Launched in April 2010, SneakOnTheLot.com™ players compete throughout the year for their shot at producing a $20,000 short film in Los Angeles in a studio-lot environment with filmmaking tools, a screening room, access to a music and sound effects library, script library, virtual chat rooms and much more.
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iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove is not looking to be the next Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera after she outgrows Nickelodeon. Instead, the 17 year-old actress and one of the voice actors in DESPICABLE ME aspires to be the next Tina Fey.
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ody an awful lot, actually. They're filming us during our vocal recordings and they use it for reference. And to get the proper sounds, I would really do the things that I was supposed to be doing. Like if I was supposed to be tired from running, I would run around.... it was very method acting that way.
element into his music, art, and films. With his second Halloween movie set for release August 28th, CineMovie sat down with him for his views on the Twilight craze, remakes and we thought it befitting to ask the Halloween II helmer to name his top five horror films of all time.
Q: What do you think about this whole 'teeny bopperizing' as we like to call it, of the vampire genre with the Twilight mania and now a tv series (Vampire Diaries).
Zombie: I don't know. Truthfully, I was sort of oblivious to it. I saw Twilight two days ago for the first time out of curiosity and True Blood I watched once on a plane. Everything goes in waves. I guess people always lean towards vampires because they are the easiest to make cool and marketable. Whereas if you make people werewolves they always look goofy.
Q: That would explain why the Benicio del Toro werewolf movie is being delayed again.
Zombie: Maybe. But it's an easier thing to keep vampires since they exist through time, it's easier to update them than other monsters.
Q: So it doesn't bother you that they're turning it into a tween thing and moving away from the horror aspect?
Zombie: I could care less. It's like the Lost Boys again.
Q: What do you think about people boycotting the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie?
Zombie: It's fine. I used to be like that ten years ago when I would say, 'why are they remaking these movies?' It seemed so stupid to me. Now I'm so numb to it that I don't even care. I look at it this way now - there are so many movies that I love that are remakes of other movies. Christopher Lee's Horror of Dracula is a remake of Dracula which is a remake of Nosferatu. And I love all those movies so why do you get all close-minded about remakes. To me, if it's a really good movie - great! If not, whatever!
Q: Speaking of good movies, what are your five all-time favorite horror movies?
Zombie: I like classic stuff mixed in with 70's stuff. 
Some of my favorites are the original Frankenstein movie, Todd Browning's Freaks, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the original Dawn of the Dead. And then something like The Shining even though it's maybe not a horror but I love Stanley Kubrick so much. I love the fact the he decided to make the ultimate science fiction movie, the ultimate horror movie and the ultimate war movie. I just find that incredibly awesome.
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Zombie's re-imagining of another popular horror movie Halloween has it's latest incarnation in Halloween II in theaters August 28. In October, look for Rob Zombie the rocker on the road in concert to promote his latest solo music project.
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Will Ferrell, his "Land of the Lost" co-stars Danny Boyle, Anna Friel, and director Brad Silberling recently sat down with CineMovie to discuss their big screen adaptation of the popular 70’s tv show which has transformed into a Will Ferrell comedy.
This modern take on "Land of the Lost" is not the family adventure everyone remembers. The family is replaced with adults, sexual tension, and references sure to go over kids heads. Watch Trailer
CM: As a fan of the original show Will, why make those changes?
Will: We didn’t want my character saddled with two kids. We thought it would be a better platform for comedy to have a love interest and a funny man like Danny Boyle. We didn’t want it to be a Disney film in a way. The humor had to be cool and pushing that PG-13 rating. This is the first family I’ve done in a while but the jokes are original and sophisticated which you’re not going to find in a movie in the same vain.
CM: Were any of original actors approached for a cameo in this film?
Will: The kids from the original tv show did have a cameo at the end of the movie but they were cut out. I’m not sure why.
CM: Will we be seeing it on the DVD?
Will: Yes.
CM: Chaka, the half man, half ape character has evolved from naïve child-like character to a bit of a pervert as seen in the funny scene with Chaka grabbing 
Holly’s chest played by Anna Friel. Was that in the script all along or was it taken further through improvisation on set? Watch hilarious Land Of The Lost movie clip
Will: That was always in the script. Chaka quickly figured out that the way to communicate with women is to grab their breasts. He’s kind of sly and a little bit, touchy feely. We just that would be a funny place for Chaka to go. Jorma (Taccone) did such a great job and he added stuff like touching me all over the place when we first meet Chaka and he steals my wallet. It was really funny to play off of.
