io9: Death Race

Science Fiction's predictions for the year 2012

Lauren Davis — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:00:00 PST

We've all seen the predictions — both fictional and pseudoarcheological — that the world will end in 2012. But while some of science fiction's predictions for the year 2012 are apocalyptic, some are merely disastrous — and a few are downright upbeat. Let's see what triumphs and tribulations science fiction says we can look forward to in the coming year. More »

10 Greatest Rappers Who Starred in Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:35:11 PST

In space, nobody can hear you freestyle. But that hasn't stopped some of hip-hop's greatest legends from appearing in some classic science fiction and fantasy movies. From battling killer sharks to fighting off ghosts on Mars, some of our favorite rappers have also become some of our favorite SF heroes. More »

The stars of Death Race 2 promise bigger explosions and crazier stunts

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:08:13 PST

Death Race 2, the prequel to Jason Statham's Death Race reboot, is on DVD. We chatted up two of the movie's stars, Danny Trejo and Luke Goss, and they promised the new movie will crank the insanity up to maximum. More »

Death Race 2 clip locks you back up on Terminal Island

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:08:46 PST

Frankenstein lives on in this exclusive new clip from Death Race 2 (the prequel). Watch Luke Goss burn pavement and do his best "driving" pantomime. All we need now is Joan Allen threatening to defecate on the sidewalk! More »

Ghost goes to Japan and a short film for Scott Pilgrim fans

Meredith Woerner — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:30:00 PDT

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The tables have turned, America! No longer are we stealing creepy girl ghost stories from Japan. Now, Japan's remaking our supernatural cinema. Here's the trailer for Japan's gender-swapped remake of the Patrick Swayze flick Ghost, complete with sexy pottery. More »

Death Race 2 trailer promises automobiles combusting, Danny Trejo

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:50:17 PDT

The trailer for the direct-to-DVD prequel to Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race has hit the web. The film tells the story of the famed driver Frankenstein's rise to infamy and features scenes of Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames looking grizzled. More »

Spoiler Onslaught For Captain America, Iron Man 2, Tron Legacy, Transformers 3 And Lost!

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 PST

Tron Legacy releases another picture, Iron Man 2 leaks tie-in book covers, and Transformers 3 redesigns Bumblebee. V's Anna has some alarming reveals, and Warehouse 13's Claudia gets a suitor. Plus Captain America, Doctor Who, Fringe, FlashForward and Lost spoilers. More »

Death Race 2 Will Beat Death Race, Thanks To Ving Rhames' Rupert Murdoch Impression

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:00:00 PST

What could possibly top Death Race's original warden Joan Allen screaming she's going to shit on the sidewalk? Putting Luke Goss and Ving Rhames in the same movie. Plus, Rhames is playing a Rupert-Murdoch-inspired character who created the race. [STYD] More »

Can Luke Goss Fill David Carradine's Frankenstein Mask?

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:00:00 PST

Before there were Jason Statham and his back abs, David Carradine played the masked driving menace Frankenstein. Now, it's Luke Goss' turn to bring Frank back to life, in the Death Race prequel Frankenstein Lives. But is he Frank material? More »

Death Race 2 Details: Go Behind Frank's Mask

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:40:00 PST

The next Death Race film is off and casting. But what will this prequel tell us about Frank, the ruthless cop killer? More importantly, Natalie Martinez is back, to slo-mo walk for your pleasure. More »

Fan-Made Replicas of Science Fiction's Favorite Land Vehicles

Lauren Davis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:30:00 PST

While some science fiction fans like to dress as their favorite character, some handy fans prefer to dress up their cars as incredibly detailed replicas of movie machines. We take a look at the futuristic vehicles on the road today. More »

A Death Race Prequel: Because Running Over People For Sport Needs Explanation

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:30:00 PDT

Want to know how the world of the Death Race remake got its start? Yeah, me neither. Paul W.S. Anderson has a origins story in the works penned by Tony Giglio. Spoiler alert: it's about cars, and killing people with them. [Shock Till You Drop] More »

New Trailer Shows That Gamer = Crank + Death Race

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:30:00 PDT

The first U.S. trailer for Gerard Butler's Gamer has come out, and it shows a nice mix of rough-and-ready convicts-trapped-in-a-video-game action. It's like Statham's Death Race, only on legs and reimagined by the Crank guys. More »

Is Death Race A New Landmark In Gay Film?

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:36:00 PDT

You may think of Death Race as the movie with all the cars that go boom. Or as the film that failed to dent The House Bunny at the box office. But did you know it's also being hailed as a huge step forward for gay rights? Well, sort of. Spoilers ahead. More »

