MTV Movies Blog ›

Choreographer-turned-filmmaker Adam Shankman has fortunately found another musical to direct following his success with the "Hairspray" remake. Variety reports that he's set to helm the movie version of Broadway's "Rock of Ages," which incorporates popular '80s rock anthems, such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna take It," into a Sunset Strip-set love story about an aspiring musician and a girl who's just off the bus.

Shankman, who also made the hilarious online short "Prop 8: The Musical" and will be doing a "Hairspray" sequel, feels he knows the material well enough from having worked on an Extreme video back in the early '90s and from growing up with a dad in the music biz. He also was a choreographer on "Boogie Nights," which means he probably has experience setting a scene to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian," one of the songs appropriated for one of the numbers in "Rock of Ages." Read more...

Tags adam shankman, hairspray, rock of ages

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: Welcome to Dress Like A Movie Star Week here on Hollywood Crush. For the next five days we will be bringing you Halloween costume ideas inspired by some of the most outrageous, colorful and downright awesome characters on the big screen in 2009. We know your wallets aren't exactly being filled by a money tree in your backyards these days, so we're going to try our darnest to keep these costume ideas easy to create and easy on your bank account! Let the trick and treating begin!

Some may say its too soon to base a Halloween costume around a movie that came out the same month, but in the case of the most badass zombie killing sisters around, were going to make an exception. "Zombieland" power girls Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) struck a special chord in our hearts when they managed to look fantastic and fashionable in the middle of the zombie apocalypse while conning and outsmarting Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) at every step of their journey.

Though you'd think there would be more clothing options available with the rest of the world turned into flesh-eating monsters, Wichita and Little Rock wear the same outfit for the entirety of the film. While we aren't recommending you don't shower for weeks as it is implied the girls were forced to ("Don't say the s-word," Wichita begged her kid sister), there are a few elements of the ladies ensembles you just cant live without.

Continue reading Halloween Costumes How To: Dress Like The Fierce Sisters Of 'Zombieland'

Tags abigail breslin, emma stone, Jesse Eisenberg, woody harrelson, zombieland

Willem Dafoe is a special man—a man deserving, like Tracy Morgan, of his own Oh Please Join Twitter campaign—and anything he has to say is intriguing to me. And it's especially intriguing if what he's talking about is "John Carter of Mars," Edgar Rice Burroughs' sci-fi series currently getting the big screen adaptation treatment from Pixar eye-candy guru Andrew Stanton ("WALL-E").

With shooting set to start in January, Dafoe's gearing up to play Tars Tarkas, a many-limbed green Martian warrior who befriends Carter (Taylor Kitsch) after he gets mysteriously transported from Civil War-era America to the Red Planet. And after getting a chance to see early takes on what his character will look like, Dafoe is pumped. Read more...

Tags andrew stanton, john carter of mars, willem dafoe

FROM SPLASH PAGE: When we spoke to Stan Lee during this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, the conversation naturally turned to his cameos in the Marvel movies. One of the industry's living legends, Lee has proudly appeared in just about every movie featuring Marvel characters that's hit the screen.

While Lee wasn't certain he could talk about the cameo at the time, the news appears to have hit the 'Net this weekend—so we're thrilled to finally be able to show this portion of our interview with Stan "The Man" Lee. Excelsior!

"For some reason, they wanted me to wear suspenders and heavy glasses, and they treated me as though I was Larry King," Lee told MTV News of the character he'll play in "Iron Man 2." "So I finally, for the first time in my life, felt like I was a celebrity."

Continue reading Stan Lee On His 'Iron Man 2' Cameo!

Tags iron man 2, Stan Lee, Video

It was announced yesterday by a group of international researchers that 32 new planets had been discovered outside of our solar system. "Exoplanets," as they're called. It's a mystery to me why these scientists relied on fancy and undoubtedly expensive monitoring equipment when they could simply have asked the members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.

