Colin Farrell accidentally disses his 'Fright Night' remake

by Anthony Breznican

Colin Farrell caused a rumble when he seemed to diss his own movie in front of thousands of theater owners on Tuesday at the group’s annual CinemaCon convention.

But really, he was taking a knock at himself.

The wisecracking Irishman was there to show off the first footage of his upcoming horror remake Fright Night, as a vicious but bored-to-(un)death vampire who moves into the suburbs next to a suspicious teen (Anton Yelchin). The 34-year-old actor was a big fan of the 1985 cult-favorite, which starred Chris Sarandon in the bloodsucker role, and told the audience of theater owners: “I heard they were remaking Fright Night and went, ‘Ah, god, remake! Hollywood, so dull!’ And I read the script [by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Mad Men alum Marti Noxon] and really hoped I didn’t like it, and I did. It was fun. But I was a fan of the original. I probably saw it when I was 12 years of age, and loved it.”

Okay, so far, so good. Farrell went on to talk about his friendship with director Craig Gillespie and praised his previous movie Lars and the Real Girl. But then he continued.

“Meself, as a fan of the original, it doesn’t change. I don’t think I’ll have a copy of this version in my library, but I have the original at home,” Farrell said, drawing scattered nervous laughs. “And since [the old film] still exists, maybe this [new] film will bring that film to a whole new audience and maybe some fans of the original, like myself, can enjoy this one as well.”

He then threw it back to Gillespie who said, haltingly, “There are … other actors in the film, as well,” garnering more chuckles from the crowd.

Backstage, Farrell was kicking himself. “Yeah, I knew that would be picked up!” he told EW. “What I meant was [I wouldn't own it] because I’m in the f—ing thing!” He said he cringes when he watches himself. “It’s always uncomfortable.” Even his sister said “D’oh” to Farrell after hearing what he said onstage. But the actor says he’s a fan of the new Fright Night now, too. He endured watching himself in the film, and said he “enjoyed the romp that it was for two hours.”

Fright Night comes out Aug. 19, and Gillespie says true vampire fans will enjoy seeing their favorite creatures be true monsters again. “There’s an extremeness to the vampires in the original Fright Night, and we wanted to keep that in this,” said the director. “This is not a Twilight, or a romantic thing. This is almost like a vicious, sexual predator.”

Farrell showed a cell phone image of himself in full-on creature make-up with stringy white hair, knotted face, and blood-soaked, razor-sharp jaws. The idea is the more angry or threatened the vampire, the more of a fiend it becomes.

Jerry, Farrell’s character, is many centuries old and has a laid-back attitude about killing. In footage previewed at CinemaCon, he casually digs a hole in a family’s backyard, yanks their gas pipe from the ground, filling their house with fumes and igniting it in a fireball — all to force them from the home so he can prey on them. He does it all as lackadaisically as someone taking out the trash.

“He’s very, very practically minded, just to survive,” Farrell laughs.

insidemovies

Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to guest star on 'Psych'

March 23, 2011 06:20 PM EDT

by Meredith Jacobs

Even though almost everyone automatically thinks of Sarah Michelle Gellar when they hear of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she wasn't the first actress to take on the role. That would be Kristy Swanson, who played Buffy in the movie that came out before the series hit television. Now she's going to be guest-starring in an upcoming episode of the next season of Psych.

According to TVGuide, Swanson's character is Marlowe Viccellio, described as "mysterious." Lassiter notices her, but Shawn and Gus think she's the one responsible for a  "vampire-style" murder "after the police find a blood-drained body." So this time, instead of playing the character that hunts vampires, Kristy Swanson is potentially playing the vampire-like character in the episode, "This Episode Sucks." That's a nice play on words in the episode title, don't you think?

It sounds like it has potential to make for a pretty funny Psych episode, and it will be interesting to see just what the "vampire" twist turns out to be. Criminal Minds had an episode, "The Performer," which had the BAU team looking for an unsub that behaved like a vampire—all because of the persona a rock star took on onstage. Will this turn out to be similar?

What do you think of Kristy Swanson guest-starring on Psych?

Gather

Super Director Hears Joss Whedon's Film The Avengers Has the Best Script for a Marvel Movie Ever

By Pietro Filipponi
Published: March 14, 2011 - 2:56pm

While promoting his upcoming action-comedy Super at the South by Southwest Film Festival, James Gunn had nothing but praise for Whedon's take on Marvel Studios' upcoming superhero film.

