“Vampire Diaries” stars Ian Somerhalder and the guy who isn’t Ian Somerhalder dropped by the Sunset Place Mall in Kendall, Florida yesterday to meet-and-greet fans of the hit CW show. Hosted by tween-retailer Hot Topic, the event also included a Q&A session with the duo and a live performance by Texas emo-rockers Sounds Under Radio.

The meet-and-greet was part of The Vampire Diaries Tour that has taken cast members across the country and overseas to promote the program, including stops in London and the exotic land known as Canoga Park, California.

“The Vampire Diaries” is writer-producer Kevin Williamson’s (Scream, “Dawson’s Creek”) adaptation of L.J. Smith’s popular novel series of the same name for the CW television network. The show follows high-schooler Elena Gilbert as she’s courted by vampire brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore.

[Show as slideshow]

Orphanage star Belen Rueda headlines director Guillem Morales’ upcoming psychological-thriller Julia’s Eyes. The milfy Spanish actress plays Julia, a woman investigating the mysterious suicide of her twin sister while battling a degenerative eye condition threatening to take her sight.

Rueda speaks about the part in the following featurette (Note for non-Spanish speakers: Rueda also communicates in the language of form-fitting blouse):

Julia’s Eyes costars Lluis Homar (Broken Embraces), Francesc Orella (Eskalofrio), Boris Ruiz (Los Sin Nombre), Pablo Derqui, Joan Dalmau, Andrea Hermosa, and Julia Gutierrez Caba. The film is produced by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth).

The film’s opening scene has hit the web:

Julia’s Eyes premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and will open in Spain on Oct. 29. No word yet on a North American release.

Rueda can also be seen in director Javier Ruiz Caldera’s Spanish-cinema spoof Spanish Movie.

Dimension Films has officially released an extended trailer for the upcoming Wes Craven sequel Scream 4. The footage sets up some of the new rules the film will parody and introduces new faces such as babes Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell, Hayden Panettiere and her horrible bull-dyke haircut and “True Blood’s” Anna Paquin.

Also seen in the trailer are old-schoolers Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Araquette, who return to the mix in their respective roles as Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers-Riley, and Sheriff Dewey Riley. The film is the beginning of a new trilogy and is written by franchise creator Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries”).

Scream 4 will be in theaters on April 15, 2011.

Check it out:

Last night on my drive home from work (yeah, I do that now and can’t say I recommend it), I got stuck in traffic down by the Arclight cinemas in Los Angeles. As it turns out, Paramount Pictures was holding a special advanced screening of director Kip Williams’ upcoming frightener Paranormal Activity 2, opening Friday, Oct. 22.

Now, granted, I’m a Saw man, but I don’t think I’m being  a hater when I say that the audience-reaction clip Paramount has released from the screening looks kinda staged. Regardless, it’s pretty funny to see the fat guy in the checkered shirt jump and freak out.

Peep it:

Mistress of the Dark Elvira pokes fun at Tea Party darling and suspected witch Christine O’Donnell in a clever video spoof of the Delaware Senate candidate’s “I Am Not a Witch” TV spot. Gotta say, the parody is better than most campaign commercials.

Take a look:

Elvira and her “bigger tits” can be seen on TV hosting the recently revamped syndicated series “Elvira’s Movie Macabre.” The show, produced and written by Elvira, features the still-stunning 58-year-old starlet providing commentary and eye-candy while airing terrible old crap such as Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Killer Shrews, and Night of the LivingDead. To see local listings for time and channels, go here.

Dimension Films has reeled in Feast director John Gulager to replace Alexandre Aja in the studio’s planned sequel to its fish-&-chicks frightener Piranha 3-D. Feast scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are attached to write.

Entitled Piranha 3DD (a hint at the gratuitous boobage to come), the film’s story was at one point rumored to be set in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand during the island’s notorious Full Moon Party , an all-night, beach-side event. No word on an official plot line just yet.

Piranha 3-D opened in August to rave reviews from both critics and horror fans. But, despite starring such stroke-worthy babes as Kelly Brook, Riley Steele, and Jessica Szohr, the bloody creature-feature tanked at the North American box office. Fortunately, the film has grossed over $63 million worldwide, making it profitable enough to merit a sequel.

Gulager, Melton, and Dunstan were the winners of the Bravo channel’s film-making reality show “Project Greenlight” in 2004. Melton and Dunstan have since gone on to write Saw 4-thru-7 and 2009’s criminally underrated The Collector (directed by Dunstan). Gulager went on to suck donkey balls.

Dimension plans to have Piranha 3-DD in theaters next summer.

Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat shows off her serpentine moves in a new music video promoting her long-delayed snake-woman thriller Hisss. Entitled “Sway,” the song marks Sherawat’s singing debut and is based on an old Indian folksong about the half-woman/half-snake creature known as the Nagin.

Peep the video:

Hisss is directed by Jennifer Lynch (Surveillance) and stars Sherawat as a Nagin serpent-woman out for blood after her lover is murdered. The film was shot in India and costars renowned Indian actor Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire).

Despite having played at the AFM, Cannes, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the flick has yet to strike a distribution deal in the States.

