ScreenCrave.com » Karyn Kusama

Karyn Kusama Wants Chloe Moretz in The Rut

Krystal Clark — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:07:22 +0000

Karyn Kusama’s last film was a bit underwhelming and it had nothing to do with Megan Fox being its headliner. The movie was Jennifer’s Body and it came in with a silent whisper and left with a painful sigh when it debuted in theaters last year. Now the director is trying to right that wrong with The Rut (interesting title) and she wants Kick-Ass star Chloe Moretz to help her.

Moretz obviously has no problem kicking ass and taking names and Kusama wants her to return to those violent roots. The Rut focus on “a father-daughter relationship and centers particularly on hunting, as a daughter must learn the tricks of hunting and archery taught to her by her father after said father goes missing.” Doesn’t that sound interesting? It’s almost like when Nicolas Cage taught her how to bust a cap in someone’s ass but instead of guns she’s using arrows.

Kusama is sticking with her female centric resume of projects, which includes Aeon Flux and Girlfight with Michelle Rodriguez. What happened to that Kusama? We miss her. Hopefully, The Rut will get a positive push due to Moretz’ increasing fanboy cred.

What do you think of Kusama and Moretz teaming up for The Rut?

Source: LATimes

Jennifer’s Body Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:00:31 +0000

Jennifer’s Body is the sophomore feature film from Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody. It takes us into the world of teenage angst driven by sex, obsession, and mostly regret. The film is advertised as a dark comedy, that oozes sex appeal thanks to it’s leading lady, Transformers star Megan Fox. Jennifer’s Body capitalizes on old school horror thematics from the seventies and eighties to add a campy element to this contemporary tale.

The Players

Director: Karyn Kusama
Screenwriter: Diablo Cody (read her Comic-Con interview)
Actors: Megan Fox, (read her Comic-Con interview) Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody Johnny Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Chris Pratt, and J.K. Simmons.

The Plot:

Like most horror movies, the film takes place in a sleepy town conveniently called Devil’s Kettle. This is where we meet the best friend duo of Jennifer and Needy. Jennifer is the object of desire for every guy at her high school and beyond, while Needy is the exact opposite. She’s nerdy, never curses, and has the staple that every dorky sidekick must acquire, an ugly pair of eye glasses. On a fateful evening Jennifer drags Needy to a rock show at a local bar to see an indie band, which is led by singer Nikolai Wolf (Brody). From the moment Jennifer and Nikolai meet, events are set into motion that take the teenager from a typical high school bitch, to a literal maneater. As the tagline of the film states Jennifer becomes evil, not just high school evil.

The Good:

Amanda Seyfried: The actresses performance as Anita “Needy” Lesnicki is one of the only semi-decent things this film has to offer. Her character is the dumpy best friend who becomes the saving grace of the town’s male population. Even though the material she had wasn’t that great, Seyfried was entertaining and in the end you felt for her.
The Location: Giving credit to where credit is due. They did an amazing job creating the town of Devil’s Kettle. It reminds you of the backdrops of Carrie and A Nightmare on Elm Street mixed with a bit of Friday Night Lights. You really get the feeling that everybody knows each other, and you believe the deaths that take place could effect each citizen on a personal level.

The Bad:

The Dialogue: If you’re a fan of Juno, you’re familiar with Diablo Cody’s quirky since of humor. Take the comedic quips from that film and multiply them tenfold. The conversations between the characters were over the top and unbelievable. Everything is set up like a joke, so it’s hard to follow the story and understand what the film is really trying to say. The entire script is a string of punchlines run together one after another, which might have been nice if they were actually funny.
The Pace: When the script is bad, watching any film can turn into two hours of torture. In this film there was a basic set up that was reused about every 20 minutes. It involved Jennifer seducing a guy, making out with him, eating him and her needing to “refuel” again. It became very redundant and seemed like a ploy to put Megan Fox in more gratuitous sexual situations.
J.K. Simmons: I love J.K. Simmons, but his wonderful talent was lost on this film. He portrayed a school teacher, whose main characteristic was that he had a hook for a hand. His whole point of being there was an obvious nod to Juno, but he was a walking joke, and a bad one at that. He could have brought so much more to this movie, but he was downplayed by a curly wig and a gimmick.

