Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to host Oscars

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced today.

"We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars," said Shankman and Mechanic. "Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event."

"I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin," said Martin.

"I don't play the banjo but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it's the opportunity of a lifetime," said Baldwin.

Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor.

Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in The Cooler. That year also marked his most recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the comedy 30 Rock, a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009).

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Let Me In begins production

Principal photography began Monday on Let Me In, writer/director Matt Reeves' adaptation of the Swedish horror film, Let the Right One In.

Shooting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Reeves (who directed Cloverfield) noted that while the new film will pay respect to the original Swedish version, they intend to forge a unique identity for Let Me In, placing it firmly in an American context.

Let Me In stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) as an alienated 12-year-old boy who befriends a mysterious young newcomer Chloe Moretz ((500) Days of Summer) to his small New Mexico town and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood.

The film is based on the bestselling vampire novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, and is an English-language remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film of the same name.

Hammer Films acquired the remake rights to Let the Right One In at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival where the film took home the Founders Award® for Best Narrative Feature. The production is scheduled for a 2010 release in the U.S. by Overture Films.

Follow the production on Twitter: twitter.com/letmeinthemovie and Facebook: facebook.com/letmein

Doctor Who coming to BBC America in December

BBC America has announced the imminent arrival of the final Doctor Who episodes starring David Tennant as the Doctor. Television's longest running science fiction series, shot in HD, has just three episodes to go before a new Doctor arrives on screen next year.

The next special, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars airs on BBC AMERICA, Saturday December 19, 9:00pm ET/PT. It stars Tennant and British stage and screen actress Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide, his "cleverest and most strong-minded companion."

All will be revealed as the Doctor and his companion Adelaide face terror on the Red Planet in one of the scariest adventures yet. Peter O'Brien guest stars as Ed, Adelaide's second-in-command at the base.

The Waters of Mars is written by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford and directed by Graeme Harper. The executive producers are Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.

The remaining episodes, starring Tennant, will air over the holiday season as a two-part special. Airdates will be released in early December. Tennant shot a total of four specials before exiting the role - Planet of the Dead was the first one to air, last July, on BBC America.

Restored Metropolis to debut at Berlin Film Festival

To help celebrate The Berlinale's 60th anniversary next year, Fritz Lang's original cut of his silent masterpiece Metropolis will debut at the Berlin Film Festival in a gala premiere on February 10, according to a press release.

Metropolis is a classic science fiction film of the silent era. Set in a dystopian future, the story revolves around a young man from a privileged class who falls in love with a girl and slowly begins to identify with the plight of the working class.

The film has extraordinary special effects for the time. When it debuted in January 1927, it was the most expensive film ever made in Germany.

After the film did poorly at the box office, the studio (UFA) re-cut the film and excised almost 30 minutes. Upon re-release, it was a hit. But the original cut of the film has been thought lost for decades.

A large number of sources had known about a longer version, but no prints of it could be found. Then, last year, a 16mm negative of the original film was found in Buenos Aires.

Now the original film has since been restored by the Murnau Foundation in cooperation with pubcaster ZDF, Gallic-German cultural web Arte and the Deutsche Kinemathek.

"The unwavering desire and unflagging efforts to restore what was believed to be Fritz Lang’s lost original cut of Metropolis epitomize the Murnau Foundation’s commitment to save and preserve our rich filmic heritage and make it accessible to the public,” said Eberhard Junkersdorf, Supervisory Board Chairman of the Murnau Foundation.

"Metropolis is a classic of film history and it set the standard for cinematic art worldwide. It symbolizes the tradition and high quality of German film heritage, and its preservation is one of our top priorities," said Minister of State and Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann.

Scary movies top favorite Halloween activities

It should come as no surprise that when it comes to the quintessential Halloween experience, people prefer watching a scary movie more than any other activity. (It should come as even less of a surprise that this "finding" was the result of a poll sponsored by Redbox.)

The 2009 Redbox "Halloween Thrillers" survey was conducted nationwide and included more than 600 Redbox customers.

According to the poll, 64% of Americans plan to watch a horror movie this Halloween. Watching a scary movie was the number one activity chosen by 23% of those responding, beating out trick-or-treating (17%) and costume parties (17%).

Among the surveys other findings:

• 60% of respondents said they prefer to watch scary movies at home rather than at a theater
• The Exorcist was voted the scariest movie of all time with 19% of the vote.
• Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs was voted most memorable villain overall (21%), but the younger audience (18-34) skewed toward Michael Meyers from Halloween and Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street (tied with 22%)
• Creepiest kid in horror? Damien from The Omen (23%)
• Most memorable scary movie quote? "Here's Johnny!" from The Shining (33%)

As for me, my wife and I have been trying to catch up on the horror movies that we've missed in theaters over the past few years. We're pretty dedicated, but we miss a few that are either in limited release or just pass us by. This month has been horror month at our house, with the high point being the recently released Trick 'r Treat from Warner Home Video.

Written and directed by Michael Dougherty, Trick 'r Treat is an exciting romp through four interconnecting tales of horror on Halloween night. I haven't been this surprised by a movie in a long time. It was genuinely fun and frightening in a Halloween sort of way. This film will be a perennial favorite for many Halloween nights to come.

Sundance Channel takes a stab at horror

Who says art films have to be about people drinking wine and smoking cigarettes? This weekend, the Sundance Channel is taking a step into horror with a block of films especially for Halloween.

