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Exclusive Interview – Writer Tamzin Rafn Talks Albatross

Jamie Neish — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:00:26 +0000

Premiering at the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival in June to – mostly – rapturous applause, Albatross is a coming-of-age comedy-drama centring on verbose, would-be writer Emilia’s incendiary effect on a struggling author, Jonathan (Sebastian Koch), and his respective family, including wife Joa (Julia Ormond) and daughter Beth (Felicity Jones.

Last week, HeyUGuys had the opportunity to speak to the films riotous writer Tamzin Rafn about Albatross’ inspiration, the trials and tribulations letting her script be made into a film, how she felt about Niall MacCormick as a director, her neglected yet brilliantly titled rom-com and her plans for the future.

Here is said interview in its full, unabridged glory.

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HeyUGuys: Firstly, what was your inspiration behind Albatross?

Tamzin Rafn: Albatross wasn’t my first screenplay. My first ever screenplay was a rom-com called Audrey Disorderly – a great title given the disorderly mess of the writing in it – and it told me that I loved the process. That script instantly, but incredibly fortuitously, got me an agent and was optioned by a small producer and, buoyed by instant success, I wrote a second comedy which I gave my husband to read whilst I popped off to the cinema. He read it and, rightly, said I didn’t know how to write humans. It was so awful that we decided that it should never see the light of day and we ceremoniously burnt it on the BBQ. The lesson, an age old one, was to write what you know and it turns out I don’t really know many funny fat lawyers with self-esteem issues which caused the fire in the first place.

What I did know about though was naughty girls in seaside towns. I knew that because I’d been one and I always loved movies about people who misbehaved. Plus, not long before, whilst I was writing the BBQ debacle script, Juno had come out and there was a ton of press about Diablo Cody, this stripper who had just put down her bra and picked up her pen, and I found that quite inspiring. Not the stripper part – that never really floated my boat – but the other bit was quite exciting. So I sat down and I thought about everything I loved in movies. That list ran to: naughty girls, seaside towns, writers and scandalous behaviour. I then watched every movie that fitted that for me – The Wonder Boys, The Squid And The Whale, Wish You Were Here, The Door In The Floor, Thirteen.

And there we have it. Da-da… Albatross.

What made you want to write a script in the first place? It must be an incredibly daunting and lonely experience. Was it always your aim in life?

Are you kidding me? Who doesn’t want to work in film? And I’m not a director. And I may be a hammy show-off but apparently I’m a dreadful actress (I think I’m good though. That helps).

I love writing but I’m not a solitary person. This is why I still have a day job as well. I would literally start gnawing off my own arm if I was left on my own for more than a week – I crave company in the bathroom. Plus I’m a terrible magpie. Where else am I going to get stories from? My husband is a director and he often works weekends and we work well together so we are happy, as long as there is wine and buddies at the end of it, to spend the weekend writing.

I obviously aim to write forever. It’s a lovely thing, writing. You don’t need anyone else to do it, you can do it at any age and you get so much pleasure from it.

My ultimate aim is obviously to move to Hollywood, get incredibly white straight teeth and a minuscule waistline and throw out handbags like used coke cans. But I think my sensibility is quite British and I would really hope that films like The Inbetweeners are putting more money back into the British film industry and allowing us to make more movies here of the types we want to make.

Obviously there are pre-conceived ideas and conventions behind the coming-of-age genre. For me, Albatross marked a defiance of those boundaries and represented a new direction. Was it always intentional to push the boundaries and try something new rather than succumbing to generic ideals?

Although this is very definitely a coming-of-age tale, I didn’t really pop it in a box in that way at any stage – until it came out and that sounded good. I think I was trying to write a cuckoo-in-the-nest comedy movie (and the original incarnation of the script was very much that) and I just happened to choose a coming-of-age character to do so.

I was a nightmare at 17. I was a nightmare at 14, 15, 16 and 18 too. I chose 17 so that some things were legal and some things were still banned. When my mum saw the film in Edinburgh, there were a group of my friends up there with me. She turned to them and said, “If you think Emilia was bad, Tamzin was worse”. So pushing the boundaries came as a result of that being an actuality in my teens. It just so turns out that being a nightmare comes naturally to me. And writing Emilia was like writing a version of myself but adding characteristics to make it filmic and that meant giving her some tragedy and heart to explain her behaviour. My behaviour was unexplained. My own upbringing was pretty idyllic and my rebellion came from a much more selfish place so, basically, I was simply a cow - but the end result is that it has helped create this film.

I’m not sure that answers that question. It turns out I can waffle in text just as much as I can waffle in conversation. Whodathunkit?

Do the themes of loneliness, rejection and adapting yourself to fit that run through the film mimic your life in any way? Did you write from certain experiences?

Those themes resonate more in the fact that they’re fears. They tap into things I feared at 17, and probably still do fear. Still needy.

As I said before, the film explores a variety of themes and ideas. Was it important for you to layer your film, so that it can be unravelled and seen through many different eyes in a variety of ways?

It’s always important to hold information back. The audience only know what they’re given. It’s a powerful position to be in.

It was important to me that you didn’t instantly know that Emilia lived with her grandparents. I really wanted that little bits about her to just drip out. I withheld that she’d been expelled from school too – not particularly because it lead anywhere but more so that people would keep reading in the hope that it would. It’s so easy to put down a boring script so I was throwing anything at it to keep people reading. A friend of mine who I asked to read it when it was still a work in progress said to me, “Very good. I got to page 78”. I immediately raced home to see what the lull was on page 78 and why she got bored enough to put it down and never go back to it. (Actually, I never worked it out. I’ve decided my friend is not a very good reader instead)

The other thing was that Audrey Disorderly, my first script, followed one character. Audrey was in every scene and I couldn’t work out (as a novice) whether that was normal, whether I’d ever seen a movie where, unless you were with the protagonist you couldn’t witness the action (obviously happens a lot but I was learning). So Albatross was also an exercise in multi-protagonist narratives. It’s quite refreshing to write yourself into a cul-de-sac and think, “Oops, skip to Joa being mean then” to get yourself out of a situation.

How was your relationship with the director [Niall MacCormick]? Did he approach you about directing your screenplay, or was it all done through your publicist?

