News

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network, our array of film and TV chats cover horror mega lists, comic pastiches and more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

Modern Horror Podcast

Straying a little away from their usual patch, Hugh McStay and A. J. Black dissect Variety’s recent Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time list, but how many modern horror pictures make the cut?

You Have Been Watching

It’s getting creepy on our dedicated British sitcoms podcast as hosts Rob Turnbull and Alex Lynch tackle the cult curio that is Dr Terrible’s House of Horrible…

Make It So

Star Trek: Lower Decks continues its fifth and final season, with host Geoff Owen and guest Ashley Thomas discussing 5×03 ‘The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel’…

Britcom Goes to the Movies

Rod Heath and Guy Walker go to the transatlantic comedy well this week as they look back...

Edgar Wright's horror comedy "Shaun of the Dead" was an unexpected cult hit when it was released in 2004, attracting a small but passionate crowd of snarky cineastes drawn to its clever dialogue and affection for zombies. "Shaun" is a cross between the stylish gore of Sam Raimi -- complete with a "gearing up" sequence straight out of "Evil Dead 2" -- and a brand of humorous, self-reflective quarter-life introspection engaged in by a barely-grown, pop-obsessed man-children. It was a character conceit one might frequently encounter in the films of Kevin Smith. 

Made for only $6 million, "Shaun of the Dead" would make an impressive $38 million worldwide. Moreso, "Shaun of the Dead" very quickly entrenched itself into a new pop canon of nerd classics, making millions more on DVD, and frequently appearing in repertory houses as part of their midnight movie programs. It would spawn two spiritual sequels ("Hot Fuzz" and...

Guess who’s back? That’s right, it’s Ross from Friends, aka David Schwimmer, who is joining the cast of Goosebumps Season 2. The 57-year-old is playing a divorced dad with high school twins, causing a ruckus as a former botany professor.

David Schwimmer as Dr. Ross Geller in Friends

While his charm is undeniable, a few fans are causing a commotion over the familiar storyline. But hey, Goosebumps generally throws in twists, so we should see where this ride takes us. Get ready for additional frightful stories and surprising turns with Schwimmer in the mix.

David Schwimmer to Feature In Season 2 Of Goosebumps

Fans, now have to learn to expect the unexpected. The cast of Goosebumps Season 2 just got a significant lift with a recognizable face from Friends! That’s right, David Schwimmer, popularly known as Ross from the famous sitcom, is joining the creepy experiences on Disney+’s Goosebumps.

If you’ve ever been around a runner or went to high school pretty much anywhere, you’ve probably seen the cross country shirts with the message, “Your team’s punishment is our team’s sport.” It’s not untrue that runners are usually not shy to talk about running, whether they’re asking you to make a donation in support of them running a marathon or trying to get you to come on a run with them in a snow storm because the texture is just better that way.

Yet, aside from films like 2007’s “Run Fatboy Run” starring David Schwimmer, there are no comedies that punch up at runners the way “Caddyshack” did for golfers or “Slap Shot” did for hockey players. So, when producers Brian Hunt of Believe Entertainment Group and Marc Lieberman from Above Average teamed up to make an ensemble comedy with a very specific kind of audience,...

Hulu’s TV series remake of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” has rounded out its cast, adding “Game of Thrones” star Nathalie Emmanuel in a recasting of the leading role originally set to be played by Jessica Williams. The show also locked down a connection to the original film, with Andie MacDowell signing on for a guest-starring role.

Other new cast members include Brandon Mychal Smith (“You’re the Worst”), Zoe Boyle (“Frontier”), Jennie Jacques (“Vikings”), Harish Patel (“Run Fatboy Run”) and Guz Khan (“Finding Fatima”). They join previously-announced cast members Rebecca Rittenhouse and John Reynolds.

The show will follow four American friends — Maya (Emmanuel), Craig (Smith), Ainsley (Rittenhouse) and Duffy (Reynolds) — who reunite for a London wedding, but must weather a tumultuous year of romance and heartbreak after a bombshell at the...

ABC is developing a comedy series inspired by the real life friendship of Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.

The multi-camera series is titled “Work Wife” and has received a put pilot commitment at the network. It is described as an ensemble comedy that explores the dynamics surrounding people’s “work spouses,” who have very few boundaries with each other, and how that impacts their relationships with everyone else.

Michael Ian Black will write and executive produce the series. Seacrest will executive produce via Ryan Seacrest Productions along with Rsp’s Nina Wass and Andrea Shay. Ripa will executive produce along with Mark Consuelos and Albert Bianchini under their Milojo banner. ABC Studios will produce.