Overall:

I do not recommend this film. You can throw every expectation you have about Jennifer’s Body out the window, because it does not deliver. In the end, it can be seen as a vague attempt to pay homage to female driven horror films of the past, but whether or not it follows through on that attempt is open to interpretation.

Rating: 4/10

Jennifer’s Body hits theaters on September 18, 2009.

Spanish Jennifer’s Body Poster

Krystal Clark — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:25:23 +0000

A new international poster has been released for this fall’s Jennifer’s Body. It premiered over at the Spanish language site Aullidos, and in a cheap attempt at humor I have to say it’s “muy caliente.” The film stars Megan Fox, and features her doing what she’s known for, being a maneater. You can view the full sized poster below.

Jennifer’s Body is written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The story centers on a bitchy high school girl, who becomes a cannibal once she is possessed by a demon. The only person aware of her recent change is her plain Jane best friend, played by Amanda Seyfried. She tries to save the town’s young men from Jennifer’s ever growing appetite. Will she be strong enough to stop her? Who knows! Dun, dun, dun, dun!

Jennifer’s Body hits North American theaters on September 18th.

What do you think of the Spanish poster for Jennifer’s Body?

Comic-Con 09: Jennifer’s Body Interview with Megan Fox, Diablo Cody…

Mali Elfman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:19:25 +0000

Yet another press conference we attended at Comic-Con was for director Karyn Kusama’s upcoming horror film written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Kusama, Cody, Fox, and producer Jason Reitman were all in attendance and eager to promote their zany new film. Fox admits to not being a horror film fan, in fact the last horror film she saw was in 2001 and while having to do ADR for this film she managed to scare herself. Cody on the other hand seems to be proud on her jump from Academy Award winner to over the top horror film writer and doesn’t seem to be scared away by much of anything.

Check out the interview below…

Megan, how was it to play a character that is so over the top and so incredibly outrageous?

Megan: What I loved about the movie is that it’s so unapologetic and completely inappropriate, at all times. That was my favorite part about the script and about the character. It’s fun to be able to say the shit that she got to say and get away with it, and see how people find it charming.

Diablo, can you talk about the challenges of creating a new horror mythology, in a world where we’re inundated with remakes and re-boots? Did you face any resistance to creating something new?

Diablo: For me, I was simultaneously trying to pay tribute to some of the conventions that we’ve already seen in horror, but at the same time, kind of turn them on their ear. So, it was truly like a post-modern thriller in that, on the one hand, I grew up watching these amazing 80′s genre movies, like The Lost Boys, and I wanted to honor that. And, at the same time, I had never really seen this particular subgenre done with girls.

Were there any horror films with a strong female angle that you did like?

Diablo: What’s interesting, and it’s been pointed out many times before, is that often the last survivor standing in the typical horror film is a woman, like Nancy (in Nightmare on Elm Street) or Jason’s mother, or any of the great heroines of horror, if you choose to look at them that way. I think horror has always had a feminist angle to it, in a weird way. And, at the same time, it’s delightfully exploitative. One of my favorite things about doing a horror movie is that we got to do a little of both.

Karyn: I think also a lot of horror is about femaleness, whether it’s Carrie or Rosemary’s Baby. I feel like there’s a lot of fear of the female or a celebration of it, in some weird way, and something about this movie managed to take the fear and the sense that it’s the female that ultimately survives, and marry that in a really interesting way.

Diablo, horror often has a sense of humor about it. When you’re writing it, do you find things that you thought were funny that could be injected, so the audience had some relief from the horror aspects of it?

Diablo: The funny thing is, when I first set out to write this, I intended to write something very dark and very brooding, that was a traditional slasher movie. And then, I realized, about a third of the way into the process, that I was incapable of doing that because the humor just kept sneaking in. I have a macabre sense of humor. A lot of the things in the movie that are horrifying are funny to me. I’ve always said that I think comedy films and horror films are similar, in the sense that you can actually witness the audience having a physical release. They’re laughing and screaming. It’s not a passive experience. So, I actually think comedy and horror are similar, in that way.

