When Rise of the Planet of the Apes arrived on screens in August, few expected the film would be the smash it became. Starring James Franco and Freida Pinto, the film surpassed expectations and became one of the year’s biggest hits. Now, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced when it’s coming home on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes will arrive on home video on December 13 and include a slew of extras sure to excite even the most passive of Apes fans.

Franco plays Will Rodman, a scientist who believes he is on the path of curing Alzheimer’s. His treatment is showing signs of working as it increases the intelligence of the chimpanzees who he is testing the formula. Only problem is his treatment is having side effects. Those small little issues will eventually lead to the destruction of the human race and the make the title of the film happen.

Sequel ideas for Rise of the Planet of the Apes have already been flirted with -- where would you like to see the series go from here?

It was during the making of Gattaca that writer-director Andrew Niccol first got the idea of In Time. In the highly regarded thriller, the question of identity lies at the forefront of the storyline. Niccol had a thought at the time about what would happen if we could alter the age gene and people would stop aging at twenty-five. That inspiration which proved too much exposition for Gattaca has produced Niccol’s next film, In Time, which stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried as two people at either end of the time-as-money spectrum.

Niccol sat down with Movie Fanatic for an exclusive interview about the finer points of In Time and also his thoughts on getting the gig as the writer-director who will bring Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s expansive and mind-blowing The Host to screens.

Movie Fanatic: In Time is such a mind-blowing idea. What was the genesis of the movie for you?

Andrew Niccol: It was very simple. I wanted to create the ultimate metaphor for living in the present. If you could actually watch your seconds ticking away, you might be more conscious of how you’re spending your time [laughs]. It all spun out of that.

Movie Fanatic: A lot of people are saying In Time is very timely. But, I think it’s a timeless idea. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Time is money.”

Andrew Niccol: Yes, I think it is. Shakespeare said, “I wasted time, now time wastes me.” [Laughs] Carl Sandburg said, “Time is the coin of life.”

Movie Fanatic: It permeates all over.

Andrew Niccol: I agree. I hope it’s more timeless than timely.

Movie Fanatic: When you sat down to put pen to paper, what was the biggest challenge in crafting this world for you?

Andrew Niccol: I thought of it as a beautiful thing that I could constantly evolve -- every decision came out of the clock. How we dress, if you’re poor you have to dress quickly, having zips and snaps, and all food is fast food. Rich zone, you have buttons, like 20 of them, almost flaunting your wealth, and buttons are slow. It was just fun to riff on that. I can repurpose the language. Don’t waste my time suddenly takes on a huge implication.

Movie Fanatic: Even what seems like a throw-away line like, “I don’t have time,” now it carries so much weight.

Andrew Niccol: Yeah, when that little girl asks Justin, “Do you got a minute?” [Laughs]

Movie Fanatic: Was the writing process on this screenplay any different than your others?

Andrew Niccol: No. Once you have an idea, it just keeps evolving.

In Time Movie Trailer

Movie Fanatic: As the creator of the words that the actors are saying, what did it mean to you when you got this great cast together?

Andrew Niccol: It’s wonderful. There’s a scene when Cillian Murphy’s character is interrogating Justin Timberlake and Cillian is one of the best young actors we have, and I found myself just watching and I was supposed to be directing. It was entrancing. It was such a fair fight between them that I was mesmerized. He brought such life to it. And the entire cast, I was very fortunate to have the cast I had.

Movie Fanatic: So much of what Cillian does in this film is in his eyes.

Andrew Niccol: Oh, he’s brilliant. I don’t say much to Cillian [laughs]. I just tell him where to stand.

Movie Fanatic: There are a lot of electric action scenes in In Time as well. How do you think Justin took to the role of an action hero?

Andrew Niccol: Like a duck to water. As a performer, he’s already got that physicality that he’s so adept with. Fight scenes, running, he was a natural at that. He can handle a gun. He really took to the fast driving sequences. You might find yourself saying, “Justin Timberlake: Action star.”

Movie Fanatic: You chose L.A. to set In Time. It’s the town of eternal youth. But there’s also esthetically a lot of parts of the city that worked really well with your vision. I noticed Avenue of the Stars was a locale, what was it about the parts of this city that spoke to you for the futuristic world you created?

Andrew Niccol: There is an amazing contrast to this city. I’m talking economically too. We couldn’t get over one night we’d be shooting downtown on Skid Row and then the next night we were in Bel Air shooting at a mansion the size of Versailles. It’s impossible not to see the gulf between rich and poor in this city. It’s not just the youth obsessed city, it also has the enormous gulf. The thing we did visually, I tried to make the poor zone more colorful, more vibrant than the rich zone. If you go to slums around the world, they’re often more colorful. There’s a reason there’s a joy, life is short and paint is cheap.

Movie Fanatic: What Amanda Seyfried said in the film is so profound and fits into that. The rich live forever, but have stopped living.

Andrew Niccol: It’s a very beautiful line.

Movie Fanatic: Where did that thought come from? It seems to play to human nature that you would live cautiously because you can live forever.

Andrew Niccol: That’s why I love Matt Bomer’s character so much, he’s immortal, but he wants to die. I have a feeling that if we could switch off the aging gene, I’m not sure our psychology could keep up with our biology. He has this line he says, “Your mind could be spent even if your body’s not.” I feel that that is a real possibility. Imagine if you could live for 1,000 years, it seems like [sigh] it would be a real effort. Think of the déjà vu you would experience [laughs]. It’s scary to think about it. Also you would stop feeling. If you’re so worried about dying, we would become very insulated from each other. We would never take risks. We’d drive around in armored cars.

