In the upcoming graphic and violent, post-apocalyptic thriller ‘The Divide’, nine strangers — all tenants of a New York high rise apartment — escape a nuclear attack by hiding out in the building’s bunker-like basement. Trapped for days underground with no hope for rescue, and only unspeakable horrors awaiting them on the other side of the bunker door, the group begins to descend into madness, each turning on one another with physical and psychotic torment.

As supplies dwindle, and tensions flare, and they grow increasingly unhinged by their close quarters and hopelessness, each act against one another becomes more depraved than the next. While everyone in the bunker allows themselves to be overcome by desperation and lose their humanity, one survivor holds onto a thin chance for escape even with no promise of salvation on the outside.

The director, French Xavier Gens, who directed the feature version of the game ‘Hitman’, explained his choice to direct ‘The Divide’, starring Michael Biehn, Lauren German and TV ‘Heroes’ ‘s Milo Ventimiglia.

What originally drew you to the project? 

I received the script (previously named Shelter) written by Karl Mueller and the concept of the basement shelter really attracted me. I spoke with producers, Ross M. Dinerstein and Darryn Welch about giving the movie a larger scope by opening the film with a nuclear explosion as the catalyst. We hired Eron Sheean to help rewrite the script and weave in that element throughout the film.

How do you the feel the film fits in with your previous work? 

For me, The Divide is like my first real feature. Frontier(s) was a film with a lot of influence and Hitman was a studio movie. The Divide was a true indie film with a crew and cast of passionate people working on the film. It was a dream to do that film in that environment and made it easy for me to give the best I had to make the film. Filming The Divide has been my best experience as a filmmaker and I have met great friends on that set. From the crew to the producers and Anchor Bay Films, everyone has been really amazing and really supportive.

Were there any other films or filmmakers you drew inspiration from while making the film? 

Not really, but there is a subtle tribute to John Carpenter in The Divide. One of the characters is named Sam Carpenter and there is a piece of music by Jean Pierre Taieb, which was inspired by the score of Ennio Morricone for The Thing.

Can you tell us how you assembled such a diverse cast? 

It was a long casting process, but once we found everyone, it was fantastic working with such an amazing cast. It was very important to find actors who were ready to take risks and willing to embrace the extreme situations and also ready to improvise.

Sometimes there was some tension between the actors because they were all on diets to lose weight for their roles and there are several scenes in the film showing the escalating conflict. Instead of calming down the tension, it was very interesting to play with the natural emotions to push the performances and to catch that tension on camera instead.

How do you feel the film speaks about human nature? 

The film is speaking about the end of humanity and shows how you can easily lose your humanity in extreme situations. I don’t want the film to give a lesson but just show the audience what happens when a small group of people are trapped in an extreme situation; like seeing a laboratory experiment with white mice.

How was the experience of making the film independently different from your studio work? 

It was the best experience, I had total freedom. The version that is being released in theaters this January is the director’s cut and I want to thank my producers and Anchor Bay Films again for supporting me in that adventure. I’ve had a situation where I lost control of a film with the studio and it was very tough for me, and I almost decided to stop making movies. With The Divide, it’s like a rebirth for me. There is a place where you can express yourself and work with total freedom, and I want to work only in that environment.

What do you hope audiences take away from the film? 

I hope the audience will leave the theater reminded that life is beautiful. I feel the last scene of the film is like Baudelaire poetry, it’s dark, bleak and a little depressing, but beautiful.

The Divide will be in theaters this January 13.

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Janet Evanovich, author of the popular Stephanie Plum series, decided Katherine Heigl would be perfect for the lead role in a movie based on her book, One for the Money, after she saw Heigl’s performance in 27 dresses. “I just knew it,” Evanovich told the actress. “From that instant, you were Stephanie Plum to me.”

The instant she is referring to is when Heigl’s 27 Dresses character fled from a bar, cursing loudly. The movie is an adaption of Evanovich’s first book and is set to hit theatres in January. It has been 17 years since the first novel in the Plum series was released, and Heigl will play the role of main character, Stephanie Plum, who goes from being a lingerie salesperson to a bounty hunter.

