An interview with France's Ludivine Sagnier, the star of Claude Chabrol's "A Girl Cut in Two" and the upcoming "A Secret."

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Tags: A Girl Cut in Two, A Secret, Claude Chabrol, Ludivine Sagnier

"I've been making myself up as a wolf man since I was ten years old," claimed legendary make-up artist Rick Baker, who's won six Oscars for his work in films as varied as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Ed Wood" and "An American Werewolf in London." He's a natural fit, then, for director Joe Johnston's update of the 1941 Universal horror film starring Lon Chaney Jr. Those classics "were the films that made want to do what I do," Baker announced at the Comic-Con panel for the new film. "When I heard they were doing 'The Wolf Man,' I actually went to somebody I knew at Universal and said 'I have to do this movie. I really want to do this movie.' And, fortunately, they listened."

The gracious Baker described "The Wolf Man," which opens on April 3rd, 2009, as "pretty old school," praising the studio's choice to have an actor in make-up playing the lead instead of making the character computer-generated. Joining Baker on the panel were Emily Blunt, who plays female lead Gwen Conliffe, and the wolf man himself, Benicio Del Toro, who found his way to the role after his agent spotted a poster for the original movie in his house.

Take a look at video clips from the panel below:

More from Comic-Con 2008: The "Watchmen" panel with director Zack Snyder, stars Billy Crudup and Carla Gugino and others; the "RocknRolla" panel with director Guy Ritchie and star Gerard Butler; "The Spirit" panel with Frank Miller and Samuel L. Jackson.

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Tags: Benicio Del Toro, Comic-Con 2008, Emily Blunt, Rick Baker, The Wolf Man

"I first met Will Eisner on a street in Vermont, when I was bicycling back home with a bunch of new comic books," began Frank Miller, comic book artist turned co-director, alongside Robert Rodriguez, with 2005's "Sin City." "The Spirit," an adaptation of Eisner's long-running crime-fighter comic strip, finds Miller going solo behind the camera for the first time. During the Comic-Con panel for the film, Miller spoke of how he eventually met Eisner in person and began a 25-year-argument with him over captions.

Miller was joined on the panel by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the film's villain, The Octopus, a character who in the comic remained unseen except for a pair of distinctive gloves. "It's a real honor to be able to put flesh and bones and voice and attitude to The Octopus, [who's] only been a pair of hands since 1930-something," a beaming Jackson said, going into how he and Miller decided on the look of the character, who apparently sports a sort of Nazi-inspired outfit. Also on stage is Jaime King, who played Goldie in "Sin City" and will play Lorelei Rox, "the angel of death," in "The Spirit," which is set to open on Christmas this year.

Take a look at video clips from the panel below:

More from Comic-Con 2008: The "Watchmen" panel with director Zack Snyder, stars Billy Crudup and Carla Gugino and others; the "RocknRolla" panel with director Guy Ritchie and star Gerard Butler; the panel for "The Wolf Man" with award-winning make-up artist Rick Baker and stars Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt.

By IFC in Festivals, Videos | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (2)

Tags: Comic-Con 2008, Frank Miller, Jaime King, Samuel L. Jackson, The Spirit, Will Eisner

"That seems like... a crazy idea," "300" director Zack Snyder said upon being offered the adaptation of "Watchmen," Alan Moore's revered graphic novel that's defied all earlier attempts to be brought to the big screen. "Once they asked me, I kinda felt responsible -- even if I said no, they would have moved on, and then whatever happened to the movie, I still would have had my chance... If the movie, for whatever reason didn't turn out, it would have been still my fault. So I figured, might as well make it my fault anyway."

The hotly anticipated superhero film isn't headed to theaters until March 6, 2009, but a recently released trailer has fans chomping at the bit. At Comic-Con's panel for the film, Snyder reassured the crowd that he's attempted to stay as true to the graphic novel as possible, with "Watchmen" artist Dave Gibbons at his side, claiming that "It's just the stuff of dreams, really, to have something step out of your head and become real."

Also joining them were Billy Crudup, who plays the omniscient Dr. Manhattan and who described the challenges to figuring out "how you pretend to be the 6'4" buffed-out master of matter while you're a 5'9", 40-year-old jackass playing dress-up." Patrick Wilson, who plays Night Owl, and Carla Gugino and Malin Ackerman, who play the first and second incarnations of the Silk Spectre, additionally spoke about their characters and why "Watchmen" won't be your average superhero movie.

Take a look at video clips from the panel below:

More from Comic-Con 2008: The "RocknRolla" panel with director Guy Ritchie and star Gerard Butler; "The Spirit" panel with Frank Miller and Samuel L. Jackson; the panel for "The Wolf Man" with award-winning make-up artist Rick Baker and stars Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt.

By IFC in Festivals, Videos | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (1)

Tags: Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino, Comic-Con 2008, Malin Ackerman, Patrick Wilson, Watchmen, Zack Snyder

Stars Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven, Idris Elba and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges joined director Guy Ritchie for yesterday's presentation on "RocknRolla," Ritchie's first film since infamous bomb "Revolver," which took two years to reach U.S. shores. "RocknRolla," which is about the Russian mob in London, is the film that everyone's hoping represents a return to form for the director who first made a splash with snappy urban crime films like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch."

Mostly, though, all eyes were on Butler, who offered chocolates to the crowd of adoring female fans and answered questions on the nature of his role and whether it was as physically challenging as his part in "300." Piven, in turn, offered his own fan service, saying "I'm completely overwhelmed by everyone's focus and their dedication. I'm in honor of all of you and I celebrate each and everyone one of you -- and I would like to do that personally, I'm in a service position for all of you. I would give you chocolate -- I have no more chocolate left. But I am going to take my shirt off."

While "RocknRolla" is set to open October 3rd, many were already looking forward to Ritchie's next film, "Sherlock Holmes," which promises (threatens?) to give a contemporary spin to the classic character, who'll be played by Robert Downey, Jr. "It's like James Bond in 1891," producer Joel Silver offered. "It's an action picture, it's seeing Holmes the way he always should have been seen."

Take a look at video clips from the panel below:

More from Comic-Con 2008: The "Watchmen" panel with director Zack Snyder, Billy Crudup and Carla Gugino; the panel for "The Spirit," with director Frank Miller and Samuel L. Jackson; the panel for "The Wolf Man" with award-winning make-up artist Rick Baker and stars Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt.

By IFC in Festivals, Videos | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (7)

Tags: Chris Ludacris Bridges, Comic-Con 2008, Gerard Butler, Guy Ritchie, Idris Elba, Jeremy Piven, Joel Silver, Robert Downey Jr, RocknRolla, Sherlock Holmes

"Mad Detective," a new police actioner from Hong Kong film veterans Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, opens in New York and On Demand on July 18th. Here's an exclusive look at the trailer.

For more on the film, check out the official site.

By IFC in Videos | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (3)

Tags: Johnny To, Mad Detective, Wai Ka-Fai

By Matt Singer and Alison Willmore

Guy Maddin's latest film "My Winnipeg" finally opens in theaters today after making the festival rounds from Toronto to Berlin to Tribeca. It was at that last stop where we had a chance to sit down with Maddin and discuss his "docu-fantasia" and his Canadian hometown.

By Alison Willmore in Interviews, Videos | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (2)

Tags: Guy Maddin, My Winnipeg