The script of Albatross was optioned, about three weeks after my agent sent it out, by Marc Samuelson and CinemaNX. This is unheard of, by the way. More than that, it was filming within a year of that. This is almost unprecedented. I realize I am very lucky.

They sent the draft out to directors, met a heap of people without me, whittled it down and then I met some of them. I obviously had my favourites and Niall was among them so I was really glad when they offered it to him and he said yes. It was a Sunday night I think and, as he lives in Croatia, he was on a plane over on Monday morning. I was beyond excited on that day.

I’m not going to lie though. Working with a director, any director, is hard. When you’re writing, you’re your own boss. No one tells you what to think or what to feel or what to put on screen. All directors have their own story they want to tell and, it’s often reflective of yours, but has its own characteristics. Straight off, Niall wanted to cut a character – Beth’s brother Griffin who Emilia slept with when he came home from University and who made her realize how old Jonathan was. Griffin then rejected her as a silly little girl and devastated her. Cutting him was huge. Griffin was the entire reason that Emilia and Jonathan had a tempestuous end and the whole reason that Joa discovered the affair. However, what interested Niall was the friendship between Beth and Emilia and, whilst that was always very strong and central in the script, it wasn’t the reason that Emilia didn’t want to be with Jonathan anymore. It took some thinking. It took some arguments and it took a lot of collaboration. We love each other again now. You both want the same end result – A great film. What happens in the middle is the process.

Did you work closely with him/have any say when it came to the final cut?

I did have then, and still have now, a full time job. I took a couple of weeks off to spend with Niall getting the script right but everything else was done on evenings and weekend. There was a lot to cut and there was a lot to change. The worst thing is losing stuff you love but what I actually found even more difficult is that great swathes of stuff gets cut in the edit too. I estimate from the shooting script, nearly 20 pages aren’t on screen anymore because it was just too long. The stuff that gets cut is the stuff you love – comedy mostly – because it doesn’t drive the plot forward and that’s gutting but necessary.

I went to Isle of Man, where the film was set, for a couple of days one weekend (I saw the P Party being filmed) but I did any changes that needed doing during the shoot very early in the morning before work or very late at night when I got in.

Adrian, the producer, kept me in touch with what was going on, mainly if something exciting was happening or somebody was being made to do something awful (run into the sea in the Isle of Man in November, anyone?)

I only saw one rough cut before the final film. I had my comments, as everyone does, but it’s someone else’s job by this point and, once you get this far, the film is everyone’s baby. I was very supportive with what they had because I was so excited – even if in those early cuts you could see that Jessica was amazing and that Sebastian is really hot and that Niall had captured what I felt. It’s the weirdest feeling. It stops being your life and it becomes a movie.

How do you feel about the finished film? Do you feel Niall translated your words onto screen in a way that satisfies you?

I LOVE THE FONT MY NAME IS IN AT THE BEGINNING.

I think it’s a good film but obviously I’m nervous about ‘people’. Who knows what ‘people’ think? Someone on the internet has already called my script ‘execrable’ (which my friends have turned into ‘excrement’ for comedy value). Someone else took a whole paragraph to annihilate me personally. It’s going to happen because it’s not for everyone. I just hope that the someone it is for loves it like I loved Wish You Were Here as a teenager.

Edinburgh Film Festival was a revelation in getting in touch with the audience, I did three Q&A’s and it was so brilliant and enlightening and interesting to see what people connect to or want to know. AND when I got back, my agent passed on a message from David Leland (writer/director of Wish You Were Here) thanking me for referencing his film and wishing me luck with Albatross. And then I DIED WITH JOY.

Did you have any say when it came to casting? Are you pleased with the way Felicity Jones and Jessica Brown Findlay inhabited these characters you’d conceived and mapped out?

I could not be happier with the casting. Both Felicity and Jessica are the embodiment of the characters but also bring something else to it that you can’t write. But then I love Sebastian, who I hadn’t originally written as a German, and Julia who is so perfect for Joa. And most of all, I love Peter Vaughan because he makes everyone cry, which does my writing more of a service than it deserves, by just being heart-breaking in his performance. I was kept abreast of the casting process but it’s not my choice – it’s not my money at stake and good casting is all important. They knew what they were doing and I’m so grateful.

Is there anything you particularly liked about it the experience as a whole, or anything you wish you’d done differently?

No, you can’t go backwards. I think the fact that I was such a teenage mess has helped me now so I don’t like to have regrets. Well, one or two, but probably not repeatable here.

Who in the film industry do you admire?

In no particular order: Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Nora Ephron, Alexander Payne, Billy Wilder, David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Neil La Bute, Mike White, Todd Solondz, Paul Thomas Anderson, Neil Simon, Truman Capote.

Can you name some of your favourite films. Did they have any influence on Albatross?

The list includes: The Apartment, Jaws, Wish You Were Here, When Harry Met Sally, Sunset Boulevard, White Christmas, The Wizard Of Oz.

This list is never-ending. I think Sunset Boulevard and When Harry Met Sally vie for my wish to have written them most of all. Inspiring in different ways but both enviably brilliant. Lord, may I one day have the guts to write a monkey funeral as a throwaway plot point. Or the words Baby Fish Mouth.

Do you have any projects currently in the works?

I’m currently writing a biopic of Shirley Bassey, based on the book Miss Shirley Bassey by John Williams, for director Marc Evans and Rainy Day films (they made The Edge Of Love and Marc’s film Patagonia). I’m starting her at 14 and probably finishing around 22. I love Shirley Bassey and her life as a young girl bears a lot of resemblances to Emilia in a funny way. I can see why they chose me. That and my gushy pitch probably sealed the deal for me.

I have a couple of original ideas on the back burner too but I can’t take too much on seeing as I have a job too. I have to be sensible, particularly if someone is paying you to write. I’m not very good at being sensible so it takes some effort just to maintain one thing.

Finally, for those who might not know much about Albatross, could you sum the film up in a snappy sentence for us?

Ambition is in the eye of the beholder.

Thank you very much for your time, Tamzin.

Albatross hits U.K. cinemas on October 14. Click here to read my review.

New Look at Lea Michele’s Dorothy of Oz

Jon Lyus — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:27:12 +0000

If you’re looking for an animated return to Oz to counteract the Sam Raimi prequel project then look no further as a new picture for Dorothy of Oz has been released showing off the title character.

