Ron PErlman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It wasn't until fairly recently that voice acting in video games was done by either no-name actors trying to pay the bills or B- and C-list actors who were, well, also trying to pay the bills. The Command and Conquer games began employing a mixed bag of actors in its 1999 iteration, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, when they managed to snag Luke Skywalker's big daddy James Earl Jones, but otherwise continued casting random character actors like Udo Kier and Barry Corbin in future games like Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2.

Grand Theft Auto III changed the game, literally, with its roster of recognizable names and voices like Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Debi Mazar, and Kyle MacLachlan all playing parts in the free-for-all crime cape that make Rockstar Games just that. With GTA III's massive sales and buzz (particularly from angry parents), the scene was set for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which boasted an over-the-top cast particularly appealing to its target audience: Dennis Hopper, Danny Trejo, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Debbie Harry, Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, and Jenna Jameson, just to name a few.

Zombie films always seem to boast surprising casts, and this '80s-led latest is no exception. Following the likes of Sarah Polley, Billy Connolly, and Michael Jackson, Variety reports that Circle of Confusion is producing a new zombie thriller called Gatekeeper --Lea Thompson and Judge Reinhold are attached, along with Ron Perlman, Matthew O'Leary, and Jana Kramer.

It seems that this cast has been set for a while, if you knew where to look. There's a blog called "The Gatekeeper" which has exactly one post from back in March. The cast list is almost the same, except Reinhold is nowhere to be found, but John Francis Daley is. Let's just assume that Reinhold isn't replacing Daley, because that would probably be the strangest casting twist of all time.

Isaac Meisenheimer's script, which he will direct, will focus on three friends who have to defend their town against a zombie outbreak. Will they seek solace in a mall? In a bar? Wherever they end up, Circle exec Stephen Emery says: "We intend to make a film in the vein of Shaun of the Dead for American audiences." In fact, it seems like they have a lot of classics on the mind. After the jump, you can see the director's makeup tests set to "Thriller." (Note: He was also an uncredited Fire Zombie in 2008's Day of the Dead.)

Is there any chance this indie can compete with that classic zombie comedy? Could Lea Thompson and Judge Reinhold be a suitable replacement for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost? Weigh in below!

Fingers crossed, you may soon see Lost's Charlie telling Hellboy all about how he dug up corpses for The Tall Man -- IFC Films has acquired the rights to distribute Glen McQuaid's horror-comedy I Sell the Dead, which has been making the film-fest rounds since 2008.

The cast is designed to appeal to a certain stripe of film geek: Dominic Monaghan plays an 18th-century graverobber who's giving his confession to a priest (Ron Perlman) before he's led to the gallows for his crimes. In flashback, he tells the story of his life as an apprentice to a professional corpse-nabber (Larry Fessenden, who also produced) as they acquire cadavers for a crazy doctor (Phatasm's Angus Scrimm).

The flick was repped by Submarine's Josh Braun, who also negotiated the sale of Canadian, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand distribution rights to Anchor Bay.

I Sell the Dead opened this year's Slamdance festival, and reactions were mixed. But most reviewers admired first-time director McQuaid's darkly comic sensibility, and his tone that falls somewhere between the old 70's Hammer films and EC's "Tales from the Crypt" comics.

And let's face it -- Perlman and Monaghan together is a genius bit of casting. If the trailer's any indication, we can expect a few zombies, some professional competition from rival grave-robbers, and a lot of seriously dark humor. Check out the trailer:

"At the end of the ice age, a machine came. It came from outside. It came from space. It came with one purpose -- to change man into mutants..."

Those are very much the first lines of Mutant Chronicles, and it's a fair indication as to just how seriously our filmmakers are going to take their silly story. "Have faith" is a recurring mantra (hell, it's even the tagline), but speaking as someone who could get behind the genre-blending likes of Doomsday and Outlander, it's keeping the faith that the ambition of Chronicles may defeat its limited budget that proves a struggle mightier than that which our heroes face.

Vikings vs. aliens -- you're either with it or not. It's a curious concept, likely greeted by one of two reactions -- either palpable intrigue or a total and utter lack of interest -- and even those intrigued know that a killer pitch can't stop a SciFi Channel level stinker from being just that (Sharks in Venice, anyone?). Well, rest assured that this version of that story, which opens in select markets today, isn't all hollow kitsch -- in fact, Outlander is probably the best possible version of whatever movie you've already made in your head from reading those first three words.

During the reign of the Vikings, a spaceship suddenly thunders down from the heavens and crash-lands smack in the middle of Norway. Out tumbles Kainan (James Caviezel), who has to bury his co-pilot and learn the language of the land in short and painful order, respectively -- and who also has to find out what has become of an alien stowaway that claimed much of his own race and is now free to plague a new planet. The local villagers, led by Rothgar (John Hurt), are skeptical of this stranger and his alleged quest to conquer what he only calls a dragon, but soon enough, even the elder, the heir apparent (Jack Huston), and his headstrong wife-to-be (Sophia Myles) will realize that what menaces them is a bigger beast indeed...

If you haven't seen Bubba Ho-Tep, then stop reading this post immediately and go to your movie renting outlet of choice. If you have (and I imagine everyone on Cinematical has) then you may continue.

There has been talk of a sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep for I don't know how long. I would venture to say that we were all pretty favorable to the idea, because more Bruce Campbell is always a good thing. But then came word that Campbell wouldn't be reprising his role as Elvis Presely in Bubba Nosferatu ... and well, who wants that?