Ripa and Seacrest currently co-host the syndicated ABC morning show “Live with Kelly and Ryan.” Ripa has been with the show since 2001, with Seacrest joining as her permanent co-host last year. Seacrest also serves as the...

Coming off her critically acclaimed and SAG/Golden Globe nominated turn as Maeve in HBO's Westworld, Variety reports that Thandie Newton is in negotiations to join the upcoming Han Solo spinoff in an undisclosed role. This follows the news that Fleabag actress Pheobe Waller-Bridge has also signed on to play a filly CG character, who is actually said to be the franchise's first female droid. Newton shot to fame after a brief appearance in Interview with The Vampire, and has since appeared in the likes of Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Run Fatboy Run. The still untitled Han Solo movie recently commenced production and is set to hit theaters on May 25, 2018. The film will also star Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich as the budding space smuggler of the title.

First shown at last weekend’s HorrorCon, here’s the new trailer for director Adam J Spinks (Extinction) new film Survivors, which stars Joanne Gale (Red Dwarf X, Run FatBoy Run), Simon Burbage (Extinction, Pulp: The Movie. Hollyoaks), David Anderson (How To Live Yours, 3some), Adrian Annis (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Eva’s Diamond), alongside Vanessa Mayfield (Outside The Box), Lydia Kay (Christmas Slay) and Rich Keeble (Birds Of A Feather, The Addicted)

A story about the depth of human courage in the face of an enemy unleashed by the authorities who are meant to keep us safe. In a world without laws, without order and with nobody watching, how far would you go to survive?

Survivors is out in the UK 26th October. Find out more at www.survivorsmovie.com...

If you have to sit through a romantic comedy, the least the producers could do would be cast Simon Pegg. I have been a fan of Pegg's going back to his sitcom Spaced and the films of Edgar Wright. I sat through Run Fatboy Run and How To Lose Friends And Alienate People just because Pegg was in them. So, while I would likely pass the trailer for Man Up, seeing Pegg's name gave me reason to check it out. Man Up starts out like Bridget Jones' Diary with Lake Bell (doing an awful English...

Following his success in the wonderfully wacky British TV series Spaced, Simon Pegg’s leap to the big screen has seen him catapulted into mega-franchises like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible (and possibly even Star Wars). One step of that journey involved dabbling in a few rom-coms which landed with mixed results (Run Fatboy Run, Hector and the Search For Happiness). While he’s switching up the material for the forthcoming assassin comedy Kill Me Three Times, which is getting a Us release next month, he hasn’t quite abandoned the romance oeuvre just yet.

In Man Up, Pegg joins Lake Bell as a couple who inadvertently share a romantic evening together. His hopeless singleton initiates a date with a prospective partner he recently met online. In a twist of incident, however, as is often the case in the world of rom-com matchmaking, he doesn’t meet who he’s...

Following the abrupt departure of writer-director Roberto Orci, many wondered who would be drafted in to help with the script for Star Trek 3. Granted, Fast & Furious helmer Justin Lin picked up the megaphone and stepped into the director’s chair, but today we’ve learned that Simon Pegg himself will serve as co-writer on the screenplay.

News comes to us via Deadline, after the outlet revealed that the actor — who plays Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in the sci-fi films — will work in tandem with fellow screenwriter Doug Jung in shepherding the upcoming threequel to the silver screen. Though it may seem like an odd decision, don’t forget that Pegg had an integral role in scripting Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, not to mention Run Fatboy Run, so the actor is well versed in working in behind and in front of the camera simultaneously.

Additionally, Pegg’s involvement...

Simon Pegg and Doug Jung have been hired to write the script for Star Trek 3.

The pair will take over from previous writers Roberto Orci, Patrick McKay and John D Payne, who departed the project after Orci left as director.

Pegg stars as Enterprise engineer Scotty in the Star Trek movies, but has penned Cornetto Trilogy films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End as well as Run Fatboy Run and Paul.

Jung co-created the TNT cop series Dark Blue and won the Trek job after impressing producer Jj Abrams's Bad Robot company and Paramount with his script Diamonds, according to Deadline.

Fast & Furious's Justin Lin is on board to direct the latest Star Trek instalment.

The film is reportedly being lined up for release in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of Gene Roddenberry's science fiction series. Watch the trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness...

When dealing with death staring you in the face, one question always pops up: How far would you go to survive? If you're anything like the folks in the new indie horror fear fest Survivors, the answer would be pretty damned far. Read on for your first look!

