"The Spiderwick Chronicles" might be the most original fantasy adventure to come down the pike in years, director Mark Waters says, but if it is it won't be because of new creatures or revolutionary special effects. No, it'll be because the kids don't speak with British accents.

Waters called MTV News to explain why he's only slightly exaggerating, how his film compares to the Potter-verse, how John Sayles got mixed up with goblins and fairies, and more.

MTV: Way to include all the books in one movie. We're talking no sequel money.

Mark Waters: [He laughs.] Yeah, but you know what? The good thing about the books is they're short — they're about 100 pages with very big lettering. So they were designed to play as one big arc of a serial, whereas the "Harry Potter" books have 870 pages. So, on that, these things are little miniseries. As long as [authors] Tony [Diterlizzi] and Holly [Black] are creating books, I think there's always going to be new movie opportunities being created. Read more...

Matthew McConaughey has already fallen in love with his wedding planner, had ten days to make a woman fall for him, and been fooled by a woman into moving out of his parents' home. And in case his fans haven't already had their fill of high-concept romantic hijinks, he'll soon be haunted by a group of women who moan for all the wrong reasons.

"I've got 'The Ghost of Girlfriends Past' with Matthew McConaughey next," reported director Mark Waters recently, talking about the romantic comedy king's next flick. "It's a take-off on 'A Christmas Carol,' about a guy who sleeps with lots of women and breaks their hearts."

"He basically has a magical comeuppance on Christmas, where he learns the error of his ways like Scrooge," grinned Waters, director of "Mean Girls" and the upcoming fantasy "The Spiderwick Chronicles." "It's Scrooge, but with hot chicks." Read more...

With the global success of "Harry Potter," you'd think everybody and their brother would be jumping at the chance to compare their fantasy films to J.K. Rowling's creation, maybe hoping a little of that Boy Who Lived magic would rub off on them.

Think again. "It's a lot different, well, at least in the books I read," David Strathairn said of "The Spiderwick Chronicles," an upcoming fantasy movie based on a popular series of children's books. "I don't think it's going to be the next 'Harry Potter.'"

Both "Spiderwick" and "Potter" center on a group of young children as they're introduced to a magical world full of faeries, and goblins, and other fantastic, mythical creatures. The big difference, Strathairn giggled, might be his character - not so much a mentor as "the mad scientist, the mad botanist, the guy who maybe took too many mushrooms," he laughed. Try THAT on for size Albus Dumbledore! Read more...