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What does Willem Dafoe's junk, a talking fox, and a dead child all have in common? Well, they're going to star in a video game adaptation of Lars von Trier's Antichrist courtesy of Morten Iversen, a developer with some serious credentials in the world of game geekery. Formerly of Io Interactive, Iversen now works at von Trier's Zentropa production company.

Russ Frushtick over at MTV Multiplayer tracked down Iversen to ask him what the hell is up with this project, so to speak, and here's what he had to say.

"Von Trier has been extremely fond of video games for ages, and has been an avid player of 'Alone in the Dark,'" explained Iverson. "He's been circulating the idea internally... that making games would be a good idea." He describes it as "a nightmarish version of 'Myst.'"

("Alone in the Dark"? Really? Come on, Lars!)

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When it was revealed that Tim Burton and Dorian Gray ( I mean Johnny Depp) would be taking us all down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole in 2010's 3D IMAX adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a million bat-filled brains exploded with joy. Burton, who could perhaps be held personally responsible for the popularity of black-and-white striped stockings, has stocked his fantasia with a panoply of freaky faves, from Crispin Glover ("I can kick high!") and baby mama Helena Bonham Carter to Hammer Horror super-spook Christopher Lee. Anticipation is already running high just from the names attached and the few photos floating around the Internet. Empire Magazine has an interview with Burton in its issue coming out Thursday in the UK, along with a few photos from the movie.

But what about the other flicks that are getting our fishnets in a tangle? Naturally, Burton has a slew of projects coming up, including a big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows with Depp rumored to be Barnabas Collins, and a full-length version of Frankenweenie, but there are a few other films coming out or in production (or in perpetual production) that make it a good time to get your goth on.

Finally we can see a little more than just a sexy snapshot of Willem Dafoe bonking Charlotte Gainsbourg on a mass of tree roots that are sprouting human arms. In other words, the trailer for Lars Von Trier's Antichrist is here.

Besides being a Von Trier fan, I've been eager for him to take the chills of The Kingdom and throw them up on the big screen. The man has got a way to make simplicity super creepy, much like David Lynch's Twin Peaks, and Antichrist seems to deliver. The basics seem almost too typical -- the cabin in the woods, the crows, the isolation, the creepy wind -- but that subdued and creepy filmmaking is front and center. I say anything that can make those oft-used images seem creepy, in the confines of an all-too-brief trailer, is worth the effort.

Many blogs, like Spout and CHUD say the same thing: creepy, but conventional. However, The Guardian's Xan Brooks remains unconvinced. In fact, he says: "The omens for Antichrist are not encouraging," and goes on to describe it as "oddly uninspired."

Are those recognizable tropes too much for you? Or, are you falling for Von Trier's horror eye?


Lars von Trier's Antichrist - Official Trailer from Zentropa on Vimeo.

We've had to wait a few years to see it come to fruition, but Lars von Trier's Antichrist is finally making its way to Cannes this year, with one sexy first still. According to the indieWIRE folks, that smooth and muscley back you see above is Willem Dafoe, getting carnal with his co-star Charlotte Gainsbourg.

You might remember that Antichrist will deal with "a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods to recover from the death of their child," and if this image is any indication, they definitely find a way to recover. Then again, this is a psychological horror film, so I wonder if this is just a flashback to the sex that brought their doomed child, and if copulating amongst an orgy of roots and disembodied arms leads to Antichrist babies.

Whatever the case, it's not only a pleasure to see von Trier return to strange chills, but also see him put aside the minimalism and simplicity for visually rich filmmaking. Between this still, memories of The Kingdom, and von Trier mixed with Dafoe and Gainsbourg, this should be one sweet thrill.

