The birth of Michael Myers

From, Horrorasylum, "Michael Myers (also known as The Shape) is a fictional character and the principal antagonist of the Halloween film series, except Halloween III: Season of the Witch. He is usually portrayed by experienced stuntmen. The name of Michael Myers comes from writer / director John Carpenter's foreign distributor, Michael Meyers, for Assault on Precinct 13 (1976). As gratitude for this film's distribution and overseas success, Carpenter gave this name to his main character of the 1978 independent film project, initially called The Babysitter Murders, now entitled Halloween. John Carpenter and Debra Hill originally developed the character. Michael Myers never speaks and his "adult" face is rarely seen in any of the films. The original William Shatner mask in the first Halloween installment, had its eye sockets cut out wider, the skin toned by white paint, and the hair teased out. The character also wears dark blue mechanic's coveralls, and black army boots. The subsequent masks, different in each film, base their appearance upon this mask."

From TVGuide,

Shatner Fast Facts:
* Began acting career as a child on Canadian radio.
* Early TV career included memorable turns on The Twilight Zone and an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with future Star Trek costar Leonard Nimoy.
* Shared TV's first interracial kiss on the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" with Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura.
* Mask of killer Michael Myers in the original Halloween (1978) was a likeness of his Star Trek character, Captain Kirk, painted white.
* Title of his memoir Get a Life! (1999) was derived from a 1986 Saturday Night Live skit spoofing fans of Star Trek.
* Varied (and much spoofed) music career includes cult classic The Transformed Man (1968), featuring unique covers of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and Has Been (2004), with Ben Folds, Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins and others.
* Third wife Nerine Kidd drowned in the swimming pool of their Los Angeles home on August 9, 1999. Although the two had been estranged, they reconciled shortly before she died.

Gentlemen, sharpen your knives

AICN ran a contest for fan art involving a certain Jason Voorhess vs. Artist's choice. They haven't picked a winner yet, but this one and others are showcased here.

Me, I'd wanna see Jason vs. the Blob.

A movie for Jordan

From Darkhorizons, "Bridget Moynahan is set to join Tim Robbins in Henry Bean's black comedy "Noise" which begins shooting in New York at the end of next month reports Production Weekly.

The story follows NYC urbanite David Owen (Robbins) who becomes so distraught by the noise of New York's hustle and bustle that he becomes a vigilante known as 'The Rectifier' and wages war on car alarms everywhere.

He soon learns though the price of his new identity as his pursuit costs him his job and family life, his friends and children begin questioning his sanity, and he earns the spite of the city's mayor."

Razorwire

From Darkhorizons, "Kisha Imani Cameron and Completion Films have picked up "Razorwire" by newcomer Rob Davis, and attached music video director Little X to helm the urban horror movie says The Hollywood Reporter.

The script centers on a group of small-time drug dealers who discover that vampires, who also happen to be cops, have been feeding on the disadvantaged people in the ghetto. When the vampire cops start framing them for the murders, the dealers go to war with their new immortal enemies.

Cameron, a former exec at New Line and Walden Media, acted as associate producer on the 2000 Spike Lee movie "Bamboozled" and on the 2005 HBO telefilm "Sometimes in April," about the Rwandan genocide."

'The Simpsons' going live-action, briefly

'The Simpsons' going live-action, briefly
NEW YORK (AP) — Ever wonder what Bart Simpson would look like in human form?

Sunday's episode of The Simpsons will also feature guest star Ricky Gervais. Here, Gervais' character, right shares a beer with Homer.
FOX

The longrunning animated Fox series The Simpsons is about to show you. The series will unveil a live-action opening sequence Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, a Fox spokeswoman announced Thursday. In it, the dysfunctional cartoon family — Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie — will be seen as they would appear in real life, played by lookalike actors.

"I'm just amazed there are people who want to be known for looking like the Simpsons," said Al Jean, the show's executive producer, in a statement.

A team from British network Sky One created and commissioned the live sequence, which apes the long-running series' memorable opening shots: Bart writing on the chalkboard, Homer pulling the nuclear rod out of his shirt and Maggie and Marge at the supermarket, a Fox spokeswoman said.

The Simpsons was recently renewed for two more seasons, its 18th and 19th.

Snakes on a Plane has a logo

From Iwatchstuff: "For whatever reason, the makers of Snakes on a Plane have deemed it necessary for the film to have a logo, and Entertainment Weekly's got the scoop. It basically looks like if the American Medical Association logo were designed to be airbrushed on the hood of a Camaro. It's that awesome. And it's just in time, too; I have a tattoo appointment at 4:30."

From Octopunk: I'mnotMarc sent me an email yesterday in which he related the following fun fact: Samuel Jackson became interested in this movie solely because of the title "Snakes on a Plane," and when they made a move to change it, he nuked the effort. His quote was something like "either you'll want to see that, or you won't." That's the kind of Jedi wisdom I can get behind.

Also, just when I was getting sick of looking for Snakes on a Plane pics to post, I came across the fan art. One example is in JPX's post below, but here's another that caught my eye. And the t-shirt.

