Posts with tag Leslie Bibb
SDCC Review: The Midnight Meat Train
Filed under: Horror », Lionsgate Films », Theatrical Reviews », ComicCon »
Easily the best Clive Barker adaptation since the first Hellraiser film, Ryuhei Kitamura's The Midnight Meat Train is so absolutely a "horror fans only" experience that I'm not surprised that Lionsgate wants to give it only a cursory theatrical release before dumping it into DVD. I do not mean that as a knock on the film. As a matter of fact, this is certainly one of the most effective horror films of the year -- but man, oh man... it would be a really tough sell on 1,200 screens. It's kind of an unfair catch-22 where certain horror movies are concerned: if you "go dark," dabble in grimness, and don't cater to the under-18 crowd, then there's a good chance your "hardcore" horror movie will debut on DVD (at best) or, like The Mist and The Ruins, arrive in theaters very quietly.
But let's hear it for the filmmakers who still insist on pushing the envelope, giving the horror fans something dark and challenging, and focusing more on mood, atmosphere, and scares more than in catering to the widest audience possible. Frankly, if The Midnight Meat Train hits only 100 screens (which is Lionsgate's current plan), I'd take that as a compliment paid to the movie: This is not a mainstream horror flick. If all you know of horror films is stuff like Prom Night, consider yourself warned.
Clive Barker Says: Save My 'Midnight Meat Train'!
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », Lionsgate Films », Distribution »
I'm hungry for horror. The Strangers was OK, but The Happening was a major disappointment and nothing else is scheduled until August 1. That's when Ryuhei Kitamura's Midnight Meat Train, starring Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones and Leslie Bibb, is now set to open, delayed from May 16. But will you get to see it?Shock Till You Drop reported last week that Lionsgate planned only a limited, 100-screen release in major cities, followed by a quick release on DVD, thus denying many horror fans the opportunity to see the film on the big screen. Someone suggested a viral campaign to get a wider release, which has now been endorsed by the man who wrote the story on which the movie is based: Clive Barker.
As quoted at The Official Clive Barker Resource, he says: "I am very excited about this possibility and I would passionately encourage everybody who cares about my work to use this chance to change the minds of the folks at Lionsgate. ... I really think, this late in the day, that grassroots support for our movie could significantly improve our chances of reaching a much bigger audience theatrically. The picture is worth the effort, I believe."
With three wide releases already scheduled on August 1 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Rocker, Swing Vote), it's a tough sell, but I'd love to see it happen. A thread at the IMDb boards has contact information.
[ Via Bloody Good Horror ]
Michelle Borth Joins 'Old Fashioned Orgy'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Casting », Cinematical Indie »
I'm fascinated by pre-production news that make the movie sound different each time. Just a few days ago, Monika Bartyzel told us about a report in Variety that A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy would begin production this month in North Carolina. Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis was set to star as an immature 30-year-old man who enlists his friends to help him throw one last summer bash -- an orgy -- before his rich folks sell their vacation home in the Hamptons. Will Forte and Leslie Bibb will co-star. It sounded like a silly little SNL star vehicle with potential.Now comes word from The Hollywood Reporter that Michelle Borth has joined Orgy, and the brief article describes it as an indie film with the premise that "eight friends, all heading into their 30s and all on the verge of major life changes ... decide to celebrate their last Labor Day together." So that makes it sound like a more serious-minded ensemble piece about aimless adults -- which, sadly, sounds like a thousand other indie dramatic comedies.
Borth is an immensely appealing actress -- not just because she was willing to strip down and push the limits in fictional televised sex on HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, but because she transcended the limitations of her character as written. I imagine that she was hired more for her thespian abilities than for her apparent lack of inhibitions, but she is an intriguing and sexy addition to the cast.
Are You Ready for 'A Good Old Fashioned Orgy'?
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
I'd probably go to see A Good Old Fashioned Orgy just for the title. It's got punch, and it is a great, brief description of what's to come. It sort of reminds me of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas for a new generation. But the story is different, and instead of a big-busted country singer, we're getting a little slice of Saturday Night Live. Variety reports that Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Leslie Bibb have signed on to star in the film, which will be directed by co-writers Pete Huyck and Alex Gregory (King of the Hill).Sudeikis will star as a 30-year-old dude with wealthy parents. However, he's "forced to grow up when his father decides to sell the family vacation home in the Hamptons, bringing an end to his tradition of throwing elaborate summer theme parties. Wanting to go out with a bang, he enlists his friends to throw one final party." Yes, it's an orgy. I guess he doesn't mind seeing all his friends nude, or bumping bare butts with a buddy.
There's great potential for this flick, which begins production this month in North Carolina. But it makes me wonder -- how long until we get another sex-centered comedy? Sex comedies used to be more about the thinking, and then maybe the doing, but now we've got both an orgy and Zack and Miri Make a Porno on the way. What's next?
