Horror star avoids scary movies
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Just when Imogen Poots thinks she's out, some maniacal undead hand pulls her back in.
"I've never been big on horror, which is ironic -- because I sure get covered in blood a lot," says the 22-year-old Brit.
"My imagination is too ridiculous. I'll be falling asleep and be convinced a coat on the back of my door is a murderer just popping up in to say, 'Hi.' I steer clear of (horror movies), if I'm being honest. Saw and all those ones are not my cup of tea."
Fortuitously for her career, however, zombies and vampires apparently don't hold a grudge. Her breakthrough role, after all, came when she was just 17 in the brain-feasting 28 Days Later sequel, 28 Weeks Later. And she's currently starring opposite Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin in Fright Night, which is now in theatres. In the remake of the 1985 cult classic, she plays Amy, the popular girlfriend of Charley Brewster (Yelchin) who becomes a target of sociopathic supernatural suburbanite Jerry Dandrige (Farrell).
As the earlier version did, the film celebrates the vampire's origins as a primeval predator -- something sure to please fans discouraged after years of Twilight-inspired dreaminess, in which the blood-suckers are more inspired by James Dean than Bram Stoker.
Poots, though, believes there's room for both kinds of coffin-dwellers: those who sparkle in the sunshine and those who burst into flame. "I've seen (the Twilight movies). I think (Kristen Stewart) and (Robert) Pattinson are awesome. I haven't read the books, but it's a franchise that's really relevant to my generation. You've got to embrace it."
Fright Night, she adds, goes "back to the original form of what it means to people. It's a malleable form. You can adjust the form of the vampire to suit your type of film.
"Twilight has a different vampire than we have."
Maybe. But what the two creatures have in common is that Farrell is no less irresistible to the opposite sex than Pattinson.
Take, for example, the sexual charge that occurs between Farrell and Poots in one pivotal scene. "It's a pure seduction. His gaze is everything about him and it overwhelms her. That's his power. That's why he's so dangerous. He has the power to seduce."
For Poots, Fright Night marks her most significant role to date on this side of the pond. 28 Weeks Later, she notes, gave her the chance "to meet people and get into rooms I hadn't had the opportunity to get into before. It's the film that made a difference, to be sure ... I feel like I was very lucky to have that chance when I was a nipper."
But she says if she had gone to Hollywood immediately afterward "it would've been jumping the gun. I felt very lucky to be part of that film. And never considered a strategy in any sense. I just finished school and was figuring stuff out. So I went onto do some jobs in London and only started to come over to America with Solitary Man (with Michael Douglas). There was never a plan. It would be presumptuous to presume I had a shot."
Fright Night gives her the chance "play an all-American girl, something that's often dismissed when you rock up and they're like, 'You're from London.' "
That said, she's grateful for her accent. "I think (accents) are a real tool. You should really embrace them if you get the chance to. It's a way to discover a whole other identity. It affects the way I move; it affects my mannerisms."
Parents charged after northern NY infant dies
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Police say a Plattsburgh couple was warned about leaving their infant twins alone just weeks before one of the babies died.
The Plattsburgh Press-Republican reports (http://bit.ly/qlvorK ) child protective caseworkers visited the home of Jonathan Whalen and Melissa Gonyo in summer 2010 and found the 6-month-old twins alone, crying and propped up in chairs. The parents were upstairs sleeping.
Police say three weeks later, the 21-year-old Gonyo left Zachary propped in a chair overnight. Whalen woke up several hours later and found him dead. Police believe Zachary couldn't breathe because of the position he was in.
Gonyo is charged with second-degree manslaughter, meaning she didn't intend to kill Zachary but acted recklessly. The 28-year-old Whalen is charged with endangerment for the earlier incident.
Win 1 of 3 Stargate Universe Season 2: The Complete Final Season on DVD boxset
We have teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox to for the release of the last thrilling installment of the award-winning Stargate saga, STARGATE UNIVERSE SEASON 2: THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON, which will be out on DVD from 29TH AUGUST 2011Stargate Universe Season 2 follows Col Everett Young (Louis Ferreira, The Andromeda Strain, CSI) and his crew of soldiers, civilians and scientists – including the volatile Dr Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle, 28 Weeks Later, The Full Monty) - stranded on-board alien shop The Destiny as it follows a predestined course through the universe.
Supplies on board are running dangerously low, tensions are rising and Destiny’s ultimate mission remains unknown. Facing uncharted space and enemies who would take the ship by force, the crew must learn to trust each other and the Destiny itself in order to survive, and to keep hopes of returning to earth alive.
Full of suspense, unexpected twists and turns, spectacular visual effects and in-depth special features, Stargate Universe on DVD is a must-have for all Stargate and sci-fi fans. Delve into Season 2 or pick up the Season 1 and 2 box-set, but join the Destiny this summer.
With rumours circulating about a possible TV movie to take the story on, this is our chance to show our support once and for all. Do STARGATE justice and support the cause! http://www.petitiononline.co.uk/petition/save-stargate-uk-make-it-your-destiny/3178
Stargate Atlantis Seasons 1-5 will be released on Blu-ray on 19th September 2011. This is the first time all 100 episodes of this iconic series will be available in high-definition in the UK.
To celebrate the release we have 3 DVD box-sets of STARGATE UNIVERSE SEASON 2: THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON to give away!
In a surprise, “The Smurfs” tie "Cowboys & Aliens" at the box office this weekend. 
The Smurfs cartoons were a daily presence in my life growing up. It originally aired from 1981-1989 with 420 episodes and I would watch many of these every day, especially on weekends and summer vacation. Looking back, its no wonder that my parents never watched this with me because of the ubiquitous “La la la lala lalalala,” that I’m sure would drive any adult a little nuts.
The 2011 film doesn’t quite pack the same entertainment punch as cartoon did my five-year-old self saw it back in the day, but if you are in that age group now and watched it this opening weekend you probably enjoyed yourself. I’ll admit that the physical comedy of the movie were the parts where I laughed with the five, seven, and ten year olds who were in the theater with me. Hank Azaria, who plays Gargamel the dimwitted sorcerer hunting for Smurfs, took the brunt of the falls, hits, tosses, and crashes. Azaria did a spot on job in his portrayal of Gargamel’s demeanor and movement, but I just couldn’t get over the voice. Of course there was no way it could be the same, but it just kept reminding me that it was Azaria playing Gargamel, not really Gargamel come to life. That being said, I’m biased and I’m sure the kids enjoyed it.
La la la la la la, the Smurfs Movie is tied for #1 at the box office despite the vast majority of professional reviews being negative, most of which have ranged from the “so bad it’s kind of watchable” to “so bad it’s terrible” kind of critical disdain. So what saved the movie? Two things: one is the real-world presence Neil Patrick Harris. That’s right, the former child actor one seemingly destined to be forever known as Doogie Howser has quietly transformed himself into one of our better actors in his adulthood. The other is the virtual presence of Katy Perry, the voice of Smurfette, who breathes an appropriate amount of ladyness into the lone female Smurf. And that’s a good thing, because the male Smurfs in the movie are just plain annoying.