Death Race Is Car Porn For A Dystopian Internet Age

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:30:00 PDT

Click to viewDeath Race is full of awesome exploding car-fu, but it's in the service of a crash course (sorry) in dystopia for the Internet age. The race in question is a prison game which nobody can ever really win, webcast to millions of viewers who might as well be in prison. In fact, Death Race is a good object lesson in why subtlety is overrated. Even the fact that Jason Statham only has one facial expression helps keep the movie's bleak message alive. Click through for spoilers and details and stuff. For those of you who are hoping for a smiple verdict on the movie, here it is: the car stunts are breathtaking, if occasionally confusing. Stuff blows up real good. Joan Allen is magnificent as the prison warden. Jason Statham is Jason Statham. The movie holds up pretty well, until it fizzles completely in the last 15-20 minutes. (Seriously, I can't remember when I've seen a movie take such a steep nose-dive in its last reel.) It's true, as director Paul W.S. Anderson says, that the new Death Race isn't as overtly satirical as the 1970s original, Death Race 2000. This movie is actually too sledge-hammery to be a satire. It starts with a voice-over (and captions) telling us that it's 2012 and everything has gone ass-up. The U.S. economy is rotten, there are no jobs, and everyone's in prison. Prisons, meanwhile, have all been outsourced to private corporations, which try to make a profit through entertainment. First, it's just cage matches and stuff, but eventually it gets more elaborate, leading to the Death Race, which is a huge road rally of mutilation inside the prison grounds, broadcast on the Internet. Then we see Jason Statham on his last day, working at a steel mill, which is closing down. The mill's owners cheat Statham and his fellow workers out of most of their final pay, and then call the riot cops on them before they can even grumble. "Self-fulfilling prophecy," Statham announces to the camera. The workers try to invoke working-class solidarity with the cops, but to no avail, and the violence begins, with the cops firing rubber bullets and beating the crap out of the downtrodden workers. From there, the movie zips forwards through the murder of Statham's sexy wife in his inexplicably nice house, and in a jiffy he's in prison for his wife's murder. His only hope of release: to take part in the Death Race and win. We quickly realize the evil prison warden (Joan Allen) had Statham's wife killed and framed Statham, so he would take part in the race. And not too long after that, we're shown that Allen's character never intends to let anyone win enough races to get out of prison. The game is (say it with me) rigged. There are little video-gamey "power-up" symbols that you're supposed to drive over to get weapons or defenses, but they only work when Allen wants them to. Just like the steel-mill's owners, Allen has everything fixed in her favor. (I mentioned this movie was subtle, right?) Whatever Anderson paid Allen to be in this movie, he should double it. She's easily the best thing about the film, enjoying the hell out of playing a one-dimensional monster. (As I mentioned yesterday, there's a shortage of decent villains, and Allen's character is up there, until the aforementioned terrible ending.) She's purely interested in profit, and driving Internet traffic to the webcast of the Death Race, and she'll do anything to get more online subscribers. The only time she's freaked out or flustered is when she thinks she won't get enough hits. The rest of the time, she's supremely in control - like in one scene where she's talking to Statham with one finger on the trigger of a gun under her desk, aimed at his crotch. It's Allen who really sells the movie's crazy premise, as a smiling yuppie surrounded by working-class men who fear and/or worship her. We're constantly reminded, through fancy graphics, that this the Death Race is a webcast and that you have to pay to watch. It's a particularly web-savvy vision of a dystopian America in 2012, where the economy has collapsed and everybody's a prisoner one way or the other. Did I mention this movie is kind of pornographic? It is. From the early shots of molten steel and sweaty men at the steel mill, to the numerous excuses for the camera to linger over Statham's bare torso and his encyclopedic muscle definition, to the cars themselves, men and machines are fetishized. Oh, there are women, too, besides Allen's long-legged warden. The prison buses in female convicts to be the "navigators" for most of the male drivers. Every time one of those women walks across the screen, the movie goes into slow-mo (literally) and a hip-hop song about sexy girls plays. The same song, two or three times, as if Anderson could only afford to license one sexy-girl song. But because of the movie's breakneck pace, it doesn't do too many of those slow-mo girlie shots, and most of the time, the only body we linger on is Statham's. It's fitting that Death Race ends the summer that began with Iron Man. In Iron Man, we see Tony Stark's naked torso, and it's slightly flabby and vulnerable, symbolizing how fragile he is now that he's mortally wounded. In Death Race, you could write an anatomy textbook using Statham's naked muscles for reference. Robert Downey, Jr. is a rich guy who becomes part machine, pretty much working on his own, with some slight help from Professor Expendable in Afghanistan. Jason Statham helps to build the perfect driving machine, but he's working with a whole team of mechanics. And Statham isn't separate from the mechanics, just because he's the driver - when he's not on the track, he's working in the pit, as a junior mechanic. (This is mostly because it's supposed to be a secret that Statham's character is the masked racer Frankenstein, so he's posing as a mechanic. But it also establishes that he has solidarity with the grease monkeys, and much is made of his auto-mechanic training.) Oh, and this wouldn't be a prison movie without a gay subtext. Luckily, the movie designates Tyrese Gibson's character, Machine Gun Joe, as the sole bearer of that burden. Machine Gun Joe is the only driver who has a male navigator instead of a female one, supposedly because his navigators tend to die quickly and the viewers would be too squeamish to watch that many women get killed. But his navigators are sort of his "bitches," and there's a running joke where people call his character gay, over and over. At the end of the film - major spoiler - he gets street clothes for himself and Statham, and they're super-faggy. Statham says "Anyone would think the guy who got these clothes..." And Gibson finishes the sentence: "...had no taste." They share a little "We're not really gay" laugh. (Actually, the movie is mercifully free of "funny" rape, which is a trend I hope to see continue in prison movies.) So yeah, Death Race is not a particularly smart or subtle movie - even Statham, in interviews, has been saying things like "It's not the Godfather." But it is an interesting spin on a dystopia where a tiny minority of powerful people screw over everybody else - and then sell us front-row seats for our own destruction, via the Internet. Sometimes, a movie doesn't have to be smart if it's vaguely topical and has lots of cars going boom. If it wasn't for the wimpy ending, I would recommend Death Race whole-heartedly, but as it is... it's okay. More »

First Pics Of Harvey Keitel In Life On Mars, Plus What The Spirit's Really About

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:00:00 PDT

Some new photos this morning aren't just spoilery, they're also sort of giddy-making. There's our first look at the new supporting cast of the American Life On Mars, who look a lot like the British version, plus sexy cast photos from Sarah Connor Chronicles, Chuck and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Not only that, but we have a scary new plot synopsis of Frank Miller's The Spirit. We learn the shocking secret of Death Race's ending. And there's some surprising news about who's back — and who may not stick around — on Lost. Speaking of which, Knight Rider may have a thrilling double cameo. There are also new hints about Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Fringe, Smallville, The Middleman, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Spoilers ahead, next 1000 words. The Spirit: Lions Gate released a new official synopsis for Frank Miller's movie of Will Eisner's The Spirit:

It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the OCTOPUS (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he's going to wipe out Spirit's beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City's rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront ... all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are ELLEN DOLAN (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; SILKEN FLOSS (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; PLASTER OF PARIS (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; LORELEI (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and MORGENSTERN (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop. Then of course, there's SAND SAREF (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She's the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him?