The book series has sold 80 million copies with nine landing at the number one spot on USA Today’s best sellers. Evanovich stated, “I don’t know why it took so long, but as far as I’m concerned, the search is over. Every time I write Stephanie Plum, it’s going to be Katherine Heigl’s face there. She totally nailed it.”

The author just released the 18th book in the series, Explosive Eighteen. Although Evanovich gave up any say in the casting for the main role and had sold the rights to One for the Money before being published in 1994, her ideal actress to play Stephanie Plum still got the part.

Names of certain actresses sometimes cropped up from time to time as potential leads, but none were who the author wanted. “Every now and then, I would get a phone call that would be: Jennifer Lopez is going to be attached to this,” said a disinterested Evanovich. “Or, Reese Witherspoon. There was never anybody really there.”

Many fans wanted Sandra Bullock, but the author was still not satisfied with any Hollywood actresses. “I had been going around to everybody saying Katherine Heigl has to be Stephanie Plum, and then one day, I got that phone call saying that it was Katherine,” said an excited Evanovich. Heigl, herself, was pleased to be chosen for the role.

When she was working on the set of The Ugly Truth, producer Gary Lucchesi gave her a copy of Evanovich’s One for the Money, and Heigl loved it. “Two months later, someone was able to get me to come out of the bedroom after I had gone through 10 books. (They are) so addicting,” said Heigl.

Lucchesi and Lakeshore Entertainment got the rights and chose Heigl to star as Stephanie Plum. However, the fans were not happy that blonde Heigl would be playing the brunette bounty hunter. Heigl said she tried dying her hair brown, but decided instead to wear a wig. The actress enjoyed going to the gun range to train for her role, but she said she had a hard time with the New Jersey accent.

“It was nerve-racking,” she said. “There were moments I saw it wavering. I’m normally the jerk in the audience who goes, ‘Blah, they totally lost the accent there.’ This was karmic.” Heigl claimed to be very vocal about staying true to the original story. “I became very possessive of Janet’s material. I was really loud about how important it was to honor the book,” she insisted.

Evanovich was kept in the dark and did not know how the movie would turn out. “I was terrified to see it,” the author said. “But when I did, it was everything I could have wanted and more. I was almost in tears when the movie ended. I was so relieved.” Heigl was ecstatic that she was happy with the movie and ended up developing a friendship with the author. The two talked about future plans for more Plum movies.

However, since there are 18 novels so far, it would be an impossible feat for Heigl to star in each one, since Stephanie Plum stays at age 32 during the entire series. “You’ll have to go to the gym and no Cheetos,” said Evanovich. Heigl jokingly claimed she could prevent aging with botox, then said, “But if we shoot six at a time, there we go.”

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Actress Rose McGowan, most known for her role as Paige Matthews in the WB series Charmed, is set to star in Michael Kerr’s Napa. The film is based on the novel, Three To Get Ready by Fulbright scholar Hans Ostrom.

The plot is based on McGowan’s character, a Sheriff, who gets a job in her hometown of Napa after returning from three years military tour in Afghanistan. Many facts about the romantic thriller are being kept under wraps. The time period is uncertain as the novel is set in the 90s, but some speculators believe that the film will be set in the present.

This is Kerr’s first job behind the camera. Kerr’s own company is also producing the film with Greek producer Nellie Nugiel. McGowan, 38, had her first hit movie in 1996 with Scream. She continued to appear in several Hollywood films such as Devil in the Flesh (1998), Monkeybone (2001), and The Black Dahlia (2006). In 2007, she appeared in Robert Rodiguez and Quentin Tarantino’s double feature, Grindhouse.

Her most recent film “Conan the Barbarian” was met with mediocre reviews. In the film, she plays the villainesses, Marique. The actress has also been the face of American clothing company Bebe from 1998-1999, and she has appeared on many “sexiest women” lists in magazines like Maxim, FHM, and Stuff.