From the Press Release

How far would you go to survive? That’s the question at the heart of the upcoming feature film Survivors from Initiative Motion Pictures and Organised Chaos TV and Film.

Produced by award-winning filmmaker Michael Beddoes and directed by Adam J. Spinks (The Expedition), Survivors stars Joanne Gale (Red Dwarf X, Run Fatboy Run), Simon Burbage (Pulp: The Movie, Hollyoaks, The Expedition), and Adrian Annis (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Art of Darkness) alongside David Anderson and Lydia Kay (Christmas Slay).

“We wanted to take a genre movie and really push the boundaries of that kind of storytelling”, says director Spinks.

Kem Nunn has signed with Wme. He is a writer/co-executive producer on FX’s Sons Of Anarchy and also co-created and wrote HBO’s surfer series John From Cincinnati. Nunn also is the author of books including Pomona Queen, Unassigned Territory, Tijuana Straits, Chance and such “surf noir” novels as Tapping The Source and Dogs Of Winter. He continues to be repped by Echo Lake Entertainment. India de Beaufort has inked with Gersh. She was a regular on ABC Family’s Jane By Design and starred in Comedy Central’s series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. She also has appeared in episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Necessary Roughness and One Tree Hill and had a role in the feature Run Fatboy Run. De Beaufort remains with Think Tank Management.

Mostly known for forming the second part of the Cornetto Trilogy double act with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost steps up with his first leading role in Cuban Fury, a romantic comedy which takes us inside the heady world of salsa dancing. Frost plays Bruce Garrett a former salsa child prodigy who has let himself seriously go in later life. When he discovers his new boss (Rashida Jones) has taken up salsa dancing, he decides to brush off his sequin shirts and dancing shoes in order to win her heart. There is nothing in Cuban Fury we haven't seen before (comparison's to Simon Pegg's Run Fatboy Run will no doubt run thorough peoples heads when watching this), but director James Griffiths, making his feature debut after working on t.v. shows Episodes and Up all Night, keeps proceeding endlessly charming and entertaining. It does recycle some old romantic comedy cliches,...

Dancing in Great Britain has come a long way since Billy Elliott. Popularised on national television with a wealth of talent shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, you could even go as far as calling it fashionable. Director James Griffiths, alongside writer Jon Brown, are seemingly aware of that fact – as they present their respective cinematic debut, Cuban Fury, starring Nick Frost in his very first leading role without his longstanding collaborator, Simon Pegg.

Frost plays Bruce Garrett, a former Salsa champion who gave up the sport when he was attacked on his way to the national championships as a youngster. Insisting that dancing is for sissies, Bruce is lured back on to the dance floor when he discovers that his new boss (Rashida Jones) harbours a compulsion for the art form. However the dormant fire in Bruce’s heels will take some reigniting, as both his friends, and former...

Exclusive: There probably won’t be as much drinking and smoking as he’s done on UK TV, but Dylan Moran has closed a deal that could see him on American TV in the not-to-distant future. The BAFTA-winning Irish comic has signed an agreement with ABC Studios to create and write a pilot for him to star in for ABC, Deadline has learned. This would be Moran’s inaugural move into television on this side of the Atlantic. The details of the deal also have Moran producing the half hour pilot and series if they are ordered. The star and co-writer of the 2000-04 Channel 4 series Black Books in the UK, Moran has also appeared in the 2004 Edgar Wright-directed Shaun of the Dead and with Shaun star Simon Pegg again in 2007’s Run Fatboy Run. He’ll next be seen in the John Michael McDonagh-directed upcoming black...

Making its world debut out in Berlin back in the spring, Jadoo is just a few weeks away from arriving on our shores, and has its sights on becoming the best British-Asian comedy since Four Lions.

With its 6th September release date on our shores very much on the horizon, we’ve exclusively got the film’s new poster to share, which will hopefully be arriving on the Underground and in bus shelters soon.

Jadoo, in cinemas, 6th Sept, is a British-made film set in Leicester, and tells the story of two brothers, Raja (Harish Patel – Run Fatboy Run) and Jagi (Kulvinder Ghir – Bend it Like Beckham). Both wonderful chefs, who fall out so catastrophically that in the climax of their dispute they rip the family recipe book in half: one brother gets the starters and the other gets the main courses. They set up rival restaurants, on opposite sides...

Shortly to be reunited onscreen in The World's End, and with a host of solo TV and film projects in the works, the comic boy-man duo seem to be going from strength to strength

What a pleasure, what a sugar rush, giddy-kipper joy it is to watch Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together in a film by Edgar Wright. I went to see a preview of The World's End, the final part of the Pegg/Frost/Wright "three flavours Cornetto" trilogy, and I laughed and laughed for three-quarters of an hour. Then I stopped, as we were only allowed to see the first 45 minutes of the film, for some reason. Either the special effects people were still cranking out the CGI, or the last hour is Really Bad (not so, according to those who have now seen it).

Anyway, the part I saw zipped by, a slick, high-spirited blast of jokes and small-town action,...

For the most part, Simon Pegg has traversed the comfortable milieu of genre films. Making his mark with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost on their Cornetto films, he's dipped into the blockbuster world with the "Star Trek," "Tintin" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises, while doing one off stuff like "Fantastic Fear Or Everything" or "Burke And Hare" that are still very much in his wheelhouse. However, he has taken strides before into more mainstream, less fantastical fare with stuff like "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" and "Run Fatboy Run," but yeah, they weren't that successful. But he'll give it another go. In the pages of the most recent issue of Empire, it's revealed in a profile of Pegg that he's attached to star in "Man Up." Penned by Tess Morris, the script made the 2011 Brit List, there are few details on it except that it's a romantic comedy, but we're...

Twelve years ago, HBO put to screen a miniseries that was one part Television event, one part historical drama, which had the considerable backing of executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and the hype of being something of a spiritual successor to their highly acclaimed war film Saving Private Ryan. Through ten one hour long episodes, essentially using TV as a medium to explore a vast and epic journey through the Second World War that would simply be impossible to map on the big screen, and with Stephen E Ambrose’s critically acclaimed non-fiction book as source material and a huge cast representing a collective of real world heroes, one of the most ambitious storytelling exercises the small screen has ever mounted was brought to life. The result was much fanfare, both critically and among the masses, a recurring trope that continues to this day, and the fledgling start...

From Marathon Man to Forrest Gump, we complete a circuit of the best running-themed films. What's your favourite? Let us know below

Since the moment Eadweard Muybridge captured a man sprinting in 1887 runners have worn a path across the cinematic landscape. Whether on the pristine oval of an Olympic running track, a dusty patch in a prison rec yard or the damp tarmac of a rural country road, film has documented the sweat and solitude of running in all its pain and glory.

Here are 10 of the best.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video

Opening with the sound of Tom Courtenay's feet thudding against a bleak rural lane, Tony Richardson and Alan Sillitoe's 1962 British New Wave classic is one of the most poetic running films in cinematic history. As Colin Smith, a petty delinquent, Courtenay gives a...

The best part of many epic action sagas is the training montage. My favorite ones are in Rocky and The Karate Kid. The team over at SlackStory put together this epic montage of montages. 

Here are the movies they used for the video:

Rocky I, II, III, IV, Bloodsport, Bring It On, Chariots of Fire, Cool Runnings, The Cutting Edge, Footloose, Full Metal Jacket, Highlander, Snake in Eagle's Shadow, Kill Bill (vol. 2), Mulan, No Retreat No Surrender, Ratatouille, Regular Show (Ep. 4 "Death Punchies"), Run Fatboy Run, Step Up Revolution, Team America: World Police, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Incredibles, and X-Men: First Class.

Watch the video and see the awesomeness for yourself:

Follow Jim on Twitter and Tumblr...

Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls, Made in Dagenham) returns behind the camera once more this summer with The Wedding Video, a new British comedy led by Lucy Punch (Bad Teacher), Robert Webb (Peep Show), and Rufus Hound (Hounded).

The film will be released in the UK next Friday, and now Entertainment Film Distributors have debuted three new clips, following the first trailer that landed a few weeks back.

“Raif (Hound), a shambolic oaf with a unique sense of humour, is asked to be his brother Tim’s (Webb) best man when he marries Saskia (Punch).

To Raif’s surprise, he finds his once-bohemian brother is marrying into Cheshire’s most socially aspirant family. Saskia’s grandmother, Patricia (Miriam Margolyes) would give Hyacinth Bucket a run for her money and mum Alex (Harriet Walker) has successfully married into life in the ‘Cheshire Set’ — the English ‘Beverley Hills’. Raif’s present to the...

