I think Sarah Michelle Gellar has a compulsion for making somewhat lame supernatural thrillers. You have to give her credit for avoiding Buffy typecasting, but she does seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut lately. Her latest, Possession has just released a new poster (you can check out the full version over at IGN). Possession is a remake of the 2002 film Jungdok (Addicted). By the looks of things, Michael Petroni's (Queen of The Damned) script might be pushing the supernatural angle just a little more than the original. The feature was directed by Swedish director Joel Bergvall, who has some experience with remakes since his original film, Den Osynlige, was reworked into the teen thriller, The Invisible.

Gellar plays Jessica, a woman who suffers the double tragedy of having her husband and her brother-in-law lapse into comas after a car accident. As if that wasn't bad enough, when her brother-in-law wakes up, he claims to be her husband. Lee Pace from TV's Pushing Daisies plays Gellar's in-law and Michael Landes (Homecoming) plays her husband Ryan. The first trailer was released back in December, and it is pretty much what you would expect. Although you have to love the visual shorthand for summing up the bad seed brother-in-law (Pace) -- he spends most of the trailer shirtless, brooding, and speeding off in a vintage car -- but hey, at least it looks like a step up from The Return. Possession is currently in post-production and is scheduled to hit theaters this March.

[via CinemaBlend]

Before I get started, I should probably warn you: I have a big soft-spot for Sarah Michelle Gellar. I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer nerd; I've even started buying the comics for season eight, for goodness sake. So I am a little predisposed to defend her choices -- and let me tell you, it hasn't always been easy. In an interview with RadioFree.com Gellar confirmed that she is still in the lead role for the big screen version of American McGee's Alice. Gellar told RadioFree, "unfortunately, it was the victim of regime change in the studio. And I'm not getting out. And contrary to what you may have read, it's still my project."

The film will be based on Rogue Entertainment's third-person shooter set in the world of Alice in Wonderland. The story centers on a pretty twisted incarnation of Alice -- her parents are killed in a fire, and after slipping into a catatonic state, she is institutionalized. "Years later, the White Rabbit summons Alice to aid a radically altered Wonderland, now under the despotic rule of the Queen of Hearts" (played by Jean Marsh). Marcus Nispel is attached to direct -- he is also at the helm for the Friday the 13th update slated for 2009. The Alice script has undergone a few re-writes over the years, but it looks like the final version is going to be the one written by Jon and Erich Hoeber (Whiteout).

Back in December, rumors began to surface that Maggie Grace (LOST) had taken over the role, but it would seem that maybe the gossips confused it with Grace's other project with Gellar, The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Alice has been kicking around since 2000, back when Wes Craven was attached, and hopefully this time around, Nispel and company will be able to make it into a reality. But fans need not worry; Gellar tells RadioFree: "...I'm not giving up. Because I believe there is such a beautiful, crazy, cool, twisted story to be told there. [jokes] And if I have to get down and write it myself one of these day [sic], I may have to..."

[via ComingSoon.net]

Quick, tell me what's wrong with this image? I haven't read Maxim in awhile; usually I'll pick up a copy before traveling as it's something easy to read on the plane, but I haven't gone anywhere in a few months and, thus, haven't read any Maxim. I'm not sure if they've always picked their Woman of the Year wayyy ahead of time (like, in the wrong year), but that's neither here nor there. What's baffling to me is why on earth they would choose Sarah Michelle Gellar to represent woman in 2008. For what, exactly? And don't tell me it's because of that image -- heck, you can airbrush me for a few hours and turn out something that makes me look like Brad Pitt. Seriously though ... why her? Of all people, why Sarah Michelle Gellar? And I wonder if she only agreed to pose for sexy pics under the condition they'd give her some bogus prize like 2008 Woman of the Year.

When asked why she decided to grace the cover now, she replied: "I'm 30, and I'm promoting a bunch of different kinds of movies. I like to shake things up every once in a while. It's good to leave people wanting more, but I don't want to leave them waiting too long or they'll lose interest. Besides, how could I not do a Maxim shoot when I have a movie coming out in which I play a porn star?" That movie is Southland Tales, and as of now Gellar has only three roles lined up for 2008 -- two Korean horror remakes (ugh) and Alice. And she claims to be promoting a bunch of different movies? Like .... Southland Tales? Because that's the only movie you're in. (Oh wait, she's also in Suburban Girl, but that doesn't go straight to DVD until January.) Buffy is Back! Actually, technically, she's not back -- Gellar does not have plans to reprise the Buffy character in the near future. So that's a lie. Surely, if it's hotness you're going after, then Maxim could've easily found a better gal to call their 2008 Woman of the Year? I'm a little disappointed. You?

