonist of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series is a tall pale and handsome new age vampire. He is a vegetarian, studies in the high school of a small US town and by the way does not sleep in a coffin, have an unconvincing Romanian accent or wear a tuxedo and cape. He even can’t get too close to a lover for fear of loosing control and killing her, which just makes women want, teenage girls, him even more.

The first Twilight film has grossed about £230million so far and Twi-mania has spread like wildfire, so much that the mortal Cullen, Robert Pattinson, is being hounded everywhere by women begging him to bite them as if that would do anything but be quite painful.

Of course now everyone’s feeling the vampire love with the trend growing from raunchy TV series True Blood and the increase in sales of vampire novels. Everyone seems ready to cash in on a woman’s vampire fantasy.

So what is it that makes vampires so appealing to so many women and, has cinema always made vampires seem attractive?

“There are three main themes in the way that women view Vampires” explains Bertena Varney, who is the advisor of Fantasy Book Club, which centres around vampire novels and writes for examiner.com, “as an escape, as a soul mate or as an erotic lover.”

Women who use them as an escape are independent and don’t need a man but have a longing to be used and to choose the path of loving a vampire. Mina from Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a good example of this. While being drawn to vampires as an erotic lover gives you someone with centuries of sexual experience that you can have for life.

Varney believes that women who see them as a soul mate are usually career women who for most of their lives and now they’re looking for that life-long partner. She says: “The vampire will love them for who they are and not offended by the powerful women of today. They will be there to support you and the best thing is unlike mortal men is that they will love you forever.”

The original vampire film from 1922 is the German silent film Nosferatu. It carries some of the most important scenes in cinema recognised even if you have not seen the entire film. It sees Count Orlak, Dracula, stiffly rising from his sleep on the ride he has hitched from Transylvania to Germany. The gruesome vampire with a crooked nose bushy eyebrows and protruding forehead are hardly the features of and modern eligible vampire. Dracula seems represented as an unnatural creature to be feared and you hardly feel envious of the pure young maiden he has chosen to lecherously prey upon. Hardly husband material.

However, fast forward exactly 70 years later and you have the next adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel with Hollywood’s finest Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves and Gary Oldman. The difference with this film is that it develops Dracula as a character showing him as a wolf that prowls the night and a polite handsome well dressed man that walks the day.

In recent cinema, Dracula and vampires in general have become creatures with different sides. While being a monster, they still have human qualities and are still being capable of loving, and something which a contemporary girl, like Mina, is ready to be with despite some setbacks. Bram Stoker’s Dracula also shows Dracula before he became a vampire with the women he loved and lost and as a vampire tries to rekindle that love with Mina.

The success of other vampire films before Twilight, such as Interview with a Vampire and Underworld also show beautiful vampires that are wrestling the monster within which women seem drawn to. These films pull women into the cinema because they use a Romeo and Juliet style plot which show star-crossed lovers trying to be together against all odds, which is so appealing.

But if vampires mean different things to women, what do female vampires mean to men? The answer is, not much. If you consider the Hollywood manly vampire films like Blade, it shows male characters armed head-to-toe in silver weapons ready to destroy the vampires, not love them. Also in the home-grown comedy Lesbian Vampire Killers- remember that flop- female vampires are seen as erotic lovers, but then the realisation that they could kill them quickly prompts the men to drive a steak in their hearts.

Now that teenage girls are under the spell, vampires have been ushered into the mainstream, but has this caused the original vampire story to be lost? Varney doesn’t believe it is wholly a vampire story. She says: “Twilight is basically a Romeo and Juliet story between a human and a character that says he’s a vampire.” Eventually, however, teenage girls will either move away from their vampire phase or continue into it.

“What will end up happening is that the young girls and teens will read another “vampire” book and decide no I don’t like it and go for romance or another genre or yes I do and continue with the traditional vampire stories.” She adds: “ Yes there is a vampire story out there for just about every teen, but vampires will always be a little main stream while still putting fear in you.” So for those looking for an age long relationship, your vampire soul mate may be out there.

What do you think?  Do you agree with the reasons cited in the article for vampires seem to be so appealing?

The vampire movie craze continues with Dracula Year Zero and Vlad

By Lauren Flanagan at the Examiner

Sick of the vampire craze yet? I certainly hope not, because despite the recent onslaught of vampire themed movies and television shows, there’s a whole lot more coming our way – and I don’t mean the next installment of the Twilight series.