In their 1983 film, "The Meaning of Life," Python's Eric Idle took viewers on a trip through the galaxy with the appropriately titled "Galaxy Song." Last week, the five remaining Python members -- Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam -- gathered in New York City to promote the newly released documentary, "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)," now airing on IFC. To cap off the half-hour Q&A, Idle picked up an acoustic guitar and strummed his way through the Galaxy Song. Check it out in our video below...

Tags eric idle, john cleese, michael palin, monty python, terry gilliam, terry jones, Video

Lucky you, Movies Blog readers! Not only do you get a second helping of Twitter-Wood reportage today; I also come bearing the answer your last-minute Halloween costume plans if you've been pondering how to pull the perfect outfit together from Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Eli Roth tweeted a helpful diagram for anyone looking to replicate his Sgt. Donny Donowitz look, which helped earn his character his racy nickname "The Bear Jew."

In other sanitized-for-the-sake-of-this-column tweeting, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaborated on a slash fiction parody of their movie "Hot Fuzz," today, which apparently gained a lot of followers for Wright. Check out the barely family friendly ones after the jump, along with the "Eclipse" reveal planned for the "Twilight" Twitter account, Aziz Ansari's amusement park adventures and Jason Reitman's breakfast with the Chemical Brothers. It's all in the Twitter-Wood report for October 19, 2009. Read more...

Tags aziz ansari, eclipse, edgar wright, Eli Roth, Fred Durst, Hot Fuzz, inglourious basterds, jason reitman, jeremy piven, jon favreau, nick frost, simon pegg, Twilight

Aardman Animation, the UK studio responsible for the "Wallace & Gromit" films and "Chicken Run" have announced a new movie in the works. But it won't be directed by Nick Park, Peter Lord or any of the other great animators employed by Aardman. Instead, children throughout Britain will collaborate on every aspect of the project, including character design, plot and sound effects.

Unlike most of the signature Aardman works, this movie will feature hand-drawn animation. The idea was commissioned by UK modern art museum the Tate Gallery with 3 million pounds (nearly $5 million) in funding provided by the charity Legacy Trust. According to Tate director Nicholas Serota, any child will be allowed to participate on the film, which will be in development over the next two years and will involve at least some level of professional input and supervision (likely from Aardman animators). Read more...

Tags Tate Movie Project

A new "Monster Squad" movie is on the way, but never fear — we're not talking about a remake of the 1987 cult classic, at least not yet. This is an entirely different beast altogether.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. has given the greenlight to "Monster Squad," a supernatural action comedy to be helmed by "Shrek Forever After" director Mike Mitchell with a screenplay by Brad Copeland. Read more...

Tags brad copeland, brian lynch, Mike Mitchell, Monster Squad

Oh "Inception." We all want to know more about you. And yet director Chris Nolan, the man behind such outstanding efforts as "Memento" and "Batman Begins," has put the lockdown on his actors. No one will talk about this thing. All we have is a mind-bogglingly cool trailer and lots of indirect hints.

All of this mystery brings me back a decade to 1999, when people were beside themselves with excitement about "The Matrix" based primarily on a similarly badass trailer. I don't want to elevate my expectations too high, but Nolan's track record sort of speaks for itself. And hearing what Cillian Murphy had to say about the movie in a recent interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz, I'm even more excited. Read more...

Tags Chris Nolan, Cillian Murphy, inception

We've already met the parents and the Fockers, but now it's time to get acquainted with the "Little Fockers." The third installment in the Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro-starring "Meet the Parents" franchise is gearing up for production by adding an assortment of new actors to the mix.

Recently, we learned that Jessica Alba would have a small but vital role in "Little Fockers" as a pharmaceutical rep whose looks have a dangerous effect on the film's male cast. Now, yet another actress is joining "Fockers," though her influence is centered more on the little Fockers themselves. Read more...

Tags Laura Dern, Little Fockers