[via Daily Stab]

Almost two years ago, back in January of 2006, Cinematical first posted about the upcoming film called The Air I Breathe. While it went away for a bit, the film is finally gearing up for limited release in January, and a trailer has made its way online, courtesy of Aglet Productions. Coming from writer/director Jieho Lee (and co-written with Bob DeRosa), Breathe is a drama based on the Chinese proverb that says life is based on four emotional elements -- happiness, pleasure, sorrow, and love. Sure, this sounds like a film with four unrelated vignettes, but it's actually looking to be a rather dark story where each emotion intertwines with the others.

Lee uses them to tell the stories of a businessman who bets his life on a horse (Forest Whitaker as Happiness), a gangster who can see the future (Brendan Fraser as Pleasure), a popstar who falls victim to a crime boss (Sarah Michelle Gellar as Sorrow), and a doctor trying to save the love of his life (Kevin Bacon as love). As if that wasn't enough for a solid starter cast, the film also boasts the likes of Andy Garcia, Emile Hirsch, and Julie Delpy. All of these people are interconnected through a dark and seemingly desperate backdrop. The only thing that's funny about all of this is that Gellar is playing a woman famous for her singing and dancing (she sings when she has to, but as Once More with Feeling will attest, she's no an American Idol). Still, it's a good trailer, and if these clips are any indication, it should be one heck of a film. And at the very least, it's got to be better than Southland Tales!

[via Empire Online]

We've given you a bunch of tasty retro male morsels with Stars in Rewind, but it's high time we threw some estrogen into the mix. I imagine many of you have seen Sarah Michelle Gellar's Burger King commercials. But have you seen her on Spenser for Hire? In 1988, at the age of 11, the future vampire slayer had a guest spot in the Spenser episode "Company Man." Barbara Stock's Susan Silverman was lounging in a hospital bed when SMG marched in with a huge black bear -- pre-bleach, when she still sported her long, dark locks.

As Emily, Sarah talks about getting her tonsils out, and is quite concerned about Susan's lack of visitors -- all of which she explains with one heck of an over-emphasized inflection. It's amazing to think that this sweet little girl would become the saucy soap opera minx in a few short years with her stint as Sydney in Swans Crossing and Kendall on All My Children. (Funny enough, that second clip there shows Rudolf Martin tasting her neck for the first time -- the second would be as Dracula on Buffy.) These days, she's got some horror films, voice work, Southland Tales, and maybe a slice of a certain, infamous Alice.

Well, I guess Sam Raimi wasn't kidding when he said that a third installment of The Grudge was in the works. Days after Monika gave us the heads up on the sequel, Shock Till You Drop is reporting that Toby Wilkins has been hired to direct the third part of the horror series. Wilkins is a visual effects artist who worked on the Grudge 2 tie-ins, Tales of the Grudge (kind of a lame title, so I can only hope that Raimi and company can come up with something a little better than that). Raimi has been relatively quiet on the details of the story, but if a director has been chosen it would appear that the project is well underway.

Based off the 2003 *Korean film Ju-on, the first North American Grudge film was released in 2004 with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the unlucky recipient of a supernatural curse. A sequel was released in 2005, to little fanfare, so you can't help but question the decision to make yet another one. There were four films in the original Korean series, all directed by Takashi Shimizu. Surprisingly, Shimizu will not be returning for the latest film, which seems like a smart move on his part. If you take a look at what most fans thought of the last two films, a third installment will likely fair even worse. Raimi's Ghost House Productions will be in charge of the film, but only after he has finished producing Drag Me to Hell with Jeff Lynch. Wilkins is set to start work on Grudge as soon as he wraps up on his other horror thriller, Splinter. The Grudge 3 is tentatively set to begin shooting January 2008.