Megan, that vomit scene we saw was pretty outrageous. How did you shoot that, and what other crazy stuff did you get to do?

Megan: That day, I think what I was actually throwing up in the scene was chocolate syrup, initially. We did a few takes where I would just do this scream and puke chocolate syrup. And then, special effects did a rig that clamps onto my ear and you revisit it in the pool scene, later on in the movie. It clipped on and went around the back of my ear, and then I had to bite down on it, on the side of my face, and it projectile vomited.

Karyn: It was kind of old school.

Megan: Yeah, and it projects whatever that material was. I’m not sure. It was pretty intense. I think it was worse for Amanda because she’s the one that got puked on. I was the one doing the puking.

Did you have to go with more practical effects on the set, as opposed to CG?

Karyn: Yeah. It was a choice that we all made, organically. I think we appreciate those kind of effects in older movies and I question sometimes how much more effective it is to use a ton of CG. So, we always started with a practical effect and then moved forward from there to lay a groundwork of something that’s actually physically, materially there. It was more fun, too.

Jason, this is considerably different from the movies that you’ve been making, as a director. Does this scratch an itch that you have for genre? Are we ever going to see you do anything along these lines?

Jason: I found Thank You for Smoking to be terrifying, personally. It doesn’t work that way for everyone. I’ve always loved horror films, and I certainly go see more horror films than probably any other genre, in the theater. I hope I’m as capable of doing it as Karyn is. It’s an intimidating genre because there are people who certainly do it very well. But, I love horror films.

Karyn, how did you get involved in this?

Karyn: I was blessed to read this script at a moment where the producers were meeting with directors, and it just knocked me out. It was just so original and so imaginative. What it is about this script and the world is that it feels like a fairy tale gone psycho, and I think that’s what most fairy tales actually started as. They’ve just been neutralized, over the years. There’s something about this story that felt old, like coming from old stories, but it’s totally fresh, and I just went to bat for myself.

When I read the script, the first thing I felt, viscerally was, “Man, if I was 17 right now, this is the movie I would see 10 times in the theater.” I just feel a pull toward it that’s speaks to me, and it’s not intellectual. It’s just emotional. I think that the best horror and the best comedies speak to you on just this very visceral level.

Megan, did you have any trepidation towards playing this type of role? And, once you actually started doing some of these scenes, how was the experience for you, in terms of the acting?

Megan: Obviously, there are not distractions, like robots, to distract you from whatever performance I do give. So, if it’s terrible, you’re gonna fucking know that it’s really terrible. That, of course, is intimidating, but I think the character was so much fun for me. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I was just trying to have fun with it and I felt like I was able to make fun of my own image, as to how some people might perceive Megan Fox to be. I was just flying freely and I hope some of it works.

We got a sense of how scary and how funny this film can be, but how sexy is it?

Megan: Oh, this movie is so sexy. You better put on your sexy shoes for this movie. There’s a relationship that happens, between my character and Amanda’s character. There’s a hint of a Lesbian relationship that happens. There’s a girl on girl kiss. I feel like it’s an homage to that, but also we poke fun at how common that is in horror movies. And, beyond that, before every kill, there’s a seduction that occurs. These boys have to be seduced into getting close enough to this dead girl for her to devour them. So. it does get sexy. I think I’m pretty sexy in it. I don’t know.

Diablo: For sure.

Karyn: It’s pretty sexy.

Karyn, in all three of your films, you deal with different facets of violence. There’s the science fiction over-the-top violence of Aeon Flux and the more grotesque, dark violence of this. How do you deal with the various types of violence that you see in the different films? Is there a different approach to them or is it all the same, from your perspective?

Karyn: It’s definitely different with each movie. With Girlfight, it was important to actually be authentic to the world of amateur boxing and to the emotional dynamics within the ring. And, with Aeon Flux, I think that there were some approaches to violence I was trying to take. I think the finished film didn’t really reflect that entirely but there was a different kind of interest in just the way the body moves through space. That was interesting to me. With this movie, it was really important to know the mechanics of violence as a movie tool so that, for instance, when Jennifer pukes, it should be black as tar and it should come out big and loud and it should be a shocking moment. I feel like in a way somebody mentioned that the movie feels kind of over the top. It was important to know when to go there and not back down from it feeling like a genre movie while trying to keep it real between the characters and keep the world of it real.