John Lithgow and More Join 'Shopaholic'
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting »
Okay, I don't get it. So we've got this adaptation of one of Sophie Kinsella's books coming to the big screen, Confessions of a Shopaholic. Isla Fisher stars as Rebecca, this college grad who gets a sweet gig as a financial journalist in Manhattan, but struggles with an immense shopping addiction that makes her bills increase well beyond what she can afford. And at some point in all of this, she falls in love with a successful entrepreneur, and also throws on a tacky outfit that rivals the horrors that Carrie Bradshaw has in her closet.Is this whole "financial journalist" title just some sort of catchy job description? Who hires a spastic shopaholic as a financial journalist? Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like it is one of the following -- John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Leslie Bibb, Lynn Redgrave, and Julie Hagerty. Okay... It's probably not Bibb, who is a fashion magazine staffer, nor Hagerty, who plays a business magazine assistant. However, it could be Lithgow's publishing magnate, Thomas' magazine editor, or Redgrave's "doyenne of a publishing empire."
So far, this sounds more like a fantasy than any sort of realistic romcom, not to say that romantic comedies are usually realistic. I just wish we could have less "women are terrible with money" crap. I know I'm not the only one who doesn't shop myself into debt, or keep credit card balances with sadistic interest rates.
Leslie Bibb is 'Miss Nobody'
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Casting », Deals », Scripts », Cinematical Indie »
I have this problem when I read upcoming movie news. It usually reminds me of something else, and then gets my head swimming with alternate cinematic possibilities. Yesterday, my brain had visions of a thalidomide horror movie, and today, I'm imagining a murderous movie based on the "Little Miss" and "Mr. Men" series -- remember those small books? So my brain has come up with this whole flick about Mr. Mischief and Little Miss Scary wreaking havoc on the world. But the actual news isn't quite that -- there's no "little" involved.Leslie Bibb (Talladega Nights), Adam Goldberg (2 Days in Paris), Missy Pyle (Dodgeball), and Kathy Baker (The Jane Austen Book Club) have signed on to an indie comedy called Miss Nobody, which will begin production in Los Angeles next month. The film is coming from a few TV guys -- Tim Cox, who has helmed television movies like Alien Lockdown, is directing, and Doug Steinberg, who has written eps of Moonlighting, 90210, Titans, and Wild Card wrote the script. The indie is about "a mild-mannered secretary [Bibb] who discovers she has a talent for murder as she ascends the corporate ladder." I'm thinking American Psycho meets To Die For. Whatever the case may be, it has a great cast, so I'm intrigued. How about you?
Leslie Bibb Joins 'Iron Man' Cast
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Casting », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
You might know Leslie Bibb as that really cute blonde girl who wouldn't allow Ricky Bobby to pray to the baby Jesus in Talladega Nights; or that really cute blonde girl who starred in the TV series Popular ... and The Skulls ... and See Spot Run. Well, throw all those out the window, because she's about to become that really cute blonde girl who played a fast-talking reporter in the film Iron Man. Yes, Bibb has signed on to star opposite Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard in Jon Favreau's big-screen adaptation of the Marvel superhero. As noted above, she'll play the token reporter; doing her best to uncover the truth, while looking good at the same time.
Apart from Iron Man, Bibb will also star in The Bachelorette Party for Regency Enterprises. Based on Karen McCullah Lutz's (Legally Blonde) novel, Regency snagged the script from newbie scribe Matt Olson. I imagine this is the same novel that was optioned by 20th Century Fox back in 2005. At that time, Nicole Kidman was signed on to produce (and possibly star), while Lutz was tapped to adapt. Not sure what's happened between then and now but, regardless, Bibb will play the lead in a story about a bachelorette party gone awry (oohhh, Girls Gone Wild: The Movie?). Note that this has nothing to do with that planned direct-to-DVD Bachelor Party sequel. According to IMDb, The Bachelorette Party is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2009 alongside another film simply titled Bachelorette.
Brooke Shields Boards Clive Barker's 'Meat Train'
Filed under: Horror », Casting », Lionsgate Films »
The first Clive Barker film I ever saw was Nightbreed. Scratch that. It was the first one I should have seen. I rented it as soon as it came out, because I had a thing for Craig Sheffer. I was young, and I sat in the dark, home alone, and only got through the first few minutes before I was sufficiently creeped out and sure that someone was going to break into my house and kill me. I went on with life, seeing Sheffer's Fire with Fire co-star in one of the next Barker films, Candyman, and forgot about the little flick until I found it cheap and previously-viewed. I'm now a little embarrassed with how freaked the film made me, but I like to think that it was childhood innocence.While most of Barker's adaptations since then have dealt with Hellraiser, we're on our way towards getting something new -- The Midnight Meat Train -- as Scott Weinberg has reported. The last we heard, Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers) had signed on. Now Variety has added a few more names to the cast -- Vinnie Jones (Snatch), Leslie Bibb (Popular) and believe it or not, Brooke Shields. The story, which centers on a serial killer who finds his victims in the subway, will star place Jones as the creepy killer, Cooper as a stupid and struggling photographer who must think he's Spider-Man, as he decides to improve his fortune by finding and taking pictures of the murderer, Bibb as Cooper's girlfriend and the Queen of Postpartum Shields will play an art gallery owner who becomes friends with the photographer. Shooting will begin next week, and will soon see if Shield's next theme will be Scream Queen.
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