Sam Raimi

Before there was the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi was directing great horror-genre cult classics like Army of Darkness and The Evil Dead series. I think it's safe to say there will be many Raimi fans who are excited to see him return to horror flicks with the upcoming Drag Me to Hell.

Starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long, the movie is based on a short story written by Raimi and his brother. The trailer is . . . interesting. It's about a bank officer (Lohman) who denies the creepiest old lady ever a loan and then the old lady puts a curse on her (maybe Lohman's character should have watched Yes Man). It's campy and a little over-the-top in spots, but that's Raimi's style. The movie hits theaters May 29. To check out a preview, read more

American Idol's still the biggest thing on TV, but it's not the only reality show hitting the airwaves in January. Lots of new reality shows are starting up next month, and here, I've got previews for three of the biggies.

Ashton Kutcher is behind two of these shows, ABC's True Beauty and CBS's Game Show in my Head. For True Beauty, which premieres Jan. 5, Kutcher has teamed up with Tyra Banks for a show that's attempting to find the person out of 10 gorgeous contestants (models, pageant queens, and the like) who's the most beautiful both inside and out. The twist: The contestants don't know the "inner beauty" part of the game, which will be judged from secret footage by Vanessa Minnillo, Cheryl Tiegs, and Nole Marin. That show premieres Jan. 5.

To hear about the other two shows and see clips of all three, just read more

Get ready for Spider-Man to weave his blockbuster web at least two more times. The talk of more Spidey sequels started right after Spider-Man 3's big opening weekend last Summer, and now there's news that Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are about to commit to two more films.

Though The Dark Knight broke Spider-Man's box office records this Summer, the Hollywood Reporter notes that Spider-Man is still the most profitable movie franchise for Sony, with the first three films combining for a total of $2.5 billion worldwide.

There were some rumors a while back that Maguire might not return for another sequel, though a Sony spokesman said, "Tobey was our only choice and the only person we've discussed the role with." He'll have some time off before getting back into the Spidey suit: The current plan is for the first sequel, written by James Vanderbilt of Zodiac, to start filming in the Fall of 2009. The movies might film back-to-back, Lord of the Rings-style, with Spider-Man 4 hitting theaters in May 2011.

Still up in the air:

1. Whether Kirsten Dunst will be back as Mary Jane.
2. Whether any other actors will reprise their roles.
3. What villains will appear in the next two films.

Most of you weren't exactly thrilled at the prospect of more Spidey, so I'm wondering: What, if anything, would get you back to the theater for a fourth (and fifth) Spider-Man?

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

From playing foul-mouthed studio exec Les Grossman to the historical figure Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg to. . . superhuman comic book character? Apparently, Cruise is looking to hop on the comic book movie bandwagon with an adaptation of the DC Comics/Wildstorm comic Sleeper, with Sam Raimi producing. Reuters has more details:

Written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, Sleeper, which ran from 2003 through 2005, centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain. An intelligence agency places him undercover in a villainous organization and falls for Miss Misery, a member of the group.

Cruise is eyeing the starring role, and Warner Bros. hopes to make it into a franchise.

Ah, but who would play this Miss Misery?

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Lots of intriguing movie news coming out of Hollywood today:

• Kevin Spacey will star in the indie film Shrink as a depressed therapist who likes to ah, partake of the ganja. (A pot-smoking therapist? That sounds familiar.) His clients in the movie will include "Hollywood characters" like Robin Williams, Keke Palmer, Laura Ramsey and Gore Vidal, among others.
• Columbia and Sam Raimi will team up together again after their Spider-Man ventures for yet another adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel. Lehane's books make excellent screenplays, apparently, as Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and the upcoming DiCaprio-Scorsese project Shutter Island have all been adapted. Next up, Raimi will direct a film version of The Given Day, which follows Boston cops in 1919.
• Speaking of adaptations, the rights to an as-yet-unpublished Stephen King novella Throttle — which he wrote with his son Joe Hill — have already been optioned. The story is about "father-son members of a motorcycle gang that's chased through the desert by an 18-wheel tanker truck." The novella will be a part of a 2009 anthology dedicated to I Am Legend author Richard Matheson.