It’s only a small picture, but it continues the excellent work we’ve seen so far from the film, and there’s more fun to be had with the previously seen concept art, poster and character designs. Lea Michele has been plucked from her Gleedom to lend her voice to Dorothy Gale in Summertime Entertainment’s film, which is set just after the events of The Wizard of Oz with a tornado wrecked Kansas and a sudden trip back to Oz to meet up with her new friends.

There’s no denying that the artwork looks gorgeous and the rest of the cast, which includes Dan Akroyd, Kelsey Grammer and Patrick Stewart, promises something pretty spectacular. Here’s hoping Toto falls under a house in the first few minutes.

Here’s the pic, which was over at MTV first.

Sam Raimi and Danny Elfman BFF Again for Wizard of Oz

Adam Lowes — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:00:10 +0000

Many of you will be happy to learn that famed composer Danny Elfman has kiss and made up with former collaborator Sam Raimi, and will be performing scoring duties on the director’s next feature (the reworking of the Wizard of Oz, Oz The Great and Powerful).

Elfman famously fell out with The Evil Dead helmer during production on Spiderman 2, having forged a successful working relationship which began as far back as 1990’s Darkman. Elfman was very vocal with his grievances at the time, where he seemed to suggest it was a seismic shift of ego on Raimi’s behalf which drove a wedge between the two.

Good to see they’ve been able to patch things up. Elfman’s work with the director resembled the same symbiosis he shares with Tim Burton, and it’s also nice to know that the composer didn’t return due to financial reasons. With a roster of upcoming work on a number of high-profile projects (the adaptation of The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3, robot boxing drama Real Steel and two future projects with Burton) it looks like Elfman has never been busier.

Via The Playlist.

New Dorothy of Oz Poster Unveiled

Patrick Harley — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:00:31 +0000

It seems that Oz truly is the place to be nowadays. Still riding high on the ongoing success of Wicked in theatres, there has been talk of the wonderful Wizard and his homeland coming thick and fast over the last year.

But while most of the hype and debate has focused on Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful to the mooted Robert Zemeckis remake of the original film, the upcoming animated adventure Dorothy of Oz has been keeping itself a little quieter – until now.

Previously we’d seen a little concept art here and there, but now we have a full blown promotional poster to get excited over, sure to delight Oz-fans with it’s recognisable trademarks:

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

There is trouble in Oz and Dorothy is needed! With Glinda’s help, she and Toto return to Oz. Joined by her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion as well as exciting new characters, Dorothy sets out on a perilous journey to stop the crafty Jester from using the power of the Wicked Witch of the West’s wand to turn the people of Oz into puppets. That seems to be the least of Dorothy’s problems as her travels lead her straight into a treacherous maze, a cave full of very hungry dragons and an evil spell that could destroy the Yellow Brick Road. Dorothy has the daunting knowledge that it is up to her to stop Jester’s terrible plan. Audiences will welcome the return of the old Oz favorites and will love meeting new friends like Tugg a gruff talking boat and Wiser an owl with an unlucky attraction to molasses.

Written in the whimsical style of L. Frank Baum, “Dorothy of Oz” is sure to delight Oz fans old and new as they journey once again into the magical land of OZ.

Based on the book by Roger Stanton Baum (great-Grandson of Oz creator, L. Frank Baum), and featuring the voice talents of Lea Michele, Martin Short, Dan Akroyd, Kelsey Grammer and Patrick Stewart, Dororthy of Oz is being produced by Summertime Entertainment and will be released in 2012. Here’s hoping it’ll be a tornado of success.

Collidersource.

James Franco is Oz: The Great and Powerful

Jon Lyus — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:31:04 +0000

So it ends. Disney has found its wizard for the Sam Raimi directed prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful and it’s the man who most of us cinephiles will be watching in 48 hours time when he co-hosts the Oscars – James Franco.

For a long time Disney had Robert Downey Jr. pegged as the man who would pull on the cape of the Pre-Wizard of Oz wizard for Sam Raimi but he pulled out and it has taken a while for Disney to find their man. David Lindsay-Abaire’s story is based on the journey of the Wizard before met Dorothy in the Emerald City, and it is one of the many Oz projects on the go at the moment.

Deadline‘s report confirms the rumour that Franco was in talks to star in Raimi’s film and as well as garnering plaudits for his performance as Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours Franco is set to lead Rise of the Apes, itself a prequel, later in the year.

HeyUGuys A-Z of Cinema (K-O)

Adam Lowes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:00:48 +0000

Here at HeyUGuys, we aim to provide you with an all-encompassing look into the world of film. Whether you’re a fully-fledged cineaste, or just possess a casual interest, there’s something for anyone with our alternative A-Z of cinema, which starts today and runs through the week.

If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe if you’ve heard the ambient sounds of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!

Here are the letters K-O…

King Vidor (1894 – 1982) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He resides in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest career of any film director (it began in 1913 and ending in 1980). In 1979 he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award, having been nominated five previous times for a Best Director Oscar.

To give you an idea of how young cinema was when a teenage Vidor first caught a glimpse of his future, it was during a visit to see his first film (A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès), which happens to be one of the earliest films ever made.

Vidor’s first venture into sound was 1929’s Hallelujah!, a groundbreaking film which featured an African-American cast and established the new language for sound films. He was also one of a number of famous directors at the time, to work, uncredited, on the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Linda Manz (1961-) is an actress who appeared in a couple of memorable and influential cult features towards the end of the seventies. Her distinctive, androgynous look caught the attention of Terrence Malick who cast her as the young narrator in his second film (1978’s Days of Heaven), but Manz is arguably best known for her appearance in the 1979 film The Wanderers, where she played the antagonistic girlfriend of the leader of the fearsome street gang The Baldies.

In 1980, Manz starred alongside Dennis Hopper in Out of the Blue (his first directorial effort since 1971’s ill-fated The Last Movie). The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in that same year.

Absent from cinema screens for over a decade now, her only remaining roles post-1980 were in a handful of films towards the end of the noughties, including a small part in David Fincher’s The Game and a bigger one in Harmony Korine’s 1997 mid-west oddity Gummo.

Mumblecore is an American independent film movement which began life with the release of 2005’s Funny Ha Ha, a low-budget character piece by filmmaker Andrew Bujalski. It is primarily characterised by a modest production (often employing digital video cameras), focusing on personal relationships between twentysomethings, improvised scripts, and non-professional actors.

