Tag: James Cameron (Page 11 of 11)

Expansions

June 5, 2009 / Bob Westal

Just a couple of items where some more information might be of interest.

* I linked yesterday to a Variety story reporting that James Cameron had signed with mega-agency CAA. Last night, however, ace gadfly muckraker Nikki Finke reported that it was merely a new camera technology developed for Cameron’s upcoming “Avatar” 3-D extravaganza, not Cameron himself, that the agency will be repping. In true Finkean style, she can’t resist taking a swipe at Variety in the process, though I guess it might be earned in this case.

* On a more pleasant and actually interesting note, we have some news about Sigourney Weaver‘s upcoming projects, after discussing her — well, actually, Ellen Ripley — topping Total Sci-Fi’s list of female science fiction icons yesterday. For one thing, I didn’t realize until now Ms. Weaver is one of the stars of the aforementioned “Avatar” (as is Will Harris’s talented Facebook buddy Dileep Rao).

But that’s far from all, JA at The Film Experience is waxing enthusiastic over her possible casting (it’s not truly confirmed yet, I gather) in another sci-fi film, of sorts. “Paul” is to be directed by Greg Mottola of “Superbad” and “Adventureland” and written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “Spaced” fame. Apparently the film has something to do with a couple of British comic book geeks (Pegg and Frost) traveling cross-country from Comic-Con who meet up with Seth Rogen — I gather possibly animated or CGI’d or something — as an alien named, naturally, Paul at Nevada’s Area 51 (at least that’s how SlashFilm’s Paul Sciretta has it). It will also feature Bill Hader, Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman and Kristen Wiig.

Sounds pretty good, but JA was also good enough to mention another comedy casting for Ms. Weaver, this in “You Again,” which will star Kristin Bell, a particular favorite over here. As JA points out, it will re-team the high talented, geek-friendly Bell with director Andy Fickman, who elicited one of her most interesting performances in “Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical” back in 2005. At the risk of going off on a bit of tangent (and, by the way, just happening to mention my lengthy 2007 blog post on Fickman’s entertaining, though highly imperfect, movie), did you know that the former Veronica Mars can, as the Western codgers say, sing purty?

Don’t worry, she gets a lot less wholesome later on…

Actors, Actresses, Comic-Con, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Comedies

Adventureland Andy Fickman Area 51 Avatar Bill Hader Greg Mottola Hot Fuzz James Cameron Jane Lynch Jason Bateman Kristen Bell Kristen Wiig Nick Frost Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical Shaun of the Dead Sigourney Weaver Simon Pegg Spaced Superbad Veronica Mars

BadAzz Mofo Geeky Quick Hits

June 4, 2009 / Bob Westal

Other than the very sad and disturbing passing of David Carradine, very well noted by Will Harris a bit earlier (I’ve got more at my own bloggy digs, Forward to Yesterday), it’s kind of a slow news day in the movie world…

* In a bit of very inside baseball, with his upcoming “Avatar” 3-D extravaganza already getting a lot of ink many months before its X-Mas release, James Cameron has broken with his past practice and has signed with an agency. And not just any agency, but the mighty CAA. I know, your life will never be the same. Variety has the scoop, such as it is.

* 79-year-old lifelong cinema enfant terrible Jean-Luc Godard (“Breathless,” “Contempt” — a great film you really ought to see) is looking to do a film inspired by a Holocaust memoir, says THR. I know, your life will really never be the same, but this is interesting. Godard, a truly radical leftist, criticized Israel implicitly in his 1967 comic masterpiece, “Weekend,” when the middle-east nation’s battles were still very much a liberal cause. I’m not at all one to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, but the film itself, and the worldwide response from Jewish groups, should be worth watching for those of us interested in this kind of thing.

