MonicaPotter Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As a culture, we tend to recycle our stories, and no, not always out of laziness or a need for one big opening weekend (though that plays an increasing part). No, the old and the familiar play out time and time again because their conflicts and themes resonate across generations, and because the scenario at hand might lend itself to more apt commentary as time passes and people change. In terms of genre, rarely does this seem more common than with tragedies, and in turn, horror films in particular have a habit of bringing the boogeymen back to haunt us. That's the reason zombies won't stay dead. That's the reason body snatchers insist on invading. And that might be the reason why a fourth incarnation of The Last House on the Left is now willing -- and able -- to force itself upon our collective conscience.

It's been nearly three four decades since Wes Craven made his mark on the horror scene with The Last House on the Left, and he's recently grown more adept at merely producing remakes of his own work, such as 2006's take on The Hills Have Eyes -- which I found to be a perfectly nasty piece of work (yes, that's a compliment).

Well, at the risk of sounding completely and utterly immoral, I find myself similarly intrigued by this new trailer (watch below or over on Apple) for this new take on Last House, in which Sara Paxton gets seriously bullied by some local punks, who in turn unwittingly seek refuge with understandably vengeful parents Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn. Scott, our resident horror-hound whose assessment of the original I happen to agree with (overrated, though not without merit), had this much to say after watching the trailer: "Uhh, motel room? She survives? Microwave? Eep. Nice to see Tony Goldwyn getting work, though."

Okay, I'll give him the somewhat silly microwave bit, but other than that, I think this looks like an interesting enough revenge thriller that doesn't totally upend the original. And kudos to Rogue Pictures or whoever they have handle their trailers -- the ones for this, The Strangers, and The Unborn work pretty well, even when the final films*cough*Unborn*cough*don't.

Whoa-whoa-oh, sweet trailer of mine...

Two new cast members have been found for Rogue's remake of The Last House on the Left. Looks like it will be Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter. No word on who they'll be playing, but Potter will probably be playing "the mom," while Goldwyn will be either "the dad" or "a psycho." (And given that Goldwyn's best performance came as a hateful villain in Ghost, I'd vote for the latter -- but he's probably the dad.) According to Bloody-Dee, the remake will also star Garret Dillahunt, Rhys Coiro, Martha Maclsaac and Riki Lindholme. (And Dillahunt is fast becoming one of my favorite "new" character actors.)

Ms. Potter is also no stranger to the spooky stuff: Most people forget she was in the original Saw -- and she survived! (Sequel-makers, take note!) As far as the remake of the controversial 1972 horror flick is concerned, the director is newcomer Dennis Iliadis, and the screenplay adapters are first-timers Adam Alleca and Mark Haslett. According to Variety, Red Eye / Disturbia screenwriter Carl Ellsworth also had a hand in the script, most likely in a "polishing" capacity. The creators of the original flick -- Wes Craven and Sean S. Cunningham -- are involved collecting a paycheck as executive producers. Production gets underway in South Africa later this month.

Would you ever believe that Eva Longoria dated Jason Biggs? Well, Hollywood is asking us to suspend our disbelief, because the two are starring in a comedy in which they play former flames. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the sexy "desperate housewife" and the doofy "pie f**cker" have been cast alongside Rob Corddry in Lower Learning, the debut feature from writer-director Mark Lafferty, who was responsible for the gay-centric Sixth Sense spoof, The Seventh Sense ("I see gay people"). In Lower, Corddry will play a shady elementary school principal under investigation by Longoria's inspector with help from her ex, a former cop who is now a vice principal. The cast will also include Corddry's old Daily Show co-worker Ed Helms, Tenacious D's Kyle Gass and Saw's Monica Potter. I don't know about you, but I expect this to be another movie in which the adults are less mature than the children.

I hope there aren't too many disappointed men out there, but Jason Biggs isn't much of a substitute for Beyoncé Knowles. Remember last year, Longoria was said to be doing a lesbian film with Knowles, but the rumor was quickly and unfortunately shot down. Well, let's just hope Longoria's character doesn't end up getting back together with Biggs' character, so we don't have to suffer through their reunion kiss -- though I've already suffered from imagining it. I'm rather hoping this movie focuses more on Corddry, who is a lot more enjoyable to watch. However, I might be in a minority here, considering audiences weren't too receptive to his recent sitcom The Winner, nor were they interested in his starring role in Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story nor as support in The Heartbreak Kid. Personally, I think he needs another shot at carrying a movie -- his next few roles are fairly small, playing second fiddle to Justin Long, Will Ferrell, Harold & Kumar and Ashton Kutcher. Like Longoria, he could definitely do better.