In the summer of 2012, Marvel Studios will release a film that is both a great gamble and crowning achievement. The Avengers, the largest ensemble superhero film produced by a major motion picture studio in cinematic history, will feature characters who have previously been showcased in their own, respective ventures (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury, Black Widow and the Hulk) and ones newly introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Hawkeye and a plethora of yet to be revealed names). Joss Whedon, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly cult fame, will direct the film, and is already deeply immersed in pre-production happenings.
marvlavgn_feb.jpg

After formally announcing The Avengers at last year's San Diego Comic Con with the main cast member's introductions and a teaser trailer, very little news about the film has been disclosed. With principal photography right around the corner, as well as three major comic conventions -- C2E2, WonderCon & Comic Con -- it's only a matter of time before fans get all the info they have been waiting for.

Until then, the director of the upcoming superhero-themed comedy Super,James Gunn, offers great praise for the project that should keep the negative speculation at bay:

    “Everybody I know who’s read it says it’s by far the best script for a Marvel movie ever. I’m very, very excited about it. Nobody loves superheroes more than Joss. He’s really got his heart in the right place.”

The director was not as kind in his appraisal of Warner Brothers vision for handling the DC universe in film adaptations.

    "Warner Bros. is obviously fucking up. They don’t know how to make a good superhero movie unless Christopher Nolan is involved to save their lives.”

The Avengers is scheduled to hit theaters on May 4th, 2012, and will unite Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) for the first time in cinematic history.

Daily Blam

James Marsters Mentions Piccolo and Other Sci Fi Projects

In a recent interview with San Diego LGBT Weekly, James Marsters was asked about his current, favorite and future roles in which he discusses Piccolo in Dragonball and Lex Luther.

Aside from your roles in Buffy and Torchwood, you have a long list of other great credits. What are some of your favorites? What are you working on now? What roles are coming up for you?

You actually want me to plug myself? OK, here goes, but I warn you. I’m shameless. Favs: Buzz Aldrin in Moonshot, Piccolo in Dragonball and recording the books of The Dresden Files (available on iTunes). Now: Victor Hess in Hawaii Five-O. Coming up: Lex Luther in D.C. Universe, a sprawling new online game that was described as “the greatest Superman movie that they will never make” at this year’s Comic-Con, hopefully a new TV series (can’t talk about it … very hush, hush) and more Dresden.

He also discusses his other roles in other Sci Fi related projects.

LGBT Weekly: Most people know you as the sexy and mysterious Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Did you ever think Spike would become so popular when you were first presented with the part?

Marsters: No, I was supposed to die in five episodes. Joss (Whedon, executive producer) explained very clearly that he couldn’t wait to kill me. I spent the first year reading the scripts backward looking for my ignoble demise.

How much of an influence were you able to contribute to the character development of Spike?

On the writing, zero. On the costume, zero. On the plots, zero. But an actor can say the words, “I love you,” and make them mean, “I hate you,” or even,” I don’t care about you.” So the truth was that I had a lot of influence. In TV, directors don’t give a lot of direction. It gets actors thinking too much, up in their heads and not in their guts. So unless it sucks, they move on.

Another role our readers would know you from is Captain John Hart on Torchwood. What drew you to this character?

Are you kidding me? John Barryman of course! (A gay actor, Barryman plays Captain Jack Harkness, the show’s lead character.) Getting to kiss him, and then beat the hell out of him was just too good. Plus, the writing. We’ve made all the right people uncomfortable with that show. The theme, “Gay people are kick ass heroes,” is something that I am very proud to have a part in saying.

Comic Book Movie

Seth Green, Digitally and Sonically Erased From 'Mars Needs Moms'

Moviemakers can do crazy things with computers these days. They can reverse-age a guy from shriveled old man-baby to healthy, adolescent Brad Pitt. They can make a sixtysomething Jeff Bridges look like he did in 1982  (albeit with a really creepy-looking mouth). And, if they discover that a 37-year-old actor in a performance-capture suit can jump around like a nine-year-old but not really sound like one, they can easily recast the voice part with an actual kid. The animators for the upcoming "Mars Need Moms" pulled off that last trick with "Robot Chicken" star and onetime "Cha-Ching! Guy" Seth Green, reports the L.A. Times:

"During production, the star acted as he would in any performance-capture movie, which requires actors to move in special sensor-equipped suits. Green spent six weeks outfitted in a uniform while also simultaneously performing his lines. But during the post-production process, in which animators used computer imaging to shape the character, filmmakers noticed that Green was able to physically embody a 9-year-old -- imitating the movements and behaviors of a child -- but his voice sounded too mature for the character."

