MTV Movies Blog ›

by Danica Davidson

What would you do if you were attacked by garden gnomes? Turn the experience into a movie, of course! Robert Zemeckis, writer and director of “Back to the Future,” is set to produce and possibly direct a movie adaptation of Chuck Sambuchino’s faux survival guidebook “How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack.” The film has been optioned by Sony and while it’s early days yet, having a big name like Zemeckis attached makes the big-screen future look bright for this horror/comedy hybrid.

Sambuchino's novel, published in 2010, shines the spotlight on the dangers of garden gnomes through survival tips from a Class 1 gnome slayer (certified through the University of Phoenix). The book is required reading for anybody hoping to survive an attack from those 12-inch menaces lurking in the lawn.

MTV News spoke with author Sambuchino in an exclusive interview the project's origins, its current status on the road towards the big screen, whether or not Zemeckis himself will direct, his thoughts on the film's tone and rating, and which actors he'd like to see in the finished product.

Read more...

Tags Chuck Sambuchino, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack, Robert Zemeckis

Neil Blomkamp's much buzzed-about upcoming film "Elysium" had many of us sold even before its stellar cast was announced. Mostly because his first film, "District 9," was SO great! But now with all the star power of Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, Jodie Foster, Wagner Moura and my favorite, William Fichtner, the movie is pretty much a must-see. Even if we have to wait until March 8, 2013, to see it.

Although details are scarce, I managed to get Jodie Foster to talk briefly about her role as an alien head of state during the press day for "The Beaver" on Tuesday.

When asked whether her character will be a good or bad alien ruler, Foster said she'll be a little bit of both.

"I'm kind of evil-ish, yes, I'm kind of evil-ish, which you know I love," she said. "I'm just excited to work with Neil Blomkamp, the director of "District 9," which I think is pretty much as close to a perfect film that I can think of, and Matt Damon, who I'm a big fan of, and Sharlto Copley."

Read more...

Tags Elysium, jodie foster, Neil Blomkamp, News, Video

Ever feel like some of those action blockbusters we love so much were written by a five year old? Well, according to The Onion, this summer's "Fast Five" was.

The folks over at Today Now! sat down with "Fast Five" screenwriter Chris Morgan, who just happens to be the most adorable five year old you've ever seen (and not really the writer of "Fast Five," if you haven't figured that out yet). We don't want to spoil it for you, but Morgan's thoughts on his female characters, the film's chase scenes and the chance of sequels are pretty freaking hilarious.

There's more news to mull over today. After the jump, find out the chances of "Scream 5" and "6" ever hitting theaters, hear what Rob Kazinsky had to say about leaving "The Hobbit," and when you should be expecting an "American Reunion."

Read more...

Tags American Reunion, chris morgan, Fast Five, Game of Thrones, Immortals, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, rob kazinsky, Scream 4, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, the-hobbit

What does "30 Minutes or Less" have in common with "Fast Five"? Quite a lot, it turns out, considering that stars Aziz Ansari and Jesse Eisenberg are going to headline a reboot of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise.

Give it a moment — we'll explain. When we caught up with Ansari and Eisenberg on the set of the Ruben Fleischer-directed comedy — a glimpse we're showing you as part of MTV's Summer Movie Preview week — they both gushed about the amount of stunt driving that's involved with filming their latest movie, which focuses on two average dudes forced to rob a bank or else risk death by chest-bomb. Pretty standard, really.

"I live in New York City and ride a bicycle, so I never drive ever, so I've been given the opportunity and a cool car," Eisenberg enthused, with Ansari chiming in with one more added benefit: "And stunt driving lessons!"

Read more...

Tags 30 Minutes or Less, aziz ansari, Jesse Eisenberg, Summer Movie Preview

Good news comes to those who wait, which is why we're glad we've waited oh so patiently for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to be rereleased in theaters. Look, even Gollum's excited!

The One Ring has the exciting scoop that AMC will screen all three director's cuts of the "Lord of the Rings" films over the course of three weeks in June. More news is on the way, they promise, but for now we know "Fellowship of the Ring" will start running on June 14, "The Two Towers" on June 21 and "The Return of the King" on June 28.