* And finally, Nikki Finke devoted all of 24 words this morning to the passing of David Carradine (and turned off comments for some reason), but after adding that she doesn’t “do geek,” she did find time to devote some space to covering Total Sci-Fi‘s “25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi” list, with a definite emphasis on bad-ass mofo type females. It was topped by Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley from the “Alien” franchise (including “Aliens” from the aforementioned J. Cameron). The list also covered fantasy for whatever reason and #2 on the list was Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Geller) of “Buffy” fame. (My personal Buffsession, Willow Rosenberg, aka Alyson Hannigan, came in at #21.) With the possible exception of the first choice, which I really can’t argue with as long as you’re talking about actresses and not, say, writers, my list would be entirely different — if I didn’t tend to avoid lists. Since we really do “do geek” here at Premium Hollywood, allow me to link to fan site Whedonesque‘s comment thread on the topic, where the discussion eventually includes the terrific SF (not “sci-fi”!) writer, Roger Zelazny. Now that’s geek.

Action Movies, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

Alien Alyson Hannigan Avatar Breathless Buffy the Vampire Slayer CAA Contempt David Carradine James Cameron Jean-Luc Godard Ripley Sarah Michelle Geller Sigourney Weaver Total Sci-Fi Weekend Whedonesque Willow Rosenberg

A chat with Dileep Rao of “Avatar” and “Drag Me to Hell”

June 4, 2009 / Jeff Giles

Boss got you down? Think your career’s going nowhere? Keep your chin up, bub, and comfort yourself with the inspirational tale of actor Dileep Rao, who has gone from struggling actor/former “Jeopardy!” contestant to the Cannes red carpet. He may not be a household name, but with appearances in two of 2009’s most anticipated movies (“Drag Me to Hell” and James Cameron’s “Avatar,” to be specific), his face will be far more familiar to filmgoers by the time the year is out. And who should have a personal acquaintance with Rao but Bullz-Eye’s own Will Harris?

In his latest Bullz-Eye interview, Will sat down with Dileep Rao for a chat about his past, including that stint on “Jeopardy!” (“Damn you, Will!”) to more topical stuff, like the odds of him revealing anything — anything at all — about “Avatar”:

“(James Cameron) would send solid gold robots to kill me. I don’t think I can divulge much more than that, yes, that’s the name of the movie, he directed it, and I’m in it. That’s about all I can say. there’s an embargo like it’s the nuclear draft for what we do at Def-Con 4.”

On the subject of his work in Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell,” which landed in theaters last Friday, Rao was understandably more forthcoming, opening up about the ways he prepared for his role as Rham Jas (“He has some core belief that the world is larger than the world we know, and that character started for me there…”) and his feelings about horror films in general:

“You shouldn’t come out of a horror movie feeling bad about yourself. You should come out feeling physiologically exhilarating by the hijinks and thrilled by it. If the story is strong and it kind of catches you, you go for the ride and you come out feeling that sense of, ‘They really goosed me, and I feel the adrenaline, and I’m excited to go talk about this movie over a burger,’ then it’s done its job.”

To read the rest of Will’s interview with Dileep Rao, click here!

Actors, Interviews, Movies

Avatar Dileep Rao Drag Me to Hell James Cameron Sam Raimi Will Harris

A Chat with Lance Henriksen

February 25, 2009 / Will Harris

In the midst of our discussion with Lance Henriksen, I unabashedly called him out for having carved himself a career as a “that guy” in Hollywood. You know what I mean. He was part of the supporting cast of the original “Terminator” flick, he played Bishop in two “Alien” movies (and even turned up in one of the “Aliens vs. Predator” films), and he played Frank Black…not the one who fronts the Pixies but, rather, the lead character in “Millennium.” And, yet, when I told people I was talking to Lance Henriksen, only a handful knew who I was talking about before I started numbering off the items on his resume…and as soon as I did, they immediately said, “Oh, right: that guy!” On a related note, if you’re a fan of “Screamers,” then you might already be aware that there’s a sequel to the flick – “Screamers: The Hunting” – that’s on video store shelves at this very moment, so when you see Mr. Henriksen’s name on the cover, try to remember this discussion, so you don’t have to wait until he appears on screen to say…well, you know.

Bullz-Eye was fortunate enough to score the opportunity to talk to Henriksen on the occasion of “Screamers: The Hunting” hitting video, and in addition to asking about his experiences on the film, we also did the requisite quizzing about his latest projects (did you catch him on “NCIS”?), his work on “Millennium” and the chances of seeing any new adventures of Frank Black, what it’s like to be under the direction of James Cameron, and how he came to appear in – of all things – a Brazilian soap opera.

Sit back and stay tuned for…