The fright night kicks off with Philip Chidel’s Subject Two. In this creepy tale, a scientist (Dean Stapleton) creates a formula for resurrection. And the tests involve the repeated murder of his unhappy student volunteer.

Then things get creepy with Korean filmmaker Woo-cheol Lee's Cello. In this "atmospheric horror film," a cellist named Mi-ju (Hyeon-a Seong) attempts to begin a new life after a car wreck. When a student threatens her, Mi-ju experiences flashbacks of the traumatic crash and begins to suspect that supernatural forces are threatening her as well.

The night closes with David Moreau and Xavier Palu’s Them. No, this isn't the classic 1950s film about giant ants. In this tense thriller, a couple goes through a terrifying night in a rented house in a Romanian forest. The story is supposedly based on true events and told in near real time.

The schedule is as follows:
(Just after midnight on 10/31. Technically, Sunday morning.) All times are Eastern.

• 12:30 a.m.: Subject Two
• 2:05 a.m.: Cello
• 3:45 a.m.: Them

For trailers and more information, visit Scare Tactics, the Sundance Channel's digital shorts mini site. In addition to seeing previews for the three films that will be playing this weekend, you can also watch clips from Sundance Channel’s favorite scary movies.

Comic book Wednesday

If you're like me (and I know I am), you love Wednesdays because it means Comic Book Day! In celebration of Wednesday, I bring you some comic book-related news from the big and small screen.

Spider-Man vs. Bruce All-"Meaty"?
Sam Raimi finally seems ready to give his good friend cult movie icon Bruce Campbell a bigger roll in the wildly successful Spider-Man film series. Until now, Campbell has been given cameos in each of the film, from the ringmaster at Spider-Man's debut wrestling match to a snooty usher.

Speaking to MTV, Raimi said, "I really love putting him (Campbell) in the pictures ... I promised him a good, meaty role."

Maybe so, but what does this mean? Could Bruce be Spider-Man's next big villain or will he take on a secondary character important to the story? Rumors on the Internet abound, everything from Mysterio to Kraven the Hunter. Personally, I'd like to see him be another hero.

Smallville meets the JSA
Despite the ever-growing train wreck that is Smallville, the series has roped in Geoff Johns to write another script this season. The episode, called "Society," introduces my favorite superhero group, the Justice Society of America (JSA). Mania.com has several fan submissions that piece together who we may be seeing from the JSA.

Reports from Fancast suggest that Johns' creation Stargirl (to be played by Britt Irvin) is among the JSA. IGN broke the news that Hawkman (Stargate SG-1's Michael Shanks) and Dr. Fate (Brent Stait) will accompany her.

Johns noted to his followers on Twitter, "Yes, Hawkman will have wings. And a big mace." Johns added, "Oh. And he and Green Arrow don't get along. At all."

The Crow gets a reboot
Dread Central is reporting that The Crow is getting a reboot of sorts. The storyline will be faithful to the 1994 Alex Proyas film. Stephen Norrington is set to direct and says that while Proyas' vision was Gothic, his will be "realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style."

Documentary-style? I guess that means he plans to subject his audience to the low-budget shaky cam style that is making Paranormal Activity so popular.

Final House of the Devil poster revealed!

In anticipation of the coming theatrical release of the '80s throwback horror film House of the Devil, DreadCentral has a look at the final poster (in a series of six). This one is so awesome, I just had to share it.

For those who haven't heard of House of the Devil, is directed by Ti West, is a satanic thriller set in the 1980s. The film stars Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, AJ Bowen, and Dee Wallace-Stone.

Here's the official synopsis from the film's Web site:

Sam is a pretty college sophomore so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. Mr. and Mrs. Ulman are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creeky Victorian mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan is Sam's best friend, who gives her a ride out to the house, and reluctantly leaves her there despite suspecting that something is amiss. Victor at first seems like just a creepy guy lurking around the house, but quickly makes it clear that Sam will end this night in a bloody fight for her life....

House of the Devil is a Magnolia Pictures release that will debut in limited release on Oct. 30. If you're not in one of the selected cities, don't worry. House of the Devil is being offered on VOD all during the month of October, including Amazon.com The House of the Devil (Pre-Theatrical Rental).

And it will also premiere on HDNet Movies Oct. 28. See HDNet Movies for showtimes.

70 years later: A munchkin perspective of Oz

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the classic film The Wizard of Oz, watch the unsung stars reminisce about their careers and discuss the film's historic legacy. This great interview comes from Newsweek’s original video channel 7 Things and features the five surviving actors who played munchkins.

This interview covers everything from life on set to what it was like to work with film legend Judy Garland. Find out how the munchkins got cast and what life was like for them after Oz.



Source: Newsweek

New Doctor Who logo unveiled

This morning, the official Doctor Who Web site offered an exclusive first look at the new Doctor Who logo. The logo will accompany Matt Smith's on-screen debut as The Doctor in spring 2010.

The logo is the 11th to have been used on screen in the show's history.

Unveiled with the logo is an animated insignia of the show's initials, which will be used as branding for the new series.

According to a press release by the BBC:

Steven Moffat, the new Lead Writer and Executive Producer, said: "A new logo. The 11th logo for the 11th Doctor – those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever.

"And, look at that, something really new – an insignia! DW in TARDIS form! Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle.

"I apologise to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that's what they're going to be wearing."

The new series of Doctor Who will premiere in the UK in spring 2010.