The name was actually coined by a sound editor on one of the early films and reflects, to some extent, the semi-improvisational, sometimes inaudible speech inflections delivered by some of the performers involved. Filmmakers in this field include Lynn Shelton, Bujalski, Mark and Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz and Joe Swanberg.

The Duplass brother scored a recent mainstream success by using many elements of Mumblecore within the studio system (Fox Searchlight) and with big name actors (John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener) in last year’s dark comedy Cyrus. Bujalski’s third independent feature Beeswax was released last year to great acclaim and praise.

Ned Ryerson is a character from much-loved comedy Groundhog Day played by “I know the face, not sure about the name” supporting actor Stephen Tobolowsky. Ryerson the is supremely annoying insurance salesman and former high school classmate of Phil Connors (Bill Murray) whom he has the unpleasant misfortune of running into every morning as he continually relives the one day.

Tales from the set of this film have been covered a number of times in Tobolowsky’s Podcast series, The Tobolowsky Files. A jovial and erudite storyteller, the actor (who has appeared in more than 200 films and TV show throughout his career) shares both personal and industry-based stories in each instalment.

Tobolowsky was actually reunited with Murray 11 years on from ‘Groundhog’ when they both appeared in the movie version of the comic strip Garfield. Probably safe to say it wasn’t a reunion which either actor celebrate. “Bing!!!!”

Ozploitation films are a type of low-budget horror, comedy and action (sometimes combining all three genres) features which were predominant in Australia from the early 1970’s to late 80’s. Made after the introduction of the R rating in 1971, filmmakers took full advantage of the new liberal landscape, and created a number of exploitation films with distinctly antipodean sensibilities.

Mad Max is perhaps the most famous example from the New Wave era, but there were many other notable films, including Alvin Purple (a crude sex comedy featuring Animal Kingdom co-star and Oscar nominee from this year, Jacki Weaver), Razorback, Roadgames, The Man from Hong Kong, BMX Bandits (starring a teenage Nicole Kidman) and Turkey Shoot.

The term Ozploitation was first used in 2008’s revealing and often hilarious documentary on the movement, Not Quite Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino (one of the interviewees and an unsurprising vocal admirer of the films produced) coined the phrase Aussiesploitation, which documentary director Mark Hartley then shortened to Ozploitation.

Check out F-J here.

HeyUGuys A-Z of Cinema (A-E)

Adam Lowes — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:00:04 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe you’ve heard the ambient soundscape of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!

Here are the letters A-E…

American Movie is the title of an award-winning 1999 documentary which follows the exploits of wannabe auteur Mark Borchardt as he attempts to pull together the funds to make his long-cherished feature film, “the great American movie” Northwestern.

Borchardt (with best friend and acid/booze casualty Mark Schank in tow) embarks on the making of a low-budget horror short named Coven (with often hilarious results) in the hopes of raising the capital for his dream project. This production soldiers on as Mark struggles to maintain a balance in the real world – he is way behind on maintenance for his three kids (from a past relationship), doesn’t hold down any regular employment, and still owes a large amount of money to his once-encouraging family.

American Movie was a critical success upon its debut and went on to win the Grand Jury prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Borchardt has yet to make his magnum opus.

Black List (The). Not to be confused with the politically-charged blacklist a number of figures from the US entertainment industry found themselves on during the 1940’s and 50’s, this one is an annual list of Hollywood’s most-admired unproduced screenplays, published each year on the second Friday of December.

Compiled by film executive Franklin Leonard, it began in 2004 as a survey with contributions from 75 film studio and production company executives. In 2009, over 300 executives gave their opinion and thoughts on that year’s entries.

Over the course of seven years, a number of screenplays which have cropped up on the list have been optioned, produced, and released – many to great commercial success, including the Oscar-winning Juno by Diablo Cody and Lars and the Real Girl by Nancy Oliver. Current titles from the list in production are Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Wizard of Oz reworking, Oz the Great and Powerful.

Chungking Express (1994) is a Hong Kong feature written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film is made up of two narratives, each concerning a Hong Kong policeman and his relationship with a woman. The first features Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin and the second stars Ka-Wai veteran Tony Leung, Faye Wong and Valerie Chow.

Wong Kar-wai is renowned for his expressionistic and often breath-taking imagery and lyrical beauty, achieved (in part) by a highly successful and collaborative relationship with Australian-born cinematographer Christopher Doyle, who has worked on the majority of his films. Chungking Express is no exception, and the vibrant Hong Kong city culture is captured here in all its bustling and exotic beauty. Be warned however – if you’re not a fan of 60’s classic California Dreamin’ stay away. It’s played almost constantly throughout!

This was the first film of the director’s to really reach an international audience, and in 1996, the film was release theatrically in the US under Kar-wai fan Quentin Tarantino’s (now defunct) distribution company under Miramax, Rolling Thunder.

Donald Cammell (1934 – 1996) was a Scottish-born director who came to prominence in 1968 when he co-directed the cult classic Performance alongside Nicolas Roeg. Throughout his almost thirty-year career, Cammell made only four films, and his second feature (1977’s sci-hi horror Demon Seed) was released almost a decade after his debut. His lack of productivity didn’t stop him becoming a cult figure in the industry however, where his bold and unconventional approach to narrative and content (his underappreciated serial killer thriller White of the Eye is another example of his unique viewpoint) found many admirers.

1995’s Wild Side was wrestled away from him in the edit by the producers, who had hoped for a more straightforward erotic thriller (had they not seen any of his previous work?!) This situation caused Cammell great distress and he ultimately committed suicide because of it. A happy ending of sorts came about when FilmFour commissioned a new edit of the film a few year later, which attempted to restore the late director’s original vision.

A novel called Fan-Tan he co-created with the equally-eccentric Marlon Brando in 1978, was published posthumously in 2005.

Executive Producer is the title given to someone who is generally not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but who may still have a hand in the overall production, possibly in dealing with the business and legal issues side.

Sometimes the title is more arbitrary in nature, and actors and directors can receive the credit in instances like bringing the property to the attention of a studio/other director, or by spending some time developing it themselves, before moving on elsewhere. Darren Aronofsky is a recent example of being credited in this role for The Fighter, a film he toyed with making (even bringing in another creative team) before settling on The Wrestler.