Movie Fanatic: Lastly, I interviewed Stephenie Meyer when she released The Host. I told her I would really love to see this as a movie and she said, “I don’t know how it would be done. It would have to be one special filmmaker.” What are your thoughts as you’re diving into adapting it and bringing it to the screen?

Andrew Niccol: I love the subversive nature of this movie. I don’t know why aliens are always portrayed as the enemy. I love that in her book maybe they could be better for our planet. They could co-exist with us. Do you realize right now, there is more bacteria in you and me than there is us. We already co-exist with other species. So, from their point of view, they would ask, “Why are you so individualistic? Why are you all about self?” We can co-exist.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol looks like it is upping the ante in terms of action. With each successive film, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt goes through more and more death defying hoops to achieve his Mission. Fresh off of the release of the latest Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol poster, Paramount Pictures has released a feature from the film that takes us behind the scenes to show how Cruise achieved the impossible: Hanging from the world’s largest skyscraper in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa building.

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Featurette: Tom Cruise Defies Gravity

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol opens in IMAX on December 16 and in theaters everywhere December 21.

The Rum Diary holds a special place in the heart of Johnny Depp. It was the actor who found the manuscript for what would prove to be one of Hunter S. Thompson's final books. Depp sits down and talks to Movie Fanatic about how full his heart is now that The Rum Diary is set to hit the big screen.

The Rum Diary (don't miss this clip starring Amber Heard and Depp) is an origins story in the legend of Thompson's Gonzo self. His fictional alter ego, Paul Kemp, is an aspiring novelist who lands in Puerto Rico to take a position at a San Juan daily newspaper. To say chaos ensues undermines and minimizes the author's penchant for mayhem. The Rum Diary also stars Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart.

Depp also discusses his friendship with Thompson and what the author would make of the promotional circus that is why Movie Fanatic is sitting with the international superstar.

Movie Fanatic: Before you met the man, what was it about the prose of Hunter Thompson that spoke to you most?

Johnny Depp: Individuality, originality, rage, poetic rage, beauty, anger, understanding, and also this incredible gift of identification. Even before you know Hunter, when you read you know you read his words. I mean he picks a person and describes them to the "T" within seconds. I saw Hunter meet people and be very sweet and gentlemanly and the whole bit. Then I saw him meet people who had the wrong sort of approach and I saw him turn them into a mist within seconds -- like just absolutely a fine mist and gone. I think that's what was really amazing about Hunter, his ability to have a bullshit detector. He did not step on fools gladly.

Movie Fanatic: As a man who knew Hunter so well, were there things you wanted audiences to know about him through this film?

The Rum Diary: 60-Second TV Spot

Johnny Depp: He was first and foremost a Southern gentleman, chivalrous, and no one ever dared to sort of look at that side of him or were exposed to that side of him. The main thing that no one really understood about Hunter or ever realized about Hunter was that he was a very strong, very thick, sort of moral fiber. He was a very hypersensitive man hence the self-medication.

Movie Fanatic: How did The Rum Diary come about, both cinematically and literarily?

Johnny Depp: Primarily because Hunter and I were sitting in his what he called the War Room back in 1997 and going through all the manuscripts, you know all the bips and bops from Fear and Loathing, which included cherry stems and cocktail napkins and weird photographs and things like that. I happened upon a cardboard box that unearthed the Rum Diary. We started to read it cross legged on the floor and I said, "Hunter, this is very good, you're out of your mind. Why don't you publish this thing?" He said, "Yes I will, however, I think we should produce this, man. We should become partners on this." And so of course with Hunter you always agreed. "Absolutely, man, let's do it." That was the moment that it started, so that's why The Rum Diary as opposed to The Curse of Lono or Kentucky Derby's Decadent and Depraved or Hell's Angels or whatever else.

Movie Fanatic: Did Bill Murray, who starred as Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam, tell you something about never being able to get Hunter out of your system once you play him?

Johnny Depp: My first day of shooting Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I get this call from Bill Murray, we're halfway through the day, and I had sponged off of Hunter for many years. I think I had him down pretty good. And Bill Murray calls me halfway through the day and he says, “I just want to warn you about something.” And I go, “What? What's the warning Bill?” And he says, "Be careful when you're playing Hunter because he never leaves -- like he'll never go away.” And nothing has ever been more true. He never goes away. He's still with me every day.

Movie Fanatic: What does it mean to you as a friend to portray Hunter in two lights: One as a young man in The Rum Diary, and the other as a full-blown Gonzo journalist in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Johnny Depp: Luckily I had spent so much time with Hunter, he talked about everything -- his youth, his upbringing. Going from a juvenile delinquent into the Air Force and then from the Air Force into journalism. You know he typed and retyped The Great Gatsby over and over to see what it felt like to write a masterpiece. I knew Hunter so well and having had the opportunity to play him in Fear and Loathing, the character of Raoul Duke, it was sort of just basically make a few trims here and there in terms of personality. Because Hunter really truly knew who he was always from birth. But it was just that moment, what was it like prior to finding his voice, finding Gonzo?