I like the way every one of the women of The Spirit gets a cheesy little tag, like "punk secretary and frigid vixen." I also love the idea that these women surround him at every turn; it conjures a great mental image. Death Race: The prison-race movie includes a final scene tying up the fates of Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson and co-star Natalie Martinez, which was filmed months after the movie wrapped filming. It was added after test audiences felt the original ending was too open-ended. So if you notice a final scene that seems a bit tacked on, that's why. [Sci Fi Wire] Life On Mars: The American remake of British time-travel cop show Life On Mars has gone from a C-list cast to a surprisingly A-list one, and here they are shown off in the first official photos, including Gretchen Moll and Harvey Keitel. It definitely looks a lot closer to the British version than the earlier pilot did. [Daily Mail] Lost: Don't panic! Even though Desmond got a happy ending with Penny at the end of season four, he's "still part of the cast." And we'll be seeing Penny again. [TV Guide] But you should panic after all, because Terry O'Quinn says "there's some question" as to whether Locke will appear "all the way" up to the end of the show. [Spoilers Lost] Oh, and some extras had to work late, because they were filming a scene at Hawaii Convention Center, which usually stands in for an airport on the show. This time around, the key word was "Heathrow." More Widmore intrigue, perhaps? [Hawaii Blog] Dollhouse: Will Joss Whedon's new show about brainwashed programmable people for hire feature a beautiful cast? See for yourself. Fringe: The third episode of J.J. Abrams' oh-fine-call-it-the-X-Files show will be called "The Ghost Network." [Spoiler TV] Knight Rider: Because I know you guys get horrendously upset when I don't include a Knight Rider spoiler in here, here's a doozy: original driving wheel David Hasselhoff is making arrangements to put in an appearance in the new show. And he may have his own KITT. The idea is for both Mikes, and both KITTs, to team up to defeat some horrendous menace that can only be stopped by two smart-alecky cars. But the show won't bring back the Hoff unless there's a storyline that really demands it. [Sci Fi Wire] The Middleman: In the last two episodes of the season, the Middleman TV show diverges from the comic in a serious way for the first time. Even though the final two episodes feature Manservant Neville, who's also in volume three of the comic, the storylines will be different. Also, we won't get to find out why/how the Middleman became the clean-living man he is today. That would have been the subject of the 13th. episode of the season, which got canceled to free up money to show the awesome parallel world in the 12th (and now final) episode. [NJ] Doctor Who: There won't be any "Children In Need" special this year, meaning rumors of a meeting with several past Doctors are false. The first special of 2009 is "the Easter special," co-written by Gareth Roberts, and it features a new monster. Catherine Tate would jump at the chance to return, and "anything is possible," says Russell T. Davies. [Blogtor Who] Torchwood: It's rumored James Marsters will be back as the roguish Captain John Hart in the five-episode story "Children Of Earth." [DenOfGeek] The Sarah Jane Adventures: More episode titles from the second season of the Doctor Who spin-off. After "The Last Sontaran" and "Day Of The Clown," there are "Secrets Of The Stars," "The Mark Of The Berzerker," "The Temptation Of Sarah Jane" and "Enemy Of The Bane." (I'm guessing Sarah Jane's temptation has to do with going back in time to the 1950s and having the chance to save her parents from dying when she's a baby. Somebody needs to sit Sarah Jane down in front of a copy of the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day.") Even though Maria and her dad leave after the first story, "don't be surprised" if we see them again, says a producer. Also, one story is a sequel to a Doctor Who story. Bradley Walsh plays "an alien with three identities," and Floella Benjamin (from "The Lost Boy") turns up again. And, as we've mentioned, the Brigadier and Mrs. Wormwood of the Bane are both back. [The Time Vortex] Sarah Connor Chronicles: Not to be undone, the Terminator TV show also features a very beautiful cast, despite the impending destructage of everything. [SpoilerTV] Smallville: Somehow I missed this from those TV Guide scans yesterday. When the Justice League tracks Clark down, he's powerless and in a shady Russian work camp. Afterwards, neither the League nor Clark will be the same again. Also, in the third episode, Oliver Queen's poisoning causes Lois to revisit her feelings for him when she visits him in the hospital. And in episode four, after Jimmy finds the letter Chloe wrote to Clark back in "Fever," Jimmy asks her why she's never said those things about Jimmy. Chloe says Jimmy's insecurity about Clark is wearing thin. Also, Shelby the dog will make a reappearance. Chloe does some investigating for Clark, to find out the truth about Maxima (Charlotte Sullivan), the alien queen who wants to mate with Clark. But then Maxima uses her powers to seduce Clark (??) and Lois walks in on them in an elevator. Also, Clark offers Lois "her old room back" on the empty Kent farm. [Kryptonsite] Chuck: And here's another cast photo, this time for nerd-spy show Chuck. [Spoiler TV] Also, it turns out Captain Awesome's real name is Devon Woodcomb, and his parents go by Woody and Honey Woodcomb. [Zap2It] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Not only does the new Star Wars video game tell the story of a previously unknown "internecine feud" between Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine, it also shows how the two of them unwittingly created the rebellion that eventually destroyed them. Your character, Vader's secret apprentice known as Starkiller, visits a satellite orbiting the smugglers' moon of Nar Shaddaa, on a mission to destroy a Jedi elder, leaving no witnesses. Along the way, you can kill a ton of militia troops, deflecting their lasers with your light saber and then using the Force to hurl a piece of metal through a window, causing the glass to shatter so your enemies are sucked out into vacuum before a safety wall closes. Also, when you Force-throw a Wookiee into a tree on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee writhes realistically and the tree shatters into splinters. [Wired] More »

Writer Tries To Put The Brakes On Death Race

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:10:00 PDT

Did Paul W.S. Anderson steal his Death Race idea from another car racing and crashing movie? But more importantly, aren't all car movies since the 90s a little similar, anyway? Writer Adam Stone is filing a lawsuit against the director and producers of Death Race, claiming they stole the idea from a film called Joust, which he pitched to both Anderson and Jeremy Bolt. Stone is even going as far trying to get a court order to stop the film from coming out this Friday. Strange, I don't remember any dueling ostriches in Death Race. Universal has declined comment on the lawsuit. [The Hollywood Reporter] More »

Death Race Director Comes Clean About How Many Cameras Were Smashed During Filming