A number of popular family favourites from the 80’s and 90’s bore the mark of Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer. These films were made through his production company (Amblin), although in this case, it’s likely Spielberg would have been on hand to offer creative advice and support alongside the other aspects of production.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of the HeyUGuys A-Z.

Mila Kunis Joins Oz, The Great and Powerful

Jamie Neish — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:00:30 +0000

Vulture are reporting that Mila Kunis (Black Swan) has been cast in Oz, The Great and Powerful, the prequel to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.

With her involvement confirmed, it seems she will no longer be involved in the Hughes’ brothers live-action remake of Akira.

Kunis will star opposite James Franco (127 Hours), who has finally agreed to take on the main role.

Oz, The Great and Powerful tells the story of how the Wizard (Franco) arrived in Oz became the ruler.

Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) is attached to direct from a script penned by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole).

Movies You Never Got Around To Watching But Always Wanted To See

David Sztypuljak — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:00:22 +0000

Sky Movies HD have got quite a good season coming up called ‘Movies You Never Got Around To Watching But Always Wanted To See’ and this sort of thing is perfect for people who aren’t sure what movies they should watch.

Their week of films starts Monday 11^th Oct – Sunday 17^th Oct and includes classic and groundbreaking movies like Jurassic Park, Jaws, Cool Hand Luke and Dead Poets Society.

Have a look at the list below including the date and time it will air and I’ve given trailers for each movie, when it’s on TV and some of my favourite clips for some of the movies too.

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Mon 11th 5.45pm Dead Poets Society

Director: Peter Weir

Cast: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Welker White, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles

Synopsis: Set in an exclusive boys preparatory school in 1959, a newly appointed English teacher uses unconventional techniques to inspire his students in classic poetry.

O Captain, My Captain! (this is actually the last scene in the movie so don’t watch if you don’t want to know the end!

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Mon 11th 8pm Thelma & Louise (1991)

Director: Ridley Scott, Bobby Bass

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt, Geena Davis

Synopsis: Two women leave their small town, taking off on a run for their lives, after one of them kills a would-be rapist.

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Mon 11th 10.15pm Robocop (1987)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Cast: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O’Herlihy, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith

Synopsis: In the not-to-distant-future, a newly transfered Detroit police officer is remade into an indistructable cybornetic cop after being dismembered by a gang of thungs in an abandoned warehouse. Reborn as Robocop he is programed to serve and protect the citizens of Detroit and eliminate the rampant crime in the city streets so that a massive city-wide reconstruction project can get underway. But once he has completed his task, he sets his sites on the corruption inside Securities Concepts Inc.- the corporation that created him.

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Tues 12th 3.25pm Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Director: Stuart Rosenberg

Cast: Dennis Hopper, Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Lou Antonio

Synopsis: A brooding loner is sentenced to a prison chain-gang, stands up to the Nazi-like guards, and eventually becomes the leader of his fellow prisoners.

Cool Hand Luke Clip – Eating 50 Eggs!:

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Tues 12th 5.40pm A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany

Synopsis: From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash, Jr. experiences it all. A mathematical genius, he made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery once he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After many years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over this tragedy, and finally, late in life, received the Nobel Prize.

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Tues 12th 8pm Gran Torino (2008)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her

Synopsis: Walt Kowalski is a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them form the gangs that foul their neighborhood.

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Wed 13th 5.50pm Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

Director: Nicholas Ray

Cast: Dennis Hopper, James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus

Synopsis: The landmark teen film that solidified Dean’s image with the public follows the story of rebellious middle-class teens, disenfranchised with their parents, and given to a life of thuggery and deadly dangerous drag racing to win over women.

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Wed 13th 8pm Jurassic Park (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Joseph Mazzello, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis (Wikipedia): The narrative begins in August 1989 by slowly tying together a series of incidents involving strange animal attacks in Costa Rica and on Isla Nublar, the main setting for the story. One of the species, a strange small lizard-like creature with three toes, is identified later as a Procompsognathus. Paleontologist Alan Grant and his paleobotanist graduate student Ellie Sattler are abruptly whisked away by billionaire John Hammond (founder and chief executive officer of International Genetic Technologies, or InGen) for a weekend visit to a “biological preserve” he has established on an island 120 miles west off the coast of Costa Rica.

Jurassic Park: T-Rex Attack

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Thurs 14th 5.50pm Ghost (1990)

Director: Jerry Zucker, Steven Charles Jaffe

Cast: Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Root, Patrick Swayze, Tony Goldwyn

Synopsis: After he’s murdered, a young executive attempts to communicate with his girlfriend through a phony psychic.

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Thurs 14th 8pm Road To Perdition (2002)

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, Stanley Tucci, Paul Newman, Jude Law

Synopsis: Two fathers: Michael Sullivan, a hit man for the Irish mob in Depression-era Chicago; and Mr. John Rooney, Sullivan’s boss and the man who raised him as a son. Two sons: Michael Sullivan, Jr. and Connor Rooney, each desperate to earn his father’s favor. Jealousy and competition put them all on a collision course, ultimately bringing Sullivan’s work into his private life and leading to the death of his beloved wife and youngest son, Peter. Now Michael Sullivan and his surviving son are set on a journey instigated by tragedy and fueled by revenge.

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Fri 15th 6.15pm Tron (1982)

Director: Steven Lisberger

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes

Synopsis: A video game designer trying to prove a big time executive stole his idea is sucked into a corporation’s mainframe where programs are personified counterparts of their writers and “users” are subjects of religious faith. A well-crafted and scripted metaphor, TRON benefits from breakthrough computer animation.