Was there ever a push and pull with the MPAA? Did you guys ever go for a PG-13 cut or was it always set as an R?

Karyn: We always knew.

Diablo: Just because of the language alone.

It wasn’t too long ago that, if a filmmaker had had the kind of breakthroughs that you guys have all had in different films, they would never do horror because they would have done horror before the breakthrough. You guys went back and did it. What do you think that says about what’s going on in the trends in filmmaking right now?

Diablo: For me, it’s personal passion. To me, horror is better than anything. To me, anything I could have done would build into this, so this was what I wanted.

Jason: You’ve got a generation of directors here who grew up on horror. And, we’re also all from the VHS generation as well

Karyn: And, I think you can watch a lot of horror and, just like with Pandora’s Box, crazy shit just keeps coming out of that box. You can find so many amazing movies. When I look at the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I basically feel like it’s a crazy art movie that just happened to become this event. That movie would never get made now, in that way. It’s been remade in a different way. In a way, horror speaks to all of us. It’s definitely the genre to try to get to and to try to achieve, in my opinion.

Jason: I remember cracking open my father’s laser disc of Nightmare on Elm Street and having the coolest movie moments of my childhood, and I can’t imagine having that experience with any other genre. I can’t imagine dangerously opening a broad comedy, in the middle of the night, hoping I wouldn’t get caught. I have an idea there’s a kid out there who will be secretly opening up a Blu-ray of Jennifer’s Body, and I think it’s pretty exciting to all of us. It’s a crazy enough movie.

Megan, are you a fan of horror? Is this a genre that you’re naturally drawn to?

Megan: I’m actually not. I don’t ever, ever watch scary movies because I have a very intense fear of the dark. The last horror movie I saw was called Tooth Fairy, and it was out in 2001 or something. I saw it and I slept with my mother for 2 weeks, afterwards. I get really affected by them. So, for me to be able to play something that I would normally be frightened by was really intriguing and interesting.

How did you react when you saw the movie?

Megan: I was doing ADR on it recently and I didn’t know that they had done more sound design since the last time I’d seen it. So, we were watching the clip that I was going to add a scream to, and I remember the screams that I did on set, but I didn’t know they had added more. And, when I got to that part, I literally jumped and screamed inside the looping booth. It frightened me and it shook me up for 5 minutes. I couldn’t do my ADR because I was like, “Holy shit! That was really scary!” It’s cool to see myself being able to scare people because I’m just a little girl. Look at me, I’m so sweet!

Diablo, I know you’ve been to the Toronto Film Festival, and now you’re going to premiere Jennifer’s Body at Midnight Madness, in front of a intense crowd to say the least. Are you excited about that?

Diablo: I’m so excited. That’s all I can say about it. I love Toronto, and I was excited when I found out we were going to get to do that, especially with that crowd. I love the tradition of the Midnight Madness. I think it’s going to be so cool.

Jason: I’ve been going to Sundance and Toronto since I was a teenager, bringing short films to both, and I’ve always been an enormous fan. When I’ve gone through the catalogs, frankly the Midnight Madness movies always seem more exciting than the dramatic fare. Every dramatic film reads exactly the same, and then you’re like, “Oh, finally, Nazi Zombies in the Snow! This is what I was looking for!” That’s the one you’ve been wanting to line up for. So, the idea that we’re participating in it is pretty great.

Diablo, you had a cameo in the footage that we saw. Will you be in more of the film?

Diablo: No, no, that was it. I think that was even just a pity shot that you saw from Karyn.

And Jason, might we see a cameo of you in the film?

Jason: Absolutely not.

How important is the music, in a film like this? Diablo, were you involved in the music selection, or at least the band poster selection that was on the walls of the bar?

Karyn: The music was a huge component of the movie. First, the songs that we see and hear performed, but then, just the vibe of the movie. As the movie progresses, it becomes a pretty clearly music-oriented movie. It’s a youth movie. Some of those bands were totally made up and some of them are not.

