Hey people, ready to see Mel Gibson's beaver? Because he has one and we've got photos. If that's not your thing, maybe you'd prefer seeing Corey Feldman shoot himself in the noggin. Or perhaps a Bill Paxton pinball machine. It's all sorts of weird this week. No? Well there's some really bad movie news, too, as usual. Avert your eyes as necessary.
THE GOOD
• H.P. Lovecraft fans, you don't want to miss the documentary Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown that's coming on DVD and Blu-ray in a short couple of weeks. It's interviews some very cool people, including Neil Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro.
• Nerdcore has previewed its 2010 calendar, and it's horror-themed! If you're unfamiliar with Nerdcore calendars, each month is a pin-up of a nude model posing in a geek-friendly situation. Previous years had themes like classic gaming, heroes & villains, and sci-fi. For the horror calendar, they have some choice nakedness inspired by the likes of Poltergeist, Carrie, Bride of Frankenstein, Psycho and a handful more. Buy it here.
• After so many modern zombie films have piggybacked on George Romero's popularization of zombie flicks by mucking up the rules on the way zombies behave and how they came to be, the Godfather of Decay (That's what they call him, right? No? Can we start?) is going to lay down the law by writing a novel called The Living Dead, which promises to finally reveal just how his zombie apocalypse started—as well as settling on what he thinks zombies can or cannot do, according to The Guardian. The book will hit shelves next July.
It starts in San Diego, where a corpse sits up and begins to walk during an autopsy, while a reporter from Atlanta shows viewers "glimpses ofincreasing chaos from around the globe".
• I may not be the biggest Wes Anderson fan around, but I'm very much looking forward to Fantastic Mr. Fox, and this trailer affirms that. Maybe it has something to do with the rumor that Wes Anderson directed the film via e-mail (and poorly) from another country, leaving the director of photography Tristan Oliver at the helm on set. Since Oliver is an Aardvark vet who worked on Chicken Run and various Wallace & Gromit, I consider this a very good thing.
• Photos of Mel Gibson on the set of The Beaver has surfaced over at Gossip Center. The movie stars Gibson, in what I'm predicting now to be the role of his lifetime, as a crazy man who thinks his beaver hand puppet is a real animal and treats it like his best friend. He also makes it talk to people by giving the beaver a voice... in an English accent. It's kind of like Mr. Garrison & Mr. Hat: The Movie, but with a beaver. It's also kind of like the greatest movie ever made. This photo is proof of that.
THE BAD
• Variety reports that 20th Century Fox has obtained the rights to turn Spore into a movie, with Ice Age director Chris Wedge at the helm. If you're sitting there wondering how the hell they're going to turn a plot-free life simulation game like Spore into a movie, well, let me tell you. I've got no idea. But it's got a brand-friendly name and a built-in fanbase, sort of. That's all Daddy Hollywood wants to know.
• How is it that two horrendously unfunny trailers for horror movie spoofs are released on the same week? This is not a coincidence. We are under attack. Here's the one for Transylmania, and below is for Stan Helsing.
• 2011. That's how long we have to wait until the next Transformers movie. Michael Bay has just officially signed on to do the third chapter in his epic rock 'em sock 'em trilogy. If the Michael Bay Sequel Escalation scale system is correct, then Transformers 3 should be shot entirely in IMAX; involves 46 Autobots and 113 Decepticons; destroys famous landmarks like the Paris catacombs, Christ the Redeemer, the Taj Mahal and the entire city of Milwaukee; and will also feature Megan Fox loudly and wetly sucking on a lollipop in all of her scenes.
• Matt Reeves' remake of the brilliant Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, which is being called Let Me In, scored its cast. It's actually a pretty decent bunch, but that means this movie is another step closer to actually existing. The Road's breakout star Kodi Smit-McPhee will play the main character, who is renamed from Oskar to Owen in the English version. (500) Days of Summers' Chloe Moretz will play the vampire Eli, now named Abby. Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins, who always delivers, will be Abby's caretaker.
I can't really imagine even this remake being a mainstream fare, especially with that cast, so it might remain a niche thing. In a way, that makes this endeavor sound even more pointless.
• Speaking of horror remakes... Friday the 13th: Part 2 in 3D. I have a problem with remakes in general, but for the most part, I've learned to accept them as a business necessity. But slasher remakes, I just don't understand. It's one (sub)genre in which nobody gives a rat's ass if it's a remake or a sequel. Who the hell can tell? Here's the ironic part: this is the thirteenth Friday movie, which they could totally run with if it wasn't rebooted and now has to be called Part 2.
THE WTF
• The cop drama Cagney & Lacey was a hit back in the day. A show about two female detectives, tackling crime in New York City. In the mid-90's, they attempted a revival by revisiting the duo in their then-older days in a series of four TV movies. When they released the movies in a box set this week, what did they decide to call it? Just like they're called in your dreams... Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years
• Benjamin J. Heckendorn is building a custom pinball machine based on the filmography of Bill Paxton. Benjamin J. Heckendorn is an amazing person. Yes, it does say "Game over, man!" when you lose. Check out Heck's blog for more cool game mods.
• Want to see Corey Feldman shoot himself in the head? Watch it here. The faux-snuff video is a teaser for a project called Splatter, a collaboration between Roger Corman, Joe Dante and Corey Feldman.
• Did you know that J.K. Rowling was considered for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but didn't get it? Former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer revealed in his new book that it wasn't because she wasn't American, but because Harry Potter is a Christian No-No, according to the Bush administration:
This was the same sort of narrow thinking that led people in the White House to actually object to giving the author J.K. Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft.
• Interview mag can be really cool in that they get celebrities to interview other celebrities (like this interview of Natalie Portman conducted by Jake Gyllenhaal), but sometimes, the pairing do get a little weird. For their 40th anniversary cover feature, they asked Dennis Hopper to interview Kristen Stewart.