As mentioned earlier, the new Sam Worthington project Dracula Year Zero is currently in the works. It will apparently be a retelling of the famous vampire story and has a rumored budget of 100 million dollars.

Then there’s Vlad, an upcoming film by Summit Entertainment that will examine the early years of Vlad the Impaler (the original inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula). The film has been in the works for a while now, but news is now coming from The Hollywood Reporter that film scribe Scott Kosar (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, The Machinist, The Crazies) has been brought in to work on the script (originally written by actor Charlie Hunnam).

The movie is said to be an “action-oriented look at Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, as a young prince.”

Read More here

Kate Beckinsale Returns to Underworld, But How Much of Her Will Fans See?

By Sara Cardace at AMC

It’s been said (by, er, us) that 2010 is the year of the werewolf. Though The Wolfman didn’t exactly dominate the box office this past weekend, all signs indicate that those pesky monsters are still on the minds of Hollywood execs. Case in point: Underworld 4.

If you gave up on the Underworld franchise after the first installment (and, let’s face it, some of us did), it bears remembering that, after Underworld and its 2006 sequel, Underworld: Evolution, proved that Kate Beckinsale could put butts in seats, directors Len Wiseman and Patrick Tatopoulos made the odd decision to film a prequel, sans Beckinsale, dubbed Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, starring Rhona Mitra. How did the fledgling franchise’s fans react to the Beckinsale-free flick? I’m sure you can guess.

Read More here

James Cameron involved with Spider-Man reboot … sort of

By Patrick Lee at Sci Fi Wire

We know that Avatar director James Cameron once had his own ideas for a
Spider-Man movie, but it comes as a bit of a surprise that the Oscar winner may be a part of the upcoming reboot movie.

Sort of.

MTV reports that Cameron and his Avatar producer Jon Landau met with Spider-Man reboot director Marc Webb.

Not about story points, though: about the technology they used to create Avatar’s 3-D visual effects:

“Last [week] we met the director of [the next 'Spider-Man' film],” Cameron’s producing partner Jon Landau revealed to us when he stopped by the MTV studio, explaining that the “Avatar” filmmaker and Spider-Man’s new gatekeeper compared notes Wednesday evening. “[Webb] wants to do the next one in 3-D, which they’ve announced that they want to do. So, we want to try to support that as much as possible.”

Read More here

Gwyneth Paltrow to Team Up With Kate Winslet in ‘Contagion’

via Ace Show Biz

Another top-notch star has been added to the cast ensemble for “Contagion”. According to The Playlist, Gwyneth Paltrow has officially signed on to star in the Steven Soderbergh-directed flick. She will join Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard who have previously been on board with the project.

There has been no word on what roles that will be played by those actors and actresses, but the film’s story is said to take place over four continents and center on the outbreak of a deadly virus. Scott Z. Burns writes the script for the sci-fi thriller which shooting is planned to start this fall.

Read More here

New Cthulhu Comedy Sneaking Into Theaters This Year

By Annalee Newitz at io9

Though one rarely associates Lovecraft with slapstick humor, that’s what you’ll get in a new horror-comedy about the last living relative of the pulp writer who invented Cthulhu. The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu is coming to theaters this year.

According to Shock til You Drop:

Dark Sky Films has acquired The Last Lovecraft: Relic Of Cthulhu, directed by Henry Saine . . . Dark Sky is looking to roll the film out through a limited theatrical run later this year.

Read More here

I thought I heard somewhere that Vlad wasn’t going to be a vampire movie, but about the actual Vlad the Impaler. And I’d love to see the Cthulhu movie.

What do you think of the movie news today?

Films like “The Wolfman” bring us face to face with monster in the mirror

Monsters are metaphors, and what truly scares us about them is what they represent.

Deep down, the vampire stands for sexuality, and its risks of abuse, obsession and disease. The zombie is a shuffling symbol of the loss of independence and identity. Even the budget bogeyman of our own age — the implacable, inhuman slasher — comes from our fears of a cruel and irrationally violent world.

But the werewolf represents something far more personal.

This monster isn’t an exterior challenge but an interior one, not the creature waiting outside in the shadows but the brutal beast within. He is pure id, our basest and most primitive instincts made furry flesh, howling at the moon and mindlessly hurting our loved ones.