*Correction: Japanese

Celebrities all over the place are going green. Every day there is a new eco story popping up. Cate Blanchett has become an environmental stickler in her home, with efforts that include installing 2-minute timers on on her shower. (This attempt is, no doubt, helped by the fact she has stylists and the like to keep her looking fresh.) There's Sarah Michelle Gellar who rides a pink bike around, and uses reusable bags for Whole Foods discounts. And some, like Adrian Grenier, coach others on how to be more green, like his tutorials for Paris Hilton. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees these stories and spots the imbalance between an actor's work and their personal causes.

The Telegraph posted an article yesterday calling Hollywood out on being one of the biggest polluters in soCal, whilst performing "eco-friendly gestures [that are] simply showy stunts that make little difference." It sites a two-year study performed by the University of California at Los Angeles, which found that production aspects like explosions and idling vehicles are only beat by the oil industry in regards to polluting emissions. But there's also the garbage -- the sets that get built and destroyed and everything else that's necessary to create a faux world.

Warner Brothers is finally starting to recycle sets, which is a plus, and other productions try to balance their negative environmental impact with positive action -- the Evan Almighty production planted "2,000 trees to 'zero out' its greenhouse gas production." But as Ed Begley Jr. says: "If you're going to drive around in a big ol' Hummer and then buy carbon offsets to mitigate that, that's like getting drunk on the weekends and throwing some money through the window of an AA meeting and thinking you're doing something." What do you think? Do the environmentalist acts of actors mean anything when they're in a resource-sucking industry? What can Hollywood do when it relies so much on energy and materials?

Last week, I brought you news of director Richard Kelly's new movie, The Box with Cameron Diaz. In my report, I mentioned Southland Tales, Kelly's follow-up to the cult classic Donnie Darko. Tales premiered last year at Cannes, to largely negative reviews (like James'). But Darko nuts like myself are still dying to see the thing. As of last week, things weren't looking good, with the release not scheduled until March 2008. And now we've got more bad news. Southland co-star Mandy Moore is telling Sci-Fi Wire she doesn't know what's going on with the film, she hasn't seen any of it, and she doesn't even know if she's still in the thing! "I have not seen any incarnation of that yet," says Moore. "I had a great time working on it. It was one of those things where I met with Richard maybe two weeks before they started shooting. I had just finished that movie American Dreamz at the time, so I was like, 'Um, yeah, sure, I'll jump into this one. Why not?' I play The Rock's wife in the movie, if I'm still in the movie at all. They had to cut it down so much, and maybe they just cut out my character altogether."

Moore adds, "I loved working with Rock or Dwayne; I'm not sure what he prefers to be called now. Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the movie. It was just a fun, huge, gigantic cast of characters there. I'm not in the sci-fi element of it, and I don't get to sing." She mentions the singing because the film, at least in its Cannes inception, contained musical numbers. You see, it's a comedy musical sci-fi thriller, with elements of political satire (now maybe you're seeing why it's something of a tough sell). In addition to The Rock and Gellar, Moore is (or isn't) part of an extremely eclectic cast that includes Seann William Scott, Cheri Oteri, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Smith, Amy Poehler, and fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. In reading up on the film, I realized it takes place in the very near future -- on July 4, 2008 to be exact. They pretty much have to get the movie out by then, don't they? Otherwise we'll be watching a movie about the future that's set in the past! Why don't they release it tomorrow, so we can watch it exactly one year from when it's supposed to take place? That'd be cool, no? Somebody get me Joe Hollywood on the phone!

Just when you thought The Dark Knight was shaping up to be the mother of all Batman sequels, word trickles out that Freddy Prinze Jr. has been cast as one of the Caped Crusader's most infamous villains, The Riddler. The trades report this morning that Prinze Jr. has signed on to two Batman-related films, so we're not sure whether he will appear as The Riddler in The Dark Knight or wait until the third pic, where Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) will most likely make his transformation and become Two Face. Needless to say, it looks like director Christopher Nolan and his team are interested in going the Batman Forever route with the series and include both Two Face and Riddler as the villains in one pic. You'll remember, in that film Jim Carrey played Riddler, while Tommy Lee Jones took on the role of Two Face. Not for nothing, but I'm, um, speechless.

