Star Wars’ Jake Lloyd on how The Phantom Menace ended his acting career

From denofgeek, young Anakin Skywalker, Jake Lloyd, has revealed that damage he took as a result of his work in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace...

The current 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace has brought in, at current count, nearly $90m worldwide at the box office, which should make the bean counters at LucasFilm really rather happy.

Less happy, though, appears to be Jake Lloyd, who in 1999 was cast onto the world stage as the young Anakin Skywalker in the film. Lloyd had already done a bit of acting, most notable in the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Jingle All The Way. But The Phantom Menace was his major breakthrough role. As it happened, though, it turned him off acting for good.

He was eight years old when he played Anakin in the film, but in an interview with Blackbook, he revealed that the role pretty much ruined his childhood. “Other children were really mean to me," he said. "They would make the sound of the lightsaber every time they saw me. It was totally mad." Furthermore, the article reports that Lloyd “was so upset by the filming process and the subsequent blowback that he decided he would never act again”.

And, with the exception of one role over a decade ago, he hasn’t. At most, he attends the odd sci-fi convention, the article reports, but that’s as far as he goes.

He’s rarely talked about his experiences on The Phantom Menace and, now in his 20s, it’s only recently he’s opened up about how tough the aftermath of the film was. “I’ve learned to hate it when the cameras are pointed at me”, he revealed.

It’s hard not to have some sympathy with Lloyd. He was the centrepoint of a massively criticised film, and took a lot of flack as a consequence of that. But can you blame him? Not really. He wasn’t even in his teens, and to hear him talk about how his school life became a “living hell” as a result of the film seems really quite sad.



Read full interview here

Piranha 3DD official trailer

From moviesonline, Yes! Yes! Yes! Bring on the D’s! The official trailer for Piranha 3DD has been released. This time around, the little buggers are heading to the water park to reign more terror on unsuspecting guests. In this sequel to the 2010 gore fest, we have baby piranha being eaten by Gary Busy, David Hasselhoff, Ving Rhames with machine gun legs, and more 3D DD’S. If you want a good laugh, just check out the trailer. The ending had me in hysterics.

Synopsis: Having awoken from their spring break extravaganza at Lake Victoria, the swarm heads upstream where they look to make a meal out of Big Wet, a local water park where when it comes to fun, nobody does it wetter! Thought they came to get wet, get loaded and get some, the staff and patrons get more than they bargained for when they must face the fiercest, most bloodthirsty piranhas yet. Lead by the strong-willed, studious Maddy and her friends, Barry and Kyle, the trio must dive in and take on these man-eating creatures using every ounce of their being…but can they be stopped?

Directed by John Gulager and starring Danielle Panabaker, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd and David Hasselhoff,

Men in Black III trailer

Ralph McQuarrie (1929-2012)

From mysanantonio, Ralph McQuarrie, the illustrator perhaps best known for his concept art of Darth Vader and other denizens of the original Star Wars trilogy, died Saturday. He was 82.
George Lucas offered this statement at StarWars.com, which includes a slideshow of McQuarrie’s Star Wars work:

I am deeply saddened by the passing of such a visionary artist and such a humble man. Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this.’

Beyond the movies, his artwork has inspired at least two generations of younger artists—all of whom learned through Ralph that movies are designed. Like me, they were thrilled by his keen eye and creative imagination, which always brought concepts to their most ideal plateau. In many ways, he was a generous father to a conceptual art revolution that was born of his artwork, and which seized the imaginations of thousands and propelled them into the film industry. In that way, we will all be benefiting from his oeuvre for generations to come. Beyond that, I will always remember him as a kind and patient, and wonderfully talented, friend and collaborator.

McQuarrie also crafted art for other science-fiction properties like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the original Battlestar Galactica and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the latter of which starred San Antonio’s own Henry Thomas.

I still remember when I was a kid begging my parents to buy me special Puffs tissue boxes featuring McQuarrie’s Star Wars art — a 1980 promotion that likely gave mainstream audiences their first look at the illustrator’s fine work. Like so many McQuarrie fans, I fell in love with his Star Wars visions more for their look at what might have been than for the final designs they inspired. From his Metropolis-like spin on C-3PO to his black space samurai design for Vader, McQuarrie’s Star Wars concepts made that still new galaxy far, far away seem even newer yet still strangely familiar, like some dream we had of Rebels and Imperials filtered through our own imaginations and interpretations.

McQuarrie’s art was that special to each of his fans, and no doubt that personal. R.I.P.

"Human Centipede 3" to Bring Back Both Villains

From worstpreviews, Director Tom Six has been saying that "The Human Centipede" was always meant to be a trilogy, claiming that the third installment, "The Human Centipede: Final Sequence," will make the second movie look like a Disney film.

Entertainment Weekly has now learned that Six plans to begin filming this May in the southern states of the US for a 2013 release. While the first film was "100% medically accurate," the sequel was "100% medically inaccurate," the third is described as "100% politically incorrect."

The plan is to bring back both Dieter Laser, who played a crazed surgeon in the first movie, and Laurence R. Harvey, who played an equally deranged parking lot attendant in the sequel. Six will also appear in "The Human Centipede 3" in a supporting role.

Read more: http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=24206&count=0#ixzz1o5yBDy3z

Kirk Cameron Tells Piers Morgan Homosexuality Is 'Unnatural,' 'Ultimately Destructive'

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

From thedailybeast, Did you have your green eggs and ham this morning? Fans across the country are celebrating the 108th birthday of famed children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Celebratory activities for Dr. Seuss, who died in 1991 at the age of 87, are planned in his birthplacr of Springfield, Mass., as well as his longtime home of La Jolla, Calif. But the opening of The Lorax, his latest film to be adapted to the big screen, is said to be the national ode to the man to wrote such famed books as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! March 2 also marks Read Across America Day, marked by Lorax stars Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift, and Betty White.

I'm Bored. Let's Have A Contest!

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The rules are simple, just describe in any way what you think is going on in each picture by using caption, story, single word, sound effect...whatever floats your boat. It's Friday, let's have a little fun!

How to watch the Star Wars movies [by Jordan]

Five years ago, I posted my own "How to watch the Star Wars Movies" treatise here on Horrorthon. Relevant given today's proceedings.
Here's the Horrorthon post and here's the same post over on my own website.

Even cats love Star Wars

One Million Moms hate 'Archie' comics and gay marriage

From EW, The conservative organization One Million Moms wants Toys R Us to stop stocking an Archie comic book that features a gay wedding. In the story, the character Kevin Keller gets hitched to Clay, whom he met in a military hospital after being wounded in the armed services. The marriage occurs in Life With Archie #16, featuring a cover depicting the nuptials, and featuring a banner saying, “Just Married.”

The One Million Moms letter, as quoted in the publishing blog GalleyCat, asserts, “Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in your toy store. This is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand.” It concludes, “Please remove all the same-sex ‘Just Married – Archie’ comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it.” This issue of the long-running comic has been available in comic book stores since January.

I guess the TV version of The Archies is going to have to grapple with this:



“Falling in love is fun for everyone,” trill the Archies. Well, not to everyone, according to these angry moms.