Diablo: I wanted Screeching Weasel in the movie, really bad. That was important.

Are there any horror movies that stand out to you as some of your favorites?

Karyn: I’m a Near Dark junkie. I need to see that movie every year, just to get through life.

Diablo: My all time favorites are Rosemary’s Baby and Don’t Look Now.

Jason: I’m a Shining guy. I know some people don’t like it, but I remember seeing that as a kid and it scaring the living shit out of me, and the imagery really staying with me. I remember seeing the original Alien. In fact, my father took me camping when I was a kid and told me Alien as a campfire story, and his version continued. His alien made it back down to Earth. And then, later on, I started watching the movie, Alien, and started realizing I knew exactly where everything was going to go — the face sucker and the thing bursting from the chest. Honestly, I was young enough to have a moment of, “Oh, my God, they ripped my father off!” And then, it came to me that, no.

Diablo, the fire scene in the barroom that you appear in, all I could think about was the Great White performance in Rhode Island and that whole crazy event. Was that where this came from?

Diablo: Not specifically. It’s weird. It has come up a few times. To me, I am afraid of fire and fire technics and all that stuff, which is why I don’t know why I asked to be in the bar scene. I’ve never exploded before.

Karyn: And you asked to be set on fire. Do you remember?

Diablo: That was me trying to conquer a fear. By the way, they would not allow me to do a full burn, for insurance purposes, even though I argued that Burt Reynolds had done it once. But, apparently, he got really hurt, so they would not let me. To me, there’s nothing more horrifying than being stuck in a claustrophobic space as it is burning down, so it was more like tapping into a personal fear.

Diablo, are you going to get behind the camera and do your own horror film now?

Diablo: If I were to direct, I would want to direct a horror movie, I think. I don’t know if that will ever happen. I need to improve my skill set.

Megan Fox Gives Hell in Jennifer’s Body Poster

Krystal Clark — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:00:40 +0000

This entire week has been filled with promos for Karyn Kusama’s horror comedy, Jennifer’s Body. Yesterday we premiered the green band trailer for the film, and now a new poster has debuted. It features Megan Fox in a school girls uniform with high heels, and a devilish look on her face. This photo reminds us all that “She’s evil…. and not just high school evil.”

Check out the full length poster after the jump.

Image courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.

Does anyone else notice that there’s a hand inside the desk she’s sitting on? It’s so great to see Fox in a role that doesn’t objectify her or ooze sexuality…hey wait a minute? Jennifer’s Body will hit theaters on September 18, and co-stars Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody.

What do you think of the latest poster for Jennifer’s Body? Will you go see the film?

Weekend Roundup: Brad Pitt, The Horde, T.J. Hooker

Anet Hovhanesian — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:20:27 +0000

Here are some movie news that were going on while you were busy firing up those grills for your 4th of July barbecues!!

Brad Pitt has a Architecture Project going on in New Orleans, where he is trying to rebuild the city’s Lower Ninth Ward, which was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Designcrave had pictures of what these new homes meant to house extended families and renters look like. You should take a look at the photos. The homes look real nice. (Designcrave)
Have you ever wanted to see water drop in slow motion? Well here is your chance. UnrealityMag has the 10 Awesome Various Slow Motion Water Videos for your viewing pleasure. Go watch the videos of a water drop or water fall in slow motion. It is more interesting than you might think. (UnrealityMag)
Trailer available for zombie horror film, The Horde directed and written by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher. The movie tells the story of cops and mobsters teaming up when a wave of the undead come crashing in. Go watch the badasstrailer and tell us what you think. (/Film)
A collection of the best Star Trek bloopers. You know you’re curious. (Unrealitymag)
According to Variety, television series, T.J. Hooker starring William Shatner and Heather Locklear is going to the big screen. Chuck Russell is in talks to direct the action comedy. Series creator, Rick Huskywill produce the film along with David Fosterand Ryan Heppe. (Variety)

ScreenCrave.com » Karyn Kusama

Karyn Kusama Wants Chloe Moretz in The Rut

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Jennifer’s Body Movie Review

The Players

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 4/10

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