MTV Movies Blog ›

I'm not sure I can handle the awesome that is the just-announced "Havana Heat." Joey Lawrence (whoa!), Wesley Snipes (always bet on black...) and Michael Dudikoff (the one and only American Ninja) will come together (finally!) to star in the indie action flick, which Dean Hamilton will direct. The story revolves around an undercover Homeland Security agent who is murdered in Havana, Cuba.

It doesn't matter, really. Anything that brings this trio together on screen is fine with me. I haven't seen Lawrence in a long time, but who can forget "Blossom"? He also stars in the new ABC comedy "Melissa & Joey" with former "Clarissa Explains It All" star Melissa Joan Hart which launched this week. Snipes has been doing a lot of direct-to-video work in recent years, though he turned in a strong performance in last year's cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest." Dudikoff has been off the acting grid since 2002's "Quicksand"; fans of "American Ninja" will be pleased to see him in action again.

Variety reports that producer Tayrona Entertainment Group is angling for a summer 2011 release.

Tags Havana Heat, Joey Lawrence, Michael Dudikoff, wesley snipes

Chelsea Handler, the host of E!'s no-holds-barred late-night talk show "Chelsea Lately," has been confirmed as the host of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. If you're worried that this new development means the show will be toned down after Russell Brand's two consecutive years as host, then you're clearly not familiar with Handler. She's got a crass sense of humor and pulls no punches. Just listen to her explanation of why Robert Downey Jr. is her favorite celebrity...

Handler joins a performer and presenter lineup that already includes members of the "Easy A" cast, Ashley Greene, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Ne-Yo and more. The awards show airs on September 12 at 9pm eastern; make sure you tune in and check it out.

Tags Chelsea Handler

Hey readers... I've got a question for you. When did "C.S.I." become a showcase for all things oddball? The newly released season 11 preview runs through the strange things that the crime scene investigators team has covered in previous years. Furries? Vamps? Hairy bodies?

Things I definitely saw in the promo, and wouldn't have expected: A dude with a lizard face. Some kind of scene set on a "Star Trek"-like bridge. A corpse with long, multicolored sticks protruding from it (think psychedelic acupuncture gone overboard). A woman shoots a bullet out of her finger.

Also, Justin Bieber. I expected that, but he sure does look creepy here. Hit the jump for the promo. Read more...

Tags C.S.I., justin bieber

Perhaps you've heard that pop princess Britney Spears is going to appear in an episode of the coming season of "Glee"? She really is. Fans are delighted. There have already been Lady Gaga and Madonna episodes-- it was only a matter of time before Spears got her day. She steps things up though by actually appearing in the episode. The shoot happened already or is underway, but in either case Spears tweeted a photo of her bespectacled self from the set yesterday. You can find it after the jump as today's Daily TwitPic.

I have to wonder where "Glee" will go in its third season. Which musicians and musicals will it tap? Slayer? "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut"? That would get me watching the show, no question. I would pay anything to watch Jane Lynch growl her way through "Hammer Smashed Face." Read more...

Tags britney spears, Glee

Someone had to make the first Twitter-Wood comparison between "The Wire" and the Rod Blagojevich trial, and Seth Meyers was that man. He, along with Roger Ebert and Jeff Katz had reactions to the single guilty verdict in Chicago last night, and they all posted those thoughts on Twitter.

In other tweets, "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" has received a lot of love from critics, despite its poor box office performance. Bret Easton Ellis decided to part ways with the pack, however, and declared his dissatisfaction with the movie. Find out how he felt below along with a weird exchange about Target between Michael Ian Black and Dane Cook and insights into Dr. Laura quitting her radio show.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for August 18, 2010. Read more...

Tags Bret Easton Ellis, dane cook, jeff katz, john hodgman, kal penn, michael ian black, michael mckean, Roger Ebert, seth meyers, Twitter-Wood

Remember "Jumper"? Early 2008 sci-fi release directed by Doug Liman? Hayden Christensen stars as a young man who, thanks to a genetic hiccup, is gifted with the ability to teleport himself anywhere in an instant. Hunting Christensen is Samuel L. Jackson, who believes that only the Lord Almighty should be able to be everywhere at once. The movie wasn't adored by critics but it did well enough in theaters to just about break even. You know what that means, right? Sequel. It's something that's being actively discussed, as Christensen told MTV on the red carpet for "Takers" last week.