WILL: Originally the script called for a panel with Al Gore, Stephen Hawkins and Rick Marshall. Hawkins goes after me to debunk my theories and I lunge at him. It was funny on paper and then you start making the phone calls and they’re like ‘No, no we’re unavailable.’ So then it became the "Today Show" and they were really up for it. Matt was totally game and that became plan B which worked beautifully so much so that we went back to reshoot a scene for the end of the movie.
CM: Will Ferrell and Brad Siberling tell us Matt Lauer did his own improvising during that last scene when Ferrell’s Rick Marshall returns to promote my book “Matt Lauer Can Suck It.”
Will: Matt said “lets do one more take’ and then he just tackled me which was great. And I’m trying not to laugh because I’m so surprised that he tackling me. That was brilliant.
Brad: Matt tricked me into a second take and then he improvised the tackle. It was hilarious.
CM: Perhaps Matt Lauer was channeling what he would have liked to have done to Tom Cruise once upon a time.
Sid and Marty Krofft, owned the children’s airways with their numerous tv shows (H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Bugaloos, Dr. Shrinker, Donny and Marie Show) during the 1970’s.
CM: What do the creators of the classic tv show think about converting Land of the Lost to an irreverent Will Ferrell comedy?
Marty: We would not have done it without Will Ferrell.
The original Land of the Lost was a lot more serious than Will Ferrell’s take.
Marty: We’re okay with that.
Sid: Our shows were always on the cutting edge.
CM: Do you think there will be a sequel to Land of the Lost?
Marty: I hope so but we have to see after it opens June 5th.
The Kroffts have a lot riding on this movie - another of their classic tv shows H.R. Pufnstuf is headed to the big screen. Fans of the show and Will Ferrell fans are sure to make this tv adaptation a success at the box office this weekend setting the stage for more 70's shows coming to the movies.
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John Krasinski (TV's The Office, Leatherheads) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) star as Bert and Verona in AWAY WE GO, directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty. In AWAY WE GO, the hippie go lucky couple travel to find a new home to give birth to their first child.
CineMovie's Viviana Vigil sat down with the charismatic actors to discuss their new film. Watch as Viviana makes John Krasinski blush on the topic of lactacting nurses.
Movie Synopsis:
Exploring the comedic twists and emotional turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America, Away We Go is the new movie from Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes, from the first original screenplay by novelists Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, and featuring music by singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch.
Longtime (and now thirtysomething) couple Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are going to have a baby. The pregnancy progresses smoothly, but six months in, the pair is put off and put out by the cavalierly delivered news from Burt’s parents Jerry and Gloria (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara) that the eccentric elder Farlanders are moving out of Colorado – thereby eliminating the expectant couple’s main reason for living there.
So, where, and among whom of those closest to them, might Burt and Verona best put down roots to raise their impending bundle of joy? The couple embarks on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family, and to evaluate cities. The first stop on the grand tour is Phoenix, where the duo spends a day at the (dog) races with Verona’s irrepressible (and frequently inappropriate) former colleague Lily (Allison Janney) and her repressible family, including husband Lowell (Jim Gaffigan); then it’s Tucson, and a visit to the lovely Grace (Carmen Ejogo), Verona’s sister.
An intimate conversation with her sister, who is her lone living relative, gives Verona a refreshed perspective – which she will sorely need in Wisconsin, where Burt’s childhood “cousin” Ellen, now known as LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and her partner Roderick (Josh Hamilton) have Burt and Verona over to their home. After LN and Roderick elaborate on their intractable ideas for raising children and running a household, Burt and Verona bolt for Montreal and a warmer welcome from their former college classmates Tom (Chris Messina) and Munch (Melanie Lynskey).
Even though the latter’s house is full of children, comfort and joy, a night out for the four old friends provides a bracing reminder of how much it takes to sustain a relationship and a family. When an emergency phone call forces Burt and Verona into an unanticipated Miami detour to visit Burt’s brother Courtney (Paul Schneider), they realize that they must define home on their own terms.