Tom Cruise looking intense in profile

From Iwatchstuff, "The new poster for Mission: Impossible III has been released, finally completing the trilogy of Tom Cruise looking intense in profile. I thought since he's been getting such negative press lately, they might shy away from showing him too prominently, but there he is, looking like a guerilla Time Life operator. If you look closely, you can see his thumb is resting on a small, red button. This is a rare, private look at Cruise's "crazy button."

Bondage

I'm not sure what the Iwatchstuff guy's beef is with the new Bond flick, but what are you gonna do about it? "Despite the protests of fans and websites, producer Barbara Broccoli has indicated that Daniel Craig will be returning to the Bond franchise to continue the story they start in Casino Royale, saying:

We are already working on the sequel. We're in the early stages of that. It will be an original story but will continue part of what the story is in Casino Royale.
This seems premature, seeing that they haven't even made the horrible movie yet, but I'll let Barbara Broccoli do whatever she wants. The critical fans still win as long as they continue to not have the name of a cartoon vegetable.

Snakes on a Plane re-shoots for an "R" rating

From the why bother? department, Darkhorizons reports, "This month, New Line Cinema's "Snakes on a Plane," which wrapped principal photography in September in Vancouver, went back before the cameras for five days of additional shooting at the Lot in Los Angeles says The Hollywood Reporter.

However it wasn't the usual sort of reshoots, rather the studio decided to create new scenes that would take the movie from PG-13 into R-rated territory. The second round of filming also came about because of intense and growing fan interest in the movie.

"Snakes" stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent who has to fight a planeload of snakes unleashed by an assassin bent on killing a witness in protective custody. The David R. Ellis-directed flick hits theatres August 18th."

New Nightmares and Dreamscapes details emerge

From Darkhorizons, "Turner Network Television (TNT) is putting the summer on ice with its chilling all-star television event NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING. This four-week collection of eight mind-bending tales from the master of horror, set to premiere in July. The following is the line-up of eight one-hour stories included in TNT's NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES:

Umney's Last Case
Directed by Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, Elektra); teleplay by April Smith (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) After the death of his son, writer Sam Landry (William H. Macy) is so desperate to lead another life, he writes himself into his own book, forcing his long-time character (also played by Macy) to change places with him and live in the modern day. But things get deadly when Landry realizes he is trapped and cannot write himself out of his new reality.

The End of the Whole Mess
Directed by Mikael Salomon (TNT's Salem's Lot); teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen (Carrie, Stephen King's It) The world had changed. Violence, war and hatred and replaced with kindness, peace and love. But at what price? Renowned filmmaker Howie Fornoy (Ron Livingston), with just one hour to live, recounts the details of his brother's (Henry Thomas) worldwide experiment gone terribly wrong.

Crouch End
Directed by Mark Haber (Border Patrol, Alien Cargo, Daises in December); teleplay by Kim LeMasters (Threshold) A newly wed American couple (Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani) honeymooning in London goes to Crouch End to have dinner with a friend. They soon learn the town is not what it appears to be, and the more they get lost, the more they become trapped in another dimension.

The Fifth Quarter
Directed by Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, Elektra); teleplay by Alan Sharp (Rob Roy, Reversible Errors) Willie (Jeremy Sisto), a just-released convict, learns from his dying friend of a map in four parts that reveals the location of $1 million from a robbery. Seeking revenge for the death of his friend and the money, as well, Willie hunts down the others who hold the remaining three parts to the map, risking his family and his freedom. Samantha Mathis co-stars.

Autopsy Room Four
Directed by Mikael Salomon (TNT's Salem's Lot); teleplay by April Smith (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) Businessman Howard Cottrell (Richard Thomas) is on vacation playing one of his many games of golf. Chasing the ball into the undergrowth, he is bitten by a snake and completely paralyzed, showing no signs of life. At the hospital, unable to communicate, he is the key witness to his own autopsy. Greta Scacchi co-stars.

You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
Written and directed by Mike Robe (News at Eleven, Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North). A wrong turn on a lonely road turns frightening for Clark and Mary Willingham (Steven Weber and Kim Delaney) as they stumble upon a town not on any map - Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon. There is a free concert every night, but the price of admission is high - once the audience enters, it can never leave.

Battleground
Directed by Brian Henson (Farscape, Muppet Treasure Island); teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson (Mobius, It Waits) John Renshaw (William Hurt), a professional hit man, successfully murders the CEO of a prestigious toy company only to face the biggest fight of his life when a package from the toy company is delivered to his house with surprising, deadly contents.

The Road Virus Heads North
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (TNT's Into The West, Invasion, Taken); teleplay by Peter Filardi (Salem's Lot, Flatliners) Richard Kinnell (Tom Berenger) is a famous writer who, at a doctor's visit, learns he may soon have to deal with his own mortality. On the drive back to his home, he buys a mysterious painting. Each time he looks at it, it changes to become more menacing and sinister. He pieces together that the painting is trying to kill him...but not if he can destroy it first. Marsha Mason co-stars.

Five of the adaptations for NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES come from King's 1993 anthology of the same name. The Road Virus Heads North and Autopsy Room Four come from King's 2002 anthology Everything's Eventual, while Battleground comes from 1978's Nightshift."

The Emulator Strikes Back

Here's a cool site that allows you to download virtually every Star Wars video game ever produced: