'R' you shocked? We told you last week that Grindhouse was teetering on the edge of the dreaded "NC-17" rating. A studio insider reported that "Some cuts definitely will have to be made. There's no question." Well, I don't know if they made the trims or not, but Grindhouse is officially being released with an "R" rating. The rating is for (and this is hardly surprising) "strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity, and drug use." That about covers everything, doesn't it?

So it's official. The trailers will no longer say "This Film Is Not Yet Rated." You'll see ads for Grindhouse in your local newspaper. And you'll be able to check it out at the local mall -- might want to avoid the food court beforehand! I suppose we'll learn in a couple weeks if any major deletions were required by the MPAA, but for two experienced envelope-pushers like Tarantino and Rodriguez, I'd imagine working the ratings board couldn't have been that big of a challenge. Wouldn't it be great to sit in on these ratings conversations? "Take out one pelvic thrust here and one exploding eyeball there and we'll give you your 'R'." It just seems so ridiculous. You can see all the "strong graphic bloody violence and gore" for yourself when Grindhouse blasts its blood-drenched, drugged-up, foul-mouthed, totally naked, sex-havin' self into theaters on April 6th!

Since yesterday marked Rob Zombie's 41st birthday, it seems only logical to celebrate with more news on his contribution to the hotly anticipated film Grindhouse. To recap, the film proper will consist of two features produced in the grindhouse exploitation tradition of the 1970s: Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez and Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino. As I mentioned previously, one of the fake trailers that will be inserted between the features is to be directed by Rob Zombie and will be promoting a fictitious film called Werewolf Women of the SS. Jeez, how can you not love that title?

As I mentioned not long ago when I wrote about the launch of the Grindhouse website, and the film's newest trailer, that April 6 release date just can't come fast enough for me. Anyone out there got a time machine ready for beta testing? This double feature pastiche of 70s exploitation films promises to be one of the most exciting releases of 2007.

Fangoria.com has an interesting bit of news regarding the fake trailers that will be inserted between Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. According to a "source," Rob Zombie, who will of course be directing the upcoming re-imagining of Halloween, is directing a trailer for a fictitious film tantalizingly titled Werewolf Women of the SS. Oh, man. Sounds like a blending of the 70s nazi-sploitation genre (the best-known example of which was Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS) with a good old-fashioned werewolf movie. Sweetening the deal is the fact that Nicholas Cage will be appearing in the trailer as Fu Manchu (the evil genius who originated in a series of novels by Sax Rohmer, and has been played onscreen by several actors including Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Peter Sellers). That sound you hear, by the way, is my mind boggling. Interestingly, the title also brings to mind a very real upcoming film called Werewolf in a Women's Prison.

Furthermore, Hostel director Eli Roth will not only be making a cameo appearance in Death Proof, but he will also direct a faux trailer for a slasher film called Thanksgiving. All the other holidays have their own slasher films, so it's time Turkey Day got its due. Now that I think of it, though, Arbor Day has a lot of potential too. How does Saplings of the Damned sound?

Last we heard from Quentin Tarantino regarding Inglorious Bastards (ya know, that WWII film he's been attached to for, like, ever?), the dude said he had spent five years writing the script (which was at a whopping 1,000 pages), and still needed one more year before moving forward. Well, that one year has come and gone -- and, while Tarantino has been busy filming Grind House with Robert Rodriguez, we still don't know if he will follow that film up with Bastards or if he'll be a bastard himself and squeeze out something else.

According to IMDB, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth are the only actors attached to Bastards, and there have been rumors that Sylvester Stallone was also interested in a role. Or Tarantino was interested in Stallone. Regardless, while out promoting Rocky Balboa, Stallone officially denied his participation (kind of), saying: "No, I gotta talk to Quentin about that, I've been reading about that. That's possible but I don't know how we would get together, it wouldn't be easy." It appears Stallone will follow up Rambo 4 with that biopic about Edgar Allen Poe (which he'll direct, not star -- thank God), and so his schedule is wrapped up for quite a while. Then again, it could be years before Tarantino actually gets around to making Inglorious Bastards -- if, at that time, there's a part for a 70 year-old Stallone, then why not?

With Bastards, Tarantino intends to pay homage (when is he not paying homage?) to Enzo G. Castellari's 1977 Italian film of the same name, as well as other classic war flicks like The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape. Story follows a group of soldiers during WWII who are set to die by firing squad for doing bad things, but ultimately are awarded a chance to live for a little while longer when they're sent on a suicide mission for the Allies. Sounds groovy, but will it ever happen?

Just in case you missed them the first time around, here's a round-up of what we (and you!) have been talking about on Cinematical this week:


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More, much more, after the jump ...

Roger Corman is well-known for being a director and producer of over 300 low-budget films, many of them in the horror category. He is probably most famous for his adaptations of nine different Edgar Allen Poe stories. Between 1960 and 1964, Corman directed House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, The Premature Burial, Tales of Terror, The Raven, The Terror, The Haunted Palace, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Tomb of Ligeia. Seven of these films also starred the late, great Vincent Price, and established both Corman and Price in the genre.

Even more impressive is the fact that he churned out five other films during those four years. He's a movie-making machine, folks. Even today Corman continues to produce tons of "schlock" films, and is king of that genre even though he has only directed two films since 1971. He was an enormous influence on directors like Quentin Tarantino, who thrived on the many "Roger Corman presents" films that came out while he was growing up. Tarantino even has his own line of "Quentin Tarantino presents" films, and the upcoming Grind House owes part of its lineage to Corman's own Death Race 2000.