A Focus Features presentation in association with Big Beach of an Edward Saxon/Big Beach production in association with Neal Street Productions. A Sam Mendes Film. Away We Go. John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Chris Messina, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Schneider. Casting by Ellen Lewis and Debra Zane, C.S.A. Music by Alexi Murdoch. Music Supervisor, Randall Poster. Costume Designer, John Dunn. Film Editor, Sarah Flack, A.C.E. Production Designer, Jess Gonchor. Director of Photography, Ellen Kuras, ASC. Executive Producers, Mari Jo Winkler-Iofredda, Pippa Harris. Produced by Edward Saxon, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf. Written by Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida. Directed by Sam Mendes. A Focus Features Release.Add a comment
CineMovie TV hung with the cast and guests of RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN at the Hollywood red carpet premiere of the number one movie in America starring Dwayne Johnson as a Las Vegas cab driver dragged into helping two teens from outer space.
Los Angeles radio personality Alysha Del Valle of Latino 89.3 grilled the stars on their personal beliefs in other-worldly beings.
Add a comment Actor Jacob Vargas may not be a household name but this familiar face has been a working actor with steady roles on television (Moonlight, ER, CSI:NY) and in major Hollywood films, starring alongside Jason Statham (Death Race), Jake Gyllenhaal and 
Jamie Foxx (Jarhead), and Jennifer Lopez (Selena) for over 20 years.
With his latest indie science fiction thriller SLEEP DEALER arriving on DVD, the actor tells CineMovie his secrets to staying in the Hollywood game and tips for aspiring actors.
Q: Is it a struggle to get roles?
Jacob: It’s always a challenge. Unfortunately there are more actors than are roles. You just have to go in and do something different. You have to be on top of your game.
Q: Besides having an agent and manager constantly looking for new projects, how are you active in searching for projects as well?
Jacob: I’ve been fortunate to have a group of friends who are also actors and we all plug each other into other projects. If I hear of a project, I’ll let my friends know and vice versa. On set, you make good relationships with other people on crews and you find that most cinematographers want to be directors and so forth. And everybody’s got a project. So as soon as you open up that door, then you find out there are all these projects. Eventually you become part of that project early on.
Q: How has the writer’s strike early last year and the recession affected you?
Jacob: I do feel that there are less projects out there. And the studios know that and know actors want to work. That’s been an issue. Honestly I’ve been taking this slow time to spend with my family. I’m bonding with my daughter which I haven’t been able to do in the last five years. So I’m just sitting it out and waiting out this recession.
Vargas’ SLEEP DEALER, now on DVD, has a lot in common with DISTRICT 9 the low-budget sci-fi film out of 
South Africa which was a surprise summer hit. Both independent films were shot in a foreign country with a limited budget and both share a message about immigration issues. SLEEP DEALER, a critical hit at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, however, was made for a lot less than District 9.
VIDEO INTERVIEW: SLEEP DEALER director and Leonore Varela (Blade II)
Q: How was the experience shooting the film?
Jacob: It was a challenge in itself. I loved the subject matter and the political messages behind it. I had never seen a film set in a border town in Tijuana which is something you’ve never seen before. With the success of District 9, you might see it more often now. But I hadn’t seen anything like that before. So I thought it would be something interesting. But really the challenge on shooting the film was the budget or lack of. You had to beresourceful when you were doing things on green screen. There are a lot of unknowns but you have to commit and give yourself to the project and trust the director or visual director that everything will turn out okay.
Q: Do you have an acting method?
Jacob: I’m a big people watcher. I love going to a crowded place – sitting there for hours watching people interact. In my mind, I kind of create little scenarios in each conversation. You wonder what they’re talking about, what their history is, what they have just gone through. I don’t know if that’s an acting technique or just voyeurism? We’re all actors. I believe that human beings are always acting for one reason or another. Either to impress somebody, to make somebody laugh. We’re always in some shape or form performing.
Q: Have you tried method acting for any roles?
Jacob: I have in the past. I tried but for some reason it’s always back-fired for me. That doesn’t work for me.
Jacob: I would love to do the bio pic on Cesar Chavez the organizer and another great story is the Joaquin Murrieta story. It would be like the Charles Bronson revenge film set in early California.
Q: What would be your best advice for those starting out?
Jacob: Find another profession. (Kidding) Patience, resilience and just learn as much as possible. Read as many books on acting and take lots of classes. But not just on acting. Now it’s not enough to be an actor. You have to understand the business and technical side of it – lenses, camera angles, lighting, etc. in order to be a good actor. You have to understand all of that.
And we can understand why this young actor will be have a long Hollywood career. Currently, Jacob Vargas can be seen in his latest film SLEEP DEALER on DVD and next up for the Latino actor, Kerosene Cowboys, a Mario Van Peebles film set for a 2009 release.