Movie Fanatic: Do you think Rum Diary could be seen as a companion piece to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Johnny Depp: I do in a sense. I'm coming from the perspective of Hunter and everything Hunter did to me was absolute brilliance. Fear and Loathing was a pure take on the book. Rum Diary is a pure take on the book in the sense that we also branched out. But do I see it as a companion piece? Yeah. Why not? It's Hunter! It's pure Hunter. He was most definitely there every day. Initially it was the idea of keeping Hunter's spirit alive on the set for us, but I knew that I had Hunter with me. And I had put my pillow on the bed at night like he was there.

Movie Fanatic: Much of the theme of The Rum Diary is the Hunter character, Paul Kemp, finding his voice. Do you feel that you’ve found your voice as an actor?

Johnny Depp: At this point I've got too many voices in my head [laughs]. I don't know that I'll ever have a voice as an actor. But there are a lot of characters in there. Maybe my voice is through them, I don't know. Maybe I'm schizophrenic.

Movie Fanatic: In the film you shoot fire out of your mouth! Did you really do that stunt and have you ever shot fire out of your mouth before? Or, is this a stupid question given your wild past?

Johnny Depp: [Laughs] Yes, I fire-breathed. Do you wanna see it now? [Gestures] Alright where's the gas? Where's the rum? On that particular night filming, at first, I was excited 'cause Michael (Rispoli) had a chicken sitting on top of his head which always excites me. And then there was actually the possibility of spewing fire. I did spew a little fire when I was a youth. In my youth I very dumbly choked a little bit of gasoline and blew it into a torch and my head was on fire. That's the truth [laughs]. Yeah, my head was on fire and it's a weird thing when your head's on fire. You tend to panic first. Then when panic sets in, when you can't get your face out, you run, which is the worst thing you could do. A friend of mine, this guy named Bones, came over and put my face out -- saved my life. But I'll do it again today if you'd like.

Movie Fanatic: No need! If you didn't have Hunter’s blessing to make The Rum Diary, what would've been your choice for a next Hunter project?

Johnny Depp: With Hunter's stuff there's always a project. If I was allowed to, I'd keep playing Hunter. Well there's a great comfort in it for me because I get sort of a great visit with my old friend who I miss dearly.

Antonio Banderas never would have thought a decade ago that he was going to still be playing Puss in Boots after his first appearance in Shrek 2. If you told him Puss would have his own movie, Banderas would have said you were crazy. Meanwhile, Salma Hayek, as a mother to a young daughter, relished in the idea of playing an animated cat who torments, then teams up with Puss and Humpty Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis) to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).

Banderas and Hayek recently spoke with Movie Fanatic about the Puss in Boots phenomenon and how now that our favorite animated cat has his own film, it’s time for the spotlight to shine on the fine feline of the Shrek franchise.

Movie Fanatic: How does it feel to be in a big Hollywood movie where the two leads are Latino?

Antonio Banderas: You know what? When I first came to America 21 years ago, I did The Mambo Kings and somebody on the set said to me, “If you are going to stay here, basically you are going to play bad characters. You are going to be the bad guy in the movies.” In the 21 years, things have changed very much. So, in a way it is a reflection of what is happening in society. There are many generations of Latino people coming to this country. They work very hard to make their kids go to universities. Those kids have come out and they are now doctors, architects, bankers and on the Supreme Court. That has had a reflection in Hollywood. We are very proud that our Latinos are represented all over our culture. It is very good to have diversity for cultural interaction. This movie is going to be seen by kids who actually don’t judge in those terms. They are going to see the movie and see that the heroes have strong accents and that is good.

Salma Hayek: I feel very lucky to have piggy-backed on Antonio’s superstar career [laughs]. Thank God he’s doing so well because every time he does a movie, I somehow -- even if it’s a cameo -- I get to be in it. That’s how things happen. I’m sure someone else, maybe my double, will sneak in there too. It’s a good change to see that, that is for sure.

Movie Fanatic: You have a lot of chemistry in the movie as you did in Desperado. Oftentimes in animation, actors work alone. Did you two get to record together? You play off of each other so well in Puss in Boots.

Antonio Banderas: The technique is usually to work individually. I’ve been doing that for almost two years now with Puss in Boots. But, in this particular case, I asked our director, Chris (Miller), to give us the opportunity to work together. So, we had a session together [laughs]. Actually, I think it’s some of the best stuff we did together and it made it into the movie. If we had done that individually, it would have been very difficult.

Salma Hayek: This is my first time I did an animated movie. I was scared to be by myself. Chris is an amazing director. I really cherish the experience I had with him on this. He trained me, so by the time I got to work with Antonio, we really had the character. I knew who she was, so that helped me. Also, he took me out of the box. He really pushed me to explore improvisation and comedy. In these two years, I think I got so much better because of him.

Movie Fanatic: Did you see the potential for your own film the first time you were offered the role of Puss in Boots? How do you feel now that the cat is becoming the star?

Antonio Banderas: In the beginning, it was just a recurring character. I didn’t know that it was going to have a long career of 10 years now. I wanted to give him a voice that doesn’t match his body. It goes in the exact opposite direction. Cats aren’t supposed to talk like that. He doesn’t even talk like me. I created a voice for him that is deeper. I think that contrast is the source of comedy. I think it was at the Cannes festival in 2004 for Shrek, watching the movie in front of everyone, there were so many interruptions by the audience every time Puss talked. We were missing lines because people were laughing so hard at Puss. At the end, I had a dinner with Jeffrey Katzenberg and he commented to me on the possibility of a movie for just Puss.

Puss in Boots Trailer: Lady Gaga's Americano

Movie Fanatic: Salma, how did you prepare for this character? How did you find your inner feline?

Salma Hayek: I didn’t prepare. I never got to see the script [laughs]. Chris never showed me the script! I just showed up blind. There were no drawings or anything at the beginning. Chris would just describe the scene to me. It reminded me of my grandmother who would tell me the most amazing tales and you had to imagine everything.

Movie Fanatic: Salma, you’re been so successful as an actress. Are you looking forward to having young kids as fans after they discover you in Puss in Boots?

Salma Hayek: I sure hope so because I’m too old. The ones who have followed me are getting older with me and they don’t want to go to the movies anymore. So, I need a new generation or else I die [laughs].

Movie Fanatic: I was wondering what your daughter thought of you doing the voice of Kitty Softpaws? Does she know it’s you?

Salma Hayek: I was worried about that because it’s like the Santa thing in a way. Because she really thinks there are cats there. I thought I had some time. But, I took her to see a movie and in the previews I see Puss in Boots. I thought, “Oh no!” I felt I had two seconds to break it to her. Before I could say anything, my character came on screen and she said, “Oh my gosh, Mommy, that cat sounds just like you.” I said, “It is me.” I had to explain to her that it’s not real, it’s drawings. I think she was a little upset, maybe a little confused. Now, she loves it. She’s so proud of me.

Antonio Banderas: When I first made Shrek 2, my kids were still kids. But, now my son is 26 and he has a rock band in Brooklyn. So, now he says to me, “That’s a cool cat, dad.” That’s pretty much it from him.

Movie Fanatic: Is it very different being behind a mic and being in front of the camera? Did you find yourselves acting out behind the mic, physically?

Antonio Banderas: I get really physical when I’m doing it. Sometimes Chris had to remind me to get closer to the microphone because I’m unaware of what I’m doing physically. I know the thing is working when I see the guys in the booth laughing. It’s embarrassing to say this, but it’s easy. It’s fun. You don’t feel like you’re spending so much money as when you are doing live action. There’s 200 people there, spending all this money with each passing minute. In animation, if you want to throw out whatever comes to your mind, you’re allowed to do it. Chris will not say, “Don’t do that.” You’re putting together pieces of a puzzle. You take all that work and all these fantastic people on the creative side of the movie will put this together. [Pauses] You know, it’s just all amazing to me. I came to this country without even speaking the language. The fact that they call me to use my voice is such a paradox. When I got to America, I thought if there was something I could not do, it would be animation. Here I am.

Salma Hayek: I’ll tell you one thing that got really physical with Chris and I. One day in recording in who knows what scene in the studio, the wall came down on us. I’m not kidding! We are alive by a miracle. How it missed both of us, we still don’t understand. The studio wall broke and fell! I was very physical that day [laughs].

Movie Fanatic: Do you two enjoy the fact that the fairy tale paints Puss in Boots as a different nationality?

Antonio Banderas: Yes! The original Puss in Boots was French. This is a victory for Spain.

Salma Hayek: First the World Cup, and now Puss in Boots!

Kerry Washington has landed the movie role of her lifetime.

The actress - who will star in Shonda Rhimes' Scandal on ABC in 2012 - will portray Broomhilda in Quentin Tarantino's wildly anticipated next film, Django Unchained. The character is the wife of Jamie Foxx's Django, a recently-freed slave who is taught the bounty hunter trade by Christoph Waltz... but who just wants to be reunited with his spouse, who remains under the evil ownership of Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie.

Django Unchained also stars Kevin Costner and Samuel L. Jackson, sounds incredible, and will be released on Christmas Day 2012.

The Farrelly brothers, fresh from their The Three Stooges wrapping, have decided that their next project will be a sequel to a blast from their past: Dumb and Dumber.

In 1994, Dumb and Dumber secured Carrey’s place as a go-to comedian who can open big movies. Carrey and Daniels as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne headed out on the road in search of love, and hilarity ensued like a tidal wave of hysterics.

Fresh off The Three Stooges and Hall Pass, Peter and Bobby Farrelly appear eager to revisit the madcap world of a pair of friends who possess more calamity than credence.

Carrey rarely does sequels, as evidenced by his absence from Evan Almighty. Yet the opportunity to reteam with the Farrelly brothers could prove too enticing to resist -- particularly as a character that is so captivatingly Carrey.

In Puss in Boots, Zack Galifianakis’ character Humpty Dumpty and Puss in Boots are best friends. And yet, there is this jealousy. How did Galifianakis perceive Humpty’s motivation for doing so many bad things to his best friend?

“The Humpty Dumpty character that I play, and I never thought I’d say that sentence in my life, and I finally have… thank you Jesus. I think Humpty Dumpty is a little all over the place,” Galifianakis said.

“He’s a little emotional. He’s a little greedy. I think he’s a little vindictive, but he is also trying to have a friendship ultimately. But, his greed gets the best of him. I think down deep in his yolk, that he is an OK guy."

Galifianakis had to tackle a character that was famous, yet no one really knows much about Humpty Dumpty. "I interviewed the real Humpty Dumpty,” he said and smiled. “He is 90 years old and lives in Vermont.”

Most of the characterization of Galifianakis’ Humpty Dumpty came from Puss in Boots director Chris Miller. “Chris really gave me all the information I needed to know and the context that I needed to do the voice work. All I know are my own vague childhood memories of Humpty Dumpty, but also children throwing eggs at me... is not much about Humpty Dumpty,” Galifianakis said as we laughed.

“But Chris filled it in and did do some specific direction that he saw for the grand scope of the movie. But, to be honest with you, I didn’t really make that connection.”

Puss in Boots Trailer 2

Lastly, Movie Fanatic wanted to know: If Zach could have a fairy tale or cartoon character on Between Two Ferns, his wildly hilarious talk show, who would it be and why?

“Jesus Christ,” he said in a straight deadpan. And, thus he was gone.

Don’t miss Galifianakis starring with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, plus Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris in Puss in Boots, out everywhere in 3D October 28.

The first look trailer for the latest Dr. Seuss adventure to hit the big screen, The Lorax, has arrived.

The 3D CGI produced film is from the creative team behind Despicable Me and features the vocal talents of Ed Helms, Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Betty White and Taylor Swift.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Trailer

Can’t wait to see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax? Audiences will have to wait until winter fades and spring begins to wake on March 2, 2012. But for now, you can check out these first Dr. Seuss' The Lorax photos!

After teasing us with partial pictures, the Farrelly brothers have given us our first look at their versions of Larry, Curly and Moe for The Three Stooges.

So, who are these guys stepping into legends’ shoes?

Sean Hayes is tackling Larry, Will Sasso is Curly and Chris Diamantopoulos is Moe.

It’s nice to finally have a full image after The Three Stooges poster teased the trio. But, what still isn’t clear, and probably won’t be until we see a trailer, is what the film will truly be about. This isn’t a biography -- that much appears to be true as early reports have the comic threesome in a reality show. So, they’re in modern times?

Movie Fanatic will keep you posted as more details come out. Color us intrigued. The Three Stooges lands in theaters April 4, 2012.

As another Halloween screams upon us, Movie Fanatic thought we’d give you 10 films that will firmly place audiences in the Happy Halloween mood. From classics to modern instant classics, this is merely a list of films to strike up the fear and prepare all for the hallowed haunted-ness of Halloween.

10. 28 Days Later
The zombie movie genre got a shot in the arm with this brilliantly executed and visually stunning masterwork. 28 Days Later is a must for revisiting on any Halloween, or for that matter, any time of the year!

9. Paranormal Activity 3
The film is truly three times the scare and is worth every cent witnessing it in the theaters. The rest of our top 10 are great home video visits, but when it comes to cinematic scariness, nothing beats sitting in the dark, not knowing what’s around the film’s next corner and Paranormal Activity 3 achieves that in spades.

8. The Others
One of the most underrated horror films out there, Nicole Kidman and company bring a new level of boo to the haunted house genre. The twists and turns of The Others will stay with you long after the credits roll.

7. An American Werewolf in London
Certainly one of John Landis’ greatest works, American Werewolf in London was one of the first werewolf films that pushed the special effects gauntlet for its time. The film’s effects still hold up decades later. And also, the film possesses a sense of humor that is rare for a horror film. Who could forget the song Blue Moon playing as the final moments of the film unravel?

6. The Haunting
The 1963 classic stars Julie Harris and is a frightful masterpiece. A quiet and reserved woman, who has spent her years caring for her sick and difficult mother, receives an invitation to visit and stay in a notoriously haunted house. Hill House provides her with scares and thrills that enliven her life and ironically, kill her if those spirits have their way. The film works so well with its scare-by suggestion, without hitting audiences over the head with fear.

5. The Shining
The classic of all classics, Jack Nicholson gives what Movie Fanatic believes is the performance of his career. Stephen King was reportedly not so thrilled with Stanley Kubrick’s version of his vision, but audiences couldn’t have disagreed more. Often quoted, never replicated, if The Shining doesn’t get you in the Halloween spirit, nothing will.

4. Poltergeist
Another decade and Steven Spielberg delivered another scary classic. Jaws is more thriller than horror, but the fright that Spielberg brought in the 1970s to swimmers he certainly gave to homeowners with Poltergeist in the 1980s. They’re here indeed.

3. The Wicker Man
Forget the remake, the 1973 film The Wicker Man is an astounding piece of work, regardless of whether it is a horror film or not. As a movie, few have achieved its power. Combining all sorts of sub-genres, The Wicker Man features pagan rituals coupled with musical interludes that all add up to one of the most frighteningly horrifying movie closures.

2. The Exorcist
Although the trailer for the upcoming The Devil Inside reminds us of the power of the exorcism movie, there will never be another The Exorcist. Linda Blair’s head-spinning scene is merely one in a myriad of images that will forever haunt you after witnessing The Exorcist. For anyone looking to get into the mood of the season of scariness, look no further than The Exorcist and all its power.

1. Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock delivered plenty of chills in his illustrious career. But, when it comes to scary cinema for the Halloween mindset, there is a plethora of it in Psycho. The music. The shower scene. Anthony Perkins. After witnessing Psycho, your Halloween plans may be dashed as you could be too scared to leave the house.

As the release date for The Hunger Games nears, Lionsgate is doing an impeccable job of teasing fans with a little bit of this and a little bit of that as the days go by. Today, The Hunger Games has released eight new character posters and we begin with the lady of the hour, Katniss.

The Suzanne Collins trilogy has created a variety of deep characters that run the gamut of archetypes. Examples of that fact are on display with the two men vying for Katniss’ heart. First, there’s Peeta.

And the third spoke in the triangle is Gale, played with fierceness by Liam Hemsworth.

Then, there’s the supporting cast of The Hunger Games led by a slew of Hollywood heavyweights, including Elizabeth Banks as the colorful Effie.

Rocker Lenny Kravitz shows his acting chops in playing Cinna.

Amandla Stenberg is the young Rue.

Woody Harrelson is Haymitch.

Last, but not least, we have Alexander Ludwig as Cato.

The Muppets have had a field day with their parody trailers and now the final one before the film’s November 23 release date has arrived. This time out, Kermit and his cronies are taking stabs at Puss in Boots, Paranormal Activity 3 and Breaking Dawn.

The Muppets Final Parody Trailer

Jason Segel has been charged with bringing The Muppets into the 21st century and judging by early trailers, he has done just that. We adore The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo and The Hangover parodies, but also the Being Green and romantic comedy riff with Green with Envy.

Movie Fanatic is wildly excited about this feature and cannot wait to interview the entire cast next week including Kermit and Miss Piggy! Stay tuned.

Here’s The Muppets' official synopsis:

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino house band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

Did William Shakespeare really write all those iconic classics? Anonymous screenwriter John Orloff created an entire film that explores that notion. Orloff tells Movie Fanatic exclusively about how, after exhaustive research looking into the mystery, he firmly believes there is no way that William Shakespeare -- an actor and son of illiterates, and the father of children who were also illiterate -- could possibly have written what are considered the greatest works of the English language. And, that is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Orloff met Movie Fanatic at the Toronto Film Festival for an exclusive interview on Anonymous, a film that delves into the mystery that has been swirling for four centuries. The screenwriter also talks about how he hopes after audiences witness Anonymous, they will forever see disaster movie auteur Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, 2012) in a completely new light.

Movie Fanatic: From where did this idea of Shakespeare being a fraud arise?

John Orloff: I first learned of the Shakespeare authorship question in my early twenties. I’d gone to UCLA Film School and I thought that would be a cool film. But I was only 24 years old and I didn’t know how to write something like that. So I didn’t. About five years later, I met my now wife who was an executive at HBO at the time, and she would bring home all these scripts. They tended to be historical, non-fiction based, which was what HBO was making at the time. I read these scripts and I thought, “Wow, these suck. You’re thinking of hiring this writer?” So, I pitched my wife this story. She basically said it would be a very cool script. If it sucks, let’s not show it to anybody. That started a storm of research -- how do you write this into a movie? I wrote it about 15 years ago.

Movie Fanatic: Oh wow.

John Orloff: But… then Shakespeare in Love came out and the script was dead. Nobody was going to make a second Shakespeare movie. One day I was sitting in Roland Emmerich’s office about nine or 10 years ago, we were talking about another project, and he asked me what else I had written. I started pitching him this movie, which was then called Soul of the Age. He said [in Orloff’s best German], “Yeah, yeah, I want to read this script.” I gave it to him and that was the genesis of it.

Movie Fanatic: You must have done so much research…

John Orloff: You have no idea. I didn’t just do research about the Shakespeare authorship question, [I researched] Shakespearean drama strategy, Shakespearean theater in general, biographies on Elizabeth, on the other characters -- steeping myself in Elizabethan history, culture, politics, warfare, everything I could. For me, research is another word for procrastination [laughs]. This was pre-internet too, so that provided another challenge.

Movie Fanatic: Oh, I can imagine.

John Orloff: I actually had to go to libraries and physically take books home and research. It was funny, when we started filming it and I had to do rewrites on the set, it was like, “Oh, cool! The internet! Boom! Answer!”

Movie Fanatic: There are a lot of Shakespeare purists out there, do you ever worry that there will be any kind of backlash to Anonymous?

John Orloff: There is going to be a backlash. I’m not worried about it. I’ve been to dinner parties where people have literally yelled at me and left. This was before the film was even made. People are really emotionally connected to Shakespeare. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as the movie has gotten people’s attention. I think it has to do with our education. Everybody reads Shakespeare. We don’t all read Catcher in the Rye. We don’t read Moby Dick or these great pieces of American literature. But, we do all read Romeo and Juliet. So, when we start to question Shakespeare and the identity of Shakespeare, the written biography as we’re told of Shakespeare, you are almost questioning someone’s entire foundation of their education. What else isn’t true? I don’t mind that people think Shakespeare wrote the plays. I happen to not think that. I know people are passionate about it. What upsets me is that they don’t know why I don’t think Shakespeare wrote them. They don’t believe that there is any reason to doubt that he wrote all those plays. When in fact, there’s very good reason to doubt Shakespeare wrote the plays. That’s what upsets me more than anything.

Movie Fanatic: But, that’s not a bad thing. Anytime you can open a discussion…

John Orloff: Exactly, at the end of the day, we’re talking about these plays. This film will make people re-read or re-watch the plays and discuss them. They might disagree with my thesis from my research, but at least they’ll be talking about it.

