Fox has foreclosed on producer Joss Whedon’s sci-fi drama “Dollhouse.” The decision comes as production on the show’s second season nears to a close. A victim of poor viewership, “Dollhouse” was pulled off the November sweeps schedule after only airing four of its 13 episode order. Fox will begin to broadcast the remaining original episodes on Dec. 4.

Whedon comments on Whedonesque.com:

I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star (Eliza Dushku), my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.

“Dollhouse” stars Eliza Dushku as a programmable femme-bot created to carry out the needs of the wealthy. While the show was never a hit with the Nielsen’s, it had reached cult status similar to Whedon’s other ill-fated Fox show “Firefly.” But, it’s not all bad news. Fox has ordered reality king Mark Burnett’s new game show “Our Little Genius.” The program pits contestants ages 6-to12 against each other in a battle of smarts. The winner receives an executive position at Fox cash prizes.

"Quick! Upload Me Into the Cast of Glee!"

Warner Brothers has begun its Clash of the Titans marketing quest with a balls-to-the-wall promotional trailer guaranteed to spin your head like Bubo. The clip is all war and wonder with mythical creatures and a peek at Medusa. But, hey, take a look for yourself:

Clash of the Titans is directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) and stars Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation) as Perseus, Liam Neeson (After.Life, Batman Begins) as Zeus, and Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Red Dragon) as Hades, lord of the underworld. The film is a reboot of the 1981 fantasy adventure classic starring Harry Hamlin and Laurence Olivier.

Clash of the Titans arrives in theaters on March 26, 2010. To see poster art, click here.

Bubo the Mechanical Owl

The much anticipated sequel to the 2005 girls vs. cave-dwellers hit The Descent will have its premiere in the UK in December before making its way to the U.S. in 2010. Directed by Jon Harris, the film sees the return of original cast members Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, and MyAnna Buring.

The synopsis for The Descent 2 reads:

Traumatized, Sarah Carter (Shauna MacDonald) emerges alone from the cave system where she confronted her darkest dread. With no rational explanation to what happened, the authorities force her back into the subterranean depths to help locate her five missing girlfriends. But as the rescue party enters further uncharted domains, flashbacks start haunting Sarah as shocking memories of the past hit home. For they are venturing into the habitat of a new tribe of Crawlers, even more viciously feral than Sarah faced before.

Now, check out the following three clips:

Freddy’s back.

Production wrapped over the summer on Platinum Dunes reboot of the Wes Craven classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Directed by Samuel Bayer, A Nightmare on Elm Street stars Jackie Earle Haley as the iconic child molester/murder Freddy Kruger and Rooney Mara as his foil Nancy Thompson. Check it out:

Hey, where’s the phone kiss? I’ve got big hopes for this. Jackie Earle Haley is the only good thing about the snooze-fest that is Watchmen and his turn as child molester Ronnie J. McGorvey in the 2006 drama Little Children was downright chilling.

Freddy’s coming for you on April 30, 2010.

9 ... 10 ... Never Sleep Again

The People’s Choice Awards announced today its list of nominees for the best in TV, movies, and music. Over 18 million votes were cast online by entertainment buffs to determine the nominees for the show’s 35 categories. Fans can now vote for their favorites to win by visiting PeoplesChoice.com.

Horror and fantasy fared well this year with top noms bestowed upon Summit Entertainment’s Twilight movie and HBO’s “True Blood” cable series. But, not all the nominees sucked (I mean that  figuratively … or do I?). Also scoring some much deserved nods were J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot, Showtime’s “Dexter” and TV’s best drama ever – “Lost.”

The People’s Choice Awards will be hosted by Queen Latifah at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live on CBS on Jan. 6, 2010. Now, check out some of the contenders and their competition (horror/fantasy noms are in bold):

"Don't Mistake Coincidence for Fate."

Best TV Drama: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS),” “Grey’s Anatomy (ABC),” “House (FOX),” “NCIS (CBS),” and “Lost (ABC).”

Best TV Drama Actor: Hugh Laurie (“House”), Kiefer Sutherland (“24”), Mark Harmon (“NCIS”), Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”), and Mathew Fox (“Lost”).

Best TV Drama Actress: Anna Paquin (“True Blood”), Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl”), Jennifer Love Hewitt (“Ghost Whisperer), Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy), Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: SVU”)

"The Mask is Slipping."

Best TV Obsession: “Dexter,” “Gossip Girl,” “The Hills,” “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “True Blood.”

Best TV Sci-fi/Fantasy: “Heroes,” “Lost,” “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “True Blood.”

Best New TV Drama: “Eastwick,” “FlashForward,” “Melrose Place,” “Mercy,” “The Forgotten,” “The Good Wife,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Three Rivers,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “V.”

Dude, Get Some Sun ... Oh, Wait ...

Best Movie Actor: Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Ryan Reynolds.

Best Movie Actress: Anna Hathaway, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Sandra Bullock

Best Action Star: Christian Bale (Terminator: Salvation), Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers 2), Vin Diesel.

Best Independent Movie: (500) Days of Summer, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, Paranormal Activity, Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail.

Best Breakout Movie Actress: Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Emily Osment, Ginnifer Goodwin, Miley Cyrus, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek).

Best Breakout Movie Actor: Chris Pine (Star Trek), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation), Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek).

Are You Out of Your Vulcan Minds?

Best Franchise: Harry Potter, Star Trek, The Twilight Saga, Transformers, X-Men.

Favorite Movie: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, The Hangover, The Proposal, Twilight.

Favorite Web Celeb: Andy Samberg, Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, P. Diddy, Will Ferrell, and Eddie Muertos.

