Hugh Hefner pops in for a cameo -- sort of -- in Jon Favreau's new Iron Man. About halfway through the movie, industrialist-superhero-playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) shows up for an exclusive black-tie gala at L.A.'s Walt Disney Concert Hall. He struts up the red carpet behind a dapper, silver-haired gentleman who's wearing a smoking jacket and escorting a trio of gorgeous young blondes. Downy slaps the old guy on the back and says hello to Hef. When the bogus Hef turns around it's revealed to be Iron Man creator Stan Lee. Of course, Hef and Lee are longtime friends, and have been working on an animated series about crime-fighting Super Bunnies.
Gahan Wilson's band of ghouls, monsters and ghosts must have felt right at home this past weekend in Bermuda when the documentary about the cartoonist and longtime Playboy contributor was screened there. Hollywood director, producer and cinematographer, Steven-Charles Jaffe, whose roster of film credits includes Ghost, Star Trek VI and Strange Days, sent us this report from the island:
Hamilton, Bermuda, April 5, 2008 My film, Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, was invited to be shown in the documentary competition at the eleventh annual Bermuda International Film Festival by Deputy Director Duncan Hall. When I began making the film I knew I would have to please Gahan's fans (including myself), but I also had a responsibility to seduce a new generation of cartoon and comic book fans by introducing Gahan's work in a medium they were not originally designed for - cinema. The screenings in Bermuda were attended by a majority of Gahan Wilson "virgins," and as much as I enjoy the response from his die-hard fans, it's becoming more gratifying to hear the enthusiastic responses people who have never seen his work. These Wilson virgins approach me after the screenings, asking where they can find his cartoons, and tell me how eager they are to see more of them. After demonstrating his genius for more than fifty years in Playboy, last night Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird received a SPECIAL JURY AWARD. For a filmmaker, this makes the journey all the more gratifying. To be continued....
(Pictured: Producer/Director Steven-Charles Jaffe with former Bermuda resident and author, Mark Twain, as they share a Gahan Wilson moment.)
A new pandemic thriller opens in theaters today with director Neil Marshall’s Doomsday. It is the latest in a long Hollywood tradition of films featuring viral villains like George A. Romero’s The Crazies (pictured), Outbreak, The Andromeda Strain and the more recent I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, which coincidentally is released on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday (March 18) with a featurette about real-life viral epidemics. If you’ve got the bug, get re-infected with my article “Contagious Cinema,” which lists the 10 most notable cinematic germ gems. If you have another favorite that still gets under your skin, let us know.
Born Dead, Still Weird, the moving documentary about the life and work of cartoonist Gahan Wilson, Playboy’s Master of the Macabre, was screened in New York City Tuesday night at The IFC’s Stranger Than Fiction film series.
It was a night unlike any other--almost all of New York’s finest cartoonists from Playboy and The New Yorker could be found under one roof for this special event.
During the Q&A that followed, director Steven-Charles Jaffe was asked how he discovered Gahan Wilson’s work. With a big smile and a slight blush, Steven described the outrageous story: “I was 10 years old and my best friend had taken his father’s copy of Playboy into the woods. As I was seeing naked women for the first time, I saw something called ‘The Weird World of Gahan Wilson’ and as I was staring at these offbeat cartoons, my friend set fire to the field we were standing in. So in an instant I was exposed to naked women, Gahan Wilson and pyromania. To this day, Gahan’s cartoons are still the first thing I look for in Playboy.”
Yesterday, for the first time ever, Playboy Radio aired an interview with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody that was recorded at the time she published her memoir, "Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper." On Sunday, Cody won the Oscar for best screenplay for Juno, one of 2007's most acclaimed films.
After the jump, you'll find four excerpts from the twenty-minute interview with Playboy Radio's Tiffany Granath, which will re-air on Playboy Radio on Sirius 198 on Thursday and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT during the Afternoon Advice show.
Sam Jemielity from Playboy.com would like to draw your attention to the radio...
Today, Playboy Radio on Sirius plays a never-before-aired interview with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, who walked off with the golden statue last night for her screenplay for the film, "Juno."
In this 20-minute interview, Cody talks about her career as a stripper and how that empowered her, and discusses the experience of having completed her first film.
The interview airs today on Playboy Radio on Sirius 198, during today's Afternoon Advice show hosted by Tiffany Granath, between 1:30-2:00 p.m. Pacific time (4:30 p.m. on the East Coast). The interview will re-air at the same time on Thursday and Saturday of this week.
Don’t have Sirius? Get their online service through your computer.
Also, check back tomorrow for audio excerpts on the Playboy Blog.
Not so long ago in a theater in the galaxy you’re sitting in, Star Wars fans saw what many assumed would be the last chapter in the long-running space saga with 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. It seems that the Force is still with George Lucas, however. Just the other day, Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. announced a deal to release Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrically on August 15 to be followed by a television series in the fall on the Cartoon Network and TNT. The animated film is set between Episode II and III when the last Jedi Knights fought bravely against an ever-growing Dark Side assault led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and General Grievous. Favorite characters like R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme Amidala will be onboard as well as new heroes like Anakin’s padawan, Ahsoka. “I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell,” says Lucas. “I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward.”