Movie Fanatic: You mentioned being in Roland Emmerich’s office discussing this film. Now that you’ve seen what he’s done with your work, what do you make of this blockbuster director of Independence Day fame and his take on Elizabethan England?

John Orloff: Roland is actually really amazing. I hope this movie makes people think of Roland in a slightly different way. People say, “He’s a B-movie maker. He makes B-movies.” No, he doesn’t. There’s a reason his disaster movies make $800 million and somebody else’s disaster makes $50 million. We collaborated quite a bit on the script because when Roland said he wanted to read my script, he bought it from me. Then, he went away to make another movie and came back with all this research that he had done. He had an idea about what to do with my script. And it was a good idea, which was a good sign to me that he got it. It’s not a crazy idea to give Roland my baby. He’s done his own research and come back with a great (expletive) idea. He’s on the same path I am. That started a multi-year collaboration of many drafts under Roland’s direction -- like 20 drafts. That was hard to do, and required a lot of work. Then, I was lucky enough to be invited to be on the set for the whole shoot. I got to see him direct. I’ve seen a lot of impressive directors direct, who I won’t name right now. And Roland is the best. I was just amazed by his technical and artistic knowledge, his enthusiasm, his good mood 24 hours a day. The crew loved him, the actors loved him. I really think people will think of him as a different filmmaker after this film.

Don't miss our exclusive interview with Anonymous' Shakespeare himself, actor Rafe Spall!

Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) have some potentially shocking news delivered, no pun intended, in the latest clip from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Clip I'm Late

Bella declares “I’m late” in the new clip and that could only mean one thing as fans of the book series know: Renesmee is on her way.

Yesterday Movie Fanatic debuted the Breaking Dawn clip showing the couple arriving at their honeymoon paradise and Edward uttering the line, “Don’t take too long Mrs. Cullen.” Fast forward a few weeks, and we have this latest scene from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

We thoroughly enjoyed Hugh Jackman's performance in Real Steel (as we noted in our review), especially after having sat down with the star personally to discuss the film and his character.

The charismatic Australian actor was at his best in the rock 'em, sock 'em flick, and we're honored to have said as much in advertising campaigns for the Walt Disney sci-fi action project.

Check out this screen capture of Movie Fanatic's quote in a Real Steel TV spot ...

NOTE: For more lines actually from the movie, check out our page of Real Steel quotes!

Chris Miller was ready for his close-up. After serving as a story artist for DreamWorks Animation on such films as Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2, he stepped up to the director’s chair for Shrek the Third and now the studio has entrusted him with their Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots, that stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Miller tells Movie Fanatic exclusively about the process of giving the film feline his own spotlight and what, he feels, is the secret to why the world adores that adventurous cat.

Movie Fanatic: What is it about this cat, Puss in Boots, that so resonates with people?

Chris Miller: For me, it’s a lot of things. It’s a multitude of things. On a purely visual level, his size, his furriness, you could kind of put him in your pocket. He’s got the cool little uniform and he’s very proud, very serious, with a fierce sense of loyalty and honor. But he’s also a ladies’ man, so he’s half lover, half fighter. He’s definitely got a bit of the devil in him because he’s a total troublemaker, a manipulator with a huge heart and a capacity for forgiveness. He’s all these great elements and he just presents himself as larger than life. So I always dug it. I was a board artist on Shrek 2. And at the time, not only myself, anyone else who boarded on that film, five of us, we always were all about the cat. Once the cat was on screen, all of our attention went to the cat. Forget about the ogre, or the donkey. We would just write endlessly, we had tons of freedom to do a lot of writing back then. So we’d just come up with backstories for him, like some weird adventures he’s been on, or just have him mess with the donkey [laughs]. He was just so much fun. So when DreamWorks decided to make the movie, I was first in line. I really, really wanted to work on it.

Movie Fanatic: Were you excited after Shrek 2 when there was so much buzz about Puss in Boots?

Chris Miller: Yeah, definitely. I responded the same way. I just thought it was so unusual, kind of a photo-realistic cat standing upright and really intriguing and I really wanted to know like, “Where’d you get those boots?” [Laughs] “Where’d you get that accent I don’t understand? Why are you Spanish?” There was always tons of intrigue.

Movie Fanatic: A large component has to be Antonio Banderas providing the voice of Puss in Boots. As a director, how was it to have him in the voice booth and what is it about his talent that is so profound?

Puss in Boots Teaser Trailer

Chris Miller: He’s incredibly dedicated and invested. Another thing that’s great too is that over the years, since he first started doing it 10 years ago, Antonio’s done a lot of writing, producing and he’s directed a couple of films and he’s about to direct another one, so he’s just invested as a filmmaker and storyteller. We talked a lot before the movie was made, in terms of “How do you see this, Antonio, before we really dive in? What would you offer? What kind of story do you want to see?” After laying out a sort of bare bones origins story, he was very bent on “We’ve got to crush his heart.” He’s really big on the more dramatic you can make his story and break him, break his heart, the more satisfying he felt that journey would be. He was so right. Make the movie about reclaiming something because he’s such a bloated, determined character -- and wound him. All of that because he takes himself so seriously too which makes him 10 times more funny to me.

Movie Fanatic: And joining the circus is Salma Hayek, another feline, what was the thought process behind that?