No stranger to the public eye, Rose McGowan is currently single but was engaged to rocker Marilyn Manson, as well as Robert Rodriguez. She is an activist for LGBT rights and recently campaigned against Proposition 8. In late 2009 she was among the several celebrities to participate in the NOH8 protests. McGowan is also an avid animal lover, specifically advocating for Boston Terriers.

McGowan is also set to appear in Season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, a VH1 series.

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Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director known for films such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge,” has decided to make his next project a film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, “The Great Gatsby.” This classic novel has already been brought to the big screen three times: first in 1926 as a silent film, then in 1949, and in 1974, which starred Robert Redford and was directed by Jack Clayton.

Luhrmann’s version adds something previous versions failed to deliver: the entire film will be shot in 3-D. Today, it seems that no matter what kind of movie we are seeing, everything seems to be shot in 3-D, whether it is necessary or not. Has Hollywood just become obsessed with 3-D, or does every movie we are seeing actually need to be shot in 3-D?

Over the past twenty to thirty years, if a film was in 3-D, there was a reason for it. A certain scene would leap out, and blow you away. Now, ever since James Cameron’s “Avatar,” it seems everything we see should be in 3-D. I have discovered certain moviegoers don’t mind the fact the many films are being produced in 3-D. What bothers most people is the amount of money it costs to watch these films.

They are more expensive than a traditional 2-D film. Is this is all just a fad? In movie history, beginning with sound, moviegoers said it was just a fad, and it wouldn’t last. Then the same thing happened with color. Maybe this is just the next step in the evolution of motion pictures.

According to 3DTV Blog, one person said that they are just trying to get people to get used to the idea of 3-D. When color first came out, they still made black and white films for years. He also believes that less than ten percent of movies will actually be in 3-D. Hollywood has tried 3-D numerous times, mainly in the 1950s and 1980s, but it never took off.

It just seemed to be a novelty. So why do they think it’s going to work this time? One of the reasons some moviegoers mentioned for the push into 3-D is that these movies can make more money at the box office because of the increase in prices people need to pay to watch these films.

A lot of fans are outraged at the decision to make “The Great Gatsby” in 3-D, and feel it’s a marketing tool to boost ticket sales. David Calhoun, the film editor, said his heart sank when he heard this movie was in 3-D. It is a dramatic period piece set in a time alcohol was banned in the United States.

Where is the logic behind filming it in 3-D – having Gatsby’s hat poking out of the screen, or Daisy’s necklace floating before your eyes? There should be more time spent on developing the story than on special effects, which are minimal.

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Sergeant Rock, the DC Comics war hero, has been trying to get his moment on the big screen for years now.  Scripts and directors changed, causing Sergeant Rock to seem as though there is no set direction to head in.  Recently the director that originally set to direct the movie, Guy Richie, is back on the project after leaving a few years back.

Sergeant Rock became a big DC Comic character rising in popularity starting in 1959.  Robert Kanigher first wrote the mythology of Rock, when Rock in World War II.  He was first a private deployed in Africa.  After all his superior officers were killed he became the leader of his platoon named Easy Company.  He does not have any “super” powers but he is the best shot in the army, unbeatable in close quarters fighting, survives multiple bullet wounds, and is close to superhuman strength.

There are many different takes on how the story of Sergeant Rock ends.  One ending consists of him being killed by the last bullet shot in World War II while protecting a child in the crossfire.  The other take is that he survives the war and joins the Suicide Squad along with Superman.

Guy Richie got his break when he directed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels introducing Jason Statham, Nick Moran and Dexter Fletcher.  His next film was Snatch with Jason Statham, Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro, which was similar in style to Lock Stock.  He then went to create RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.

