Nicole Sperling

Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin in a scene from “Fright Night.” (DreamWorks) Lest any “Twilight” fans were still lurking about in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center on Friday afternoon, Shawn Phillips of Yahoo Movies had some words of caution. “This is not the sparkly vampire movie panel,”  he began,  introducing the panel discussion for the upcoming DreamWorks film “Fright Night 3D.” No, this, he said,  was the ”bad-ass, bloodthirsty vampire panel.” A cheer went up from the audience, indicating maybe the “Twilight” fans had, indeed, scattered after the Thursday event for their movie. Colin Farrell, who plays vampire Jerry, was greeted with lots of love, especially when director Craig Gillespie asked him to go off stage when he called him out too early. Farrell retreated off the stage, walking backward. “He’s good. He’s better in reverse,” quipped Gillespie. Fellow cast […]

John Cusack really got into the role of Edgar Allan Poe for his part in James McTeigue’s upcoming thriller “The Raven,” due out next year and named for the landmark poem. The film, which is set in the last five days of Poe’s life and centers on a serial killer who’s using Poe’s writings as inspiration for his murders, was on display Friday during the Relativity panel in Hall H, and Cusack wowed the audience with his knowledge about the writer: “I saw some of Hunter S. Thompson in Poe — his unflinching ability to delve into the abyss and come back. He reminded me of Hunter in that way.” He told stories of Poe’s antics: “He was invited to the White House, got drunk, was kicked out.” And of his tragic life: “Poe’s mother died of tuberculosis. Poe’s first […]

The Twilight saga’s “Breaking Dawn” is the conclusion of the incredibly successful and beloved vampire book franchise. With all the anticipation for the film version, which will be divided into two parts (the first half hits theaters in November), there are also a lot of questions. Fans — many of whom had been waiting in line at Comic-Con International since Monday afternoon — are eager to see the wedding and honeymoon of their favorite couple, Bella and Edward (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson) and the subsequent birth of their half-vampire, half-human baby. Director Bill Condon and cast were on hand at Comic-Con on Thursday morning, presenting the first panel in the San Diego Convention Center’s massive Hall H to share some details of the final two movies — though few surprising secrets were actually revealed. “This movie is all third […]

Over on 24 Frames, Nicole Sperling has big news for “Hunger Games” fans… “The Hunger Games” has nabbed its boys. Lionsgate announced today that “The Kids Are All Right” star Josh Hutcherson will play opposite Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss as fellow competitor Peeta Mellark while teen heartthrob Liam Hemsworth (“The Last Song”) will take the role of childhood friend/love interest Gale Hawthorne. The announcement completes the much-anticipated trio that will play the three leads in the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series “The Hunger Games.” Since the film, to be directed by Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”), has received a slew of comparisons to the “Twilight” franchise, the big question is whether or not these relative unknowns are on the same path to mega-stardom that engulfed Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner when “Twilight” debuted. THERE’S MORE, READ THE REST – Nicole Sperling […]

Jennifer Lawrence has nabbed the lead role in “The Hunger Games” trilogy. In what was the worst-kept secret in Hollywood, Lionsgate studio has finally confirmed that the 20-year old Lawrence, who received an Oscar nomination for her role in “Winter’s Bone,” will play Katniss Everdeen in the adaptation of the uber-popular book series from Suzanne Collins. Based on a script by Billy Ray (“State of Play”), “The Hunger Games” will begin production in April for a release next March. The film follows Katniss as she volunteers for the annual teen fight-to-the death contest called the Hunger Games after her younger sister is drafted for the craven competition. The film will track her role in the games as well as the burgeoning love triangle between her childhood friend Gale and her fellow competitor Peeta. Casting on those two roles should happen […]

Over on 24 Frames, Nicole Sperling addresses this recent news that Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”) is in contention for the role of Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film, “The Hunger Games.” The rumor mill was running on overdrive over the weekend regarding Jennifer Lawrence and “The Hunger Games.”  The 20-year-old actress, who spent much of 2010 in the spotlight due to her star-turning role in “Winter’s Bone,” is definitely the front-runner for the highly coveted role of Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the uber-popular dystopian series by Suzanne Collins. But the actress has yet to be offered the part. Lionsgate, the studio behind the publishing sensation that may have just enough romance, danger and high-concept adventure to dethrone “Twilight” from its perch as the “it” phenomenon, is being very careful as they make their selection for the […]

The massive box-office success of 2008’s “Twilight” changed the fortunes of its three young stars, propelling them on an upward career trajectory and transforming Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner into household names. Yet not so much changed for the film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke. A respected production designer who transitioned to the director’s chair with the acclaimed 2003 low-budget indie “Thirteen,” Hardwicke, 55, earned praise for her films’ kinetic energy and visual stylings, but not even wearing the mantle of the female director with the highest-grossing opening weekend in movie history dramatically improved her fortunes in Hollywood. “Nothing is easy,” Texas-born Hardwicke said recently over a vegetarian meal. “You have a big success, and it’s still not easy to make a movie. I had a bunch of other projects that I worked really hard on after ‘Twilight,’ and the […]

Over at 24 Frames, our must-read sister blog, Nicole Sperling caught up with Robert Pattinson, the star of the “Twilight” saga, who was on hand for Sunday’s Golden Globes festivities. Pattinson described “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” the two-part franchise finale that is now being filmed in New Orleans and Vancouver, Canada, as “the end of an era,” and director Bill Condon, speaking by phone earlier in the month, said he’s been thrilled by the performances of stars Pattinson as vampire Edward Cullen, Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, and Taylor Lautner as teen werewolf Jacob Black. (Of course, Twi-hards already had plenty to be excited about with the release this weekend of the first official still from the movies.) In an interview with The Times, Condon, whose previous feature was the big-screen adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical “Dreamgirls,” said […]