A Casting Shocker: Colin Farrell Vamps Up for Fright Night
Monday, May 10, 2010
By: MrDisgusting


The one thing with horror movies is that unknowns or up-and-comers are typically cast in the lead roles. I'm still sitting in shock as DreamWorks has announced that Colin Farrell will sink his teeth into Fright Night, their' remake of Tom Holland's cult 1985 film that also will see Toni Collette play a mom who falls under his spell, reports Heat Vision.

The two join Anton Yelchin in the new version, which sticks to the original concept of a teen (Yelchin) being convinced that his new neighbor is a vampire, though no one will believe him.



Farrell has the plum role of the vampire, named Jerry, who on the surface appears to be a cool guy but is really preying on the neighborhood. Chris Sarandon played the role in the 1985 pic.

Collette is Yelchin's mom, who at first disapproves of the new arrival but changes her attitude when she meets the magnetic man and -- surprise -- doesn't believe her son when he tries to tell her Jerry is a vampire.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20160

Who could even remotely replace Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent(one of the greatest horror movie performances)

First Batch of Fright Night Photos Spills Out!
Source: Moviefone
April 7, 2011


Fright Night 3D opens in theaters August 19 and Moviefone scored a first look at the remake.

Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are all here. The only one missing from the photos is David Tennant.

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18712

More Fright Night Photos
Posted by Allan Dart
Apr 08, 2011


Yesterday, three images from the Fright Night remake debuted online and today three more pics have hit the web.



Empire got the exclusive on the images.

The stills feature Colin Farrell as the vampire Jerry Dandridge, Anton Yelchin as the film’s young hero Charley Brewster and Imogen Poots as his girlfriend Amy.



The 3D update opens August 19.

http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4094:more-qfright-nightq-photos&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=167

Colin Farrell Leaves a Mark in New Bite-Sized Fright Night 3D Pics!
Monday, April 18, 2011
By: MrDisgusting


Joining the earlier batch, we just now scored two pretty sweet looks as DreamWorks' Fright Night 3D, Craig Gillespie's remake that'll arrive in theaters on August 19.

One images feature Jerry (Colin Farrell), with his hand burning, ripping away a cross from Charlie (Anton Yelchin) as he unsuccessfully tries to save himself.

The other depicts Jerry preying on a local neighbor. Tasty!

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/24222

I have to admit I'm really liking the casting choice, yes even David Tennant as Vincent. I enjoyed watching Tennant on Dr Who.

Peter Vincent Works His Mojo in This Fright Night Photo
Source: Shock Till You Drop
May 10, 2011


Here's a good look at David Tennant as Peter Vincent.

Vincent, in this Craig Gillespie-directed update of the '80s film, is a Vegas performer (think Criss Angel).

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=19086

Fright Night Trailer Lands - And It Looks Good!
by Alyse Wax
May 13, 2011


Fright Night is one of those movies that many people hold dear, and fear a remake would destroy it.
Craig Gillespie's version is coming this November, whether you like it or not, but judging from the trailer, released today, it's looking pretty good.

http://www.fearnet.com/news/b22588_fright_night_trailer_lands_it_looks_good.html

Sink Your Teeth into This Fright Night Poster
Source: IGN
May 13, 2011


A poster for Fright Night has been released to go along with the trailer put out today.

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=19160

Anton Yelchin Talks Fright Night
May 14, 2011
by Alyse Wax


I've got to admit: the Fright Night remake looks pretty good.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at some footage, and was pleased to discover that the new Fright Night blends humor and horror in a modern setting that remains true to the feel of the original.




We chatted with star Anton Yelchin, who plays Charlie, the high school kid who must protect friends and family when he discovers that his next door neighbor is a vampire.

He tells us how this Fright Night is different and yet the same.






Your role seems a lot more physically demanding than what William Ragsdale had to do in the original.

It's definitely more active. The vampire in ours is a lot more destructive than Chris Sarandon in the original.






What is going on with Charlie when we first meet him? He has a ridiculously hot girlfriend...

Charlie does have this really hot girlfriend and he kind of shuns Ed because he has to keep up this macho "dude" image.

The interesting journey he goes on when he meets the "real" version of that, this menacing, super-macho predatory vampire, he actually has to become what he was posturing to be to protect the people he loves. He starts off trying to ditch his best friend, then he learns - with a painful price - what he has done.

The rest of the movie he spends - not really redeeming himself, but becoming the man he needs to be, and figuring out what is most important to him. Manning up, so to speak.









It definitely seems more action-driven than the original.
One of those scenes was like, "This is some Terminator sh*t right here."

There is definitely a lot of action, but it is still very horror-driven. It all happens because Jerry is trying to kill them the whole time. It is a cat-and-mouse thing between him and Charlie. He f*cks with him the whole time.

That's what he did in the original film, too, but more so in this one. He just tries to corner Charlie and attack him and attack him, and Charlie just has to keep fighting and fighting.