"We're talking about it right now actually," he said. Where could the story go? "Hopefully somewhere a little darker. I think there's a lot you can do with it. It was sort of set up in a way it's gonna be mother hunting son and possibly even maybe sister hunting brother. We're talking about it, trying to figure it out."

What say you, readers? Do you want to see a "Jumper" sequel?

Tags hayden christensen, jumper, Jumper 2, Video

In the news today is word of an upcoming Bob Marley biopic from Emmy-nominated director Jenny Ash. The story of the celebrated Rastafarian reggae singer has never been committed to film, though two other projects are reportedly in the works. One had Martin Scorsese attached, though he dropped out, supposedly to be replaced by Jonathan Demme. The other, an adaptation of the book "No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley," is in development at The Weinstein Company. Little has been heard on either project since 2008.

Deadline reports today that Ash, who is up for an Emmy for her work on "America - The Story of Us," is developing a film focused on Marley's year spent in London, in 1977. It was a pivotal time for the reggae singer, as it was the year he was diagnosed with the cancer that would be the cause of his death in 1981. It was also the year that Marley had an affair with Jamaican beauty queen Cindy Breakspeare. Deadline writes that Ash "sees the biopic as a love triangle between Marley, his wife Rita and Breakspeare, whom Ash has spent time with in Jamaica."

Nothing beyond Ash and producer Greenacre Films is confirmed. Deadline suggests Ashley Walters ("Get Rich or Die Tryin'") for the Marley role. A good choice no question, but I have a few ideas of my own. Read more...

Tags Anthony Mackie, Bob Marley, idris elba, Jeffrey Wright, Lenny Kravitz, Mekhi Phifer

"Piranha 3D" arrives in theaters this Friday. Killer fish, excessive gore, 3-D effects and, of course, Hollywood treasure Jerry O'Connell. With this incredible confluence of awesome, don't you think the movie that wasn't fit for a clip screening at San Diego Comic-Con deserves an Oscar? I sure do. So does the cast. They even cut a video to convince you. Even if you can't actually cast votes. Listen to their appeals though, and once you're convinced reach out to your local Hollywood representative with a strongly worded letter.

Remember people: Yes We Can.

Tags Piranha 3-D

As we eagerly await the launch of the big screen version of “Battleship,” (okay, that’s a lie, we’re holding out for a brooding Kristen Stewart in the economic meltdown-themed thriller “Monopoly”), we couldn’t help but notice that “Star Trek” genius J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle is developing a thriller based on the teenage party game “Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

Okay, we know there was already an indie flick called “Spin the Bottle” that came out in 2000 about five childhood friends getting together for a weekend of flirting and fighting. And Madonna technically lifted the title “Truth or Dare” for a concert film. But could rec room kissing games be the next hot genre now that sitcom remakes and toy-based flicks are hitting bottom? (Sorry “Small Wonder” and Wacky WallWalkers)

The premise of the “Heaven,” hatched from the mind of “Lost” writer/director Jack Bender, has two teens emerge from their heaven seven in the closet to find that all of their friends are dead! With that in mind, we have a few suggestions for a couple more potential teensploitation titles based on game room groping: Read more...

Tags Jack Bender, jj abrams, Seven Minutes in Heaven

Toronto International Film Festival has a great lineup this year. One of the titles I'm looking forward to eventually seeing is "Insidious," the latest horror effort from "Saw" director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, who are really the original architects of that entire series. This upcoming movie sounds like quite a shift however, at least according to star Patrick Wilson, who MTV's Kara Warner spoke with on the red carpet for "The Switch."

"I'm a big fan of horror movies, whether it's 'Poltergeist' or 'The Exorcist,' where you don't see a lot of [gore]. I don't get into the blood and guts too much," he explained. "Even though [Wan and Whannell] created the entire 'Saw' franchise, this is much more along the lines of an 'Exorcist' or a 'Poltergeist' where you don't see a lot at all, and when you do it's very creepy and weird. Instead of [a lot of digital] effects it's creepy people in makeup... it was very weird." Read more...

Tags Insidious, james wan, Leigh Whannell, Patrick Wilson, Video