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Fri 15th 8pm Minority Report (2002)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Peter Stormare, Tim Blake Nelson, Kathryn Morris

Synopsis: In Washington, D.C., in the year 2054, murder has been eliminated. The future is seen and the guilty punished before the crime has ever been committed. From a nexus deep within the Justice Department’s elite Pre-Crime unit, all the evidence to convict–from imagery alluding to the time, place and other details–is seen by “Pre-Cogs,” three psychic beings whose visions of murders have never been wrong. It is the nation’s most advanced crime force, a perfect system. And no one works harder for Pre-Crime than its top man, Chief John Anderton. Destroyed by a tragic loss, Anderton has thrown all of his passion into a system that could potentially spare thousands of people from the tragedy he lived through. Six years later, the coming vote to take it national has only fueled his conviction that Pre-Crime works. Anderton has no reason to doubt it… until he becomes its #1 suspect. As the head of the unit, Anderton is the first to see the images as they flow from the liquid suspension chamber where the Pre-Cogs dream of murder. The scene is unfamiliar, the faces unknown to him, but this time, the killer’s identity is clear–John Anderton will murder a total stranger in less than 36 hours. Now with his own unit tracking his every move, led by his rival Danny Witwer, Anderton must go below the radar of the state-of-the-art automated city, where every step you take is monitored. Because you can’t hide, everybody runs. With no way to defend himself against the charge of Pre-Crime, John must trace the roots of what brought him here, and uncover the truth behind the questions he has spent the past six years working to eliminate: Is it possible for the Pre-Cogs to be wrong?

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Sat 16th 4.30pm High Noon (1952)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Cast: Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Grace Kelly

Synopsis: On the day of his wedding to a peace-abiding Quaker girl, the marshal of a small town prepares for the peaceful, civilian life until word comes down that four outlaws are arriving that day on the noon train to seek revenge for things past. Thrown into the conflict of staying to fight or leaving his post as was planned, the marshal decides to confront them to the dismay of his new bride. But, when he can’t corral any help from any of the townsfolk who were his supposed firends, he must face the four alone.

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Sat 16th 6.10pm The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming, King Vidor

Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan (II), Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley

Synopsis: The tale of a young Kansas girl who dreams of a better world “somewhere over the rainbow.” When Dorothy is thrust into the eye of a tornado and lands in the fantasy world of Oz, she soon finds herself in a heap of trouble with three hapless misfits to guide, an evil witch at her heels, and no way to get home.

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Sat 16th 8pm Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Earl Boen

Synopsis: A decade after Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) destroyed the original Terminator, a second unstoppable killing machine (Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives from the post-apocalyptic year 2029. But this time his mission is to stop an even deadlier Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), made entirely of shape-shifting liquid metal and determined to kill young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the future leader of the human resistance. Sarah, John, and the Terminator counter by going after the scientist responsible for developing Skynet, the computer system fated to destroy humanity, leading to an explosive and spectacular clash with the fate of humanity in the balance. Whereas James Cameron’s original THE TERMINATOR was a low-budget marvel of efficiency and speed, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is an action-packed blockbuster with some of the most amazing stunts ever filmed and ground-breaking, Academy Award-winning special effects. Star Schwarzenegger was paid in the form of a $15 million dollar jet to revisit his most famous role as the Terminator, this time made kinder and gentler against the silent, relentless T-1000. One of the most popular films of the 1990s, James Cameron’s action masterpiece is both a thoughtful look at violence in human nature and an exciting, nonstop thrill ride.

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Sun 17th 3.20pm Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Director: Ken Hughes

Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle

Synopsis: A wacky inventor creates a super-car that can float as well as fly, and, along with his children, uses it to rescue his kidnapped father from an evil prince.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Clip – Toot Sweet

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Sun 17th 5.45pm It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

Director: Frank Capra

Cast: Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, H. B. Warner, Samuel S. Hinds, Frank Albertson

Synopsis: George Bailey is a small-town man whose life seems so desperate he contemplates suicide. He had always wanted to leave Bedford Falls to see the world, but circumstances and his own good heart have led him to stay. He sacrficed his education for his brother’s, kept the family-run savings and loan afloat, protected the town from the avarice of the greedy banker Mr. Potter, and married his childhood sweetheart. As he prepares to jump from a bridge, his guardian angel intercedes, showing him what life would have become for the residents of Bedford Falls is he had never lived.

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Sun 17th 8pm Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Synopsis: A giant great white shark arrives on the shores of a New England beach resort and wreaks havoc with bloody attacks on swimmers until a part-time sheriff teams up with a marine biologist and an old seafarer to hunt the monster down.

Jaws: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat!

Trailer for 3D Sequel to The Wizard of Oz

Adam Lowes — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:00:49 +0000

Bleeding Cool has posted the trailer for The Witches of Oz. The film (which appears to be a sequel of sorts to the original The Wizard of Oz story) is directed by one Leigh Scott, a veteran filmmaker from Hollywood knock-off masters Asylum. Transmorphers is amongst the number of features he’s made for the company (no prizes for guessing which franchise was being paid “homage” to there) .

Wonder if Oz is any good? It looks well shot and the effects work appears to be more than adequate for this type of low-budget fantasy flick. This has been produced by an independent company called MarVista Entertainment Inc, who seem to have a little more money then Asylum, as the ensemble cast proves. B-movie regulars like Christopher Lloyd, Lance Henrikson and Jeffrey Combs are all present and correct, and it’s also a shrewd move on the company’s behalf to cast two former Hobbits (Sean Astin and Billy Boyd).

Maybe Scott, having cut his teeth on a large number of Asylum schlock (often multitasking) has learned to produce something of quality here, the same way that the movie brats in the 70’s learned their trade through making cheap product for producer Roger Corman.

It’s doubtful that we have another Spielberg on out hands, but maybe this director is what the cash-strapped film/TV movie industry needs.

Judge for yourself below:

Google Doodle Celebrates The Wizard of Oz

Jon Lyus — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:23:20 +0000

Just a little something to brighten your day – Google have decided to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz with a lovely adapted logo, commonly known as a Google Doodle.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic, enduring tale, told beautifully by Victor Fleming (and others) and it’s a film everyone should see. It was my first movie love and I wore out the VHS tape when I was a kid.

With all the talk of remakes, sequels and prequels (oh my!) going on, there’s never been a better time to rediscover this wonderful film from 1939, and for today at least Google will be nudging you down the yellow brick road.

Here’s the full logo,

Just wonderful.

Drew Barrymore to Direct Wizard of Oz Sequel?

David Sztypuljak — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:00:33 +0000

Drew Barrymore is going to direct a sequel to The Wizard of Oz in a movie called Surrender Dorothy according to Pajiba.com. Now, I’m going to have to turn to more seasoned websites to help me on this one since this has been on the boil for nearly 10 years, well before HeyUGuys started!