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Earlier this week I called Sam Raimi a busy guy which is, it turns out, an understatement because now there's news of yet another ambitious Raimi project: the return of Tom Clancy's CIA hero Jack Ryan. Previously, the role of Jack Ryan has been played by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears).

Jack Ryan is not dashing like James Bond, nor is he a highly trained killing machine like Jason Bourne. He is a "thinker" who usually relies on his CIA analyst skill set to save the U.S. from evil. These new films reportedly might focus on a younger, less established Ryan, and casting rumors have been swirling around Ryan Gosling for several months.

I'm happy to hear that someone as capable as Raimi is working to bring this character back. While Clancy can get slightly heavy-handed with his patriotism, I'm a sucker for suspenseful spy thrillers and plots that include the piecing together of CIA intelligence. What do you think? Are you excited to see more of Jack Ryan (not to be confused with Jake Ryan)?

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Sam Raimi, writer/director of The Evil Dead, A Simple Plan and Spider-Man 3 (among other stuff), is a busy guy. In addition to directing a horror flick (Drag Me to Hell) and creating an action/fantasy TV series (Wizard's First Rule), he's decided that the world also needs another reality TV show. A reality show that's kind of like Fear Factor, but shot like a horror movie. Or something.

Airing on the CW, the eight-episode summertime series titled simply 13 will "utilize horror-themed challenges to knock players off one by one, until just one is left, having survived all that bloodshed." Reality show producer Jay Bienstock will executive produce alongside Raimi.

According to Bienstock, "We want to cast it like a horror movie, and shoot it a little differently as well. Think about those old movies — we want to put people in a place like that, where they have to deal with their fears and anxieties. They'll end up surprising one another."

As casting begins for the 13 contestants, producers are also deciding in "which classic horror setting" the show will be placed: "An evil small town? A lakeside retreat with a creepy secret? An abandoned cabin in the forest?"

What do you think about this 13 show? Is it decent summertime programming, or totally dumb? Is the idea of living inside a horror movie kind of cool, or lame-o?

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• Will Smith's kids Willow and Jaden will star in Amulet, a fantasy feature film their father is producing, Zap2it reports.
• The creators of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are working on a comedy series for Fox set aboard a spaceship, Variety reports.
• Rob Thomas isn't just penning a remake of 90210 — he's also gotten the OK to remake his own series, Cupid, for ABC, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
• Sheryl Crow has told the Associated Press that she has plans to collaborate with Fleetwood Mac.
• TV Guide reports that the CW has picked up a horror-themed reality show from director Sam Raimi.
• Yes, it's true: Paris Hilton will use her MTV reality show to find a new BFF; details are at The Futon Critic.
• ComingSoon reports that Sarah Michelle Gellar is in talks for the lead role in the indie drama Veronika Decides to Die, replacing Kate Bosworth.

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• Actor Roy Scheider, best known for playing the police chief in Jaws, passed away at the age of 75 on Sunday, Variety reports.
• Sunday's Grammy Awards were the third least-watched Grammy ceremony ever, writes the AP.
• Juno, No Country for Old Men, and The Wire were big winners at the Writers Guild of America Awards over the weekend, Variety reports.
• Kristen Bell will star in Disney's romantic comedy When in Rome, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• ComingSoon has the news that Michelle Pfeiffer will star in Cheri, a film adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Collette.




• Yet another way to watch the Olympics this summer: Oxygen will carry gymnastics, tennis, and some other events, TV Guide reports.
• Pitchfork reports that there's a Radiohead greatest hits album on the way.
• According to Variety, Ellen Page will have the lead role in Sam Raimi's horror flick Drag Me to Hell.

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