Though he was slated to direct his long-awaited adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft horror tale this summer, it now appears that the project is off the table. Numerous reports surfaced yesterday that Legendary Pictures had successfully lured del Toro away from the Universal horror flick for "Pacific Rim," a PG-13 blockbuster featuring massive monsters and "the creation of a new world."
Whether or not "Pacific Rim" is del Toro's next film isn't entirely clear, but "Madness" is certainly finished for now. The filmmaker himself reached out to The New Yorker and revealed: "Madness has gone dark. The R did us in."
Del Toro's "Mountains of Madness" was envisioned as a big-budget R-rated horror movie, something that isn't exactly a box-office guarantee on paper. But the talent involved with the project tells another story: James Cameron, creator of the top two highest-grossing films of all time, was on board as producer, and Tom Cruise was attached to star in the movie. With those undeniable box-office draws on his side, del Toro's hopes for an R-rated "Madness" didn't seem too far-fetched.
Ultimately, it appears that Universal was unable to commit to del Toro's vision, as Collider reports that the studio officially passed on the project last Friday. It's a huge disappointment for horror fans and del Toro enthusiasts, as well as anybody who simply loves big, original movie ideas.
But the blame game is a hard one to play in this situation Harry Knowles at Ain't It Cool News has slammed Universal for shying away from such an ambitious and risky project, while Drew McWeeny at HitFix praises Universal's risk-taking moves with "Scott Pilgrim," "Paul" and others; he argues that the problem is "systemic" of the film industry at large, bigger than any one studio.
For us, we're not concerned with who's at fault, not right now. We're just flat-out disappointed that we're not going to see del Toro's "Madness" anytime soon, even if we're excited about the possibilities that "Pacific Rim" presents.
Vanessa Hudgens And Alex Pettyferâs Best Of Los Angeles
Vanessa Hudgens And Alex Pettyfers Best Of Los Angeles
Vanessa Hudgens says her latest flick Beastly, is a gothic romance thats a modern day take on Beauty & The Beast, except a bit darker and a bit sexier. It kind of leaves you with a great message to not judge a book by its cover.
Entertainment producer Kerry Maller sat down with Hudgens and co-star Alex Pettyfer to find out their favorite spots in Los Angeles. Hudgens, who plays Lindy in the film, likes Aroma Cafe because of the adjacent book shop and twinkle lights strung outside. Pettyfer, who plays Kyle, likes Los Angeles favorite In-N-Out.
As bizarre and angry as ever, Sheen recorded a late Sunday call with friend Bob Maron in which he rants about needing to overhaul his webcast to get out his message.
Im gonna write my sermons, [and] Im gonna deliver them like truth torpedoes, explains Sheen.
At various points there are references to orange juice, jumping out of a plane, his magic tray, and how his telephone is an instrument of the trolls.
After the call, Sheen spends a few minutes rambling about the expression it is what it is, certain tenets of his philosophy, and the death of his dog Betty.
Love It or Hate It: Leading Ladies at the NAACP Image Awards
Love It or Hate It: Leading Ladies at the NAACP Image Awards
Love It or Hate It: Leading Ladies at the NAACP Image Awards Hopefully you've already voted on all your favorite hair and makeup looks from this weekend's NAACP Image Awards and now it's time to weigh in on who had the most fab dress of the evening. Click through to cast your vote for each gorgeous gal on the red carpet.
On kissing on the silver screen: I cant lie. It didnt suck making out with Channing [Tatum] and Justin [Timberlake].
On being asked to get Botox: "I was like, Damn you! But were in Hollywood. Im on a huge screen. With these new digital cameras, you can see the peach fuzz on my face.
On how Dominic Cooper's previous girlfriend led to their breakup: I was just kind of foolishly thinking that the two of them were done and Dom and I were involved. But we werent really as involved as I thought. So I got my heart broken pretty hard. After that, its really hard to open myself up to a new person. Really hard.
On another famous ex, Alexander Skarsgård: We dated. Hes superfunny, but I was too involved with Dom.
On her reported new love Ryan Phillippe: Um, yeah. Ive been seen with him.
"Kristen hasn't lost any of that stuff that makes her special," Lee Pace, who is playing Edward's vampire BFF Garrett in the Breaking Dawn flicks, tells me. "People say it's quirky, but I think it is authentic.
"She doesn't march down these red carpets like a show monster," the former Pushing Daisies star continued. "You see these girls and they're all just like, 'I'm living the fantasy. I'm wearing $10,000 worth of clothes and jewelry.' Kristen's just not like that. Kristen is just her."
The same for Mr. Pattinson. "The thing about him that is so charming is what you see is what you get," Pace said. "He is as charming and humble and handsome as he presents himself. Totally what you see is what you get with him."
Pace also said that director Bill Condon's take on the movies is a bit more "dark" than the previous three movies. "Bill Condon is cooling up these movies," he said. "I hope that doesn't get me in trouble with anyone, but he's cool...He really is killing it with this one. He's making it cool. Bill is finding that stuff and letting it be as shocking as it can be, but stylish, too."
Pace returns to filming Breaking Dawn this week after taking a three-week vacation to India. "I wear bright red contacts," he said. "I feel so plain and boring when I take them out."