For a while Richie wanted to create a comic book movie.  He had his eyes set on doing the DC Comic character Lobo (an alien bounty hunter and mercenary) but Sherlock Holmes 2 called and he had to leave his project behind.  Now that Sherlock Holmes 2 is just about done, he has been put back on Joel Silver’s Sergeant Rock.

As of now, the script has changed two times, the first began with Sergeant Rock’s origins in World War II, but the second draft put him in a war in the distant future and was to be directed by Francis Lawrence (Water For Elephants).  When Richie returned to the project the script was redrafted and he is currently reviewing it.

Joel Silver is one of the most well known action producers of all time.  He has worked on projects like Lethal Weapon, and the Die Hard series.  But more recently, he is credited with producing The Matrix and V for Vendetta.  With his producing for Sergeant Rock, this could be one of the rare success that follow DC movies (not including the Batman franchise).

Sergeant Rock has been sitting around the offices of Hollywood for a while now.  It seems with DC coming out with a lot of new movies (Green Lantern, Man of Steel, and The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman: Year One) it seems logical to keep Sergeant Rock on the backburner for now.

But with action producer Silver and with a director like Richie on the project it seems like a great prospective film for the next couple of years.

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes is following the example of Avatar and using motion capture in the majority of the film. Instead of using all CGI apes, the director Rupert Wyatt wanted to use physical actors such as Andy Serkis (Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series).  Using Weta Digital, the special effects company responsible for Avatar, and King Kong will be an interesting movie to see when it releases on August 5, 2011.

I was sitting in the theatre watching the trailers when I heard the thump of a bass drum ring in my ears.  That is how the trailer to the prequel to Planet of the Apes started.  Watching the rest of the trailer I began to sink lower and lower in my chair.  I thought to myself, “not a prequel to Planet of the Apes!  The 2000 series was bad enough!”  When the trailer finished I did not have any interest of seeing the movie let alone another trailer.

However, when I looked deeper it spurred my interest in finding out more.  The movie is about a chimpanzee named Ceasar.  James franco’s character experiments on Caesar using a drug that is supposed to cure Alzheimer’s.  The chimp’s intellect grows until he has surpassed the intelligence of a human.  James Franco’s character has shown Ceasar the good side of humanity but when he has to give Ceasar up to another lab, Ceasar sees the evil inside humanity.  Freeing himself, he releases all the apes in cages and starts a revolution to overthrow the humans.

Rise is going for the gold with motion capture.  They did not want to use CGI apes in fear of them looking, unrealistic, and they did not want to use real chimpanzees for obvious reasons.  So, they opted for motion capture.

On set, actors were put in motion capture suits and  moved around as if they were chimps.  Andy Serkis gave an interview for Collider.com saying, “…its an entirely different role for us because chimpanzees move entirely different…[we have to watch] the time, the weight, the mindset and the rhythm of the orangutans and the chimps.”

If there is one effects company that can pull off making grown men in leotards look like real live chimps, its Weta Production, though it may be a daunting task.  There are multiple shots with more than a dozen of chimps on screen but looking at some of the stills, you could not tell that it was actually a man standing there.  What is also new is the use of facial feature cameras, which are cameras are attached to rigs on the actor’s head.  It then captures the movements of the face in order to be used as motion capture in post-production.

Rupert Wyatt came into the spotlight with The Escapist, a movie about an escape attempt from jail.  Wyatt was made director of Rise because Brian Cox (Braveheart) had highly recommended his visual style to the producer, Peter Chernin.  The direction will be interesting to see but the main focal point will be the acting of Andy Serkis, and the work of Terry Notary (cheographer of motion capture on Avatar).  Terry Notary will also act alongside Serkis and with his previous work with the recent Planet of the Apes, he should have the chimp movement down to a science.

At first glance, this movie does not seem to impress but once you go deeper into the process of it, it seems like this movie does have some redeeming qualities to it.  The physical acting of Serkis, and Notary should be entertaining, as well as what Weta does with the special effects.  This movie might not go down in the books along side the classics but it will be intriguing to see if Rise can create a better movie than the 2000s remakes.

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