In the clips we saw, Colin Farrell definitely had that smarmy Las Vegas "bro" thing down.

That's what Charlie is pretending to be - but failing at it.









So Jerry's alpha male persona is threatening to you.

Exactly. When they meet, that's the first thing Charlie picks up on. He doesn't know that Jerry is a vampire.

He tries to step up his pseudo-game, but he quickly learns that Jerry isn't an alpha male; he's just a destructive vampire.







[B]The backbone of the original Fright Night is really Charlie and Peter's arc.

How much is Peter Vincent [played by David Tennant] part of that, and part of Charlie's arc?

The original and this new version are very similar in that Peter also has that arc where he has to step up. Charlie comes to Peter when he has nowhere else to go. No one else will believe him, or they are dead.

When Charlie first comes to see him, Peter basically kicks him out and ignores him. Charlie ends up coming back because Peter calls him and tells him ****'s going down. Peter goes through the same journey as Charlie: they both have to fight the vampire.






How closely did you model your Charlie after the original?
Did you try to deviate at all?

The storyline is different in this one. What I thought was really important in the original that I wanted to bring into this film was how manic Charlie gets, and how terrified he is. In the original, Charlie is tripping out the whole time.

I thought it was very important to bring that to this version. It gives Charlie somewhere to go, from posturing to paranoia to dedication. At a certain point the mania just won't do anymore.

There is that moment in the original, but in this version, at a certain point, the mania goes and he becomes constructive.







With the film shot in 3D, how much "popping out"-type of stuff are we going to see?

I think there is supposed to be quite a bit. I haven't seen it yet, so I don't know exactly.

I do know there were several shots that were set up to do exactly what you are talking about.







Can you talk about Jerry's final vampire form?

Jerry is really scary. Recently, vampires have been really attractive and sparkly. But Jerry goes from this attractive alpha dude, to this terrifying creature that looks nothing like the attractive vampire model we are now used to.

He just looks like a monster. It is grotesque and awesome. It's a good monster. A good nemesis. You buy that he is scary.






Was it all practical effects?

Yeah, mostly, which was great because it is such a dying art form.






It seemed that Jerry's look was really modeled after the original film.

Yeah. There is a good amount that is borrowed from Chris Sarandon's Jerry.
He looks like a gnarly bat in the original.

http://www.fearnet.com/news/interviews/b22594_anton_yelchin_talks_fright_night.html

Colin Farrell Talks Vampires and Fright Night
by Alyse Wax
May 16, 2011


With the Fright Night remake just around the corner, many purists are concerned that it will tarnish their memories of the original.

Colin Farrell plays vampire Jerry (played by Chris Sarandon in the original) and he seems pretty confident that you won't be disappointed. We spoke with the actor, and he tells us about his love for the original Fright Night, how his Jerry differs from Chris's, and shooting in the vast Albuquerque desert.






You captured the Las Vegas bro-doucheb*g vibe so perfectly.

Thanks. Yeah, you would meet a different Jerry if the film was set on the East Coast or in Florida. He is nothing if not someone who has the insane ability to assimilate himself into any environment. He probably speaks seven, eight, nine languages - he's only had about 400 years to learn them.

He is an incredible observer of human behavior. Human beings are simultaneously a point of fascination and a point of disgust. He is sick of them. They are weak, they are flawed, they feel too much. But he needs them to survive.









The movie is set in Las Vegas, but a lot of it takes place out in the suburbs, in the more isolated areas.

The desert is dangerous. Inherently, it is dangerous.

So many people have gone to the desert to find themselves, gone to the desert to lose themselves, gone to the desert to fight for their life, gone to the desert to die.




What cities like Vegas and Albuquerque do is offer up a frame. Literally, like a picture frame. Life is structured within this frame. You step out of this frame and you are in a completely different world, with a completely different set of rules.

That was the interesting part of shooting it in Albuquerque. I loved how it fit the story. There was this sense that you were continually surrounded by something more powerful than you. Which, of course, you are in nature.









How was it, working with David Tennant?
Did he bring that big personality to Peter Vincent?

Absolutely. I know Charlie is the center point of the film, for which everything exists around, but Peter is very much an emotional reference point, as he was in the original.

In the original, Peter was a man who was over the hill, he had stopped believing, was living in constant fear. Someone who was haunted by the potential glory of his past. Marti [Noxon] was really smart with what she did, placing David's version as a Las Vegas illusionist, but he is also living a lie.

A different kind of one, but a lie nonetheless. He is younger, but he has a lot of regret. David did a fantastic job, and a lot of the comedy comes from him as well. He plays a very self-aware Peter Vincent. I loved working with him.









How much did you pull from Chris Sarandon's original character?

Nothing. I loved Chris's performance in the original. I saw Fright Night 15 times before I was 15 years old. But Jerry in the new film was differently designed.

Being a fan of vampire lore, I would have loved my Jerry to have more of an emotional, romantic life. I was pushing for that, but I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.




Two weeks into shooting, I realized that I had to address the vampire in the script, and get on the same page as him, instead of forcing these moments in. Chris's Jerry's search for the counterpart to the woman in the picture frame, who became Amy. There was mad love in that one - it was really rock n' roll.

But this Jerry ain't like that. He's absolutely savage. A serial killer, aggressive, powerful - and he gets off on that. He has no sense of longing, no need for love or companionship. He finds something with the Amy character in this film.

It will be fun for a while.... In a sense, I am saved from "competing" with Chris.









Chris makes a cameo, doesn't he?

Yes. He was cool to have around on set. It was just a couple days, but it was so cool.

I was a massive fan of the original - even before I ever thought of becoming an actor.





Did he critique your performance at all?

Not to my face!

http://www.fearnet.com/news/interviews/b22604_colin_farrell_talks_vampires_fright.html

Interview: Craig Gillespie Tells Us About His Fright Night
May 19, 2011
by Alyse Wax


It is almost Fright Night! Are you ready for the evil-vampire-next-door?

Craig Gillespie sure is. As he finishes post-production, the director talks to us about 3D, effects, and living up to the original.






How many more weeks of post do you have?

We are pretty much done. We have about three weeks until picture lock.






What kind of reaction are you getting to the footage that you have shown?

It's been great. The thing that attracted me to this film was the tone. Marti [Noxon] wrote the script with a great balance of comedy and horror. It is so hard to find, mixing genres like that. It was so clear on the page.

It's great when you can accomplish that. You can go to a really funny moment, then terrify. It is this great emotional roller coaster.









How much of the 3D is in-your-face?

We didn't actually know how that would play to the audience. I wanted to get into this immersive world. We have seen worlds created in CG and shot in 3D, but to shoot two guys in a kitchen in 3D is an interesting, exciting prospect to me. This sense that you are in the room with them.

We give the audience those "pop out" moments, like some action sequences. But for the most part, the 3D was about making you feel like you were in that space.









New Mexico makes a great Las Vegas landscape.
You go out of the city and you are kind of in the middle of nowhere.

There is such a style to it. The sameness that is going on in suburbia. In any one of these houses, with all the sameness, you have to wonder what is going on behind closed doors.

But you can get very isolated very quickly. I love the idea of horror in open spaces. It goes against the traditional claustrophobic horror.









Were most of the effects practical?

Yeah, I like to do as much in-camera as I can. We augmented some of Jerry's five stages of transformation with digital effects.

There is a lot of fire work in this film, and it is all stunt guys on fire.









It feels like you are going for a more action-vibe with this version.
I don't remember any car chases from the 1985 version.

It's on the DVD extras [laughs]. Our Fright Night pays homage to the original. It certainly has many of the story points and the structure, but it is really its own entity.

What Marti wrote is a big, fun, roller coaster ride. The first half is the setup of the story, the characters, the relationships, and the cat-and-mouse game. Then Jerry goes and blows [Charlie's] house up, and it is a game changer.

From there on, you don't really know what is going to happen. That is about halfway through the movie.









The character of Jerry is so much more monstrous than Chris Sarandon's portrayal.

Yeah, the romantic vampire is so prevalent now.
Going back to the idea of a more brutal vampire was very appealing to me.




Does Chris make a cameo in the film?

[Coyly] Why yes, I believe he does! He was excited to do it, too.

http://www.fearnet.com/news/interviews/b22634_interview_craig_gillespie_tells_us.html

A Fright Night Shocker: MPAA Gives Redo an R-Rating
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
By: MrDisgusting


The MPAA has rated the 3-D horror flick "R" for "bloody horror violence and language including some sexual references."

Fright Night stalks into theaters August 19.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/24732

First Clip From Fright Night Online
Source: MTV
May 31, 2011


The first clip from DreamWorks Pictures' Fright Night featuring Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin is now online and can be watched using the player below.

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=19406

Fright Night 2 Talk
Friday, June 3, 2011
By: MrDisgusting


Dreamworks mentioned that if a sequel were to happen, they are considering turning the franchise over to David Tennant - who plays Vegas magician Peter Vincent - for Fright Night 2.

The followup would take place in a new city where Vincent not only has to deal with vampires, but potentially other unexpected problems. Evil Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plass) wouldn't be the movie’s villain, they'd go another direction, but Evil Ed will be in it, they claim.

The R-rated Fright Night hits theaters August 19.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/24824

New Fright Night Trailer Has More Peter Vincent, Twilight Joke
Source: MTV
June 6, 2011


During the MTV Movie Awards last night, Dreamworks showed off the latest trailer for Fright Night, hoping to capture more teen awareness.

A Twilight gag is shoe-horned in and we get a better look at David Tenant as Peter Vincent.

Look for the film August 19.

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=19469