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:02:51 PDT

Click to viewDirector Paul W.S. Anderson, known for bringing the monstery violence in Resident Evil and AVP, is also at the helm of the controversial remake of Death Race 2000. We got a chance to talk to Anderson at a press conference, where he explained the best way to run over a camera with a speeding armored vehicle, the physics behind mounting two Vulcan cannons on the side of a car, and why he excised the original flick's bonus points for running over old people. Click through for the entire interview. Let's cut to the chase, the pedestrian point system, what happened to it? I loved [producer] Roger [Corman]'s movie. And one of the things that fascinated me about it, I mean really fascinated me about it, and I've had a lot of time to think about it, is: how did the Death Race become the national sport of America? It's not like the American president woke up one morning and went, "I know! We're going to make the national sport of America driving around in these killer cars that are outfitted with guns and knives, running people over. And we'll televise it." You know, he clearly latched onto an existing sport or an existing trend or some kind of underground thing and developed it. And that always fascinated me. I thought, you know, how did the Death Race come about? And that was really the intention of our movie, was to do the genesis of the Death Race. In a believable way, how could something like this evolve in the near future? You know, the whole point system, it's not like we don't run people over in this movie. Plenty of people get run over. Plenty of people get killed. It's just you don't score points for doing it. There were versions of the script that had the point system in, and versions that didn't have it. And ultimately I felt that for the story we were telling it was too close to the genesis of the Death Race to have the point system. The point system felt it belonged to a more developed form of the sport. Yeah, you did say that there was a line in there about how he's getting squeamish. Yeah, exactly. You know, I felt that if you were a fan of the original movie and you see this movie, you can see how the point system evolved. I didn't really feel that we had to have points to make it Death Race. Yeah, and I think it's part of, you know, re-imagining a property like this. You know, it's like Batman Begins. It wasn't Joel Schumacher's Batman. I think it's better that it wasn't Joel Schumacher's Batman, but it did keep a lot of the characters the same. It just told a different story and told it a different way. And that's how I approached this movie: as a re-imagining rather than a direct remake. It was a prequel rather than a direct remake. And that's why no points. But if we are lucky enough to make a sequel, I think that is one of the things that we would do in the sequel, the evolution of the points. Again, all leading up to what Roger Corman's movie represented. Was the fact that you decided to put the point system in the sequel due to internet fan outrage? [Laughs] No. I loved the original Death Race, a lot. It was a very influential movie for me. One of the things I'm fascinated with [is] how did running people over become the national sport of America and the point system that came of it. You shot this without special effects. Did you want to give it a more 70s feel? Yes. But you were obviously inspired by Mad Max. Were there any other films, 70s films, like Vanishing Point that inspired you? Oh, I grew up with Vanishing Point, Two Lane Blacktop, Walter Hill's The Driver, Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, The Road Warrior, Bullett, The French Connection—- I mean those are some of my favorite movies. And you know, those movies gave you a visceral thrill because they were real. When you see Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, and you see those cars crunching into one another, damn it looks good! Because bits are really flying off the cars, not CG shit flying off the cars. It's real, and the physics are real as well. And that's the kind of movie I wanted to make, but I wanted to make it with the best kind of technology now. So instead of spending our money on six months worth of guys crunching on computers, generating computer generated cars, we spent our money on a year's worth of preparation, building camera rigs, special camera rigs, that would get the camera closer to the action than was physically possible in the 1970s. You know, the 1970s, when they shot these movies, sometimes they got shots from inside the cars, sometimes they got shots from cameramen on the cars, but they were always car mounted. I wanted to get the camera in there and move the camera. I wanted to get the cars to drive into the cameras at high speeds, so we built one of my favorite rigs. We built a rig that had a camera and was completely ringed with basketballs. So it was this big giant ball. We stick it in the middle of the road, and the cars would drive at it. There is a shot in the very first race, when the original Frankenstein drives, where the car slides around the corner, and it looks like it hits the camera, and it does. And then the continuation of that is really funny because the camera just rolls away, bounces away, and it hits the wall. We developed rigs like that that would allow us to have real impacts. We killed a lot of cameras in the making of the movie. But no people. What were the things that proved problematic in some of those scenes, in terms of the cars? It was really doing everything practical. I mean, we spent a year designing the cars. I was insistent that we wanted real armor plating and real firing machine guns. And the further we got into it the more complicated it became. So we weren't just making a car movie, we were making a war movie. So as well as watching all these 70s car movies, we watched Saving Private Ryan, we watched Black Hawk Down. There's an element to this movie that is like a war film, or it is like a Second World War fighter pilot movie, because the guns are hard-mounted on the cars. So in a way you have to line up where the airplanes had to line up in the Second World War to really get a bead on someone and be able to fire at them. The closer we got to the shooting of the movie the more complicated it became to do it practical. People started saying, "You know, maybe we should start doing some visual effects. Maybe you shouldn't have the machine guns firing, and we'll put it all in as visual—we'll do CG shells flying out of it." I'm like, "No, that's The Matrix." I don't want to do that. They did it really well in the first Matrix movie and really badly in the second and third Matrix movies. It's old fashioned now. I don't want to see that. I want to see—we're going to have a Vulcan cannon, mounted on the side of Tyrese's truck. Normally they mount one of those on a Black Hawk gunship. His car has two of them. It fires 6000 shells per minute. I want to see 6000 shells tumbling out the back of that thing. So we did everything practical. Just to reload the guns on Tyrese's car literally took an hour. You would do one take, and then you would have to get the armorer to come in and reload the machine guns, because there is a limit to how many shells you can carry on the car. So practical gunfire was very difficult. Getting cars to spin thirty feet in the air was [also] very difficult. The death of the Dreadnaught was something where everybody came to me at some point and said, "Paul, we should really do this in miniature. We understand that you want to do everything practical, but we really feel that this is like an impossible stunt. To drive a seventy-five foot armor-plated truck into a metal post at sixty miles per hour and dead-stop it...we don't think it can be done." And I'm like, "You know what, let's try it. Let's do it." And we tested it twice, and each time the truck did something completely different, because it's not an exact science when you do things practically. If you do it in the computer you got a guy that just punches in the numbers and you know exactly what's going to happen and if you don't like it you can change it, but it's never going to look real. If you do it for real, you never know quite what you are going to get. So the stunt that is in the movie, we ringed the Dreadnaught with fifteen cameras, and we had really good camera men. I said, "I think this thing is going to go like that, but I don't know. We've tested it twice, and it's done something completely different. So be on your toes." I think that also gives the movie a kind of, gives it a cinema vérité, gives it a war zone feeling. Most of the movie is all hand-held, because the camera had to have to freedom to move. They couldn't be locked off because the cars could go anywhere. Sometimes the shots are a little out of focus, obviously. Cars have been coming right at them, and they have to kind of get out of the way. But I think it really adds to the thrill of the movie. We watched a lot of war zone reportage as well, and that was kind of a feeling that I thought we would have to try to emulate, but the cameramen were so under stress because the bullets were flying at them and the cars were flying at them, that we kind of got that rugged hand-held feeling naturally. So is Death Race a cool a idea to make a movie out of, or maybe a warning to a reality obsessed culture? I think it's a cool movie for sure, but Roger's movie was a very satirical, a very openly satirical, movie about the American media and where he thought American society was going. Ours is a different kind of film. It's not as openly satirical as Roger's is. It's played more straight. It has more comedy in it, but it is played straight as an action movie. But I think whereas his satire is explicit, ours is implicit in the movie. It's a warning of where we certainly feel reality television could take us. Ten years ago wrestling used to be fake, but it was big. Now no one cares about wrestling, it's all about ultimate fighting. It's about real guys being in an octagon beating the hell out of one another. How long before somebody dies? I mean, it's gonna happen, and when it happens you can bet your bottom dollar they are going to sell a million DVDs of the fight. And when people realize the profits that can be made out of the possibility of death in these sporting events, it may not happen in North America, but you can bet your dollar it is going to happen somewhere in the world and it is going to be available on import or be available on the Internet, and it is going to be a big business. And that was what we felt was the first baby step towards what we portrayed in Death Race. This is such a guy movie. Was adding the super curvy females a way to salt this up a little bit? Well, there were women in the original movie - not as proactive as they are in this film - but for me as a filmmaker I have always felt that my movies have strong women in them, whether it is Alien Vs. Predator or Resident Evil. And if you look at Resident Evil that's a very male-centric game, but the movies have always had very strong female protagonists. Right from my very first movie I've just been very interested in that. I've always liked movies with very strong female protagonists, and this movie is no different for me. The drivers tend to be men, but, for example with Joan Allen, I thought, you know, we are making a prison movie here, and we're following in the footsteps of so many good movies with great prison governors. There's Shawshank, there's Escape from Alcatraz, there's Birdman of Alcatraz, there are so many. How do we differentiate our prison governor from them? How do we do something different? So we don't invite all of these kind of, like, unfair and probably unfavorable comparisons? And I thought the most interesting thing to do, which I'd never seen done, was to have a female warden. And it's not like it doesn't really exist. Jean Woodford was the prison governor at San Quentin for ten years, and now she runs all the correctional facilities in California. So she runs twelve different jails, including Corcoran, which is the toughest jail in America. So the fact is that female prison governors exist, it's just that they have never been portrayed. I thought it would be very interesting to have that, and also very interesting to have an actress like Joan Allen, who I always see in the movies, she always seems like the moral center to the film she's in. You know, she's always the good heart of these movies. So I thought how interesting to take someone who is usually the moral center and make them the exact opposite, make them like the evil part of our movie. It's awesome. She's had three Oscar nominations. Now that she's said "cocksucker," I really feel this is the performance, best supporting actress. I've got to tell you, that scene, it was amazing, because when we shot it, the very first take we did of it, she was great, the take was fantastic. The first take was unusable because all the camera people were filming, and then she says "Okay, cocksucker!" And they all went "Gah!" They were all shocked to see Joan Allen swear. The first take was all out of focus, because everyone was all "Oh my God!" They couldn't believe it. It was like hearing their mother swear. It was just, just wrong. That is why when the movie plays we always get such great reactions. People are so shocked by it. More »