Thus, they found 11-year-old Seth Dusky to come in and dub Green's lines, considering Green is a 37-year-old man who was having some trouble channeling the sound of prepubescence. To review: To nail down how a nine-year-old talks, they had an 11-year-old speak. To nail down how a nine-year-old moves, they motion-captured Seth Green jumping around. That sounds about right.

Green therefore spent weeks in motion-capture dots, prancing to and fro, for a performance that no one will hear or see. (Well, they'll technically see his digitized motions, but you know what we're getting at.) It's possible he played the second Winklevii brother.

Oh, and Green is still doing publicity for the film he's been mostly erased from. They couldn't really use the computer to put Dusky's voice in Green's mouth on "Conan." 

Yahoo

Nicholas Brendon, James Marsters, Clare Kramer Talk 'Buffy' Memories at Seattle Comicon

Monday, March 07, 2011

Meghan Carlson Senior Writer, BuddyTV

It's sometimes hard to believe that Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003, especially when you get around a bunch of super-fans, as I did this Saturday at Seattle's Emerald City Comicon. The mini-mecca for all things nerdy played host to Buffy alums Nicholas Brendon (Xander), James Marsters (Spike) and Claire Kramer (Glory, season 5), as well as Felicia Day (Vi), and, eight years after it went off the air, the Buffy panel still packed the largest room in the convention center.

"How long do you think Buffy will be a staple at events like this?" my friend, a fellow Buffy lover, mused as we sat in the hall and waited for Brendon, Marsters and Kramer to take the stage at their anticipated panel session. "As long as events like this exist," I said, looking around at the tittering crowd, which included lots of costumes, ranging from Avatar to Dr. Who to Star Trek to X-Files characters, but looked mostly made up of run-of-the-mill folks in everyday attire. Buffy is a classic, beloved by nerds and non-nerds alike, and that love--like the vamps of its lore--shows no signs of dying anytime soon.

Brendon, Marsters and Kramer, who are making the regional comicon rounds over the next few months, clearly share in that sentiment, and were at turns thoughtful, funny and nostalgic as they took questions from the audience about their time on the series. So, enough from me. Here are the best bits from their Buffy Comicon chat, in their own words:

Did you get to keep your trademark red dress?
Clare Kramer: "No, I didn't. I think they sold it on eBay."

What was your favorite thing about being on Buffy?
Nicholas Brendon: "My favorite thing was doing it. Being there from the conception of it and watching it grow into this pop culture crazy whirligig thing."

How about least favorite?
NB: "Shooting "Beer Bad." [Ed. note: The audience cracked up, recalling the drunken Neaderthal-centric plot of "Beer Bad," also considered by some fans as the worst Buffy episode ever.] That it's a Xander-ific episode hurts my soul."

What about you, James Marsters? Least favorite thing about being on Buffy?
James Marsters: "Bleaching my hair. In a lot of closeups there would be bloody puss dripping down my face. I had to bleach his hair every episode because vampire hair isn't supposed to grow."

And how about you, Clare?
CK: "I loved kicking ass. I also liked working with the writing. It was a lot of monologue, free play, lyrical almost."

How much of the plots did you know in advance?
JM: "We were lucky if we got a full script."
NB: "I found out Xander was losing his eye by reading the script. I thought Willow would heal it, but then all of a sudden I was in the hospital."
CK: "I found out I was a god by reading the script."
NB: "Often times I'd find things out after we shot it, which was ... interesting."

What do they think of the Buffy comics?
NB: "I think Xander having sex with Dawn is kind of ... I guess art imitates life, so whatever. [Ed note: He was clearly joking.] I still see Michelle [Trachtenberg] as a 14 year old."
JM: "I saw Michelle on the cover of Maxim and I was like, "Michelle, that's very racy!'"
NB: "... But I'll buy two, please."

What have you been up to lately? New projects?
CK: She said she's been directing, and will appear in the movies Endure and The Dead Ones, which is a "Sixth Sense type movie."
NB: "I've been taking a lot of baths. I fell out of my shower a couple weeks ago and took the curtain down with me. I've been taking about three or four baths a day."
JM: He was recently on Smallville, and is lending his voice to the Dragonball Evolution movie. He's been doing a lot of voiceover work. He also spoke about his role on the UK series Torchwood: "It's a subversive show that's taking down the lie that gay people can't be heroes."