Tired of quoting movie lines like "I see dead people’’ and "Say hello to my little friend’’? Get ready for "I drink your milkshake," from There Will Be Blood. The film hasn’t opened everywhere yet, and already the line is showing legs. For a good mash-up, serve it with fava beans and a nice chianti.
“Eva Green of The Dreamers will be in Casino Royale? Sweet! But who the hell is Caterina Murino?” That was our reaction, two years ago, when we heard that the Bond Girls had been chosen for Daniel Craig’s first 007 adventure.
Thus we’ve a slight sense of déjà vu with the announcement that Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton will be beautifying the film known (until further notice) as “Bond 22.” We learned of Kurylenko when scouting for movies awhile back – though we passed on Hitman, we resolved to keep an eye on the model and scene-stealer (note: link not likely to stick around too long).
A Google image search yields a whole lot of Olga. But who the hell is Gemma Arterton? Nobody seems to know much about her. Well, except for the shrewd folks who are calling her the next Keira Knightley.
Stephen Rebello, who writes about movies for both Playboy magazine and Playboy.com, has come up with his annual list of the top films of the year: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford Director Andrew Domanik’s elegiac Western film based on Ron Hansen’s novel is stunningly photographed by Roger Deakins, superbly acted by Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, among others, and, as it investigates a troubled, hot-wired kid’s hero worship of an American outlaw, it becomes incredibly sad, moving and timeless. It’s ambitious, muscular, epic filmmaking of a very high order. Yes, it can sometimes only mosey along at 160 minutes, but what a ride.
Atonement Atonement is director Joe Wright’s and screenwriter Christopher Hampton’s impeccably made film version of Ian McEwan’s romantic novel about the tragic consequences of a wicked lie told by an precociously imaginative, jealous 13-year-old girl about her sister and the son of her family’s housekeeper. Set in an English country house in 1935 and continuing during and after WWII, the events unravel at their own leisurely pace and the movie is stunningly made top to bottom with emotional payoffs that pack a quiet wallop. It’d be a pity if action-addicted audiences don’t know how to sit still anymore for a movie like this, but Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirise Ronan, and (especially) Vanessa Redgrave are terrific and the chaotic and surrealistic Battle of Dunkirk sequence is flat-out astonishing.
Film nerds have been having fun lately pretending to be Brett Ratner, who’s signed on to direct a biopic of our own pajama-clad genius, Hugh M. Hefner. They don’t mind Ratner directing the movie, but they think they should cast the leading role. Monsters and Critics gleefully reported that Tom Cruise was angling to play the role, which pretty much takes some of the wind out of those Leonardo DiCaprio rumors that we’ve been hearing.
The contributors to the Playboy Mailing List (the granddaddy of the magazine’s fan boards) have been full of casting ideas—their main concern seems to be that whoever plays Hef should be Hef’s height (that’s about 5’ 8” or so). Hugh Jackman (another name frequently mentioned) is too damned tall for their tastes and they seem to have mixed emotions about Heath Ledger and Eric Bana. Meanwhile, over at Film Stew, Richard Horgan is putting a perverse spin on things: coming up with his own suggestions. His dream list includes Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Benecio del Toro, Ryan Gosling and (this is our personal favorite) Drew Carey.
If we were Hef, we’d be asking: What, no Brad Pitt?
Here’s a fun collage that’s pointless but that any movie fan will find irresistible. (Thanks to Jeff Wells and the essential Hollywood-Elsewhere.com for showcasing it.)
Halloween is almost here, and with it comes a load of frightful new DVD releases. Here are some movies that will satisfy your craving for celluloid carnage.
EVIL ALIENS: UNRATED In the vein of Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive, this splatterfest about evil E.T.s running amok in a desolate town is loaded with mutilations, human-alien sex, and yes, even cringe-worthy probing. Once you get past the hammy acting and the mediocre CGI effects, this guilty pleasure is loads of bloody fun.
POLTERGEIST: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DELUXE EDITION Even after 20 years, this remains one of the best haunted-house movies of all time. The special effects hold up well, Jerry Goldsmith’s classic score is chilling, and there are great performances across the board.
HELLRAISER: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Clive Barker’s tale of pleasure, pain, demons and an ancient puzzle box remains one of the most imaginative and stylish horror classics of the ‘80s. Hell never looked better and now comes loaded with all new features in this new 20th anniversary edition.
DEMONS and DEMONS 2 These two Lamberto Bava-directed cult classics are finally available on DVD with brand new anamorphic widescreen transfers. Both flicks are about people being transformed into bloodthirsty demons and the chaos that ensues. There’s a slight tongue-in-cheek humor going on combined with some off-the-wall gore and Bava’s atmospheric style that make these a must see for any horror fan.
FROM BEYOND Stuart Gordon’s [Re-animator/Dolls] adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic tales is now on DVD for the first time. While the effects are a bit dated and the performances a little hokey, it’s nice to experience an outlandish horror film that’s not plagued with CG effects. They don’t make them like they used to.