Jason Statham Clearly Needs To Kill Everyone In Death Race

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:51:00 PDT

Framed character Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) got a raw deal when meany-face prison warden Joan Allen framed him for murder just so she could use his racing abilities in her prison car race game, Death Race. The resulting movie includes murder, deadly car races and Joan being evil, but somehow this newly released redband trailer still feels like it's pulling its punches — except for Jason Statham. Time for this bad boy Brit to sit down and teach the cast of Death Race how to kick ass in an R-rated trailer properly, or just kill them all. Especially Tyrese Gibson, for saying "It's party time." Click through for details, and a behind-the-scenes video. More »

Watch The Craziest Scenes From Death Race, Chuck, Knight Rider, Heroes And Sarah Connor

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:00:00 PDT

This morning's spoilers are pretty video-intensive. There's an adults-only sneak peek at the killer-car movie Death Race. NBC put out some extra-long promo videos for Chuck, Knight Rider and Heroes, with some scenes you've only heard about so far. A new Sarah Connor trailer shows John Connor doing the one thing you'd never expect him to do. But it's not all clips: there's a pretty weird new detail about the Star Trek movie. And some bizarrely glam new Lost pics have a couple of surprises that could tell us something. There are also new details about Nicholas Cage's Knowing and the Astro Boy movie. Spoilers not only let you see the future, they also kill lots of time! Star Trek: A bit more about that scene between Old Spock and Young Spock in the new Star Trek movie. Apparently it's "complicated and very interesting," says Young Spock actor Zachary Quinto. And he hints that it's towards the end of the movie, if not at the very end. Also, he says Scotty (Simon Pegg) interacts more with Old Spock than he does with Young Spock. So it sounds as though the Spocks only have one scene together, but Old Spock spends a fair bit of time with Young Scotty. And Pegg's Scotty is the movie's "hilarious" comic relief. (Whiskey guzzling, anyone?) [TrekMovie] Death Race: Here's another clip from the Jason Statham movie that unfortunately isn't Crank 2. It's a "red band" clip, which means it's a bit naughty. So, you know, exercise discretion. [IGN] Click to view More »

You'll Never Guess Who's Having A Kid!

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:00:00 PDT

One of the movies or shows covered in this morning's spoiler roundup includes a surprising character having a kid. Is it one of the stars of Star Trek? Or maybe we find out that Jason Statham's scowling race-car driver in Death Race has a baby? Or it could be part of our insane motherlode of Heroes spoilers, including set pics. Maybe the infant appears in one of our preview clips from this week's episodes of Eureka and Stargate Atlantis. Or it could be part of our hints from Lost and Sarah Connor. Click through for the truth about the surprising parenthood of one iconic scifi character. Spoilers ahead! Star Trek: Spock actor Leonard Nimoy once again decided that the needs of the many (to get some spoilers) outweigh the needs of the few (J.J. Abrams and the other makers of Star Trek). Nimoy told a reporter that he and Zachary Quinto have "a scene together," and it's "quite special. We meet coincidentally in a time crossover." It's only a sentence and a half, but it's full of interesting stuff. First of all, it sounds pretty specific: Nimoy and Quinto only have one scene together, not a whole bunch of scenes where the two Spocks team up as some have suggested. Second, Nimoy confirms that the movie's plot does involve time travel. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he means by "time crossover." [USA Today] Death Race: Here's a new clip and a TV spot from the killer-convict car movie Death Race. Honestly, my main feeling after watching these clips is that I can't wait for Crank 2. Death Race is just to tide us over until we get more Chev. Also, there's a clip showing Tyrese being mean to his navigator here. Eureka: Here's a preview clip from tonight's episode of Eureka. It's kind of cringe-making, just because that looks like a really nice dress. Heroes: The L.A. Times got to visit the Heroes set, and gleaned some spoilers along the way. The show is filming in the house that used to belong to Claire and the Bennett family, but now it belongs to "someone else that we know." And there are kids' toys and "childlike drawings" all over, so that "someone else" has a small child. (It sounds as though the pajama-clad kid is Sylar's, and Sylar's offspring is a big part of why we're seeing the serial killer's "softer side" this season.) Claire isn't happy about the change of occupancy in the old Bennett house. And the ensuing scene includes a gun, and a big fight scene, leading to a Chronicles of Riddick reference. On set were Claire, Sylar, speedster Daphne, Peter Petrelli, and a new character played by The Wire's Jamie Hector. [L.A. Times] Meanwhile, remember Maya, the girl with the deadly mascara malfunction? Turns out she is going to have a smoking hot romance with another hero, probably Mohinder. She's going to be more confident and more secure in her power this season, and she'll be looking to get payback from Sylar for killing her brother. Also, Noah Bennett aka HRG is going to be teaming up with Sylar, as you've probably already heard. Meanwhile, Claire will be a bit more clued into what HRG is up to, and it will get "gnarly." [E! Online] And here are some new Heroes set photos. It looks as though the show was filming a "flashback" to season one, where Peter is in his nurse's outfit, and he meets up with Mohinder, who's driving a cab. Eye-witnesses swear these are new photos, and not old snaps of actual season one filming. More pics at the link. [Heroes Spoilers] Oh, and you may have seen clips of Ali Larter in a slutty outfit talking to an old politico guy. It turns out her new character is named Tracy Strauss, and she's a high-flying adviser to the governor of New York. The switch was orchestrated by the back-from-the-dead Linderman. But Tracy's former life may catch up with her anyway, since a reporter finds naked pics of her camgirl persona Niki online and goes after her. Meanwhile, Tracy is angling to get Nathan Petrelli a high-powered government job. (Did I miss the episode where they explained why Nathan isn't a congressman, even though he won the election?) Also, Nathan will be the first to see the returned Linderman. [E! Online again] And NBC released a new Heroes wallpaper showing Peter Petrelli doing his fireball thing, plus some kind of rain of fire, via MySpace. More wallpapers coming soon. [Heroes The Series] Lost: The first episode of Lost's fifth season will be called "Because You Left." [EW] Stargate Atlantis: And here's a clip from Friday's Stargate Atlantis, featuring the return of the Replicators. Sarah Connor Chronicles: As we hinted before, Cameron (Summer Glau) will end up in a "halfway house" after she survives that car-bomb blast. And when John finally catches up to her, she won't recognize him. Instead, she'll throw him up against a wall. [E! Online again] Additional reporting by Lauren Davis. More »

