October 31, 2011

Alice Cooper is known for his fondness for spooky things – which is no doubt the reason the classic rocker has already shot a cameo for Tim Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows.

Based on the cult classic 1960s television series, Dark Shadows will star Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green and Helena Bonham Carter. Until recently the big screen adaptation was shooting at England’s famous Pinewood Studios on sets that included a gigantic gothic mansion and a haunted harbor.

“They should take that set and make it a haunted house next year,” Cooper says.

According to a report on AliceCooper.com, the rocker will play himself in the flick, which is set in 1972. Word is the scene has Depp’s Barbabas Collins hiring Cooper to play a gig at his mansion.

Cooper has graced the silver screen before, with cameos in Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy’s Dead, Prince of Darkness and of course Wayne’s World.

The rocker says the world’s of rock and horror are a natural pairing.

“Rock and horror and comedy work together, that’s something I’ve known a long time and people like Rob Zombie know, and Burton knows that too,” Cooper says.

“You can’t do horror and rock with a punchline in a way. There’s the absurd stuff and there’s just that delivery of the ’Oh!’ moment that is like a punchline. I just saw ‘Final Destination 5′ and I was laughing so hard. I mean, it was Wile E. Coyote, all these elaborate things leading up to this moment of impact… there’s something like that in our shows, too. Hitchcock would do it too. There’s the setup, the misdirect and then the delivery. Tim Burton knows it so well. He’s one of a kind. He’s a kindred spirit.”

Dark Shadows will fall onto screens everywhere May 11, 2012.

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October 31, 2011

Relativity Media, the production company behind such Hollywood hits as Bridesmaids and The Social Network, has attracted the scorn of activists following its decision to shoot a movie in the Chinese city of Linyi.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Relativity shot the comedy 21 and Over — a co-production with China — in Linyi.

Activists say Linyi is home to “prominent blind civil rights activist and lawyer” Chen Guangchen. Guangchen’s supporters say he has been beaten and subjected to unlawful house arrest by authorities since 2005.

A number of prominent human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have condemned Relativity’s decision to do business with Chinese officials said to be directly involved in the case of Guangchen. The Wrap reports that the groups intend to ask people to boycott the film.

A writer named “C. Custer” posted an open letter on the Chinese blog Weibo, blasting Relativity’s decision.

“Those same local officials praising your decision to come to Linyi are probably the ones paying teams of thugs to surround Chen Guangcheng’s village and beat anyone who tries to get near it,” Custer writes. “You know that they’re the ones who’ve been holding an innocent man and his family hostage, without charges or any kind of legal proceedings.”

A recent press release about 21 and Over included a quote from local Communist party secretary Zhang Shajun praising the project. THR says Shajun is said to be directly involved in Guangcheng’s oppression.

Relativity has responded to the controversy by issuing a statement in defense of their business practices.

“We stand by that commitment and we are proud of our growing business relationships in China… As a company, we believe deeply that expanding trade and business ties with our counterparts in China and elsewhere can result in positive outcomes.”

21 and Over features American actors Miles Teller, Sarah Wright and Justin Chon.

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October 31, 2011

It’ll be De Niro versus Travolta when two of the biggest stars in Hollywood go toe-to-toe in Killing Season.

Deadline reports that the Taxi Driver cabbie will battle the Saturday Night Fever disco dancer in the upcoming action thriller. Ghost Rider director Mark Steven Johnson will helm the picture, working from a script by Snow White and the Huntsman scribe Evan Daugherty.

Set in the Appalachian Mountains, Killing Season tells the story of a retired soldier, played by De Niro, living as a hermit in a cabin in the woods. When he’s visited by a European tourist, played by Travolta, the two men strike up a friendship.

When the ex-soldier doesn’t realize is that the ‘tourist’ is a former Serbian fighter hellbent on revenge. Soon, the men are at war.

“I’ve loved this project from the moment I read Evan Daughterty’s remarkable script,” says Paul Breuls, CEO of Corsan Pictures, which is producing the flick. “It’s thrilling, imaginative, unexpected and dominated by two extraordinary characters on a collision course.”

Shooting on Killing Season is slated to begin January 16.

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October 31, 2011

Justin Timberlake may have to trade in his dancing shoes for an acoustic guitar if he accepts the role of a young singer-songwriter in the Coen brothers upcoming drama Inside Llewyn Davis.

Industry trade magazine Variety reports that the Coens have offered a leading role to Timberlake in the upcoming drama. The flick is set in the folk music scene that overtook New York City’s Greenwich Village back in the 1960s.

Inside Llewyn Davis will tell the story of Davis, an inspiring and influential musician within his circle who never achieves the mainstream success of his more popular peers.

Though a fictional character, Davis is reportedly based on real-life Greenwich folkie Dave Van Ronk. Robin Hood star Oscar Isaac will play Davis.

Pop star Timberlake has been offered the role of Jim, a young songwriter married to Jean, who will be played by Drive’s Carey Mulligan.

Shooting on Inside Llewyn Davis is slated to begin until early next year. In the meantime, fans of JT can catch the star in the new sci-fi thriller In Time, which just opened this past weekend.

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October 31, 2011

Now that he’s out of politics and back in the movie business, legendary action star Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to line up new roles for his Hollywood comeback.

Deadline reports that the Terminator star has signed on to take the lead in the upcoming action thriller Black Sands. Schwarzenegger will play a drifting loner who goes to battle against a weapons manufacturer with his own private army.

Word is Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy will direct Black Sands from a script by Skip Woods. Woods is the writer of the upcoming John McClane follow-up A Good Day to Die Hard, while Waugh and McCoy shot the highly anticipated war movie Act of Valor.

Act of Valor has turned heads in Hollywood as Waugh and McCoy shot the movie using real Navy SEALs. That picture is set to hit theatres in February.

Black Sands is the third picture to which Schwarzenegger has signed on since making his return to acting. The star is currently shooting The Last Stand with director Kim Jee-woon and has wrapped production on Sylvester Stallone’s sequel The Expendables 2.

Shooting on Black Sands is set to begin April 1, 2012.

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