With the release of Simon Pegg’s new film A Fantastic Fear of Everything, out in cinemas this week, we decided to take a look back at the highlights of Pegg’s career to date – from British independent smash Shaun of the Dead to Hollywood hit Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol…

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Simon plays Shaun, a salesman who suffers from lack of direction. All elements of his life are monotonous. His best friend and flatmate Ed is unemployed and deals cannabis, he has a less than happy relationship with his step father, and an unsatisfied girlfriend, (Liz) due to their lack of social life. Shaun spends every night at the local pub, The Winchester, with Ed and never spends quality time with Liz. When Shaun fails to remember about their anniversary, Liz breaks up with him and sends him into a downward spiral. None of these emotions are helped,...

A new teaser trailer for the Franck Khalfoun helmed remake of psycho flick 'Maniac', starring Elijah Wood ('Sin City'), has emerged from the Cannes Film Festival. The movie co-stars Nora Arnezeder ('Safe House'), Hank Azaria ('Run Fatboy Run'), America Olivo ('Bitch Slap', 'No One Lives') and Sal Landi and the freaky new teaser which is largely Pov features various elements of brutality, nudity, horror and a topless chick. Alexandre Aja ('The Hills Have Eyes', 'Mirrors', 'Piranha 3D') and co-writer Gregory Levasseur once again get their teeth into a redo by providing the script based on the original William Lustig helmed horror from 1980. You can check out the new teaser below....

The 'Maniac' remake is coming to life at last by revealing a trio of new stills from the redo based on William Lustig's 80's slasher flick. The pics have appeared ahead of its premiere this month and features two of its stars Elijah Wood ('Sin City') - looking bloody, and Nora Arnezeder ('Safe House') looking hot. Franck Khalfoun's ('P2') directs from a script provided by Gregory Levasseur and horror remake expert Alexandre Aja ('The Hills Have Eyes', 'Mirrors', 'Piranha 3D'). Hank Azaria ('Run Fatboy Run'), America Olivo ('Bitch Slap', 'No One Lives') and Sal Landi also star in the upcoming slash fest. Maniac' will receive its premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival which runs from 16 to 27 May. Check out the new stills below....

Bollyspice were at the red carpet event for All in Good Time, an exciting new British Asian film starring Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), at London’s prestigious British Film Institute. The film is adapted from the award winning play Rafta Rafta, written by Ayub Khan Din, who also wrote the successful East is East.

Set in Bolton, in the north west of England, it centres around a close knit Asian family, focussing on newly married couple Atul Dutt (Reece Ritchie – Prince of Persia) and Vina (Amara Karan – The Darjeeling Limited). When their honeymoon is cancelled the day after the wedding, the newlyweds reluctantly return home to the family. From here on begins the chaotic challenge of noesy neighbours and meddling parents and how the couple struggle to keep their marriage ticking…

Walking the red carpet were the films director Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls, Made in Dagenham), writer Ayub Khan Din,...

Franck Khalfoun's ('P2') new 'Maniac' reboot will hopefully see Elijah Wood ('Happy Feet 2') return to his maniacal best much like he attempted as Kevin the cannibal in Robert Rodriguez's 'Sin City'. Wood plays stab-happy psychopath Frank in the remake based on William Lustig's 1980's slasher flick. And now the delectable America Olivo ('Bitch Slap', 'No One Lives') has signed up to play Frank's abusive dead mother, who will apear to Wood's character in the form of hallucinations. Gorgeous actress Olivo (below) appeared on the cover of Playboy on the June 2009 issue. The remake comes from a script penned by Gregory Levasseur and Alexandre Aja ('Mirrors' and 'Piranha 3D'). Nora Arnezeder ('Safe House'), Hank Azaria ('Run Fatboy Run') and Sal Landi all co-star. Check out the plot synopsis for the reboot below.

Elijah Wood ('Sin City', 'Happy Feet 2') has been snapped on the set of horror remake 'Maniac' being...well a maniac! Wood stars in the Franck Khalfoun ('P2') helmed redo of William Lustig's slasher flick from 1980 and plays antique mannequin salesman and deranged murderer Frank Zito. In the new on-set pics you can see Elijah giving some poor young lady (played by Genevieve Alexandra) a good old fashioned stabbing with his buck knife. Khalfoun has previously stated that the movie would be shot largely from Zito's point of view and of course a horror remake wouldn't be official if it didn't have Alexandre Aja attached. Aja, responsible for helming remakes 'The Hills Have Eyes', 'Mirrors' and 'Piranha 3D', will produce and also co-wrote the new script along with Gregory Levasseur. French actress Nora Arnezeder ('...