Says Nolan about the casting, "Freddy brings all the right ingredients to the role of Riddler. He's charming and good-looking, but there's something a little bit off about the guy. What is that? Where does it come from? That's what we're looking to explore here." Of course, now that Prinze Jr. is signed on, does this mean there's some truth to those Sarah Michelle Gellar rumors? The other day, I reported on a rumor that claimed Gellar had also signed on to play a role in The Dark Knight. So, either both husband and wife will play roles or, when Gellar said she was too busy to take on another role because of Batman, that meant she would be staying on set with her husband. Heck, what better way to help someone get into character as The Riddler than to make them hang around Sarah Michelle Gellar? The Dark Knight is set to begin production this spring; currently it's scheduled to hit theaters on July 18, 2008. Thoughts? Reactions?

Oooh, the rumor mill is hopping a bit today with an interesting piece of Dark Knight casting news that may or may not be true. As per usual, you'll have to take the following with a huge grain of salt. Apparently, an unnamed independent writer-producer was interested in casting Sarah Michelle Gellar in one of his (or her) upcoming films, which starts shooting this May. However, Gellar's reps ultimately turned down the offer saying that the film could conflict with her schedule for Batman. Um, really? That's news to all of us! Has Sarah Michelle Gellar secretly signed on to star in The Dark Knight? And if so, who is she playing?

If it is indeed true, then that probably means we're looking at two major female roles. We already know that Maggie Gyllenhaal has signed on to star, and that she's replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Hmm, perhaps that means Gellar would play ... Harley Quinn. Regardless, two females probably means Harley Quinn will indeed be a character in the film. Quinn originated during the Batman animated series, but her backstory wasn't revealed until the 1994 graphic novel Mad Love. The novel explains that Quinn was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum where she volunteered to evaluate The Joker. She later fell in love with the maniac, helped him escape from the Asylum and became his partner-in-crime.

In my opinion, Gellar is at her best when she plays devilish characters (see: Cruel Intentions). So -- and I'm probably in the minority here -- I think she'd be great as Harley Quinn. Cinematical attempted to contact Gellar's reps for a comment, though as of now we haven't yet heard back. Everyone is keeping real quiet on this one -- but, if we hear more, you'll be the first to know.

[via AICN]

If you want your geek movie to do well, there are a handful of major stars it would be very much in your best interest to cast. Kevin Munroe, director of the upcoming cinematic revamp of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is of course quite aware of this fact, and like all good CGI film directors, he's out to fill his flick with major Hollywood stars as voice talent -- but voice talent, it seems, with a geeked-up background. Here's the run-down on what we've learned this week:

• Patrick Stewart. Geek credentials -- Living legend. Captain Picard of Trek fame, and Professor X of X-Men fame. They don't come bigger than this dude in the geek world. Stewart will be Max Winters, a "tech industrialist who is amassing an army of monsters in the city."
• Sarah Michelle Gellar. Geek credentials -- television geek queen, as the star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Gellar is the voice of April, who is a "researcher" in this film, instead of a news host. She's also the resident den mother for the turtle boys.
• Chris Evans. Geek credentials -- just building the resume, but off to a very strong start as the Human Torch from Fantastic Four. Evans is Casey Jones, the crazy guy with the hockey stick.
• Kevin Smith. Geek credentials -- creator of Jay and Silent Bob, and high-profile comic book fan. Smith's just got himself a small part as a small time chef.
• Zhang Ziyi. Geek credentials -- all sorts of wire-fu, including House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ziyi provides the voice for lead villain Karai, leader of an army of Foot Ninjas.

Way back in June we had Crazy Chris Campbell informing us that Lionsgate had just purchased North American distribution rights to Happily N'Ever After, a CG-animated fairy tale spoof from the producer of Shrek -- and today we get our very first peek at the long-gestating project. ComingSoon.net is where you'll find the goods.

The plot deals with all the heroic fairy tale characters dealing with conflict from all the villains ... or something like that. (Let's give it up for characters in the public domain!) What I find most amusing is the voice cast. We got Sarah Michelle Gellar as Ella (as in Cinderella), Sigourney Weaver as an evil witch (cool!), Freddie Prinze Jr., Andy Dick, Patrick Warburton, Jon Polito, Wallace Shawn and George Carlin -- and when I say "amusing," I actually mean it. Most of those actors have pretty funny voices!