Universal Themes:
In some ways, he never went away. There are legends of humans magically turning into animals in nearly every culture; the word “lycanthrope” itself comes from the Greek. Yet modern writers seemed unmoved, and the movies were similarly uninterested. It wasn’t until 1935 that Universal unveiled “Werewolf of London.”

Apart from eventually inspiring a rollicking Warren Zevon song, its influence was small. Star Henry Hull, who drew the line at any makeup beyond modest fangs and a dramatic widow’s peak, actually wore a cap and cloak on his nightly prowls. With a nattily attired monster and dull lectures on botany, the film felt like a mild Jekyll-and-Hyde retread. There were no sequels.

Read more HERE

‘Avatar’ star sinks teeth into ‘Dracula’ role

In Hollywood, you only have as much clout as your last movie. So if you just starred in the biggest film in box-office history, you have plenty of equity to spend. Case in point: Avatar’s Sam Worthington, who has signed on to two projects since James Cameron’s science-fiction epic started bulldozing records.

The first is an adaptation of the grim futuristic graphic novel mini-series, The Last Days of American Crime, which he is attached to star in and produce.

And he has also sunk his teeth into the role of Dracula in yet another re-visitation of the vampire legend. Considering the success of Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, it’s no surprise the most famous of all blood-suckers would rise from the tomb one more time. But what can audiences expect from Dracula: Year Zero (aside from hopefully a more appealing title) when it’s released?

“It’s a script I really like,” director Alex Proyas (The Crow) told us last year. “It’s about the origins of the legend of Dracula, but it has a new spin … It’s a movie that has to be done on a grand scale.”

The science-fiction western — with a title that pretty much says it all — will be directed by Jon Favreau, who had been expected to reunite with his Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. on the movie. But when Downey dropped out to instead make a Sherlock Holmes sequel, Craig decided to saddle up instead.

Adapted from the comic book of the same name, the movie was penned by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof, who are scripting the next Star Trek film, due in June 2012. Cowboys and Aliens will be out in summer 2011.

Meanwhile progress continues on another James Bond sequel, despite the fact the fate of its studio, MGM, is uncertain. Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) has already been mentioned as a possible director (he worked with Craig on Road to Perdition).

Read more HERE

Wrath of the Gods

THIS year Greek mythology is providing the backstory for two films, featuring two different characters who happen to be the sons of Greek gods.

There’s the Clash Of The Titans happening on March 25, featuring Sam Worthington as Perseus the son of Zeus. The other is Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief, an action-adventure showing nationwide on Feb 11, revolving around Percy, the son of Poseidon.

When actor Logan Lerman learned about the making of the film, he jumped at the chance to work closely with Chris Columbus, who directed Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone.

In an interview transcript provided by Twentieth Century Fox Film, Lerman said: “I was obsessed with (Columbus). I didn’t really know anything about the books or the storyline of this film at that point, but I read the first Percy Jackson book immediately and liked it a lot.

“I hope that when the fans of the books see the movie they enjoy it, although there are differences between the book and the film.”

As it turns out, Columbus isn’t the only hero that Lerman would be working with in the making of Percy Jackson. The film features an impressive cast, including Catherine Keener (who plays Percy’s mother), Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Ray Winstone, Sean Bean and Kevin McKidd.

Read more HERE

Best Super Bowl ads: The movie trailers

Super Bowl Sunday is the one time of year where movie studios prep their best commercials to campaign for the rest of the year.

This year, we saw TV spots for “Robin Hood,” “The Wolfman,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and Prince of Persia.

Here are the movie spots that ran during the big game:

ROBIN HOOD
An epic action film based upon the Robin Hood myth, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. It is due on screens May 14.

The film began development in 2007 when Universal Studios snagged a script entitled “Nottingham,” which centered onthe heroic Sheriff of Nottingham to be played by Crowe. Scott’s creative dissatisfaction with the screenplay led him to develop a story about Robin Hood becoming an outlaw.

THE LAST AIRBENDER
Though not officially a Super Bowl ad per se, a spot for “The Last Airbender” aired right before kickoff. It’s an upcoming adventure-fantasy film written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan and a live-action film adaptation of the first season of the animated television series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

The film’s style stems from East Asian art, mythology, and Chinese martial arts. The first of a planned trilogy, the film stars Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, and Dev Patel. Look for it to hit screens July 2, 2010.