The new planned film by David Gordon Green will primarily cohering around a basic premise that anonymous narrator who is engaged to the love of his life is visited by his future self, who says the marriage is a mistake that will ruin them both. If you picked up Q, latest novel from Evan Mandery [...]

Continue reading David Gordon Green Writing And Directing Love Story Q for Columbia on FilmoFilia.

Related posts:David Gordon Green has Finished a Script for Warner Bros. – Remake of Ice Station Zebra Michael Goldenberg Writing Green Lantern 2 David Schwimmer’s film directing debut – ‘Run FatBoy Run’...

This sounds like a film to look out for. We got a promo poster for The Iceman back in the summer, when Michael Shannon, James Franco, and Benicio del Toro were attached in the leads.

Unfortunately, Franco and del Toro have since had to exit the project, but word now comes via Variety that David Schwimmer is entering the foray in an unusually dark dramatic role for him.

The Iceman is based on a true story, adapted from Anthony Bruno’s book, The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer. Shannon is joined by the likes of the brilliant Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ray Liotta, and now Schwimmer too. Most recently seen in Machine Gun Preacher alongside Gerard Butler and Michelle Monaghan, and next leading Take Shelter (due out on 25th November), Shannon will star as,

“Richard Kuklinski, a family man by day and contract killer by night.

Schwimmer...

★★☆☆☆

Firstly, don't be fooled by the UK quad poster (adorned with biohazard insignia) and casting of Cillian Murphy - for better or worse, Carl Tibbetts' debut feature Retreat (2011) is in no shape or form a suitable partner piece to Danny Boyles' infected horror 28 Days Later (2002). Starring the aforementioned Murphy, Jamie Bell and Thandie Newton, the film is instead a surprisingly dull chamber piece severely lacking in tension, suspense and intrigue.

Retreat follows journalist Kate (Newton) and architect Martin (Murphy), a 'young professional' couple whose relationship appears to have been fractured by an as-yet unknown personal tragedy. Heading off for a relaxing few days on a familiar - yet isolated - island retreat somewhere off the coast of the UK, the pair soon find themselves cut off from the outside world thanks to a temperamental generator. Their attempts at establishing communication are irrevocably shattered when an unknown man (Bell) in...

The actor on Baftas, backstage pranks and her West End debut in Death and the Maiden

Thandie Newton can't hide her excitement. The actress has starred with Tom Cruise and Will Smith and won a Bafta, but now she is about to make her stage debut in a West End run of Death and the Maiden. "I just can't wait. Ten years ago I would have been terrified, now emotionally I am ready to do this," she says.

It is a few days before rehearsals start and we are the only people in an enormous cafe at a west London studio where Newton, dressed casually in skinny grey jeans and a sweatshirt, has just been photographed for the play's poster. Isn't she jumping in at the deep end by playing the lead role as the tortured political prisoner in Ariel Dorfman's acclaimed play?

"It's such a great part and...

London, Sep 20: Actress Thandie Newton says her film career has been 'schizophrenic' because she has done a variety of roles.

Newton, who played a jilted lover in the comedy 'Run Fatboy Run' and an underhand accountant in crime drama 'RocknRolla', believes in not repeating any role, reports contactmusic.com.

'As an actor I always try to do as many diverse roles as possible. I'd generally describe my career as a bit schizophrenic to be honest, because I never seem to be doing the same thing,' contactmusic.com quoted the 38-year-old as saying.

<p.

Hello, folks! And welcome once again to the fastest growing quiz sensation on the Interspace: Pajiba's Two Truths and a Lie! After a long hiatus due to a complicated sex scandal that threatened to destroy the game, we have returned.

Today's edition is brought to you by Skittles. You'll see why after this Nsfw commercial.

Skittles - Newlyweds - Dir. Cousins [Not affiliated with Wrigley or Skittles. Contains explicit content not suitable for minors] from Cousins on Vimeo.

Wow, folks. I'm not so sure about tasting that rainbow anymore. That may have put me off of Skittles for an eternity.

Now, on to the game! For those of you who forgot how this game works, I will describe three projects currently in development over at MTV. Two are true. One is a lie. You try to identify which is the made-up project. And, as always, you can look up the right answer, but where's the fun in that?

A) MTV is now casting...

I get a little worried anytime Simon Pegg takes on a film I know nothing about. He's awesome when working with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost, and as part of his share of franchise flicks(Mission: Impossible, Star Trek). But there's always the fear he'll do another Run Fatboy Run, or How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Here's hoping this next project turns out better than those. The Shaun of...