And Twilight isn't the only thing on Pace's mind these days. He also costars in Ceremony, an indie comedy from first-time director Max Winkler that hits theaters April 8, with Uma Thurman.
Pace plays Thurman's fiancé in the film while Michael Angarano (yes, Stewart's ex!) portrays a young man infatuated with her and intent on ruining their wedding plans. "Uma Thurman's pretty great!" Pace said. "Kill Bill is actually one of my all-time favorite movies. Her and Darryl Hannah beating the shit out of each other in a trailer? I love it!"
And it was just announced that Pace has joined the cast of the upcoming Broadway production of The Normal Heart with Ellen Barkinand Jim Parsons. The play focuses on the rise of the AIDS crisis in New York City from 1981 to 1984.
(Originally published March 7, 2011, at 3 p.m. PT)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives premiere Of Shangri-La Entertainment's "Girl Walks Into A Bar" held at the ArcLight Cinemas on March 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
CLAIM: Kelsey Grammer and New Bride Kayte Walsh âAlready Fightingâ
CLAIM: Kelsey Grammer and New Bride Kayte Walsh Already Fighting
(PopEater)
Kelsey Grammer and Fourth Wife Already Fighting? reads the headline of a piece on PopEater, which goes on to claim that Grammer and his new bride, Kayte Walsh, have already stumbled upon their first rift and it involves about 2,800 miles and an ex-wife.
The site reports that an insider reveals, Kelsey wants to move back to LA to be near his daughters and start working on a new TV project with Starz But Kayte would rather stay in New York where she has close friends and is far, far away from [his ex-wife] Camille.
Really?
Nope.
Someone is making up s**t, Grammers rep tells Gossip Cop, adding that far from moving back to L.A., the couple just bought a place in New York, and Grammer begins filming next month in Chicago.
Ed Westwick smiled with Leighton Meester as they filmed scenes for Gossip Girl at the Plaza Hotel in NYC yesterday. The cast have been hard at work shooting the fourth season, and they're now up to the finale, with Blake Lively having to cut short her stay in Paris to record the last scenes. Ed has no plans to move on from the show after this season, saying: "I'm having a fantastic time. I've got a great character, a great cast, and I get to live in New York City."
Its non-stop for Katy Perry at the moment, as her California Dreams show is currently touring Europe. With Milan, Paris and Berlin on the calendar, it wont be long before shes heading over to the UK towards the end of the month.
Katys individual and quirky fashion sense always gets her photographed by the press, and we couldnt help but notice the similarity between this recent pair of sunglasses she was spotted wearing, and Polaroid Eyewears 1950 Broadway S8157B.
1950 Broadway S8157B
We wish Katy all the best for her current tour, and if you havent seen our heritage collection, Best under the sun, then youre in for a treat. Showing retro styles in the latest advanced materials and polarizing technologies, were sure youll find a pair to add to your summer wardrobe.
And while we thought the stuffed bear she carried was a nice little touch and effectively complemented her peacoat, we were nevertheless distracted by a certain accessory lodged between her lips.
After all, with Suri turning 5 next month, it seems a bit odd that she would still be using a pacifier.
In his New! magazine column, the Aussie explained: "There was a story doing the rounds last week saying that Elen and I had split up after a huge row about me not wanting to go to a party with her.
Matt Bellamy made a face in the sunshine before putting his shades on during a holiday in Mexico with Kate Hudson yesterday. Kate covered her baby bump in a white tiered dress as she stayed close to her son Ryder outside their holiday villa. There was no need for the cardi she pulled on before she left LA, and she looked gorgeous and relaxed as she showed off her growing baby bump in a bikini. This could be the last break for just the three of them, as Kate and Matt's baby is due in the summer.
Anyone who's seen him as Hannibal Lector knows just how bad he's capable of playing!
Sir Anthony Hopkins is reported to be in negotiations to play the big villain in the upcoming James Bond film, with the option to continue on into other editions in a recurring role!
A source explains:
"The only stumbling block seems to be the number of films he is signing up for. There is a chance the character they want him to play could become a regular feature, like Blofeld back in the day."
Wow! They certainly haven't done that kind of nemesis in quite some time!
But if anyone could pull it off, we have to admit, he's their best bet!
Miley Cyrus has been sending 'flirty texts' to Jared Followill of The Kings Of Leon.
A source told HollywoodLife : 'Miley wants to keep Jared interested.
'She often sends him coy text messages. So far, he is a big fan of what she has been sending.'
According to the source, they said: 'Jared loves showing off his texts from Miley. He thinks she's very pretty and is excited she's still flirting with him.'
Sophie Ellis Bextor attended the 30th anniversary of Mamas and Papas last night working a clashing ensemble. She wore a checked coat over a floral striped dress. There used to be a rule about mixing patterns, but in fashion rules are made to be broken! This got me wondering, do you like to clash prints?
The actors camp believes Lorre had Sheen terminated because of the actors numerous personal attacks on him in the media, and not due to any moral turpitude.
Marty Singer, the stars lawyer, contends its not a question of Sheens behavior, citing that Warner Bros. was more than happy to stay connected to Sheen professionally during his domestic violence case last year, according TMZ.
A source told HollywoodLife : 'Miley wants to keep Jared interested.