Chris Miller: We knew we wanted a love interest and wanted someone who could sort of match him step for step if not better him in a lot of situations. It’s great for the romantic interest because instantly you create this weird little competition between them which in turn creates a little more heat between them. Those guys are great together, which we knew. We instantly knew, “Okay, those guys will be beautiful together. They’ve worked together before.” I didn’t really realize how great Salma would sound. I thought she would sound great but she exceeded my expectations entirely. Her voice is so rich, smoky and layered -- a beautiful texture to it. And then on top of that, I remember right when we were casting, I had just seen a bunch of 30 Rock, she had a little run in 30 Rock and I thought she was brilliant. I had no idea that she was that funny. She was in Ugly Betty right around the same time and I thought she was hysterical. I don’t think she gets credit enough for how good a comedic actor she is. And most importantly, we had Valentina (Salma’s daughter) in our back pocket [laughs].

Movie Fanatic: When you’re working with people like Antonio and Billy Bob Thornton who have previously directed, does that elevate the film?

Chris Miller: Sure, it only adds more to the mix. Billy Bob for instance, he’s a great filmmaker -- actually, I can’t wait to see his movie (Jayne Mansfield’s Car), because talking to him about it, he’s pretty jazzed about it. Even when they were shooting, he was like, “I think this one’s coming together.” He was really psyched. But they just understand the process. Even if this process was foreign to them in terms of performing, they just appreciated good storytelling and the visual side of it and what it takes to put a movie together… None of those guys were about themselves when it came to making the movie. They were just always into the project and what’s going to serve the project best. So if you talked to them in the context of the film and the storytelling, it’s like they get it on a large level. It’s not just “my character, more for me.” It was never like that with any of them. So it was great.

Movie Fanatic: What’s next for you and Puss in Boots?

Chris Miller: I have no idea [laughs]. We’ll see what happens with the film. My future will be determined in the next few weeks just by if the film really can find the kind of audience I hope it can and have the impact I think it can. We might be making other Puss in Boots, we’ll see…

Filmmaker Andrew Niccol wowed us with Gattaca and his latest, In Time, is also quite the innovative adventure. Justin Timberlake stars as a man from the poor side of town in the not-so-distant future. Money has been replaced by time. Workers get paid in time and when you only are genetically programmed to live to the age of 25, time truly is money. Therefore, the wealthy live elongated lives that the poor aspire to -- but will never achieve literally living day to day.

Amanda Seyfried is Sylvia Weis, a rich girl living miles, or “time zones,” away from Timberlake’s hood. When Timberlake’s Will Salas comes across Matt Bomer as Henry Hamilton, Bomer is a man with centuries on his green glowing arm clock in the worst of neighborhoods. He is on a suicide mission. After a century of living and another century on the clock, Hamilton has had enough.

Salas intervenes in a robbery of Hamilton’s time and saves the man who does not want to be saved. In a moment of quiet, Hamilton transfers all but a few minutes of his time to Timberlake and In Time truly takes off.

Time in the wrong hands becomes the theme of In Time. Upsetting the balance of society, whether in our “real” world or on screen in Niccol’s fictional future, is a potentially revolutionary concept that must be halted at all costs to those in charge.

Timberlake and Seyfried are solid together. But the actor who steals the film is Cillian Murphy. What he delivers solely in his eyes as a Timekeeper, i.e. In Time’s police force in pursuit of Salas, is a stroke of acting genius. What also leaps to the forefront in Murphy’s performance is how in so many ways, he is not much different than Salas. He certainly is more like his kind than those he is charged with protecting. That conflict burns below the surface of his characterization and provides the story with the eyes and ears of the everyman stuck on the hamster wheel of a world that is In Time.

In Time Movie Trailer

In Time is not without a few faults. Olivia Wilde and Matt Bomer are underused. But, it is hard to fault the film for that, their characters only serve as catalysts for Timberlake as Salas. They just both so nail their performance, it is easy to feel that there should have been more from them in In Time. Also, the audience never gets a sense of the larger scope of the story. Is this simply a city like Los Angeles? What else is occurring in other cities across the globe? In Time is a little too insular.

Yet within the confines of Niccol’s world, the film moves at a pace that allows the audience to focus solely on the story at hand and how this alternative world to ours could easily become reality if science could catch up with a filmmaker’s imagination.

Besides her performance being hailed as one of the best of the year, Michelle Williams does the impossible when it comes to portraying an icon: She is uncanny in looking like her subject in My Week with Marilyn. Williams is Marilyn Monroe and in the new poster from the film, it is scary how much she looks like Monroe.

Williams plays Monroe in the story of the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in the U.K. Monroe had an assistant named Colin Clark who created a book detailing his time with the legend. Only thing was: He left one week out. What happened during that week that the author removed it from his literary account of the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl?

Now we know and it is detailed in the film. Be sure to check out the My Week with Marilyn trailer.

After Edward and Bella dominated all the previous The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 trailers and clips, such as the I’m Late clip we debuted yesterday, Jacob is finally getting his due. Go Team Jacob! 

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Trailer - Jacob

As Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have commanded all the attention in the previews with their characters’ Breaking Dawn wedding and honeymoon, finally Taylor Lautner is getting a teaser all to himself with the debut of what fans are affectionately calling “The Jacob Trailer.”

He may have lost out in the battle of Team Edward versus Team Jacob, but it’s nice to see the pup finally getting his trailer due.