Trust

Stars: Liana Liberato, Chris Henry Coffey, Catherine Keener, Clive Owen | Written by Andy Bellin, Robert Festinger | Directed by David Schwimmer

Though he has to some extent established himself as perfectly capable of directing with his work on Friends and Simon Pegg rom-com Run Fatboy Run, a hard-hitting and serious drama about rape is perhaps not the first thing you might expect from goofy Ross Gellar himself, David Schwimmer. Before even a frame of film rolled, I had to tip my hat to the man for taking such a bold decision. It is pleasing then, that the film is of such high quality.

Trust introduces us to an all-too happy family. Middle child Annie (Liberato) is constantly glued to her laptop or her smartphone, chatting online. Her attention is mostly devoted to a friendly boy who claims to be twenty. Annie becomes concerned, but not scared off when Charlie (Coffey...

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When films reach for currency while discussing society and technology’s role in it, it is very easy for them to become passé or seem outdated from the second they go into production – i.e. last year’s horrific Chatroom – but Trust, directed by David Schwimmer in a sharp contrast to his mediocre comedy Run Fatboy Run, manages to grab at enough of the much sought after human element and features a trio of blistering performances. The fact that Trust has a more general and perceptive statement to make about today – of not only the Internet, but smart phones, and how our entire communication dynamic has changed as a result – makes it feel more deep and probing than similar works.

Trust deals with the difficult premise of a 14-year old girl, Annie (Liana Liberato), falling victim to an online sexual predator, while her parents, Will (Clive Owen...

Though David Schwimmer will forever be known as Ross from Friends (which is what happens when you are part of one of television.s most successful sitcoms), his fledgling directorial career so far is characterized by films that couldn.t be more different in tone and subject matter. He got his feet wet with the Simon Pegg comedy Run Fatboy Run before moving on to Trust, which discusses the dangers of Internet chat rooms. And it was during a Web chat on behalf of Trust that Schwimmer revealed what his next project might be. During a revealing conversation with Empire, where he updated fans on the status of Madagascar 3 (he has recorded his vocal parts) and confessed to his favorite sandwich (a medium-rare cheeseburger with mustard, tomato, lettuce and onion), Schwimmer said that he.s optioned the rights to an adaptation of Upton Sinclair.s epic turn-of-the-century novel The Jungle.

Released in 1906, Upton Sinclair‘s The Jungle has become one of the most important whistleblower books in American literature history; telling the story of Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis and his struggles to make it in America, it went into detail about the terrible conditions in Chicago’s meat packing district from the way they handled the meat itself (very unsanitary to say the least, and stop snickering) to their wretched treatment of their workers many of whom didn’t speak English which made it easy to take advantage of them. Thanks to The Jungle, the country began to pay more attention to food safety and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration in 1930. And this is despite the fact that Sinclair intended the book to bring the plight of immigrant workers and their exploitation into the public light.

And now, The Jungle is becoming a movie to be...

Aside from Jennifer Aniston, of all the "Friends" alumni, David Schwimmer seems to have best utilized the career boost he received thanks to the long-running hit sitcom. He has used the opportunity of opened doors to take a chance behind the camera, and while the results have been mixed at best--"Run Fatboy Run" managed to make Simon Pegg unfunny while internet scare drama "Trust" has its defenders; he's also been behind six episodes of "Little Britain USA"--his ambition certainly isn't lacking and his project may be his grandest yet. In a recent webchat with Empire readers, Schwimmer revealed what he's…...

David Schwimmer is a proud father to a baby girl. The Ross Geller of "Friends" and his photographer wife, Zoe Buckman, welcomed their first child, Cleo Buckman Schwimmer, on Sunday, May 8. Representative for the actor/director confirmed the news, adding that the bundle of joy was born in New York.

On Monday, May 23, 44-year-old David took to his WhoSay page as well as his Twitter account to share a photo of him, wife Zoe and their newborn daughter. Along with the first family picture, he wrote a caption that read, "Hey everyone. Please welcome my daughter, Cleo, to this crazy but wonderful world."

David met his 25-year-old wife, Zoe, in London in 2007 when he was working on his first feature film directorial debut, "Run Fatboy Run". They wed in a small, private ceremony last June. Speaking about starting a family, David told People Magazine in 2006, "It will happen when it feels right.