Everyone associated with Bubba Nosferatu, apparently. Last year, director Don Coscarelli said he would replace Campbell with someone equally lovable. Word has it, according to an interview Ain't It Cool News held with Paul Giamatti, that the new Elvis is none other than Ron Perlman. Says Giamatti: "Our thinking was kind of like, "Well who the hell do we find who is a really good actor and a guy who is going to fit right?" You know what I mean? It was sort of like, for a while we let the thing sit and then all of a sudden we were like 'Well, maybe we should go to Ron Perlman,' which just seemed like a great idea and he was up for it." The plan is to start shooting Bubba Nosferatu in the spring, with Giamatti still attached as Col. Parker.

Call me a Debbie Downer, but my interest in Bubba Nosferatu died when Campbell dropped out. It kills me to say it, because the plot sounds terrific and I'd love to see Giamatti as Col. Parker. But I can't see Perlman, talented as he is, as this particular Elvis. It might just be me, though, and everyone else will be happy enough to see Elvis ride again.

Speaking with the press in Beverly Hills, Guillermo del Toro casually tossed off a line that sums up the spirit of his most recent film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and the tone he and his cast achieved: "When you go see a movie called "Hellboy," already there's an implicit, assumed certain sense of goofiness; you have to then say 'Look, we know we're pulpy, we know we're different, but we take ourselves seriously, and we want to entertain." Mike (Mignola, creator of the Hellboy comics) said it: He's not the Hell Knight, he's not the Hell Spawn, he's not the Hell Lord, he's the Hellboy. ... "

Much of the pleasure in the Hellboy series comes from the mesh and mix of the sensibilities of del Toro and Hellboy's creator Mike Mignola; I asked del Toro about the challenge of adapting someone else's material. How much of it is a struggle, and how much of it is a pleasure, to find ways to make someone else's creation yours? "I said in the past that, obviously, no matter how respectful you are of the material there's a moment ... I made the analogy that it's like marrying a widow; you have to be very respectful about the late husband, but at some point, you're going to get in bed, and the late husband is not gonna matter anymore, or it better not. And I think it's the same with material; there's a point where you go "I have only my instincts to guide me through this section ..." But, it's co-exploring. In the case of Hellboy, I've been blessed with a guy like Mike (Mignola), who is the most generous landlord of the Hellboy real estate; he says, essentially, move in, decorate as you want and make it yours."

Imagine one of the Star Trek crews transported to Tolkien's Middle Earth, or Buffy and her Scooby gang whisked away into the heart of Narnia. That's how Hellboy II: The Golden Army can feel, as you watch a cartoonish-looking, cigar-smoking demon fight gorgeous creatures right out of ancient folklore (and one Miyazaki-esque nature deity). Your reaction to such a contrast -- as fascinating, jarring or downright repellent -- will likely influence your feelings about the latest film from Guillermo del Toro, a sequel to his 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola's graphic novels. The writer-director's previous film, Pan's Labyrinth, was a favorite of mine, and while Hellboy II doesn't quite measure up to that film's richness of character and story, it is still visually extraordinary.

I came into this film entirely ignorant of the Hellboy universe ... much like with Sex and the City, although it seems bizarre to compare Mignola's characters to Candace Bushnell's. I haven't read the graphic novels and I hadn't even seen the first movie (it was impossible to find a rental DVD of Hellboy in Austin last week, which may bode well for the popularity of the sequel). And yet, unlike Sex and the City, I didn't feel as though I must have missed something in order to fully appreciate the film. Hellboy II gives us virtually no backstory on its main characters, but that's not necessary, as the setup becomes obvious almost immediately. Sure, there were a few scenes where the comic-book fans were laughing and I didn't get the joke, but it didn't bother me and I never felt lost or confused.

In the dust of the last Unscripted chat, which featured Hancock stars Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman, we've got something even more otherworldly -- Hellboy II: The Golden Army director Guillermo del Toro chatting with two of his stars, Ron Perlman and Selma Blair, in the latest round of Unscripted.

The trio were feeling a bit frisky when they entered Moviefone land to record the interview, and they discuss favorite movies and monsters, poke some fun at James Lipton, and delight in some low-brow humor. Watching del Toro in this clip, I can only hope that his future includes more of the humor present in the clips. There's a lot more to this man than creepy creatures.

And there's one additional, cut clip above, tossed to us scavengers here at Cinematical. Check them all out, and be sure to hit the theaters and see Hellboy II this Friday.

In a movie season of superheroes, it is no easy task to stand out -- even if you're bright red with a giant stone hand and a tail. But I dare you to find one other superhero out there with as much swagger and love for kittens as Hellboy. Check out this new trailer for the fantasy-action flick Hellboy II: The Golden Army above which, conveniently, poses as a helpful public service announcement from Hellboy (Ron Perlman) himself ... along with his trademark kitty.

In Guillermo del Toro's second installment of the comic book adaptation, the uneasy truce between humanity and 'the invisible realm' has come to an end. A ruthless leader with the ability to walk in both worlds has gathered a mythical 'Golden Army' to, in so many words, kick ass and take names. So who else can we turn to other than Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development to save the world once again?

Del Toro started the first wave of viral sites for the film with HetFet and Squeaky Clean Waste Management back in April. But with the exception of hardcore fans, I don't think many of us got on board with the campaign. In the end, it was a better idea to have Red make the rounds with the American Gladiators, Chuck, and an appearance on The Actor's Studio with James Lipton. My personal favorite is his audition for mun2, but I'll leave it up to you to decide which one you like best.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens this Friday.