Sherawat’s snake-woman made Clatto’s list of The 11 Sexiest Maneater Babes in Horror/Sci-fi

The friendly degenerates at Grindhouse Releasing invite you to enjoy a special screening of one of the most gruesome and controversial slasher flicks to ever get feminists’ panties in a bunch: Maniac. A beloved classic among gore-geeks, the 1980 Bill Lustig-directed film stars Joe Spinell as Frank Zito, an especially deranged killer of innocent young women.

From the press release:

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Grindhouse Releasing, the company that brought you THE EVIL DEAD,  CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, PIECES and Duke Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE POPE, has partnered with director Bill Lustig of Blue Underground to present Mr. Lustig’s controversial horror classic MANIAC in theaters across North America.

MANIAC stars Joe Spinell (ROCKY, THE GODFATHER, TAXI DRIVER) as Frank Zito, a deeply disturbed man haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. When these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Even as he begins a relationship with a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munro of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), Frank continues to act on his vile compulsions. The film holds nothing back in depicting the atrocities of a human monster.

MANIAC earned instant notoriety in 1980 as the most graphic and disturbing of all slasher films, thanks to the gruesome special effects wizardry of Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRIDAY THE 13TH). Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert called for their audience to boycott MANIAC, feminists protested the film’s brutal violence, and other critics simply reviled the film as “sick” and “dirty.”

Aside from the shocking, bloody special effects sequences, MANIAC draws much of its power from the acting of the late Spinell, who also co-wrote and executive produced the film.

“MANIAC’s longevity is a tribute to the extraordinary talent of Joe Spinell, whose compelling performance has resonated with worldwide audiences since the film’s release 30 years ago,” Mr. Lustig said. “I’m very pleased to work with Grindhouse Releasing on this series of screenings.”

Maniac screenings begin Oct. 29 & 30 at the Egyptian Theater in Seattle. Joe Lustig will introduce the film on Nov. 5 at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles.

Check the following listings to see if Maniac is playing near you:

Oct. 29-30            Egyptian (Seattle) – presented by The Stranger

Nov. 5                   Nuart (LA) – Director William Lustig in person

Nov. 12 -13          Esquire (Denver)

Nov. 12-13          River Oaks (Houston)

Nov. 12                Toronto Underground Cinema (*tentative)

Nov. 19-20          Sunshine (NY) – Bill Lustig in person

Nov. 19-20          Inwood (Dallas)

Nov. 26-27          Hi-Pointe (St. Louis)

Dec. 3-4                Uptown (Minneapolis)

Dec. 3-4                E Street (DC)

Dec. 10 – 11         Castro (San Francisco) – director William Lustig in person

Dec. 17 – 18         Oaks (Pittsburgh)

Jan. 15       Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR)

Visit www.GrindhouseReleasing.com for more dates as they are confirmed. If you can’t see Maniac in your city, pick up the Blu-ray on Oct. 26.

Spike TV’s 5th Annual Scream Awards were held last night at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. I was in no mood to wear pants for the shindig and so decided I’d watch it at home on Tuesday, Oct. 19 (9:00–11:00 PM, ET/PT) with Mrs. Muertos and a couple of pitchers of Mojitos.

Judging from the photos, the show appears to have been a major production complete with movie props, stunts, and tributes to “Lost” and Back to the Future. Trailers were also premiered for New Line’s Anthony Hopkin’s exorcism-thriller The Rite, Wes Craven’s Scream 4, and Paramount Pictures’ eagerly-anticipated Paranormal Activity 2.

LOST Tribute

Stars partaking in the festivities included Green Lantern’s Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Ghostbuster Bill Murray, Megan Fox and Passion Play costar Mickey Rourke, Anna Paquin and hubby Stephen Moyer, sexual-chocolate Halle Berry, headbanger Marilyn Manson, Twilight’s Kristen Stewart and Nikki Reed, douchebag James Cameron, Eli “Bear Jew” Roth and cast members from “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries.”

Guy Who Isn't Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, & Ian Somerhalder

Films nominated this year included Inception, Avatar, Predators, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Paranormal Activity, District 9, The Crazies, Kick Ass, and Zombieland. TV noms went to “LOST,” “True Blood,” “Dexter,” “Dr. Who,” and “V.”

Up for Best Horror Actress were Julie Benz for “Dexter,” Emily Blunt for The Wolfman, Emma Stone for Zombieland, Milla Jovovich for The Fourth Kind, Charlotte Gainsbourg  for Antichrist, and Anna Paquin for “True Blood.”

Ghostbuster Bill Murray

Award winners have already been named on less considerate websites, but all you’ll find here are photos. Why? Because I’ve got absolutely nothing planned for Tuesday night (what? the human sacrifice canceled).

Check out the gallery (courtesy of Zimbio):

[Show as slideshow]

Image Entertainment hosted the world premiere of screenwriter-turned-first-time-director Mitch Glazer’s supernatural-romance story Passion Play last month at the 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival. I’m a little late to the party, but figured any time is a good time to see photos of Megan Fox all done up.

Passion Play stars Fox as an angel saved from performing as a circus sideshow freak by a downtrodden saxophonist played by Mickey Rourke. The film costars Kelly Lynch (The Jacket), Rhys Ifans (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Chris Browning (Let Me In), and the highly overrated Bill Murray (Zombieland) as circus owner Happy Shannon.

Enjoy the pics:

[Show as slideshow]