Chicago – There’s an unsettling potency to relationships that are born online. They take place entirely within the mind, which is capable of producing idealized images never to be equaled by reality. With the right stroke of keys, a savvy writer could potentially seduce a susceptible victim into emotional entrapment. That’s why the Internet is a predator’s playground.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

In light of recent rumors concerning Google’s plans for a facial recognition app, there couldn’t a more appropriate time for a film like “Trust” to be seen and discussed by families across America. A passing glance at the film’s premise may lead one to expect little more than a moralizing weepie destined for Lifetime, but such an assumption could not be further from the truth. This is a film of startling power and wrenching emotion, with several sequences that emit all the painful vulnerability of an open wound.

Title: Paul Director: Greg Mottola Writers: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen Let it be known that this reviewer is an overall fan of Simon Pegg’s scripts (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run) written these last seven years. So when he penned the 104 minute stoner-alien feature that is “Paul,” perhaps he could work in the comedic magic he did with zombies, using an extraterrestrial backdrop. As an added bonus - depending how you define humor - he tapped Superbad director Greg Mottola to navigate the geeky road trip adventure. Which amounts to E.T. on some decent swag. That’s marijuana for the straight-edged folk. Graeme (Simon [...]...

Yuck.  After Catfish it's going to be hard taking seriously all these movies we're getting about the people we communicate with via social networks.  Whether that flick was real or not, it was emotionally powerful and had some serious points to make. On the other hand, David Schwimmer's Trust, his second directorial effort(after the disappointing Run Fatboy Run) looks like a heavy handed...

Milenium Entertainment (via Apple) have debuted the second trailer (1st here) for Trust, a new movie which stars Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Jason Clarke, Liana Liberato, Viola Davis. Trust is also directed by your Friend and mine, David Schwimmer who played Ross in the long running series, Friends.This is his second feature length movie following his debut, directing Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton in ‘Run Fatboy Run’ a few years ago. This movie looks rather a look more serious looking at the subject of how we interact with one another online and who, really, we’ve no idea who we could be talking to.

Synopsis: A suburban family is torn apart when 14-year-old Annie (Liana Liberato) meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents (Clive Owen...

British stars James Corden and Rob Brydon have paid tribute to veteran Welsh actress Margaret John, who died on Wednesday morning aged 84.

John, best known in the U.K. for her recent role in hit comedy Gavin & Stacey, passed away at a hospital in Swansea, Wales following a short illness.

The actress appeared in several popular British TV series, including Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Dr Who and Casualty, as well as enjoying a role in Simon Pegg's film Run Fatboy Run.

But it was her portrayal of wise-cracking elderly neighbour Doris in the BBC's Gavin & Stacey that made her a star in her 80s.

Her co-stars Corden, Brydon and Mathew Horne have all paid tribute to the actress on Twitter.com.

Corden writes, "All my thoughts are with the family of Margaret John who played Doris in G and S. A great actress and an incredible lady. She will be missed."

Brydon adds, "Just heard the terribly sad news that Margaret John has passed away. What a wonderful person she was, everyone on G&S adored her."

Horne wrote, "Really sad to hear Margaret John has passed away. She was such a good woman and so fun to work with."...

The movie trailer for the upcoming serial killer/slasher flick Jon is available for your viewing pleasure and we have it below. The movie has a limited release set in Texas for Feb. 12th and will look for distribution following that. Looks pretty decent. Enjoy.

Movie Synopsis:

Who says imaginary friends are harmless?

Jon Sloan, a socially challenged computer engineer doesn't have any luck with the ladies. A desperate loner looking for love, Jon finds himself the constant victim of rejection from the local bar girls. In a state of depression Jon questions his sanity as he begins seeing a large man in black throughout his daily life that he recognizes but can't place who the man is.

After an online date goes wrong, Jon finds himself thrust into a world of darkness when the man in black turns out to be Blackie, Jon's sociopath, childhood imaginary friend that...

There is a new official trailer plus several stills and a poster available for William Instone's upcoming serial slasher Jon. The film opens in a limited release in Texas on February 12 and will then venture out to find DVD distribution.

Synopsis:

Who says imaginary friends are harmless?

Jon Sloan, a socially challenged computer engineer doesn't have any luck with the ladies. A desperate loner looking for love, Jon finds himself the constant victim of rejection from the local bar girls. In a state of depression Jon questions his sanity as he begins seeing a large man in black throughout his daily life that he recognizes but can't place who the man is.

After an online date goes wrong, Jon finds himself thrust into a world of darkness when the man in black turns out to be Blackie, Jon's sociopath, childhood imaginary friend that has returned to his life...