Simon Pegg Rules Out Shaun Of the Dead Sequel
Simon Pegg spoke in London tonight at the Film 4 FrightFest Horror movie festival about whether or not he would ever consider making a sequel to his cult classic zombie themed romantic comedy Shaun Of The Dead.
The Star Trek and Spaced star admitted that while he was open to making a return to the genre he definitely wouldn’t want to do a sequel to Shaun Of The Dead.
While he shared that he was excited to be getting ready to work with Nick Frost and Director Edgar Wright for a third time on The World’s End; he emphatically ruled out the possibility of reteaming for any kind of Shaun follow up.
Explaining his reluctance to pursue the project despite the obvious interest of fans and studios, Simon revealed that the Zombified fate of Nick Frost’s character Ed at the end of the first movie made it difficult to imagine a sequel that would do justice to Nick Frost’s acting skills and avoid breaking any of the unwritten ‘laws’ of the zombie genre.
Simon Pegg will start filming The World’s End in October, finishing off the long awaited and infamous “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy of films in collaboration with Frost and Edgar Wright. The new film about an Apocalypse themed pub crawl will serve as a companion piece to the trio’s previous efforts Shaun Of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
Video Clip below with full interview soon to come:
Billy Crystal Talks Monsters University
Oscars funnyman Billy Crystal has spoken about Pixar’s forthcoming Monsters Inc. prequel Monsters University. Following on from the previously released teaser trailers that saw our familiar monster heroes Mike and Sully enjoying some classic dorm room pranks, Crystal has confirmed that the new film will indeed borrow from classic college capers like Revenge of The Nerds.
Here’s what Crystal had to say about the new pubescent monster adventures:
“They end up in the same fraternity where they have this scare competition – like Greek Games in college. They have to mobilise a group, sort of like Revenge Of The Nerds monsters, and get them ready to be scary.”
In keeping with the Nerds homage Crystal also confirmed that his one eyed pea green monster will definitely wear a retainer in the new film, just to make the stereotype clear. Though we suspect that John Goodman’s Sully might be more of a furry blue Jock.
Official Monsters University teaser trailer below:
David Fincher won’t Direct Cleopatra
David Fincher won’t be directing Angelina Jolie in Sony’s long delayed version of Cleopatra, after dropping out of the project to concentrate on other commitments.
Reacting to the loss of the Fight Club and Social Network director, Sony now has Ang Lee at the top of their wish list of possible replacements. The Brokeback Mountain and Sense & Sensibility director would seem to be a good fit, given his proven track record for sweeping romance and historical drama.
Producer Scott Rudin recently spoke about the inescapable comparisons with the iconic Elizabeth Taylor version of Cleopatra and described the new version as a
“much more grown-up sophisticated version. She’s not a sex kitten; she’s a politician, strategist, warrior.”
Looking to present a fresh view of the infamous Egyptian Queen, Angelina Jolie has spoken about the role and confirmed that contrary to popular history “she wasn’t a great beauty”.
Let’s just hope it all works out a bit better than Angelina’s last sand and sandals epic, playing Colin Farrell’s mother in Alexander.
FrightFest 2012 Opening Night
Horror fans are ready for another welcome orgy of gore, chills, terror and thrills as the five day Film4 Fright Fest kick off tonight with a line up that includes action chiller The Seasoning House and a world pemeire for comedy horror Cockneys vs Zombies.
Described as a cross between Pan’s Labryinth and Die Hard, opening film The Seasoning House tells the tale of an orphaned deaf mute enslaved in a military brothel. She moves between the walls and crawlspaces of her grim prison, planning her escape and her ingeniously brutal revenge.
Cockneys vs Zombies by contrast takes a more of a fun spirited approach to horror, matching the evil armies of the undead up against a gang of gun wielding hard nut cockneys. With a cast that includes Michelle Ryan, Honor Blackman and Harry Treadaway it’s aiming to be a tooled up Shaun Of the Dead. Trailer below for anyone not lucky enough to be checking out the world premiere tonight. The film hits cinemas nationwide on 31st August.
Check out the full Fright Fest screening list below to check out what other horror treats are on show at this year’s festival. :
FRIDAY 24 AUGUST
Main Screen
The Seasoning House
Cockneys vs Zombies
Grabbers
Nightbreed: The Cabal Cult
Hidden In The Woods
V/H/S
[REC] Genesis
Stitches
Discovery Screen
Guinea Pigs
The Victim
Elevator
A Night Of Nightmares
Sawney: Flesh Of Man
Errors Of The Human Body
SATURDAY 25 AUGUST
Main Screen
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop And Gangster Film That Ruled The ’70s
Outpost 2: Black Sun
Paura 3D
Under The Bed
Tulpa
Maniac
Re-Discovery Screen
Inbred
The Arrival Of Wang
Crawl
Sawney: Flesh Of Man
Discovery Screen
May I Kill U?
Kill Zombie!
Nightmare Factory
Before Dawn
Remnants
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings
SUNDAY 26 AUGUST
Main Screen
The Thompsons
International Short Film Showcase
Sleep Tight
Berberian Sound Studio
Sinister
Dead Sushi
Re-Discovery Screen
The Mummy’s Shroud
Rasputin, The Mad Monk
The Devil Rides Out
The Bride Of Frankenstein
Discovery Screen
We Are The Night
The Inside
Community
Guinea Pigs
The Victim
MONDAY 27 AUGUST
Main Screen
American Mary
After
Chained
The Possession
Tower Block
Re-Discovery Screen
We Are The Night
Errors Of The Human Body
May I Kill U?
The Inside
Discovery Screen
Remnants
Before Dawn
A Night Of Nightmares
Elevator
Check Back later for full video coverage of this year’s festival including cast and filmmaker interviews
Frankenweenie Opens London Film Festival 2012
The 56th BFI London Film Festival will open on Wednesday 10 October with the European premiere of Disney’s Frankenweenie, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tim Burton.
In a first for the festival, Frankenweenie will receive a simultaneous premiere in 30 cinemas nationwide, with audiences across the UK able to enjoy footage from the red carpet at Odeon Leicester Square prior to the screenings.
Frankenweenie is a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life – with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.
A visually stunning black and white, stop-motion animated film in 3D, Frankenweenie features a voice cast which includes Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona Ryder. Disney will release the film in the UK on 17 October.
Tim Burton, Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Producer Allison Abbate and Executive Producer Don Hahn are expected to attend the festival.
The festival will also host The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition, which runs from 17 to 21 October at Southbank Centre’s Festival Village, and will be free to the public.
Clare Stewart, BFI Head of Exhibition said of her first Opening Night choice as Festival Director:
“Funny, dark and whimsical, this gloriously crafted stop-motion 3D animation from Tim Burton – the reigning prince of outsiders – playfully turns the Frankenstein story on its bolted-on head. Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of opener – it’s a film that revels in the magic of movies from one of cinema’s great visionaries. Tim Burton has chosen London as his home city and hundreds of talented British craftspeople have contributed to this production. To host the European Premiere, to present The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition and to take our Opening Night out to 30 screens means we are making the Festival even more accessible for film fans across the UK.”
The 56th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, runs from Wednesday 10 October to Sunday 21 October. The full programme will be available to browse online at bfi.org.uk/lff from Wednesday 5 September.