THE TRIPPER Throw some blood, guts and political satire into a meat grinder and you get David Arquette’s thrill-filled throwback to the 80s slasher. A cool cast along with loads of wicked humor and severed limbs make this a gory good time.
A little over two decades ago, Doug Bradley was cast as a nameless menace in a small horror film called Hellraiser by then first-time director Clive Barker. Little did Bradley know that his alter-ego “Pinhead” would become an iconic name in horror alongside Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Leatherface. We caught up with Bradley to talk about all things Hellraiser, which is being released for your sinful pleasure in an all-new 20th anniversary edition DVD on October 23rd.
Hellraiser came out 20 years ago. How well do you think the film has stood the test of time?
Evidence suggests that it is standing the test of time inordinately well. I did see it again a couple of years ago and apart from obvious things like 1980s haircuts--ooh big hair, big hair—it didn’t seem to me that it really aged. I think partly because the ideas that Clive Barker is addressing in the film are timeless ideas. The Cenobites look like a fairly timeless kind of image to me as well. I’m aware that there’s a new generation finding the film when I’m at conventions and signings. I’m now getting people saying, “Could you sign this for my dad? He’s a huge fan.” My feeling is that there’s more interest and enthusiasm for the film now than there was then. When you were making Hellraiser, did you ever envision yourself or Pinhead becoming this huge horror icon?
And why would I? [laughs] There I was playing a guy buried in latex with no name. I think if they paid me any less for that film I would’ve been cast as an extra. And I think I’m on screen less than 10 minutes, not one of the featured actors. When the first movie was released, I had no part in any of the publicity for it. I’ve spoken to a lot of fans subsequently who said when the first film came out, they kept showing clips of Pinhead. Claire Higgins, Ashley Laurence and Andy Robinson would get interviews, and that was all great, but people were all saying—“Where’s the guy with the pins? We want to hear from him!” But you know, as an actor as well you don’t approach films thinking ‘Hey, this is my meal ticket.’ You really don’t. It would be the kiss of death if you did. But certainly, if you’d said to me that 20 years from now you’ll be in a hotel room in North Carolina, being interviewed about the film, I would’ve said,“what?!” [laughs]. I would not have known where you were coming from with it. I knew we were doing something good, interesting and exciting, but I really didn’t see it taking off the way it did.
You’ve played Pinhead a total of eight times now. Did you ever get tired of playing the part or sitting through that make-up process?
Playing the part, no. The make-up process, yes. I’ve had my moments, particularly the first day back on Hellraiser. I’m always happy to be back on the movie set. There are old friends to say hi to, new friends to meet and lots of handshaking. I feel very relaxed and at home as soon as I’m on the soundstage. That’s all great and then there always comes the moment where I hear [make-up artist] Gary Tunnicliffe’s voice behind me, clearing his throat quietly and saying, “Ahem, Doug, I need to get started.” And that’s when I suddenly have to retie my shoelaces and go to the restroom and go speak to the production office about something, and then I go into a whole series of displacement activity—anything to avoid having to put my rear end in the dentist chair. Then I walk into Gary’s make-up room. I see the pieces of latex sitting on a fake head, looking back at me—and the rows of parts and glue and paint, the brushes—and it all looks a bit too much like an operating theater to me. Day one, I can’t get past the misery of it all because there is misery involved in the make-up, there’s just no getting around it. Getting the make-up on is misery, wandering around in the costume is misery, taking it off is misery, picking bits of glue and make-up off the back of your ears for days afterwards is misery. Whenever I’m in front of the camera with the make-up on, it’s no problem. That’s the whole point. We’re working and that’s fine. It’s when you’ve got maybe three or four hours of downtime while they’re shooting a scene you’re not in—that’s when you start to go out of your mind.
Hellraiser also spawned a series of comic books. Aside from the films, did you
Hugh Hefner pops in for a cameo -- sort of -- in Jon Favreau's new 
Gahan Wilson's band of ghouls, monsters and ghosts must have felt right at home this past weekend in Bermuda when 
A new pandemic thriller opens in theaters today with director Neil Marshall’s 
Born Dead, Still Weird, 
Yesterday, for the first time ever, Playboy Radio aired an interview with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody that was recorded at the time she published her memoir, "Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper." On Sunday, Cody won the Oscar for best screenplay for Juno, one of 2007's most acclaimed films. 
Not so long ago in a theater in the galaxy you’re sitting in, 
“Eva Green of The Dreamers will be in Casino Royale? Sweet! But who the hell is Caterina Murino?” That was our reaction, two years ago, when we heard that the Bond Girls had been chosen for Daniel Craig’s first 007 adventure. 
FRIGHT FLICKS
A little over two decades ago, Doug Bradley was cast as a nameless menace in a small horror film called Hellraiser by then first-time director Clive Barker. Little did Bradley know that his alter-ego “Pinhead” would become an iconic name in horror alongside Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Leatherface. We caught up with Bradley to talk about all things Hellraiser, which is being released for your sinful pleasure in an