Jackie Earle Haley Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Horror fans will be slipping back into a new Nightmare on Elm Street on April 30th, 2010, but we're already being teased with new Freddy Krueger toys, thanks to Entertainment Earth and Mezco Toyz. You can buy a little Freddy of your own in plastic or vinyl next April just in time for Jackie Earle Haley's debut as the mutilated monster who haunts our dreams.

The first question I had when I saw the plastic toy was, why does he look like those little dolls with dried apple heads that are sold at craft fairs by sweet grandmas? But thanks to a wily blogger over at Albotas and the wonders of Photoshop, you can see that Earle Haley's Freddy definitely looks more like this toy than Robert Englund's Freddy.



I'm not sure which I prefer -- the menacing creep with a big smile or the flat-faced, expressionless killer. An early review from a test screening posted at Ain't It Cool News praises Earle Haley for his performance (although not much else in the movie), but will old fans be won over too?

Either one is sure to give me, well, nightmares. It's too bad that Johnny Depp won't be there this time around.

Do you collect movie toys? And, more importantly, do you leave them in the box or take them out?

Check out a larger version of the toy after the jump.

(Via Dread Central)

You can't keep a good actor out of the comic book flicks. Jackie Earle Haley already has one of the most iconic DC characters notched on his belt, but rumor has it that he might get to pick up another. As you may have read earlier, Ain't It Cool News was reporting that Martin Campbell is in the process of finalizing his cast for The Green Lantern, and that Haley is at the head of the line to play Sinestro.

Haley has told Collider that no one has approached him about the part, and that he hasn't been screen tested ... but that doesn't mean he won't be. Haley suggested the Internet generally hears things before he does. "You guys are out in front of it and I don't know anything about it yet. If something comes up I'll let you know."

Even as rumor and guesswork, it's an intriguing possibility. Haley certainly has the villainous chops to pull off Sinestro, and Watchmen proved he had the physical chops. I've always pictured someone British in the role, though, and the best fan suggestion I've seen yet is Daniel Day-Lewis. I doubt the Method actor would ever delve into the world of DC Comics, but oh how wonderful it would be if he'd bring a bit of Daniel Plainview into the Green Lantern Corps.

By: John Gholson

It's strictly a rumor until he signs on the dotted line, but Ain't It Cool News reports that Jackie Earle Haley is the frontrunner to play Sinestro in Martin Campbell's upcoming Green Lantern movie. It's an interesting casting choice, but as a longtime Green Lantern fan, I think I pictured someone a little more slick--not as rugged as Haley--to play Green Lantern's arch-enemy.

For those that are unfamiliar with the character, Sinestro is a power-hungry member of the space-faring Green Lantern Corps, chosen to train Hal Jordan (played in the upcoming film by Ryan Reynolds). Sinestro eventually turns against the Corps and faces off against his pupil.

Read the rest at SciFi Squad

Our own Todd Gilchrist already gave you some deets on the Warner Bros. panel, where the studio showed off a whopping six upcoming films, including Sherlock Holmes, Jonah Hex, Nightmare on Elm Street, Where the Wild Things Are, The Box and The Book of Eli. Right before the panel, however, Cinematical squeezed itself into the TV press line in an attempt to snag the folks in and behind these movies so that we could ask them a question or two. Cinematical's Elisabeth Rappe joins our trusty Comic Con cameraman Chris Glenn as both attack the line with a vengeance.

After the jump:
-- Josh Brolin talks about a potential Jonah Hex sequel
-- Jackie Earle Haley talks about experiencing another Comic Con
-- Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman argue over their favorite super powers
-- Robert Rodriguez talks about all the different films he's working on
-- Denzel Washington laughs off any idea that he's got a little geek stuck inside him

Note: Cinematical shared the Brolin and Washington interviews with Frosty from Collider.

So amidst yesterday's set visit preview and our first little look at Freddy Krueger, it would appear -- according to Fangoria -- that the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street has been pushed back a bit from April 16th to April 30th, 2010, the same weekend that happened to bring in nearly $30 million for Obsessed this year.

And the same Fangoria piece brings up a move for Josh Brolin's scarred gunslinger, Jonah Hex, up from August 6th to June 18th, 2010. It seems like a vote of confidence, either because Megan Fox is such a big box-office draw now or because Will Arnett will be once G-Force drops this Friday.

