2009 April 23 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

ELM ST gets its NANCY

Rooney Mara

According to Bloody Disgusting, relatively unknown actress Rooney Mara (Urban Legend 3) is in final negotiations to play the lead role of Nancy Thompson in Platinum Dunes soon to be filming re-boot of A Nightmare on Elm Street. She joins a cast lead by Jackie Earl Haley (Watchman) who will play Freddy Krueger, Kyle Gallner (Haunting in CT) and Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles) who will play two teenagers haunted by Freddy. While I haven’t seen Mara’s limited film work I did nightmare-on-elm-street-3-posters

catch her on two episodes of ER this season.

It’s hard to say if she will do justice to Heather Langenkamp’s original Nancy but I will guarantee this new Elm Street film will live or die on how well the Nancy character is written and performed. While it’s a given that Robert Englund was brilliant as Freddy Krueger in Wes Craven’s 1984 original, the film became a classic because Langenkamp’s Nancy was every bit as good as the film’s heroine.

While Rob Zombie’s re-imagining of John Carpenters classic Halloween had a lot of problems, the biggest by far was his total disregard for that film’s heroine Laurie Strode. That’s a mistake this Elm Street remake cannot afford to make. Nancy needs to be a central figure and a strong counterpoint to Freddy’s evil. Although I haven’t read the new Elm Street script, which has been leaked online, it appears there are some significant changes, one which make the Nancy character a loner Goth chick. I’ll reserve the right to judge that change when I see the final film but I hope they don’t change much of what made the original a genre classic.

April 23, 2009 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | Rooney Mara to play Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street | Leave a Comment

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT signs director DAVID SLADE to helm its third TWILIGHT film ECLIPSE

days-of-night Summit Entertainment has announced that is has secured the services of director David Slade to helm the third installment of their Twilight franchise which is titled The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It’s amazing how fast Summit is moving setting up the third entry in this franchise even though the second installment, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, has just begun filming under the direction of Chris Weitz (American Pie).

It’s become quite apparent that Summit is looking to broaden there overall fan base for the series by hiring a director known for two R-rated films. I think the Slade hiring is a good move as he’s certainly an interesting talent. Besides helming the very involving adult oriented psychological thriller Hard Candy which starred Ellen Page, Slade went on to direct 30 Days of Night, a film that I think is one of the very best vampire films made in the last ten years. Going by that movie there’s no doubt the guy can create terrific atmosphere and deliver a scary brand of vampire. My only question would be: why hire another director for the third installment before you see what Weitz does with the second installment. What if he turns out a great movie? Wouldn’t you want him back! I’ve never seen anything like this. Since the success of Twilight put Summit Entertainment on the map, I would guess they’re being as aggressive as possible to keep interest high while looking to maximize the overall products box-office potential. New Moon is scheduled to hit theaters Nov 20, 2009 and Eclipse June 30, 2010.

April 23, 2009 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | David Slade to direct The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | Leave a Comment

Fringe’s ANNA TORV on the verge of becoming a STAR

anna-torv After watching every episode of Fox’s highly entertaining and fascinating new program Fringe this season, I’d have to say lead character, Anna Torv, is the most interesting actress working in television right now. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a major talent who will eventually find her way to the big screen. Born and raised in Melbourne Australia, Torv speaks with a thick Australian accent off-camera, but is every bit the American when she steps into her character of FBI agent Olivia Dunham.

If you haven’t seen Fringe yet, this JJ Abrams produced series plays like a cross between House and The X-Files. Torv, a talent I never heard of before she was cast on Fringe, does a great job playing the character with a powerful combination of self confidence and a vulnerability that makes her extremely appealing. In many ways she reminds me of Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. High praise indeed but Torv in my mind is something special. With a solid 11 million viewers a week it appears to be a given that Fringe will be back for a second season and I have no doubt she will continue to be the engine behind of the shows success, although the supporting cast (Joshua Jackson, John Noble) are also terrific. Here’s a clip of her first ever TV interview on David Letterman, showing her promoting Fringe. Take a LOOK