Read more HERE

What did you think about today’s movie news? Are you excited about the reboot of ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Wolfman’? Did you watch the superbowl, and did you enjoy all the amazing movie previews?

Source: dreadcentral

MAKE A DATE WITH SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD

Finally we have a rock solid date for the debut of George A. Romero’s next entry into his epic zombie saga, Survival of the Dead! Springtime just got a whole lot sweeter!

Magnet announced today that it is preparing an April 30 debut on VOD, which will then be followed by a limited theatrical run on May 28th. Very similar to the way that the company handled last year’s release of The House of the Devil.

Like its predecessors, Romero’s Survival of the Dead takes place in a desperate, nightmarish world where the dead walk the earth, relentlessly attacking the living. It is the story of Plum Island – a beautiful refuge whose isolation allows two powerful families to maintain a semblance of order in the wake of the zombie holocaust.

Read more here…

Source: io9

THE ONE QUESTION TONY STARK CAN’T ANSWER IN IRON MAN 2

Next month’s issue of Wizard Magazine gives some major spoilers for Iron Man 2, including the events that isolate Tony Stark/Iron Man, and the question Nick Fury asks Tony which he can’t answer. Spoilers below…

Jon Favreau says the new movie is darker than the first, but not as dark as you’d expect — it’s definitely not as dark as the “Demon In A Bottle” storyline, in which Tony grapples with alcoholism. Instead, Favreau says Tony struggles with “his own identity in the face of being a larger than life character who is. in fact, saving the world.”

Read more here…

Source: moviehole

SAM WORTHINGTON IS DRACULA

If Robert Pattinson proved anything, it’s that the vampire’s don’t necessarily have to be played by tall orange-skinned charmers or slender light-globe-switchers that looksuspiciously like Count Dooku from the “Star Wars” prequels. Heck, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe are currently donning fangs in the Spierig Bros’ “Daybreakers”, Robert Downey Jr’s being courted to play (the role played previously by Tom Cruise and Stuart Townsend, respectively) the Vampire Lestat, and I’m pretty sure that was the little squirt from “Charlotte’s Web” looking all pale and bite-happy in “New Moon” a couple of months back.

Read more here…

Source: io9

THE WOLFMAN’S MOULTING: RESHOOTS, RE-DO’S AND EDITS

Re-shoots, re-edits, rewrites and re-scoring — The Wolfman has been through it all. But have all these re-snips neutered Benicio Del Toro’s furry monster picture? We re-trace all of the second-guessing that may have doomed this film.

The first sign of problems for the big wolf revival was over two years ago, when Universal pushed back the release date from November 12, 2008 to the spring of 2009. Not a big deal, since many pictures move their release dates from time to time, but sadly for the Wolfman, they would change his release date many more times. Moving from Nov. 12, 2008, to April 3, 2009, to Nov 6, 2009, and finally February 12, 2010. Which many call a veritable No Man’s Land for movies.

Read more here…

Are you excited about George Romero’s Survival of the Dead?

Dark, light, with cream or sugar…I really don’t care. I liked the first Iron Man and I’m sure Iron Man 2 will be just as good. So does it really matter?

What do you think of Sam Worthington playing a vampire?

I have to disagree with the hint at Wolfman being released in February as potential suicide, with describing February as a veritable No Man’s Land for movies.  I read somewhere that it was intended to start showing big budget films like Wolfman throughout the year and not just during the holiday and summer blockbuster seasons.  Maybe its release and subsequent success (we hope and cross fingers) will break that mold.  As far and all the re-do’s, speculation abound, it just might be the simple fact that the film needed it. Do you think all the re-do’s will hinder the film?

via io9

MCG ANNOUNCES TWO MORE TERMINATOR MOVIES, REALITY MAY HAVE OTHER PLANS

Last night, Gizmodo’s Jason Chen listened to director McG’s Blu-Ray livecommentary for Terminator Salvation so that you didn’t have to. You can read the whole thing here, but if you’re in a rush, here’re the, uh, highlights.

Apparently oblivious to the fact that the franchise is up for sale and no-one knows who future owners will be or what they’ll want, McG announced that he’ll make two more Terminator movies, the first of which will feature Sarah Connor, even though “he’s not sure how he’s going to pull that off.”

Read more here…

via comicbookmovie

DARK VOID FULL CINEMATIC TRAILER

We’ve already heard the news that Brad Pitt and co. have plans to turn the yet-to-be-released Dark Void video game into a live-action movie. Now, check out what all the fuss is about!