The World According To Gort

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:00:00 PDT

So we know Gort the big eye-blasty robot will look much like his 1950s version in the new Day The Earth Stood Still film, but how will he act? We have a few hints below. It's just one of the things that our spoiler-phobic culture demands that we hide from public view. We must also cover up our insane wealth of details about Battlestar Galactica - including one shocking revelation about a character who turns up in the last few episodes. We have a taboo against telling you who will show up on Doctor Who in 2009, as well as a great shame about telling you how Jason Statham throws down in Death Race. We must hide our Knight Rider and Sarah Connor Chronicles vids from public view. And we will throw a drape over new Heroes pics and Stargate spoilers. Break our spoiler-hating culture's taboos by clicking "More." More »

What The Best-Dressed Starfleet Officers Will Be Wearing Next Year

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:00:00 PDT

Anything can be a spoiler, it seems - even clothing. A new report gives details on the Starfleet uniforms in the new Star Trek movie, including some shocking miniskirt news. Also, you can take in key plot points (and form snap judgments) for Death Race, Disaster Movie and Chuck season two by watching some new trailers. We have higher res Watchmen posters that show just how close it'll be to the graphic novel. And there are new scoops on Battlestar, Sarah Jane Adventures, Heroes, Smallville and Eureka. Which villain is George Clooney-esque? It's a spoiler! Star Trek: The uniforms in J.J. Abrams' Trek relaunch will look uncannily similar to the original series' uniforms. The men will have grey pants that are almost black, with boots, and women will have miniskirts that are (gasp!) a bit longer than on the original show. And at least one female castmember will wear (OMG!) pants. From the waist up, both men and women will have the color-coded V-neck shirts, over a black undershirt. (Hence that little V-shaped black collar thingy.) As in the original show, Kirk, Chekov and Sulu are yellowshirts, Spock and McCoy are blueshirts, and Uhura and Scotty are (non-fatal) redshirts. But there are also many varieties of outfits, including civillian clothes, cadet uniforms, pressure suits, and different variations used for scenes on another starship. (In the past?) [Trek Movie] Watchmen: Here are some higher res versions of the Watchmen posters from Comic-Con that we posted the other day. Disaster Movie: Here's a new 30 second TV spot for Disaster Movie. I think this is probably all of the funny moments from the film in one easy-to-digest chunk, actually. [Coming Soon] Death Race: And speaking of TV spots crammed with all the good stuff, here are five new spots for Death Race, which opens in a few weeks. I saw one of these during The Daily Show last night, and at TiVo fast-forward speeds, it definitely made this film look like some nice short-attention-span candy. [Shocktillyoudrop] Sarah Jane Adventures: Still no Doctor Who spoilers, sorry. But here are some new spoilers for spin-off show Sarah Jane Adventures. In episodes 9 and 10 of the new season, Sarah Jane and Luke travel back in time to the 1950s, to a church fete (a kind of fair) at Foxglove Village. There, they meet Sarah Jane's parents, plus baby Sarah Jane. We discover that Sarah Jane doesn't remember her parents, because they died when she was a baby. So she's tempted to alter history and bring her parents back. (And didn't we already do this with Rose on Who? Plus, didn't we already visit Sarah Jane as a girl last season?) Also, Sarah Jane introduces herself and Luke as "the Beckhams." [Time Vortex] Battlestar Galactica: TV Guide posted some Comic-Con interviews with the Battlestar cast. Now that the Galactica crew has found Earth, what next? Says Jamie Bamber, they have to wake up and figure out what meaning is left, and if there is none, they have to create some somehow. They have to find a way to keep on living now that their reason for carrying on is gone. It's a metaphor for the meaning of life. Meanwhile, Katee Sackhoff says Starbuck is still questioning whether she's a Cylon. And now that she knows her husband is a Cylon, she's re-evaluating what it means to be a Cylon because she still loves Anders. (She does?) And it sounds like something significant will happen with the Starbuck-Apollo-Anders love triangle, because Sackhoff stops herself just in time before giving away a big spoiler. But she did say we'll know by the end whether Starbuck and Apollo belong together. As the final batch of episodes begin, every character has had his/her heart ripped out, says James Callis. Everything they thought they believed in has been trashed. [Galactica Sitrep] Heroes: Here are a few more promo pics from the Heroes third season premiere. Nice cricket bat, Maya! [Heroes Spoilers] Chuck: Are you pumped for the return of Chuck, the show about a beta-nerd with a spy computer in his brain? Here's a new high-octane trailer. [SpoilerTV] Smallville: Here's an incredibly blurry copy of the Smallville season eight trailer that appeared at Comic-Con last weekend. I think I saw a blob that could have been Clark at one point. And I'm guessing that's new LuthorCorp CEO Tess saying something about thinking of her as more than a boss. And meanwhile, the show's new producers hint there may be "Super Sex" in the future for Lois and Clark. [CW Lounge] Also, Doomsday is "charming and George Clooney-like," says Alison Mack. And Chloe's superpowers are going to grow. And Clark will realize he may not be entitled to all of Chloe's time. [TV Guide] Eureka: S.A.R.A.H., the smart house on Eureka, answered fans' questions on Twitter. Among other things, she hinted that now that the drones are under control, there are problems brewing in Lab 27. [Twitter] Additional research by Lauren Davis. More »

