· The weird thing about New Moon parodies is how high their batting average is. Like these dudes on Conan last night (begins at 11:20)? And College Humor's Twilight: Three Wolf Moon, after the jump? These should not be funny! And yet they are kind of funny. (Unless SNL is doing it. Then it's probably not funny.)
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While Twi-mania reaches a fever pitch this week, Amy Heckerling is quietly in pre-production on her own vampire venture called Vamps. The Parly Films rom-com is slated for a 2010 release and has already cast Krysten Ritter, but the Clueless writer/director is hoping to also snag her I Could Never Be Your Woman lead Michelle Pfeiffer. For those interested, Vamps is described as a "modern-day tale of two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality." [Film Experience]
Decades after Dame Shirley Bassey provided the legendary theme songs to Sir Sean Connery's 007 hits Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever, the Welsh chanteuse will once again contribute a tune to a Connery effort. You might forgive them, however, if this one is of a slightly less distinguished pedigree.
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It was a rough summer for a lot of worthy indie films, and one of the worthiest -- Lynn Shelton's shaggy, surprising mumblecore farce Humpday -- didn't manage to find an audience commensurate with its buzz. The comedy is being released on DVD today, and to mark the occasion, Shelton's made available a short film inspired by it. This time, instead of watching straight dudes Mark Duplass and Josh Leonard attempt a bedroom encounter, a gay man and a lesbian have the unlikely honors.
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Will Arnett, formerly George Bluth II on Arrested Development and the devious Devon Banks on 30 Rock, will finally make a cameo on his wife Amy Poehler's sitcom Parks and Recreation in an episode that will likely air January 14. Poehler hinted at the cameo at a recent Paley Festival event. What remains to be seen is if Will's greatest comic foil will be present -- though I imagine the sexually oblivious grin of Jack McBrayer is overbooked at this time of year. [E!]
· JoBlo's got the poster for Salt.
· Did Rachel McAdams really audition for the role of Black Cat in Spider-Man 4? "That's a total rumor, I have to say," she told EW.
· The delirious-yet-fascinating Wendy Williams Show has been renewed to 2012.
· Adam Lambert's publicity team only let him appear on the cover of Out if the magazine promised things wouldn't get "too gay."
· Yet another boldfaced comment-fight has broken out in Anne Thompson's neck of the woods, this time between feuding directors George Hickenlooper and Alex Gibney. Anne's the new Maury!
There's "in demand" -- like admitted workaholics Willem Dafoe or Tilda Swinton -- and then there's "in demand." Take Alexandre Desplat, for example, the twice-Oscar nominated composer who has worked on seven films in 2009 alone, not counting his contributions to date to Terrence Malick's delayed The Tree of Life. It's an eclectic resume as well, grouping the brilliant score to Cheri with two love themes to New Moon and a pair of French films we won't even see until 2010 at the earliest. And while Variety has a nice, friendly introduction to Desplat in today's composer roundelay, it's the recent smackdown for the film he didn't score -- and its director, Quentin Tarantino -- that might leave the biggest impression.
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An odd little item at the LAT shares a brief word with Chris Columbus, the director best known for launching the franchises Home Alone, Harry Potter and next year's Percy Jackson. Neither the reporter nor even Columbus's Potter producer, however, give him much credit for anything beyond his gifted handling of child actors. "Chris Columbus was the exact right director for those films," producer David Heyman said of the first two Potter movies, while Columbus seems to acknowledge priming them for megastardom first and performance second. "They've really turned into terrific adults," Columbus said. "And that being said, they've also turned into terrific actors, you know." Sort of? Somewhere, the Culkin family is feeling more ripped off than ever. [LAT]
Thor has finally cast its last major roles, filling the slots of Thor's main comrades, the Warriors Three. Rome's Ray Stevenson will play Volstagg the Valiant, Tadanobu Asano is set for Hogun the Grim, and Fandral the Dashing will be played by Stuart Townsend (left). Incidentally, Movieline heard that the production locked everybody but the tough-to-cast Fandral weeks ago, but producers held off on an announcement until they had the full trio. Sorry, Dominic Cooper! [Variety]
The most important premiere of the most important movie of all time landed in Westwood Village last night, and Movieline wasn't there to capture it. What are we -- nuts?! No, we enjoyed the New Moon insanity from the comforts of our homes, trawling the internet for every last, juicy Twi-morsel (you can add Twi- to anything! Try it!) and compiling them here for your reading pleasure.
· Rachelle Lefevre, who was unceremoniously discharged after playing the villainous vampiress Victoria in the first two installments (Bryce Dallas Howard will replace her), tweeted why she wouldn't attend the premiere: "2 fans at the premiere: w/ Honey in hospital & being fired from Eclipse tonight was just 2 emotional 4 me & I couldn't manage it. So sorry." Honey is her dog.
One can only imagine how the first Rich Ross-led production meeting went recently at Disney, where the new regime likely settled down at its mouse-shaped conference table, made some introductory rounds like the first day of school, and then spat gallons of coffee in unison upon realizing that their predecessors planned a new 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea adaptation directed by McG. After some debate as to whether or not it was practical joke rigged up by former boss Dick Cook on his way out the door, the executives went ahead and killed it just in case.
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· Anna Faris had a pretty good Monday, led by the news that Universal had acquired the comedy pitch TMI as a likely project for her and Ryan Reynolds. It's the first pick-up by new studio bosses Adam Fogelson and Donna Langley, who may or may not have related to the script about a married couple whose policy of complete honesty goes a tad too far. Either way, Faris is reportedly ready to go just as soon as Reynolds knocks out The Green Lantern. LOLZ will ensue. [Variety]
Another frothy Faris project gears up at Touchstone, Cedar Rapids packs in yet another cast member, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
Please join us now as we drop off a basket of freshly baked blueberry muffins at the doorstep of our new neighbors, the completely revamped HollywoodLife.com. Bonnie Fuller -- a publishing world wunderkind credited with reinventing celebrity journalism during her tenures at magazines like Us Weekly, Glamour, and Star -- is the president and editor in chief. But please -- enough with the formalities. Feel free to call her Bonnie, and consider her your friendly, familiar host at a "vibrant new female-focused online destination" that puts a bold emphasis on what you have to say.
When Disney downsized the bulk of Miramax's employees and announced that the company would be reducing its output to only three or so films a year, it was assumed that the next product slated to go into production -- the Richard Linklater romantic comedy Liars (A to E) -- would be safe from the scythe. After all, Linklater finished casting leads Rebecca Hall and Kat Dennings two months ago, and the story (which found Hall and Dennings visiting Hall's exes on a road trip to retrieve lost items) offered plenty more juicy roles for actors.
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· And introducing Philippe and Alexandre Haussman, identical twins who play spoiled Russian brothers in the movie that officially took in $230.4 million around the world this weekend. One of them has already played John Wayne Gacy as a child. Act fast -- they won't be willing to work unpaid for much longer!
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