Dark Void is the yet-to-be-released sci-fi video game 3rd person shooter coming from Capcom and is released on January 12th, 2010 next year on video game formats Xbox 360, PS3 and PC developed by Airtight games. The story goes that the lead character of William Agustus Grey, crashing his cargo vessel in the Bermuda Triangle and ends up stuck in another parallel universe helping the humans he meets there against the “Watchers,” who are aliens who were banished to this realm only to return and use humankind as their slaves, and acting like gods themselves.

Read more here…

via scifiwire

DELAYS DON’T MEAN ‘THE WOLFMAN’ SUCKS. REALLY.

Universal Pictures’ remake of The Wolf Man was originally supposed to come out Nov. 12, 2008. Even if it had come out on Feb. 13, April 3 or Nov. 6 of this year, when it was tentatively rescheduled, we would have seen it by now. It is finally coming out on Feb. 12, 2010, after some additional shooting. But co-star Emily Blunt says it’s still the film she set out to make two years ago.

“Not much [changed],” Blunt said in a group interview Friday in Los Angeles, where she was promoting The Young Victoria. “I mean, we did additional shooting, but I hear it’s great.”

Read more here…

via slashfilm

SUMMIT BRINGING US A REAL VAMPIRE MOVIE WITH A DRACULA REMAKE, VLAD

Summit just can’t quit those vampires. The studio is apparently working on their own action-heavy Dracula remake, entitled Vlad, with a script by actor Charlie Hunnam. After loving the guy on Undeclared, Children of Men, and Sons of Anarchy, a vampire script from Hunnam comes as a bit of a surprise. Music video director Anthony Mandler is in negotiations to direct, and Brad Pitt is producing via Plan B along with Dede Gardner. Not surprisingly, the film will apparently center on Dracula as the young prince Vlad.

Read more here…

via wearemoviegeeks

FILMS BASED ON SCI-FI SHORTS

I love short fiction! Nothing personal against the novel. I’ve read a few myself and have my favorites, but nothing appeals to my personal philosophy of “less is more” than a well-written and concise short story. For anyone who has worked on a production of a 30-second TV commercial, you know that shorter does not necessarily mean easier. 30 seconds may not be much time, but you’ve still got to tell a story and have it make sense. Here lies the challenge. It’s generally more difficult to tell a great story in a very limited amount of words than it is in a novel with virtually no limitations on it’s length.

Read more here…

via moviesblog

JOHNNY DEPP AND TIM BURTON TO SHOOT ‘DARK SHADOWS’ NEXT FALL

Earlier this year we asked Tim Burton about his upcoming adaptation of “Dark Shadows,” the ’60s soap opera with a vampire protagonist and a generally supernatural edge. Before thateven, we heard from both Burton and his intended “Shadows” star Johnny Depp that the TV adaptation would shoot next year.

Now we have an even more specific time frame to work with. Speaking to producer Graham King, Sci Fi Wire has learned that production will start on “Shadows” late next year.

Read more here…

Since Terminator Salvation was such a hit I doubt they will have any problem finding a buyer for the franchise. What do you think?

I don’t know about you but ‘Dark Void’ has some nuances that remind me of the TV series ‘Lost’; being stuck in a parallel universe and people acting like gods….hmmmm. Regardless it sounds like it would be an interesting flick.  Even though it’s not a brand new concept since they’d be adapting the story from a video game, it sure beats all these reboots that are coming out. How do you feel about movies based on video games?

The public at large does not base a movies quality on its release date.  We just want to see the darn film already. It will speak for itself when it is finally released, and I for one, cannot wait.

At last, a vampire movie based on the historical origins of Dracula and with a ‘300′ stylistic approach. Wow. I’m sold.

I really enjoy knowing where the concept for a film comes from, because most of the time it brings a broader understanding and deeper level of appreciation for the film. Do you feel the same or do you really not care as long as you enjoy the film?

Yey!  More Tim Burton and Johnny Depp! I can’t get enough of these two especially when they collaborate. Tim Burton can do no wrong in my book. I recently had the opportunity to see Tim Burton’s Exhibit at MoMA in New York last week and the man is a genius (I highly recommend going if your in the area). It will be interesting to see how he takes on the genre of the vampire with ‘Dark Shadows’. Are you excited to see his interpretation on vampires?