sigourney weaver Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Last night saw attendees of the Real D-sponsored Fantastic Fest greeted with an extended look at footage from James Cameron's forthcoming Avatar, and with it (for me at least) a more defined shift in expectations for the long-awaited film. The footage -- more often than not composed of extended scenes from Avatar Day -- still looks terrifically realized in 3-D, but the bits and pieces of story filled in by producer Jon Landau between scenes and the voice-over of Sam Worthington's character during them suggest something a little less... rapturous.

We've seen a few images. We've watched the trailer. We've heard about the highs and lows of the special screenings. Now we've got some Avatar stills scanned from Empire Magazine and housed over at MarketSaw.

But these aren't just any images. There's more Sam Worthington, more Zoe Saldana -- and most importantly, there's Sigourney Weaver. Not just her character (which we see to the right), but also her avatar. You can see the small version above, and in much bigger detail over at MarketSaw. They certainly did a heck of a job bringing Weaver's avatar to life, although it's really interesting to see how a few changes can totally alter the look of a person. Bring on the blue, widen the eyes, and suddenly it's a lot harder to spot Weaver until your eyes run over her nose and mouth. Wait until the day when this sort of technology can honestly capture the feel of skin and human expression -- the moving moisture in the eye, the almost indecipherable quirks that make humans real. It'll be a wild experience.

That's about all the praise I'll give it. With all the positive and negative bustle surrounding this film, I think it's best to not sway too far in either direction. This movie could very possibly be the film that can't live up to enormous expectations, or the film that is a lot better than anyone gives it credit.

And while I'm trying not to Aliens-ize this, I can't help but feel excited at the little quote printed on the image above: "Jim and I kept in touch after Aliens, so we picked up right where we left off." Let's hope that's with at least some amazing butt-kicking action.

Remember Patrick Duffy? He spent 13 years as Bobby Ewing on Dallas (plus a few extra stints through the years). Then there was Step by Step, the goofy Suzanne Somers sitcom. After that, you wouldn't have seen much of him unless you're a Bold and the Beautiful fan. But now he's hitting the big screen. For the first time. At the age of 60.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's grabbed a part in You Again, the Disney comedy I mentioned back in April. Kristen Bell stars as a woman who finds out that her brother (Jimmy Wolk) is about to marry the girl (Odette Yustman) who made her time in high school a living hell. So she tries to convince her beloved brother that his fiancee isn't the nice girl he thinks she is. Duffy will play the former high school crush of the woman's rich Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) and her mom (Jamie Lee Curtis). How's that for a trio of '80s names?

I'm not sure how this whole triangle is going to come together in the film about someone else entirely, but I think it's just really great to see Duffy getting some big-screen work after all these years. If he starts a new trend for ol' television stars, who do you want to see next?

And, as an extra bonus, hit the jump to see "Patrick Duffy & The Crab: The Crab Dares Patrick To Eat a Dime."

What would it take for you to get up, leave your house, spend a few dollars ... all to enjoy a film that you already own on DVD? Put another way, would you fly halfway across the country to see a brand-new 35mm print of your all-time favorite movie? Well I did last weekend! As it stands I only need the flimsiest of excuses to visit Austin, Texas, but last week I had a chance to see a friend's film in front of a packed, horror-hungry crowd (it was The Collector, and I dug it) -- followed only a few days later by an Alamo Drafthouse sold-out screening of (wait for it) Ridley Scott's A L I E N. The near-flawless* sci-fi horror film that still resides at #1 on my lifetime list.

So I sat down with a bunch of great friends (and a huge batch of wonderfully well-behaved audience members) to see a film I've gone over ... about 25 times. So what new stuff did I see? First off, I was struck by how much the audience loved Yaphet Kotto as the ever-griping space mechanic known as Parker. He's the only real source of light humor in the film, and virtually all of his dialog was met by appreciative chuckles from the audience. Especially when he keeps warning Dallas and Ash to "freeze it, freeze the damn thing! Why don't they freeze it?"

The latest scoop on Ghostbusters 3 has Sigourney Weaver pegged to return alongside the rest of the original cast members. Well, when SciFi Squad's Mike Moody chatted her up recently, Ms. Weaver seemed to be singing a very different tune. Here's a snippet:

Mike Moody: The rumor is you might revisit one of your famous comedy roles, Dana Barrett, in another Ghostbusters sequel. Where do you think Dana and Peter Venkman's relationship will be when the new movie picks up?

Sigourney Weaver: Probably non-existent.

Really?

SW: Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I think they're still writing it, but (laughs) I'd be very surprised ... You never know. I just did a benefit with Bill (Murray), and we love working together, but I think they're trying to create something new completely with the Ghostbusters, although I know Bill is in it. I hope my little son Oscar (from Ghostbusters II) is a Ghostbuster!

So, you won't be appearing in the movie?

SW: No, I don't expect to have anything to do with it, although I wish them well.

Weaver also talked about the planned Alien prequel, whether she'd have anything to do with it and what it means to her to hear that Ripley was recently named the most iconic science fiction character of all time. Read the rest over at SciFi Squad.