After cutting her directorial teeth on Whip It last year (or this in the UK), which turned out to be a great movie, Pajiba.com are reporting oi that Barrymore who was originally going to star in the movie when it as first announced back in 2002, is now going to direct.

SlashFilm point us towards an article in Entertinament Weekly from way back in 2002 (see why i need help!) which gives us some more info on the project. Bear in mind it seems like things have moved on a fair bit now so it’s probably not 100% accurate:

In ”Surrender Dorothy,” Barrymore would play an updated version of the heroine of the L. Frank Baum novels and the 1939 movie. Kosberg described the premise a couple years ago to writers’-clearinghouse website AbsoluteWrite.com. While Dorothy appeared to have dispatched the Wicked Witch by melting her with a bucket of water, Kosberg said, ”What if the Witch didn’t die? What if it was all an act? And now it’s the year 2000 and the Wicked Witch is still alive and well and mean and green and she’s broken out of Oz Jail and she’s on her way to New York to get those damn red slippers once and for all.”

So, not too much is known about what’s going on with this yet but we’ll obviously keep you informed. Click the links in this article for more info, especially on Pajiba.com.

The Wizard of Oz Returns to the Big Screen

Jon Lyus — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:11:16 +0000

There are classic movies and there are enduring tales of timeless adventure; you could fill a dozen multiplexes with critically acclaimed films but often the most perfect films are relegated to DVD shelves and (if we’re lucky) a Blu-ray restoration.

Films were meant to be seen on the big screen and now the BFI are giving UK readers the chance to see one of the most magical and sublime fantasies ever to charm the ruby slippers from our feet.

The Wizard of Oz is a film so enthralling and beautiful it will endure as long as human beings have eyes, and now it is being shown across the country complete with a crystal clear digital restoration, so expect vivid witchy greens and the rubiest slippers you’ve ever seen, as well as well as the numerous lions, and tigers and bears (you know the rest).

This fairytale has a delicious dark side and is a joy to behold at every viewing, time hasn’t weathered its adventurous spirit and if this is the first time you will have seen it (firstly, where have you been?) you must must take the opportunity the BFI are offering you this Christmas and indulge in a truly classic movie.

The BFI sums it up perfectly, with a playful hint to its legacy:

One of the most enduringly enjoyable family entertainments, The Wizard of Oz has enthralled generations of film-goers, appealing to all ages and across all cultures. Now 70 years old, it remains the perfect Christmas treat – a must for children, the Young in Heart, and all friends of Dorothy.

I’ve listed the cinemas that are playing The Wizard of Oz during December, click here to find out more and book your tickets, trust me – your heart will love you forever.

Mon 7 Dec
Cineworld cinemas across the UK

Sat 12 Dec
BFI Southbank

Wed 16 Dec
The Poly, Falmouth

Thu 17 – Fri 18 Dec
Stamford Arts Centre

Fri 18 – Tue 24 Dec
Gate Picturehouse

From Fri 18 Dec
Picturehouse at FACT Liverpool
Harbour Lights Southampton

Sat 19 Dec
Watershed Bristol
Broadway Nottingham

Sun 20 Dec
Duke of York’s Picturehouse, Brighton

Mon 21 – Tue 22 Dec
Filmhouse Edinburgh

Wed 30 – Thu 31 Dec
Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle

Movies That Put the OWEE in Halloween

Tracy Ladd — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:04:52 +0000

It’s that time of year again. The pumpkins are out, the leaves are turning colors, the air is brisk and chilly. It’s time for the spooky stories, the frightening films, the maybe not so scary but at times certainly inventive costumes and that most important element…..candy corn. Yes folks, Halloween season is upon us once again.

My yearly tradition on All Hallows Eve is to hole up in my house, turn off all the lights and settle in to a nice good ole fashioned Horror movie. What other way to celebrate right? I figured this would be the perfect time to run down a list movies that fit this time of year perfectly. Let’s run them down by letter shall we?

H - Starting with the obvious, Halloween. John Carpenter’s fright fest with a score so simple, it’s frightening….literally. Laurie Strode agrees to babysit on the scariest night of the year. Little does she know what Halloween has in store for her.

The original version still holds up and I still get goose bumps when I hear that infamous tune start to play. One of the freakiest scenes was after Laurie thinks she has bested Michael Meyers. We see Laurie in the foreground, and Michael laying flat in the background. Just when we think we can take a breath, we see Michael sit up straight. I have two thoughts that run through my head each time I see this scene. 1) Tony Moran has amazing core muscles, and 2)Why did she stick around…get out…get out of the house! Jamie Lee Curtis was great as babysitter Laurie. She was able to make you feel her fear and make you jealous of her pipes all in the same scene. She didn’t earn the moniker The Scream Queen for nothin’ folks.

A – The Amityville Horror (1979 & 2005)
Starting with the 1979 version starring Margo Kidder and James Brolin as a newly married couple who find, buy and move into their dream house. Of course the house was witness to a heinous crime and the evil that lurks there starts to wreak havoc on the poor unsuspecting Lutz family. The standout here was James Brolin. His transformation from loving husband and father to evil, mad husband and father is subtle, but effective. Moving over to the remake, or rebake, I should say. The 2005 version was rebaked to a nice medium rare. It was easy to chew on, and I enjoyed it. The casting of Ryan Reynold in Brolin’s role was interesting but he showed his chops and made it his own. The real star, after thinking about it, is the house itself. That house gives me the creeps just looking at pictures of it. It’s freaky! I would never go there…..ever. The standout scene in the 2005 version is when the priest comes to bless the house. He ends up locked in a room with a swarm of flies. I believe his last line of dialogue is “Your house scares me”. Buddy, you’re not joking….it scares me too.

The orignal had the stigma attached to it that the story was based on actual events. It came out several years ago, that it was in fact fiction and the events that transpired in the house didn’t actually happen. Both films still have the ability to leave you a bit restless.

L – The Lost Boys (1987)
Ok, so not so much a “horror” film, but it has Vampires. And that is always a good thing. Michael and Sam are brothers who, with their divorced mother, move to the coastal town of Santa Carla. Things from strange to freaky when Michael gets mixed up with bad seeds of the town. Michael finds himself walking the fine line between human and vampire and Sam tries to help get his brother back by enlisting the help of the Frog brothers.

Comedy ensues, and vampire guts fly. Death by stereo was invented. And as far as I’m concerned, anything with Keifer Sutherland, is bound to rock. This is a Vampire film made for an MTV Generation.