Remember the Swedish Bikini Team? Sure, they were American actresses playing Swedes to hawk Old Milwaukee beer. But, in retrospect, we all know they were selling us more than just booze. They were selling us on the idea of a physically superior race of women found in a magical far-off land know only as Scandinavia. It was a beautiful dream to have as we slipped into our inebriated comas.

Swedish Erotica

But, was it really just a dream? No, my friends, it’s all real. Turns out there is a Scandinavia and its inhabitants are a blonde and big-breasted people. How do I know this? Because Scandinavian studio FilmKoncept has released the following trailer for its upcoming slasher Mara.

Mara stars Scandinavian glamor/nude model Angelica Jansson as a vacationing coed tormented by something evil in her past. She and her beautiful (and authentically Swedish) friends must figure out how to appease the dark force or end up as dead meatballs.

(UPDATE: To see Angelica Jansson in new Mara trailer & BTS photos, go here.)

(Update: For official Mara poster and synopsis, click here. To see nude & semi-nude photos of Angelica Jansson, go here.)

The film is slated for a 2010 release and is produced by Fredrik Hedberg, Jacob Kondrup and Åke Gustafsson. To see a gallery of screen shots, click here. Clatto also stumbled upon the following BTS trailer:

Oh, yes, there will be blood (and boobs).

Eli Roth's 'Cotton'

Looks like horror makers have found a new weapon of choice: the shaky-cam. Next year will see a spike in hand-held horror projects, including Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) and Strike Entertainment’s (Dawn of the Dead) exorcism tale Cotton and Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment’s similarly plotted The Vatican Tapes. Can these “docu-drama’ inspired flicks mimic the box office success of Paramount Pictures Paranormal Activity? Depends on the marketing campaigns.

The Blair Witch Marketing Project

Ten years ago, The Blair Witch Project successfully intertwined the cinema verite approach with innovative marketing to scare up over a $100 mil at the box office. Imitators followed of course, but lacked the imagination, in story and promotion, necessary to match the Blair Witch’s success. Not surprisingly, the style was pretty much abandoned. Until now.

The First 'Cloverfield' Ads

Crafty marketing campaigns are shaking things up again. J.J. Abrams sci-fi/monster flick Cloverfield gobbled up over $170 million worldwide. Peter Jackson’s aliens-meet-apartheid film District 9 broke free with over $200 mil worldwide. And, in just seven weeks, Paranormal Activity has grossed $100 million in the U.S. alone. Even the inexpensive zombie flick Quarantine (based on the critically acclaimed Spanish shaky-cam frightener Rec) ate up over $35 mil during its run last Halloween.

Eli Roth and Strike Entertainment’s Cotton is directed by Daniel Stamm (A Necessary Death) and employs shaky-cam techniques to capture an evangelical minister’s last exorcism in documentary fashion. It’s an interesting concept for sure. But, Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment have done Roth one better by roping in Oscar-winning documentarian James Marsh (Man on Wire) to direct The Vatican Tapes. I’s unclear what may have possessed Marsh to take the gig, but his expertise in the Doc genre will surely benefit the project, a “docu-drama” centered on the unholy events that occur after tapes from a botched exorcism come to light.

'Vatican Tapes' Director & Oscar Winner James Marsh (On Right)

The premier of director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo’s long delayed feature film debut After.Life took place Saturday night as part of the AFI Fest in Los Angeles. The screening was followed by an after-party at the Shangri La hotel in Santa Monica. Among those in attendance were stars Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow, Monster) and Justin Long (Drag Me to Hell, Jeepers Creepers) and your own beloved Clatto Verata blogger Eddie Muertos (turns out a cousin of mine works the kitchen).

To see After.Life’s first official trailer, go here.

(UPDATE: To See Ricci’s Nude Photos from After.Life, click here.)

"Man, the 'Dell Guy' never had it this good! I love Macs!"

After.Life is the story of a woman (Ricci) who wakes up after a fatal car accident to discover she is being prepped for burial at a funeral home run by by a mysterious mortician (Liam Neeson).  The Plum Productions’ feature first generated buzz as a Kate Bosworth vehicle in 2007. Ricci and Neeson stepped into the lead roles last October.

"You're saying that, if I lose this dress, people will forgive me for Speed Racer?"

According to overheard party chatter, After.Life features a frighteningly disturbing turn from Neeson as creepy funeral director Elliot Deacon. The film also boasts plenty of eye-popping nudity from Ricci. A totally nude Ricci in a horror flick? I’ve been waiting for this since Addams Family Values!

Twisted Pictures (Saw) have produced their first family film: The Tortured. Directed by Rob Lieberman (Fire in the Sky), The Tortured stars Erika Christensen (Flightplan, Swimfan) and Jesse Metcalfe (Insanitarium) as a young married couple out to punish the man who abducted their son. The following trailer was premiered at the AFM.

Take a look:

Shady’s back!

Rap star Eminem is plotting a return to the big screen with Shady Talez, a 3-D horror anthology written by Kevin Grevioux (Underworld). Described as Creep Show meets Twilight Zone, Shady Talez will pay homage to classic horror flicks such as The Lost Boys and Aliens. Eminem will play various roles in the film, including that of host. Considering Em’s highly publicized mommy issues, an ode to Psycho’s Norman Bates seems like a no-brainer to me.

Mrs. Mathers

Eminem dabbled with horror themes earlier this year in the music video for “3 a.m.” The track is off his Relapse CD and is just one of many songs fueled by serial killer fantasies.

Eminem made his film debut in 2002’s critically acclaimed drama 8 Mile.