Most of us have watched the extended editions at home backwards and forwards many times since they've been released, but there are a couple of scenes in particular that we're really looking forward to seeing for the first time on the big screen. Check 'em out after the jump!

Read more...

Tags peter jackson, the lord of the rings, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Return of the King

When you get to adulthood, there usually aren't too many fast ones your elderly parents can pull on you — at this stage of the game, you've seen and been through enough together to have a steady view of who your folks are and what makes them tick.

So imagine your father coming out of the closet at the age of 75, combined with the news that he's terminally ill — that might come as a bit of a shock. "Beginners" tells such a tale, focusing on Oliver (Ewan McGregor), a man struggling to deal with the double-whammy surprise that his father Hal (Christopher Plummer) is both gay and dying. Powerful material to cover, certainly, and it's made all the more fascinating by a top-notch cast that includes "Inglourious Basterds" actress Melanie Laurent as well as Goran Visnjic, who stars in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" later this year.

As part of MTV's Summer Movie Preview week, we've got an exclusive first look at "Beginners." Check out the photo below, and let us know what you think of it in the comments section and on Twitter.

"Beginners" hits theaters on June 3, 2011.

Tags Beginner, ewan mcGregor, Melanie Laurent, Summer Movie Preview

With the release of “Fast Five” only four days away, we turn now to the first fruits of the runaway success of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise – the sequel, “2 Fast 2 Furious”.

After the success of “The Fast and the Furious” in 2001, producers were quick to put the pedal to the medal on a follow-up. Although several members of the original cast walked away from a sequel, the producers pulled together a potent blend of original stars and talented newcomers to the franchise to turn this franchise’s sprint into a marathon.

Read more...

Tags 2 Fast 2 Furious, John Singleton, paul walker, The-Fast-And-The-Furious, tyrese gibson

Two's company, three's a crowd, and any number greater than that makes for a good old fashioned orgy — especially when you throw names like Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb and Will Forte in the mix.

These are the stars of the upcoming September comedy entitled, strangely enough, "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy." The film focuses on Eric (Sudeikis), a 30-something adult who doesn't let his age interfere with his non-stop partying lifestyle. Best known by his pals for throwing over-the-top summer parties at his dad's beach house, Eric's rowdy ways are threatened when his friends start settling into adulthood and his father sets into motion plans to sell the party pad. What's a man like Eric to do in the face of such adversity? The answer's simple: throw one last shindig, a party to top all parties… a good old fashioned orgy.

We've got an exclusive first look at the film's poster, so check it out past the jump!

Read more...

Tags a good old fashioned orgy, jason sudeikis

"Transformers" started as a toy line but that isn't stopping Michael Bay from delving into the mythology as deftly and boisterously as he can with "Dark of the Moon," the film's third installment. I mean, let's be honest: all he needs to put butts in seats is more of those robots in disguise, regardless of the particulars. You see this robot? He transforms into a boombox. And this one? He transforms into an iPhone. Rad!

But as the movie will explore darker and deeper territory, so the casting goes: an image of Shockwave, the film's reportedly primary antagonist, was released on Apple this morning. Shockwave is an O.G. Transformer -- he's been around since the original television show, but this will be his first full-fledged appearance in the movie world. What makes this dastardly robot tick, once you look past his totally awesome '80s name? We've got the answer after the jump!

Read more...

Tags michael bay, shockwave, transformers, transformers dark of the moon

We always knew that a reunion between former flames Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake would be fiery, but we didn't realize it'd be filthy to boot. But that's the situation we're facing in "Bad Teacher," the hard-R comedy hitting theaters on June 24.

You don't need to look any further than the "Bad Teacher" red-band trailer to know that this one has all the makings of a raunchy, instantly quotable summer comedy classic... but if you are in need of extra convincing, for whatever reason, you could do worse than gaze upon our exclusive "Bad Teacher" photo courtesy of MTV's continuing Summer Movie Preview week.

Check out the photo past the jump!

Read more...

Tags Bad Teacher, cameron diaz, Summer Movie Preview