Why do we learn on Buffy that vampires have no breath, but then we see that Spike smokes?
JM: "We really didn't know what we were doing. We were making it up as we went along. We didn't have a rule book." James went on say that at first he was told that he "couldn't sweat on camera," because vampires don't sweat. But then they were spending so much time powdering his face between action sequences ("I sweat like a monkey!") that "finally, Joss [Whedon] just goes, "Screw it, vampires sweat when they fight!"

Favorite season of Buffy?
CK: Season 5, of course!
NB: "I always get them messed up. I think season one because it was so magical. Not for the content, but just for what Sarah [Michelle Gellar], Alyson [Hannigan] and myself were going through. It was a magical time in my life that I'll never forget until God takes me from this green earth."
JM: Season 5. "I got to get beat up a lot by Claire, which is a lot more fun than it sounds."

On playing a character who goes "insane":
JM: "The truth is, I learned during that period that being a method actor is dangerous on TV. On movies and in plays there's an end point, but on TV it just keeps rolling, year after year." He went on to describe what it was like to play Spike when he grew a soul and was haunted by his former victims: "I had to think of everything I felt guilty about all through my life and beat myself up about it. I fell into a heavy depression."
CK: "I didn't view Glory as crazy. She was who she was. I approached her as I would any other character. I had a lot of fun playing her. I viewed her from the egotistical side."

Why did all the guys "turn into p*****s" when they fell in love with Buffy? [Ed note: This question got BIG laughs from the crowd, as did James' response.]
JM: "Because that's what happens to a man when he falls in love."

What was it like for Brendon to play Xander, a male "damsel in distress"?
NB: "I finally kinda grew a pair by the end. I lost an eye and grew a pair."
JM: "Xander IS Joss. That's how he sees himself."

What do they think of the fan fiction?
NB: "Like the gay stuff between Xander and Spike?"
JM [seems genuinely surprised]: "That exists?"
NB: "Listen there's no such thing as bad press. As long as were not terrorists. No, even if we are terrorists. As long as you keep caring."

Finally, where can fans find them online?
Nicholas Brendon: You can follow him on Twitter, and find him at NickBrendon.com (where you can find a list of his upcoming appearances!) and VeryBadKoalas.com.
Clare Kramer: You can follow her on Twitter here and at her website, ClareKramerOnline.com.
James Marsters: He's on Twitter too, his official website is here, and he's also active on Facebook, where he recently posted an essay about Egypt which he told the crowd he's "quite proud of." His music will soon be available on iTunes.

BuddyTV

Nathan Fillion's long road to Castle

Edmonton-raised actor Nathan Fillion has made a career playing confident characters you love despite (or maybe because of) their brash confidence. Think his current incarnation as self-assured mystery writer Richard Castle on ABC's hit Castle.

By Jenelle Riley, Reuters March 8, 2011

LOS ANGELES (Back Stage) - Nathan Fillion expertly walks the fine line between obnoxious and charming, on screen that is.

He has flawlessly embodied confident characters you love despite (or maybe because of) their brash confidence. Think Firefly leader Malcolm Reynolds, Dr. Horrible hero Captain Hammer, or his current incarnation as self-assured mystery writer Richard Castle on ABC's hit Castle.

In real life, Fillion is decidedly more easygoing. Perhaps it's a Canadian thing; Fillion was born and raised in Edmonton, the son of teachers who, as a child, he can remember adults approaching on the street to thank for changing their lives. Those parents, he says, helped instill in him a sense of gratitude and appreciation.

Of his prolific career, he says, "I think I've been really good at surrounding myself with really talented people. I've picked the right coattails to ride on."

Despite having won countless numbers of dedicated fans from his time on such cult series as Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not to mention starring on hit shows like Desperate Housewives, he maintains, "I don't expect anybody to know who I am."

Q: YOU WERE STILL IN COLLEGE IN CANADA WHEN YOU BOOKED THE ROLE OF JOEY BUCHANAN ON ONE LIFE TO LIVE ... HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO LAND THE JOB OUT OF CANADA?

Fillion: I had just barely passed one of my courses and was thinking I would go back for a summer session to pull up my GPA, and the phone rang and a lady casting out of New York for One Life to Live had found a tape that I had sent the year prior to Vancouver for a Canadian movie that I didn't get. And that tape went from Vancouver to L.A. to New York without my knowledge. Just casting directors passing it on over the course of a year. They called me and said, "If you're still interested, we'll fax you a script, you FedEx us a tape. Three weeks later, I'm living in New York City."