Sleazy Death Race Stills, And A Look At Dollhouse's Coed Showers

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:00:00 PDT

We should try replacing the pejorative phrase "spoiler warning" with something more celebratory - like "spoiler fanfare." To that end, we rejoice in a bunch of new pics from Death Race that let you know just how trashy this not-quite-remake of the Paul Bartel classic will be. We also celebrate new Clone Wars TV spots that show trainee Jedi Ahsoka being sassy. Plus new hints about Transformers 2, and possibly our first look at Paris Hilton in Repo! The Genetic Opera. There's another look inside the sets of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, a shocking Lost spoiler that may even be true, and some Smallville, Chuck and Eureka spoilers. Plus a trailer for Hulk Vs. Thor. This is your only spoiler fanfare. Death Race: Here are some new promo stills from the prison race-for-your-life movie, Death Race. More of the Frankenstein mask, more of Tyrese looking grimly determined (with scars!) and Statham looking just grim. Cars going boom, flames, etc. But mostly, Joan Allen as the sexy warden who flounces around the prison yard in high heels. Even without points for pedestrians, it manages to be sleazy. [SpoilerTV-Movies] Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: The Transformers comic book we mentioned the other day, a prequel to Transformers 2, confirms that the new movie's villain is actually called The Fallen, who turned against Primus and decided to serve the evil Unicron instead. And we'll learn how Sector 7 formed into a group, and the backgrounds of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The comic also mentions that Starscream returned to Cybertron with data accessed by Frenzy, hoping to create a new Allspark Cube. Interestingly, the comic writer was forbidden to use rumored movie stars Soundwave and Arcee. [Slashfilm and Tformers] Star Wars: Clone Wars: Here are a few new TV spots for the animated Clone Wars movie, hitting theaters August 15. Fun Ahsoka/Anakin dialog: "You've got that 'We're in trouble' look." "There's a look?" "You can't miss it." And also: "This is where the fun begins!" Also, Ahsoka confesses she's on a mission to prove she's not too young to be a Padawan, then tells Anakin: "I'm improving your technique." (If only.) [Superhero Flix] Repo! The Genetic Opera: Did you know Paris Hilton was in the organ repossession musical Repo! The Genetic Opera? I didn't, until I heard she was at Comic-Con. Anyway, if you're curious to see her singing a gothy nursery rhyme about drugs and surgery, here's a new clip, which I think showed at Comic-Con: Dollhouse: AfterEllen was among the lucky media outlets that got to tour the set of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse last week, and they posted some new details, plus a few nice pics. Among the snippets: Adelle, the head of the Dollhouse, has her desk facing away from the door and toward the windows, the opposite of the traditional approach-the-desk setup. This means she doesn't have to look at you, which is a power thing. She has a little hidden niche with screens which allow her to watch everyone in the Dollhouse. She's not ruthless, just ruth-deficient, Joss says. Also, the famous coed showers were just in the first episode, to show how innocent the mind-wiped "actives" are, but now they're in pretty much every episode because the writers like them, and they allow us to see the "Garden of Eden" innocence falling away. The Dollhouse's doctor, Claire Saunders (Amy Acker) has a lab that's cut off from the rest of the space, because Claire is "slightly damaged." The programmer, Topher Brink, has a messy, windowed laboratory, and is a genius who "can't stop playing around." [After Ellen] Lost: This guy, who has posted some semi-reliable Lost spoilers on his Livejournal in the past, says a somewhat reliable source tells him one of the Oceanic Six will die next year. So, you know, grain of salt and all that. [Hellhound's Lair] Smallville: Tess Mercer, Lex Luthor's hand-picked successor as head of LuthorCorp., is sort of a mixture of Ms. Teschmacher from Superman: The Movie and Mercy from the comics. But she's mostly a new character, and her drive matches Lex's. [Sci Fi Wire] Chuck: On nerd-spy show Chuck, our hero finally gets a date with sexy secret agent Sarah in the first episode of the new season. But it ends up being 86ed, thanks to the other sexy secret agent, Casey. Also, as we've mentioned, John Larroquette plays a retired spy who schools Chuck, and in that same episode Melinda Clarke has a wacky Russian accent. [EW] Eureka: Next week's Eureka, "What About Bob?" is about a missing-persons case that reveals more about what happens in the bowels of Global Dynamics. And the following week's episode, "Best In Faux," is about a unique dog show. (With, I'm guessing, those robot dogs that were plastered all over our front page recently.) [Visit Eureka] Hulk Vs. Thor: Now that you're pumped up for the cameo-filled Hulk Vs. Wolverine, here's the trailer for the next installment, Hulk Vs. Thor. [Superhero Flix] More »

Tyrese Gibson Wants To Be A Thundercat

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:30:00 PDT

Tyrese Gibson is jumping to don the skin tight catsuit for a Thundercats remake. In an interview for the new Death Race movie (where he plays killer convict Machine Gun Joe) we got a chance to ask Gibson if he could remake any film what would it be? In mere seconds Tyrese Gibson leaned forward and said, "Thundercats." Click through for more on Gibson's desire to kill like a cat, plus Luke Cage news. Gibson couldn't stop smiling when talking about the 'cats. But he didn't have a specific Thundercat in mind, explaining that there were a lot of options. When pressed to ask if there was more Hollywood talk about this cartoon remake Gibson said, "I'm just looking into that." He has also been linked to the superhero character Luke Cage. His Cage update was very non-commital, "we'll see what happens. There's a lot of anticipation and things that need to happen," (including the tweaking of the classic yellow-shirt uniform). Let's hope it comes together soon, because according to Gibson he's also on standby to play B.A. Baracus in John Singleton's remake of the A-Team. More »

Blasphemy! Death Race 2000 Writer Shames Himself On Stage

Meredith Woerner — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:00:00 PDT