Be still our spacey hearts. There is no doubt that Sigourney Weaver is the ultimate Queen of Aliens. She's the unstoppable Ripley, the saucy Gwen DeMarco, and now she's heading to Area 51. But not just any 51 -- the infamous UFO hotspot as seen through the eyes of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Variety reports that Weaver has signed on for Paul (the upcoming comedy mentioned here and here) along with Reno 911's Joe Lo Truglio and Blythe Danner, who seems to be comedy crazy these days. Paul focuses on two science fiction geeks who decide to make a pilgrimage to the otherworldly hotspot, and in the process, end up running into an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). Unfortunately, there's no word on who Weaver and the rest will play. Me, I'm hoping she's some sort of tough alien-wrangler determined to recapture Paul. Anything less would be a waste of her experience.

With these names (plus Bateman, Wiig, Hader, and Lynch from the last round), this film is going to be a puupuu platter of comedic talent, and the first time the geeky Brit duo face off against the world of American comedy. How do you think they'll fare?

My inbox, Facebook, and Twitter page were semi-flooded with messages of support and condolence when this A L I E N remake gossip hit the wires, and that's because (as anyone in the universe can tell you), it's my #1 favorite film of all time. Mainly because it's just about the perfect horror film, but also because it's a movie that helped plant me on the road of movie freakdom, and for that I'm eternally grateful. Plus it has Sigourney Weaver in her underwear.

So if a film as undeniably flawless as A L I E N can be considered for a remake, it begs the question: What movie won't they remake? Keep in mind that Psycho, Halloween, The Manchurian Candidate, and King Kong have already earned remakes, which tells me that all bets are off. Not even Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, or The Wizard of Oz are safe. Therefore, clearly, remakes are a force of pure evil.

Then again, there IS the old Shakespeare argument, the one that says "Hey, the Bard's plays have been remade over and over for centuries, and surely you wouldn't call Casablanca superior to King Lear, would you?" To which I would respond, "Good point. And no, Casablanca is definitely not superior to King Lear. But A L I E N certainly is."

Oh, what might have been! Alison Lohman gives a terrific performance as the cursed loan officer Christine Brown in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, which opens tomorrow. If not for the vagaries of scheduling, though, Ellen Page would have played the lead role. Would Page have been any better? We'll never know, but she joins a long list that inspires thoughts of 'What if ...?'

Once upon a time, we might have seen Leslie Howard as the titular Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi as The Monster. Instead, Colin Clive played the good doctor, Boris Karloff got a jump-start on life, and the rest is horror history. Here are seven more recent examples of actors and actresses who were considered for key roles in great horror films ... and the ones who replaced them, listed in chronological order. [Disclaimer: Based on information provided on IMDb's "trivia" pages, so no guarantees on accuracy.] Better? Worse? You decide.

1. Melanie Griffith / Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

Even though she was in her mid-20s, Spacek looks so young and fragile as Carrie that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Griffith was 18 or 19 and already had made an impression in Night Moves, The Drowning Pool, and Smile when she auditioned to play the telekinetic high schooler. Conveying Carrie's complexities might have been beyond her still-developing skills at that point. The pic above, left, is from Joyride, released the following year.

Those who know and love the film will no doubt mention its innate "watchability," but newcomers to the great comedy Galaxy Quest may find themselves most intrigued by the bizarre cast. Is that Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell stealing every scene that isn't nailed down? And what's Sigourney Weaver doing in a broad comedy? And wasn't that Justin Long ... and there's Missi Pyle ... and Rainn Wilson! And how is the film so funny if Tim Allen is the lead? When did Alan Rickman become so funny? And (my favorite) who is that guy playing the babbly alien leader Mathesar? He's hilarious!

But the cast is not the reason that DreamWorks is re-releasing Galaxy Quest on DVD this week. Nope, it's because Dean Parisot's widely-adored Galaxy Quest is an obvious but very affectionate Star Trek satire, and what with the new Trek making all sort of waves this month, the Galaxy Quest re-release seemed like a pretty obvious idea. Clearly I believe that this fine farce deserves a spot on your DVD shelf, but is the new version actually worth the "double dip," or should you just stick with your current version?

I'm not sure it was well worth the wait for a behind-the-scenes photo like the one above, but I will admit it's very nice to see an actual image from James Cameron's Avatar that didn't leak online with a ton of "Is it real or is it fake?" baggage towing behind. The LA Times have debuted the first official image from the Titanic director's much-anticipated sci-fi epic, due in theaters on December 18, 2009, and it shows director James Cameron pointing at something while star Sam Worthington (wearing a backpack of some sorts, as well as something on his wrists) looks on. We're not entirely sure what set they're on, but it looks like the inside of a ship.

This digital 3-D flick (which is a mix of CGI and live action shot on special cameras developed by Cameron) tells of a paraplegic ex-marine war veteran (Worthington) who's sent to establish a human settlement on the distant planet of Pandora, but winds up in a battle against the planet's indigenous population, the Na'vi. Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana and Giovanni Ribisi also star. No word on when the first trailer will arrive (possibly in front of X-Men Origins: Wolverine or during the Oscars??), but one imagines we'll see more of Avatar within the next couple months.