The Drkrm Gallery in Los Angeles hosts a special exhibition celebrating Corman's Edgar Allen Poe films, and will be open October 21st through November 18th. As a fan of bad puns, I had to use the tagline from Drkrm's page about the event: "We pay tribute to them, the legendary Roger Corman and the late Vincent Price with this exhibition of their greatest work together, the likes of which we will see ... NEVERMORE!"

[Thanks John]


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Roger Corman on Death Race Remake

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Roger Corman Honored in Hawaii

Okay, so here's a real treat for ya. Apparently, at some point during the 2006 Scream Awards last night on Spike TV, some footage (kind of a trailer, but not really) of Grind House was shown. And to our delight, that footage has shown up on YouTube this morning. Most of what you're about to see is from Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror (ya know, the zombie one), probably because Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof is still shooting in Austin. However, it really doesn't matter much because it all kicks major ass.

Oh, and we also get a peak at one of the fake trailers sandwiched in between each film. This one stars Danny Trejo as Machete, and without giving too much away let's just say the dude likes machetes. Who did I leave out? Ah, the Crazy Babysitter Twins! Man, I'm probably not making any sense right now, so you should seriously run over to YouTube and check this thing out now! Those of you wondering what a pair of hardcore horror films from Tarantino and Rodriguez would look like, well -- they look pretty freaking awesome. The only downside here is that we now have to wait until April of next year to see this sucker on the big screen. Bummer.

[via Twitch]

On this edition of Movie Pics, Detective John McClane gets stuck in the wrong place (eh, Baltimore ain't so bad) at the wrong time ... again, and Kurt Russell shows up in Austin looking real cool, ready to do some serious damage.

• That's right, the Baltimore Sun has snagged the first pics from the set of Live Free or Die Hard. Yippee-ki-yay motherf**ker! In the photos, Bruce Willis is back, bald, walking on top of cars and looking a bit old. Once again, it appears traffic congestion is his biggest nemesis. Kick ass! Traffic rocks!
• Hey, is that Kurt Russell on the set of Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's half of Grind House? You bet your sweet ass it is! Apparently, the dudes are still wreaking havoc in Austin, Texas -- this time, they're shooting at some sort of Food Mart ... which actually appears to be a doctored-up 7-Eleven. In the pic, Russell plays the driver of a car that kills people ... we think.

Odds and ends from Friday and the weekend:

• In finalizing the cast for his part of Grind House (titled Death Proof), Quentin Tarantino has brought on Michael Bacall, newcomer Omar Doom and Eli Roth. Labeled a "slasher flick" and currently shooting in Austin, the three will star alongside Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson and Rose McGowan, among others. Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror wrapped its production recently and Grind House (as a whole) is expected to invade theaters on April 6, 2007.
• 20th Century Fox has gone ahead and snatched up Adam Sztykiel's spec script Matchbreaker, with Shawn Levy to produce the comedy through his 21 Laps Entertainment. Though the plot is being kept a secret for now, it's vaguely being described as a "high-concept comedy about two guys and a girl set against a vibrant cultural backdrop, which we haven't seen in a movie before."
• Looking to add a bit more funny to their repertoire, the Weinstein Co. has signed a one-year, first-look deal with Underground Films and acquired the comedy pitch Rising Son for Underground to produce. Pic revolves around a "young American who proposes to his Japanese-American girlfriend just as they are traveling to visit her estranged family." While there, he must compete in a bunch of challenges in order to win the respect of his future father-in-law, a la Meet The Parents.

Are you ready to check out some brand new movie pics? C'mon now, don't sound too excited. On this edition of Movie Pics, we ask you to consider some images from Christopher Guest's new film, Jet Li and Jason Statham prepare to kick your ass right out of the theater and -- wait -- so that's what Kurt Russell will be driving in Grind House. Read on my fellow picture freaks:

• This fall, Christopher Guest returns to his mockumentary ways with For Your Consideration, a film that appears to poke fun at the way certain actors handle the tremendous burden that is Oscar buzz. As far as cast goes, Guest has assembled a few of his regulars (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard, among others), as well as some new blood (ahem, Ricky Gervais). While I haven't been crazy about the last couple Guest flicks, the plot, the cast and these new pics have certainly kicked my anticipation meter up a few notches. [via JoBlo]
• Before he calls it quits as a martial arts action star, Jet Li will make sure he kicks as much on-screen ass as possible, what with his role as a mysterious assassin in the upcoming film Rogue. Pic revolves around an FBI agent (Jason Statham) who, after his partner and family are killed, sets out to avenge his buddy's death by targeting the man (is Jet Li a man or a machine?) responsible. Cinema Blend has the first images from Rogue, which also stars Luiz Guzmán (I take it we won't get to see a fantastic jump-kick from Mr. Guzmán) and Devon Aoki.
• Word on the street is that Quentin Tarantino has officially taken over the city of Austin (Jette, I want you on set, STAT!), while shooting Death Proof -- his half of next years double feature masterpiece, Grind House. Tarantino describes Death Proof as "sort of a slasher film, but instead of a knife, it's a car." Well, thanks to the good folks over at AICN, we now have pics of said car, which will be driven by Kurt Russell -- who I'm hoping brings a little old school awesome to the role.