Proving that everyone has a price, classic movie producer Roger Corman made the world's most erroneous statement at the Comic-Con panel for the remake, Death Race. Corman got on stage and said, "Proud as I am of Death Race 2000, Death Race is a bigger and better picture." The crowd was silent...and then there were murmurs of disbelief. But that's not the only piece of total B.S. we heard at the Death Race panel. Click through for descriptions of clips, and details on director Paul W. S. Anderson avoiding the most important question of the evening. More »

First Look At Death Race's Deadly Mask

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:00:00 PDT

The official website for Death Race, the quasi-remake of road-rage classic Death Race 2000 starring Jason Statham, just went live. And it includes this glimpse of the metal mask that Statham wears as Frankenstein, the star racer of the prison where he's locked up. Statham wears that mask as he pretends to be the dead superstar, racing against other felons in the super-popular televised race, where the prize is survival. Click through to see a gallery of desktop themes from the website, including some awesome fiery car porn. More »

A Death Race Cameo And Sin City Sexiness

Meredith Woerner — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:40:00 PDT

Original Frankenstein, David Carradine, will make a cameo in the Death Race, starring Jason Statham. Unless Carradine is running Statham over with his car, I'm sure the cameo will be just a brief little nod to the fans, who won't go and see this bastardized version of the original anyway. In other casting news, Angelina Jolie plays with Frank Miller's heart strings as she casually drops the notion that she's "curious" about playing Ava Lord in Sin City 2, an idea that Miller and crew have been hinting at for years. [MTV] More »

Fiery Blasts Don't Compensate For Death Race's Wimpiness

Meredith Woerner — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:40:00 PDT

Boom goes the dynamite, as Jason Statham unflinchingly walks away from a splodey fireball, as his new film Death Race desperately tries to resurrect some of the bad-ass cred that it lost by reducing the gore content from the original Death Race 2000. Sorry buddy — Walk away from as many explosions as you like, this movie still won't beat its predecessor. In a future world where prisoners race to the death for our viewing pleasure, Jensen Ame (Statham) must race to live after he's framed for murder. Click for a new gallery of the cast and cars. More »

New Clips From BSG And Hancock, Plus A New Hulk Review

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:00:00 PDT

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly is full of hand-wringing about spoilers, and how they're ruining things like the Lost season finale for everybody. According to our critics, spoiler whores are really just attention whores — which isn't necessarily true. We just love finding things out early. Like the secrets of how Incredible Hulk sets up a new villain for its possible sequel. Or exactly how things work in Joss Whedon's new amnesiacs-for-hire show Dollhouse. Not to mention our glee when we get new clips from Will Smith's Hancock or this Friday's Battlestar Galactica. We're also excited by new hints about Lost, Iron Man 2, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Jason Statham's new film Death Race. We're spoiler-happy, and we're happy to share. More »

The Awesome Cars of Futuristic Smashing Death

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:00:00 PDT

Here's a first peek at scenes being filmed for the remake of violent death-car-meets-game-show movie Death Race 2000, directed in 1975 by cult filmmaker Paul "Eating Raoul" Bartel. Flamethrower = hell yes. This remake, called simply Death Race, could be the psycho, gritty rejoinder to sparkly flop Speed Racer — though some key plot points have been changed, probably to make it more palatable for people disturbed by rampant child-crushing. More smashy cars below. More »

Death Race Has Flamethrower Carnage, But No Dead Pedestrians

Meredith Woerner — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT

The new Death Race movie can throw as many weapons-packed cars at us as it wants, but it still won't be half as entertaining now that they've done away with earning points for mowing down pedestrians. This remake of 70s classic Death Race 2000 is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator) so there will be explosions, car flippery, and bad dialogue. But it still won't pack any of the kick of the original. Click through for more details (and to enlarge that flamethrowery image, from Empire Magazine). More »

Death Race's Postapocalyptic Road Rage Will Be Splattery, Silly

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:25:00 PDT

The first reports from early screenings of September's Death Race have popped up online, and the dystopian race-for-your-life movie sounds just as silly as you'd probably expected. Starring Jason Statham, Death Race is less a remake of 1970s cult classic Death Race 2000 than a movie inspired by it. It features lots of weird video-game touches, and some very over-the-top graphic violence, courtesy of director Paul W.S. Anderson (Event Horizon). Click through for details and spoilers. More »

Scotty's Weird Sidekick In Star Trek Movie

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:00:17 PST

This morning's piping hot helping of spoilers include some new details about Star Trek... and a very bizarre rumor about the hard-drinking Montgomery Scott, played by Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz). We also have some bizarre and awesome new details about Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race and a tidbit about Wolverine. And we have new Lost spoilers, plus two new clips. It's all because we're fighting for a spoil! Or something. More »

What Movie Remake Are You Dreading Most?

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:20:17 PST

The fact that another science fiction remake is announced every week doesn't mean Hollywood has run out of ideas. It just means nostalgia is the mind-killer. And it's only going to get worse, now that the Omega Man remake I Am Legend was such a huge success. So which planned remake makes you want to firebomb your local cineplex? Click through to vote. More »

15 Movies To Watch (Or Avoid) This Year

charliejane — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:00:34 PST

Some movies radiate their awesomeness backwards in time as well as forwards. You practically have memories of enjoying films that haven't come out yet, the anticipation is so great. Other movies are so horrible, the pain travels back in time and becomes your childhood trauma. Here are the 2008 movies that are already thrilling and horrifying us: More »

First Glimpse Of Indiana Jones Aliens — In Lego!

charliejane — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:00:34 PST

Those rumors about aliens in the new Indiana Jones movie? Appear to be true, judging from new images of the Lego playset. Click through for a picture of skeletons in alien helmets, plus Terminator TV and movie spoilers. It's all part of Morning Spoilers, where we reveal the plot twists of tomorrow. More »

New Pics From Hulk, Possession, X-Files and More

charliejane — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:00:23 PST

Want to see what Edward Norton will look like as Bruce Banner in Incredible Hulk? Or how intensely Jason Statham will stare at the windshield of his makeshift jalopy in Death Race? The studios have released a ton of new promo pics. Click through for pics from Possession with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and X-Files 2. More »

Death Race 2000 Remake Has No Balls

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:30:51 PST

A remake of the 1975 cult classic that inspired Grand Theft Auto, Death Race 2000, is on the way next year. But this version has all the testosterone drained out. Gone are the point systems for running over pedestrians, gone is the entire revenge plot that had David Carradine after the President, and gone is the fact the "Death Race" was shown on national television. What does that leave you with? More »