Q: YOU PERFORMED THEATRESPORTS WITH THE RAPID FIRE THEATER COMPANY, IMPROVISING A SOAP OPERA EVERY WEEK. WAS THAT GOOD TRAINING FOR DOING AN ACTUAL SOAP OPERA?

Fillion: They're two totally different animals. Nothing could have prepared me for the kind of work that was ahead of me on daytime. It's a 44-minute program every day that they put out. One scene will be seven minutes or 10 minutes, and you just keep going and you don't stop. I can't even imagine going back now, even having had that boot camp. But my experience there was so positive. If I wanted to learn something, there were people that have been there 30 years who are willing to say, "No problem, let me help you."

Q: WAS IT THEN HARD TO LEAVE, PARTICULARLY AT THE HEIGHT OF YOUR POPULARITY ON THE SHOW?

Fillion: I had a great storyline between Erika Slezak and Robin Strasser, the two heavy hitters on our show. And it was incredibly difficult to fail between those two. But the guy who played my uncle, Bob Woods, sat me down two years into my three-year contract and basically told me how things were going to unfold and how I had a choice in front of me. He encouraged me to move to Los Angeles and try it out.

Q: YOU SEEMED TO WORK A LOT RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE.

Fillion: When I moved out to L.A., I got four or five jobs in a row that were fantastic. I did Saving Private Ryan and Blast From the Past and I did these guest spots that I had a great time on. And then I went for nearly a year without working. Still auditioning; sometimes five times a week, and I couldn't get anything. I was paying my rent on credit and waiting on a tax return so I could pay off my credit card bill. I was so anxious to work again. I didn't want to do anything else; I didn't want to wait tables, I wanted to continue acting. I wanted that feeling back of going to work every day and collaborating with people and doing good scenes. I was reaching for the phone to call One Life to Live to ask about coming back. And the phone rang and it was for a guest shot on a sitcom with Faith Ford. I did that and the following week I got a job on a sitcom next door to it, which was Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. I did 10 episodes with them, and they invited me back as a regular. And I did two seasons.

Q: YOU HEADLINED FIREFLY FOR JOSS WHEDON BUT HAD ACTUALLY AUDITIONED TO PLAY ANGEL ON HIS SHOW BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ORIGINALLY. DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN YOU DIDN'T GET THE FIRST JOB IT COULD LEAD TO SOMETHING BETTER DOWN THE ROAD AND THIS ONGOING COLLABORATION WITH WHEDON?

Fillion: Not at the time. You understand your job as an actor is to audition. Your job is to go out there and look for work ... When Joss found out that I auditioned for Angel -- he didn't know -- he felt bad. He said, "I don't remember you." I told him not to worry, I never made the first cut ... And when Firefly was cancelled, he said, "Come and do the last five episodes of Buffy for me." And then, of course, Dr. Horrible.

Q: WAS THE JOB ON CASTLE AN OFFER?

Fillion: I had a holding deal and a stack of scripts to look at. I was going through them all and I remember reading it, I was 15 pages in, and I turned to my girlfriend and said, "I'm going to read this out loud to you. You tell me if you don't think this would be a ball to play." We laughed and laughed and read our way through the script. I was working on Desperate Housewives at the time but only for the year. And the Castle producers were kind enough to come to my trailer for a meeting. I told them, "Stop looking. I'm your guy. I can do this, I know just what to do." Which I've never done!

Montreal Gazette

Seth Green's Not Sold on a Buffy Reboot

Count Seth Green and his wife, actress Clare Grant, among those not so excited about the prospect of a reboot/remake/re-whatever of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Green played Oz (a werewolf) in the TV series and at the premiere of Disney's Mars Needs Moms, he and Grant didn't sound the least bit excited about the idea of anyone touching the Buffy universe other than writer of the original 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie: Joss Whedon. Whedon also guided the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show as well as its spin-off, Angel (starring Bones' David Boreanaz).

Asked what they thought of the latest Buffy news, Clare Grant replied, "Buffy isn't Buffy without Joss." To which Green added, "I mean, I really feel the same way." "I don't know how anybody couldn't feel the same way," responded Grant.
"We're living in a world where people are making creative decisions based on a familiar brand," said Green. "So they're like, 'Oh, Buffy is a brand that people recognize. Vampires are popular. Let's reboot Buffy.' It's very recent to be rebooting it, although they're rebooting Spider-Man five years later so who knows?"

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