Shawnee Smith Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's time to give up your dreams of Dominique Swain and snuff films -- The Hollywood Reporter has posted the cast list of the upcoming horror film Slaughter, and Ms. Swain is no longer in the picture. They say she's having scheduling conflicts, which I presume is due to her role in another heart-warming tale called Trance. Instead, Erica Leerhsen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) has taken over her role, and will be joined by Shawnee Smith (Amanda from the Saw series), AnnaLynne McCord (Day of the Dead), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Elektra), Eugenia Yuan (The Eye 2), Karl Yune (Memoirs of a Geisha), and Jonathon Trent (Alone with Her).

Basically, these girls (Smith, Leerhsen, McCord) are aspiring actresses who land some Japanese work. Instead of traversing the ocean to get one step closer to superstardom, they find themselves cast in a snuff film. I wonder if they realize this from the get-go, or are running around, thinking that all of their dangerous props are fake until one of them slices and dices? Tagawa is playing the director, Yuan is playing the producer, Yune is the male co-star, and Trent is playing the boyfriend of McCord's character. The film is based on a Slamdance Horror Screenplay Competition script by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, with Víctor García taking up the directorial duties. IMDb says production has already started, and I would hope so, it they want to keep their January 20 release date. Talk about a quick turn-around!

Yeah, so I dig the Saw movies. Sue me. But as part of a society that adores American Idol, professional wrestling, and NASCAR, I don't feel all that guilty about enjoying a few crafty little gore flicks. Anyway, Lionsgate and Darren Bousman are just getting their second Saw sequel underway up in Canada, and they were cool enough to drop us a brief but interesting plot synopsis.

Seems Saw 3 will deal with a sexy young doctor who finds herself kidnapped and forced to keep ol' Jiggy alive while another poor sap tries to escape from one of the Saw-Man's patented Nasty Dungeons. Good enough for me!

The cast of Saw 3 includes Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith (of course), as well as newcomers Bahar Soomekh (as sexy doc) and Angus MacFadyen (as poor sap). I still can't find word on if Dina Meyer's coming back, darnit...

Here's what we know already: Darren Lynn Bousman, the young filmmaker who cut his teeth on Saw 2, will be returning to direct Saw 3, which will arrive in theaters this October. Already signed to return are writer/producers James Wan & Leigh Whannell, and actors Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Donnie Wahlberg.

And today JoBlo treats us to a few more Saw-bits, none of which are all that dazzling, but they're intreresting enough if you're a big geeky fan of the Saw series -- like I so definitely am. Looks like Saw 3 is scheduled to begin production in Toronto on May 1st, and the casting directors are presently on the hunt for "Lynn, a married mother in her late 30s who is kidnapped by Jigsaw" and "Jeff, a dad who has never recovered fully after his son died. It was an accident but he's never been able to forgive himself."

Seems the producers are looking for "name actors" for these roles -- but ones who (obviously) don't already have a gig lined up for May. More details as they become available.