“The little things make Saw III”
– Darren Lynn Bousman
After years of interviewing Saw II and Saw III director Darren Lynn Bousman, finally we get to do it for SuicideGirls. I have been a fan of all the Saw films since I saw the first one in preparation for my interview with co-writer/director James Wan. I had no inkling that this gory little horror flick would change the face of American horror and put us into this torture porn cycle that we are still in three years later.
The Saw films have always gotten a lot of shit from the online press but it is hard to argue with a franchise that has grossed nearly $400 million worldwide. Bousman is the director of the two Saw sequels and Saw III is truly the one that ties them all together. With Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw and Shawnee Smith’s Amanda now front and center, the audience gets to really feel the precarious mental state of the serial killers and maybe even can sympathize with them. With Jigsaw on his last legs due to cancer, Amanda has taken over the task of testing their captives and pushing them to their limits. I got a chance to talk with Bousman about the new unrated Saw III DVD.
“Every once in a while I feel like I have to stir it up.”
– David Hyde Pierce
As Dr. Niles Crane on the popular NBC sitcom Frasier, which ran from 1993 to 2004, David Hyde Pierce was a paragon of gentility. However in his latest project, the independent movie The Perfect Host, he gets to embrace a far darker side of his psyche.
At first Warwick Wilson (played by Pierce) appears to be the epitome of civility and the consummate dinner party host. But when an unexpected guest arrives — John Taylor (played by Clayne Crawford), a bank robber in desperate need of a place to lay low — the evening’s events take a surprising course. Without giving too much away, by the time desert arrives, it’s impossible to tell who could — or should — die.
SuicideGirls caught up with Pierce by phone to chat about The Perfect Host and his other post-Frasier projects. The topic of dogs also rather unexpectedly, but nonetheless fortuitously, interrupted our conversation.
After fourteen years, the Harry Potter series is coming to an end. The first book was published in 1997, and with the release of the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the journey comes to a close. Deathly Hallows premiered in London on July 7, and then in New York City on July 11. The internet has all but blown up since as fans avidly await the world wide release on July 15. The film is currently holding a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and shows no signs of falling. The video game by the same name and the official film soundtrack were released on July 12, 2011.
Harry Potter might be the biggest news of the week, but it wasn’t the only news. Yesterday, the first teaser poster for the Dark Knight was revealed. But that was only the second most exciting news surrounding the Caped Crusader in the past 7 days, as it was announced that Adam West will have a cameo in the upcoming film.
Stan Lee was recently named the 26th most influential American by Atlantic Monthly, but if it was up to me I would have put him quite a bit higher. Lee is, of course, best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four and dozens more, though controversy has always swirled around how big his real contributions might have been. But first and foremost Lee has always been the consummate salesman, whether it was selling the latest weird Spider-Man villain to the readers or hosting the television show Who Wants To Be A Superhero?
Lee’s latest projects are totally without connection to Marvel Comics. His company, Purveyors of Wonders, has been producing original characters for straight to DVD movies. One of the best is Mosaic, an animated film starring the voice of Anna Paquin as Maggie Nelson a high school student whose father is an Interpol agent investigating a mysterious race that can change appearance at will. After Maggie is bathed in the power of one of her fathers discoveries, an ancient runestone, she gets all the powers of a chameleon. Maggie teams up with a member of that ancient race, codenamed Mosaic, to defeat the evil Mannequin who wants to take over the world.
Following a grueling six-year legal battle, the video game industry has kicked the ass of California lawmakers who wanted to ban the sale of violent games to minors. The successfully appealed California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793 would have made it illegal to sell excessively violent games to anyone underage. However, there is no similar legal penalty applied for including similar content in other forms of comparable media, such as books, music, movies, etc. While the legal battle is officially over, critics of the Supreme Court ruling are just beginning to raise their voices. Everyone from The Daily Show to the Washington Times has attacked the court’s position, without ever noting it would have separated video games into a unique category, while opening the door to further censorship and restrictions on all other forms of art, creativity, and media.
Despite all his super powers, the Green Lantern might not land the green light for a sequel. Reports had been floating around all week that the movie would be getting a follow up regardless of its horrible performance at the box office. However reports of a Green Lantern 2 were quickly dismissed as Warner Bros. waits to make the official decision. Likely, the studio is wanting to see its $200 million (plus a ridiculous $175 million in marketing costs) returned before they sign off on anything. It all comes down to the green, and the lantern’s light isn’t going to help him out of this one.
And as if this summer hasn’t had enough of overdone CGI, Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be releasing worldwide on the first of July. In the earliest reviews it looked like the critics had gone to the dark side as they praised the film. Many critics insisted it be viewed in 3D claiming it to be the visual rival of Avatar. The later reports weren’t as kind. USA Today hails it as being visually stunning, but lacking story line, and…
“[Spartans] throw their kids off cliffs”
– Zack Snyder
300 is such a blast. There will be no other movie ever that is able to combine killing children, stabbing half dead Persians and guys with swords for arms in such a cool way. Gerard Butler has teamed up with visionary director Zack Snyder to bring the ultimate historical graphic novel by Frank Miller to life.
Butler plays King Leonidas, who declares war on the invading Persians, after they insult his queen and his city. Without permission from Spartas high courts, Leonidas gathers 300 of his best soldiers to battle Xerxes army of 10,000 Persians. 300 takes what Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City to the nth degree creating a colorful and sometimes even horrifying story of courage.
I got a chance to talk with Snyder at the 300 press day in Los Angeles about what it takes to inspire an army, making fun movies for adults, and his upcoming film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Watchmen.
