Annabelle - Creepy doll gets her own movie! Interviews with the stars and director

She terrified you in “The Conjuring,” but this is where it all began for Annabelle. Capable of unspeakable evil, the actual doll exists locked up in an occult museum in Connecticut—visited only by a priest who blesses her twice a month. The supernatural thriller “Annabelle” begins before the evil was unleashed. John Form has found the perfect gift for his expectant wife, Mia—a beautiful, rare vintage doll in a pure white wedding dress. But Mia’s delight with Annabelle doesn’t last long. On one horrific night, their home is invaded by members of a satanic cult, who violently attack the couple. Spilled blood and terror are not all they leave behind. The cultists have conjured an entity so malevolent that nothing they did will compare to the sinister conduit to the damned that is now…Annabelle. I spoke with stars Alfre Woodard, Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallace and director John Lionetti in Los Angeles about working on the film and what movies scare them!  Please click on the link below to watch the interviews.

Benedict Cumberbatch gets his Shakespeare on

Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III - first look

BBC Two have released the first picture of Cumberbatch as Richard III for upcoming drama The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. 

Whoa....   Looking quite dashing atop a black horse, the 38-year-old Sherlock actor will star as the English king in BBC's The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, an adaptation of four of Shakespeare's historical plays. The series will comprise Henry VI Parts I, II and III, and conclude with Richard III.  All four films of The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses will be directed by Dominic Cooke (former artistic director of the Royal Court) and features a range of big-name British talent including Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench and Keeley Hawes. Sadly Cumberbatch fans will have a bit of a wait as the series is scheduled to air sometime in 2016. 

Interstellar poster revealed

The end of Earth will not be the end of us...... and so goes the tag line for one of the most anticipated films of 2014, Interstellar. Directed by Christopher Nolan the film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine. The story written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, centers around a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole. The official synopsis says, when a wormhole (which theoretically can connect widely-separated regions of spacetime) is discovered, explorers and scientists unite to embark on a voyage through it, transcending the limits of human space travel. Among the travelers is a widowed engineer (McConaughey) who has to decide to leave behind his two children to join the voyage with the goal of saving humanity.  Look for Interstellar at a theatre near you on November 7th. 

"Hunger Games Mockingjay" trailer debut

Hunger Games fans need wait no longer. The first full-length Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1  trailer has hit the internet.  A teaser was shown at Comic-Con, but the new trailer for the much anticipated upcoming third installment in the hit Young Adult franchise gives fans some insight into what the rebellion will look like. 

Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen, but instead of fighting in the deadly games, she will be leading the rebels against the corrupt government, The Capitol. Directed by Francis Lawrence, Mockingjay is an adaptation of the first half of Suzanne Collins' third book. It also stars Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Mockinjay - Part 1 hits theaters on November 21. The final installment, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, will hit theaters one year later, on November 20, 2015. The Hunger Games franchise has been a box office sensation. The previous installment, Catching Fire, was released in Nov. 2013 and went on to become the top grossing film in North America, earning $424.7 million. Worldwide, it grossed $864.6 million.

TIFF14: And the People's Choice Award Goes To......

GROSLCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD                                                                                          

There were a number of extraordinary films at this year's Toronto International Film festival but there was one that was a clear front runner from the minute anyone laid eyes on it at early press screenings. This year marked the 37th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite Festival film, with the Grolsch  People’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.  The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.

The first runner up is Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive. The second  runner up is Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. 

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS STARRING JEMAINE CLEMENT

The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement for What We Do in the  Shadows. The film follows three flatmates who are just trying to get by and overcome life’s obstacles — like being immortal vampires who must feast on human blood. First runner up is Kevin Smith for Tusk and the second runner up is Jalmari Helander for Big Game.   The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Hajooj Kuka for Beats of the Antonov. Beats of the Antonov follows  refugees from the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan as they survive displacement and the trauma of civil war. Music, a cornerstone of their traditions and identity, becomes itself a vehicle for survival. First runner up is David Thorpe’s Do I Sound Gay? The second runner up is Ethan Hawke’s Seymour: An Introduction.

TIFF '14: Jaume Bagueró & Manuela Velasco on [REC] 4 Apocalypse

REC 4: Apocalypse (stylized as [REC]4 Apocalypse) is a Spanish horror film, and the fourth and final installment of the REC franchise. The film is a direct sequel to the seond film taking place immediately after its events. Jaume Baguero the director of the first two installments, returns alongside actress Manuela Velasco, who reprises her role of the imperiled reporter Ángela Vidal.The film recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where I had the opportunity to catch up with Juame and Manuela for a spirited chat. 

Peter Mooney and Steve Cochrane We Were Wolves

Rookie Blue star Peter Mooney and Steve Cochrane star as two estranged brothers who hash out their grievances while packing up their late father’s Kawartha Lake cottage in "We Were Wolves, from first-time writer-director Jordan Canning.  Check out the interview with Peter and Steve who almost seem like they could be brothers in real life.