We've also confirmed that Nimrod Antal's heist thriller Armored has been bumped from this September 4th back to December 4th. The week after Thanksgiving is usually somewhat of a no-man's-land for the holiday flops to fall away and the awards magnets to work their way up and out, but for every Aeon Flux, we get something fun like Punisher: War Zone, and early rumblings on Armored are that we might not have a dud on our hands. Having enjoyed Antal's Kontroll and 98% of Vacancy, and knowing that this flick helped him land the gig directing Predators, here's hoping.

As first looks go, it's remarkably ... minimal. The first image of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger in the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street has been released, showing a shadowy Freddy ready for action. The full image is available at Trailer Park (with another one arriving on IGN later today we're told).

Having in mind that this is strictly a teaser pic, with more on the way, I like it. It's got Freddy's signature sweater, his signature hat, and his signature knife-claws. Freddy's face is in the shadows, but that can wait for a later reveal. To be frank, I haven't been terribly enthusiastic about this remake / re-imagining, but Haley has been very good in his recent roles, especially in Watchmen.

Add to that the positive feelings emanating from the brief report by William Goss this morning, in which Haley acknowledged the challenge of stepping into the child-killing shoes of Robert Englund, and producer Andrew Form indicated that the new Nightmare would indeed try to be "terrifying" and "unsettling." The original series of Nightmare films devolved from scary to slick to stupid, so at least they're heading in the right direction. And with Haley, there's a chance that he can bring an added dimension, beyond what Englund would have brought to the role as such a familiar icon.

A Nightmare on Elm Street heads to theaters next April.

A couple of us onliners got an up-close look at the fresh flesh of Jackie Earle Haley's Freddy Krueger last month on the Chicago set of the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and from the sound of things, he'll be making his first public appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con later this week. Though the bulk of our set visit coverage will have to wait until closer to the film's release next April, we can share a bit on what Haley's bringing to the legendary character and what the producers are bringing to the franchise...

Haley: "Robert Englund's done an amazing job over the years playing Freddy. Everybody's that's a fan of Nightmare loves Robert and, you know, that's a challenge when you've got to step in a big man's shoes like that, so it's scary but also exciting. You can't please everybody. All I can do is really just try to work from the heart and do the best job at playing Freddy that I can and hope for the best."

More on HorrorSquad!

Oh, what might have been! Alison Lohman gives a terrific performance as the cursed loan officer Christine Brown in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, which opens tomorrow. If not for the vagaries of scheduling, though, Ellen Page would have played the lead role. Would Page have been any better? We'll never know, but she joins a long list that inspires thoughts of 'What if ...?'

Once upon a time, we might have seen Leslie Howard as the titular Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi as The Monster. Instead, Colin Clive played the good doctor, Boris Karloff got a jump-start on life, and the rest is horror history. Here are seven more recent examples of actors and actresses who were considered for key roles in great horror films ... and the ones who replaced them, listed in chronological order. [Disclaimer: Based on information provided on IMDb's "trivia" pages, so no guarantees on accuracy.] Better? Worse? You decide.

1. Melanie Griffith / Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

Even though she was in her mid-20s, Spacek looks so young and fragile as Carrie that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Griffith was 18 or 19 and already had made an impression in Night Moves, The Drowning Pool, and Smile when she auditioned to play the telekinetic high schooler. Conveying Carrie's complexities might have been beyond her still-developing skills at that point. The pic above, left, is from Joyride, released the following year.

Now here's a crafty bit of casting news that should make the horror hounds happy: Latino Review caught wind a while ago, and Bloody-D got on the case most recently, so while this news is not yet OFFICIAL*, I'm making a judgment call on this one: Jackie Earle Haley is going to be playing Freddy Krueger in Sam Bayer's upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Speaking as only one guy (one guy who's seen all** of Haley's work and all of the Elm St. flicks three times each), I'm going to say it now: This is an EXCELLENT choice!

Obviously Jackie Earle Haley has the acting chops to carry a dark, devious, devilish villain -- but, in the right light and coated with the appropriate goo, this guy makes for one SCARY-looking mofo. Comic bookworms know Mr. Haley as Rorschach of the Watchmen, art-housers recall his chilling turn in Little Children, and a whole bunch of us remember his flick-stealing performance in Steve Zaillian's All the King's Men.

But *ahem* old people like me still know (and love) Jackie from his monumentally colorful performances in Breaking Away, Losin' It, and all three Bad News Bears flicks. I call this great news for the horror faithful, and yet another feather in the cap of a damn good actor who vanished from Hollywood -- and then "came back" with both guns blazing. One expects (nay, demands) a nice little role for the awesome Robert Englund, but if Haley is indeed the new Krueger, then my confidence in this remake has just doubled.