So in addition to the previously linked clip, this just-discovered teaser trailer at YouTube, and a release date of January 5, I can also inform you that both the writer and the director are first-time filmmakers. But hey, I liked Hoodwinked, so I think this flick looks pretty, well, amusing.

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Hey, what's up with Sarah Michelle Gellar and her recent addiction to horror remakes? Seriously, did the Scooby Doo franchise run out of storylines or what? Not only do we know what she did last summer, but there's a good chance we already know what she'll be doing for the next five summers. Geez Sarah, how about we switch it up a bit? Anyway, Lee Pace has signed on to star opposite Gellar in Addicted, a film "loosely based" on the 2002 South Korean pic Jungdok. Story revolves around a wife (Gellar) whose husband and brother-in-law both end up in a coma. However, when the brother-in-law wakes up, he becomes convinced Gellar is his wife. While we're not sure which man Pace will play, I've already started a petition asking filmmakers not to cast Freddy Prinze Jr. as the other guy. Want in?
• Unlike Gellar, John Leguizamo is an actor who's constantly searching for different material. According to Production Weekly, Leguizamo is close to starring in The Ministers, a thriller to be directed by Franc. Reyes. (Dude, what's up with the period at the end of your first name? Strange? Sort of? Whaddya think?) The script (which was penned by Reyes) centers around a female NYPD detective whose father was killed by a mysterious religious group named "The Ministers." After the group begins killing again, our hero is ordered to stay away from the case ... although it may already be too late (read: she's sleeping with one of "The Ministers").
• Over the last few days, folks have been speculating as to who and how David Lynch's new film Inland Empire would be distributed. Well, according to Coming Soon, Lynch will -- drum roll please --distribute the film himself. That's right, Lynch has secured the US and Canadian rights to his film with plans to release Inland Empire on 6000 screens tomorrow. Okay, the last part was a joke, but since we're talking Lynch here, I imagine anything is possible. Says Empire producer Mary Sweeney, "David's decision to explore a new model of distribution is consistent with the fearless way in which he made Inland Empire." No word yet on when and where folks will be able to catch The Three-Hour Lynch Experience (yes, in a perfect world that would be the film's title and it would only play in IMAX theaters), though Cinematical will let you know as soon as more information is available.

If we've learned anything from the collected works of master thespianette Sarah Michelle Gellar, it's this: Gellar + Remake = Cinematic Bliss. Between her remakes and her horror films, Ms. Gellar has graced the universe with entertainments as dazzling as I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2, The Grudge and the impending Grudge 2. (Hell, even Buffy was a remake, if you want to be anal about it.) She also has The Return coming soon, a project that looks as generic as its title.

Convinced she still has a whole lot left to offer the expansive genre of Horror/Remake, Ms. Gellar has signed on to star in Addicted, a "psychological thriller" (which nowadays means "a PG-13 horror film") that's based on a 2002 Korean film called Jungdok. (Screenplay by the man who penned Queen of the Damned.) The plot centers on a woman whose husband and brother-in-law go comatose, but when the latter guy wakes up ... he's convinced that HE is her husband! Dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn!

Not even remotely surprising is that fact that Addicted will come from Vertigo Entertainment, the outfit that jammed American actors and English dialogue in Grudge, Grudge 2, Ring and Ring 2. Because the production house would probably implode from the effort expended on writing an original screenplay. (Don't believe me? Vertigo Remake Inc. also did Dark Water, The Lake House and The Departed, plus they're also working on the remakes of The Eye, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Oldboy, Ikiru, The Entity and Creepshow.)

How to make the world's most generic-looking horror movie:

1. Cast Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead. (Newly brunette, so as to show her acting range.)

2. Have the story be about a woman who's being haunted by a long-dead stranger.

3. Call it The Return.

4. Make sure it's rated PG-13.

5. Use this trailer as promotional material.

Meh, maybe I'm just being extra-nasty for no good reason. I'm certain that The Return, which comes from a first-time screenwriter, a second-time director and a studio division generally known for inconsistent output, could be a phenomenally excellent horror movie.

Actually, no, I'm not. Flick opens on November 17th. DVD by the end of February.