L – Last House on the Left (2009)
I have to go with the remake on this one since I’ve never seen the original. I know I know, bad Tracy! I went to see one because my Aunt called in a marker. I drag her to a load of crap movies, so this was her pick. I came out surprised.

After a family tragedy, Mari Collingwood goes to spend the summer with her parents at their summer home. After visiting with a friend in town, Mari gets caught up with nasty group of people. Violence, trauma, death, the usual stuff ensues. Tony Goldwin and Monica Potter play Ma and Pa Collingwood and the leader of the bad guys is the stellar Garret Dillahunt. You may not know the name, but you’ll know him when you see him. This film has plenty of jumps and couple of parts that made my jaw hit the floor. Not so much in the horror veins as the other films on this list, but it has just enough of that uneasy feeling to warrant a mention.

O -The Others (2001)
“I am your daughter!” Oh how I love saying that to my mom. And she gets it, which makes it even better. Having seen the movie with her, I pull out that line when appropriate. The Others, starring Nicole Kidman as a wife and mother who is trying to raise her kids while her husband if off fighting in the Civil War. Her kids have a condition where they can’t be exposed to sunlight, and loud noises bother them. This film is typical, with the suspense and creepy factor. I mean, the movie has Fionnula Flanagan in it. And that woman knows how to serve up some creepy.

There is a bit of a twist which I’m ashamed to say I didn’t see coming. I’m normally quite good and spotting those kinds of things. Perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention. Anyway, if you watch it alone, with all the lights off and you start to hear noises, I would say one might be a bit unnerved. I think I’ll call my mom right now and tell her once again that I am, indeed, her daughter. It gets an eye-roll, but her response to this is nothing compared to her response to my next entry.

W -The Wizard of Oz (1939)
I know. You’re scratching your head thinking “what the hell is she thinking??”. Wizard of Oz isn’t a horror movie! I beg to differ. This movie has been dishing the creep my entire life and then some. A green witch hell bent on revenge! Flying evil monkeys! Lions and tigers and bears oh my! Flying evil monkeys! All of that is downright scary stuff.

Dorothy and her little dog get caught up in a tornado and ends up taking the yellow brick road trip of a lifetime with a couple of high maintenance companions. You’ve seen it, you know the story. You must also see the creepy too right?
Not to bring my mom into this again but, she hates this movie. With a passion. So of course, every time it’s on TV, I call her and tell her to flip it to whatever channel, which then leads to about 3 minutes of cursing in my ear. Then I giggle and hang up. It’s not nice, but it’s fun. I watched this so much as a kid, I’ll probably never watch it again. The thought of it creeps me out.

E – The Entity (1981)
Even though it’s been ages since I’ve seen this one, I can still recall certain scenes and they still freak me out a bit. Barbara Hershey is Carla Moran. A single mother who finds that the nighttime visits she is being paid, isn’t coming from a friendly, or human for that matter, source. Carla finds herself the focal point of an entity that forces itself on her continuously. Thinking that she is going mad, she enlists the help of a paranormal research team. After a plan to rid Carla of her attacker goes awry, but seems to work, Carla and her family bail from the house they were living in to start fresh. At the end Carla still experiences the attacks but with less frequency. Pretty messed up right? Word on the street is that this film is based on actual events and experiences of the main character.

Given the subject matter, it’s probably not a proper movie for a youngster to watch….which is exactly what I was when I saw it on HBO. Anything that says it’s based on fact, or actual events, or inspired by true events shines like a beacon to me. I’m instantly curious and must see it. Call it morbid curiosity I guess. I don’t have a particular need to re-watch this one however. Just the thought of it being based on fact is enough to give me goosebumps!

E -The Exocist (1973)
Growing up I never had any restrictions about what I was allowed to watch. As evidenced by my previous entry. The Exocist was the one film that was forbidden. I asked and asked and begged and pleaded with my mom to let me watch it. Every time I got a stern look followed by “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” It wasn’t until I was 18 and legally an adult, although still living at home with mom, that I brought it home from work. She asked me what movie I rented and I proudly stated “The Exorcist!” After enduring another stern look, she turned around and walked out of the room leaving me to my scare fest. After watching poor little Regan turn into something evil and do some not so nice things with a crucifix, I understood my mom’s reluctance.

I actually didn’t think the film was super scary either. Even though I may never look at pea soup the same way again. I guess the issue here was that since it was so forbidden, I had it built up in my head that this was the movie that I was going to lose sleep over, and I felt a little bit let down. Several years later when it was re-released in the theaters, I went with a boat load of friends and felt the effect to a greater degree. Seeing Regan do that crazy spider walk down the stairs on the big screen genuinely freaked me out.

N – Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
1, 2, Freddie’s comin’ for you……3, 4, better lock your door…..5,6, grab a crucifix…7,8 gonna stay up late…..9,10 never sleep again.
Freddie Kruger. The best villain of the 80′s horror movies. He was so much more effective than Jason or Michael Myers. I attribute it to the fact that Freddie had a quality that the others didn’t…..personality. Freddie was such a menacing figure, but he terrorized with panache. And you have to give kudos to Robert Englund for pulling that off. Freddie runs around and wreaks havoc on the kids whose parents yanked him out of the living gene pool years prior. The twist, he’s offing these kids by way of their dreams. Nancy is the one smart teenager who puts it all together and fights Freddie to the bitter end.

The remake is currently in post production with Jackie Earle Haley donning the infamous striped sweater. I think it’s a perfect fit, no pun intended. I recently watched the trailer and got a bit excited for it, so hopefully it’ll do the original justice. Whether or not they decide to continue on with the sequels is anybody’s guess. I stopped watching after Dream Warriors. It just got plain silly after that. I was impressed with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare however. I thought that was an interesting spin on the story. Nightmare is a must see for anyone who digs the scary movies. When this film came out, it was a rare occasion where you simultaneously laughed and screamed at the same time. Good ole Freddie just had that effect on people.

Well folks, that sums up my list. I hope I’ve given you all some ideas on what movie you’re going to watch on Halloween. So go get your loved one, hunker down and grab a wubie, turn off the lights and put in your favorite scary movie. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing on October 31st. Let us know what scary movies you love and why in the comments.