Lars Von Trier has been talking up his psychological thriller/horror film Antichrist since two years ago, at one point claiming to be too depressed to get it off the ground. But good news for those who've been curious to see what Von Trier would do with a genre film: Antichrist begins shooting this month, with Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the lead roles. As previously announced, they play a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods after losing a child, and run into some "terrifying occurrences." Von Trier co-wrote the screenplay with Anders Thomas Jensen, a remarkably prolific Danish screenwriter who's had a hand in some of the most prominent films to come out of that country, including Brothers and The King is Alive. He also co-wrote the forthcoming The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley.

I doubt, somehow, that Von Trier is going to come up with something that resembles what we think of as a horror film, or a psychological thriller. Anyone who saw his idea of a comedy knows what I'm talking about. I'm hit-and-miss on Von Trier in general -- loved Dancer in the Dark, viscerally disliked Dogville -- but always intrigued enough to keep watching. I can only hope the Antichrist will actually show up in Antichrist; Von Trier's take on Satan is definitely something I'd pay to see.

The Hollywood Reporter announced that Terminator 4 has lost Charlotte Gainsbourg from its cast -- a mere two weeks after her surprise casting was announced. Apparently, it's all due to that age old story of a schedule conflict. Terminator director McG has already started production in New Mexico, but if an actor's strike happens, the delay will cause a conflict with Gainsbourg's next film, a French comedy.

But there is already an actress in talks to replace her, and one who has already cut her chops a bit in the action and sci-fi genres. Bryce Dallas Howard is reportedly the one who will play Kate Connor, the First Lady of the Resistance. She's been absent from screens since Spider-Man 3, due to marriage and motherhood, and it will be cool to see her return in a flashy role.

I think she is a better physical fit for the character than Gainsbourg -- Kate Connor/Brewster was played by Claire Danes, and they look reasonably alike. Not that Terminator sequels and spin-offs seem to be very concerned with that sort of thing.

Regardless of who steps into the role, I'm just continually surprised at the caliber of actors this franchise is getting. While the rest of us have been regarding it very skeptically, it's snagged more than one critical favorite. There must be something here we're just not seeing yet. Right?

What we previously knew about the plot of Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins: Christian Bale plays an older John Connor; a young Kyle Reese shows up in the form of Anton Yelchin; Sam Worthington plays some guy named Marcus. After Skynet brings about a nuclear near-apocalypse, our heroes must keep the machines from wiping out the rest of humanity. That's it. Now, thanks to a Warner Bros. start-of-production press release we know a lot more -- or do we?

"In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind."

If you read that a couple of times, it doesn't really make very much sense ("the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part..."?). Studio marketing departments aren't known for lucid prose. It's not clear whether the human resistance Connor's going to lead (or so we keep being told) actually gets formed in this movie, or how Reese -- Connor's father -- enters the picture. But at least we have a sense of the storyline, and of who "Marcus" is. Parenthetically, we also learn that Charlotte Gainsbourg will take over as Kate Connor -- the Claire Danes role from Rise of the Machines.

According to an article in today's Sunday Times, British-born French starlet (Can she be a starlet now that she's nearly 60? Perhaps "former-starlet" would be more appropriate.) Jane Birkin plans to write, direct, and star in a biopic -- about herself. (How she's going to play herself as a hot young 20-something is not addressed in the article, but I'm sure Jane's got something figured out.) The film, entitled Boxes -- Birkin's word for the "chapters" of her life, many of which were naked -- already has much of its cast in place, and the group is dominated by Birkin's family and friends. In addition to Birkin, the film will star Maurice Bénichou as her ex-husband and mentor, Serge Gainsbourg, and Geraldine Chaplin (yes, she's Charlie's kid) as Birkin's mother. No word yet on who daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg will play, but she's sure to be in there somewhere, as well.

Unlike many grand vanity projects, this one is actually being made -- shooting will begin next month. Whether it's a train wreck or not (among other things, Birkin's never directed or scripted a feature before), I can't freaking wait. Hell, maybe this'll lead to a run on French cultural icons making movies about themselves -- I hope Brigitte Bardot is watching.

[via Alternative Film Guide]