Despite the fact that her latest television turn went bunny tail up with the cancellation of The Playboy Club, actress Amber Heard isn’t letting that slow her down, as she’s just signed on for next starring feature role. Heard will play the female lead in Albert Hughes‘ Motor City from a script by newcomer Chad St. John (newcomer or not, Motor City was one of two St. John scripts that landed on 2009′s Black List). The film will mark Hughes’ first solo effort, having directed no less than four features and one documentary with his brother Allen as The Hughes Brothers (including From Hell, The Book of Eli, and Menace II Society). The film is described as a revenge thriller, with Dominic Cooper playing the male lead, “a man released from prison who goes on a revenge mission, hunting down the people who framed him.” While this is not necessarily a very original idea, it will be somewhat refreshing to see an on-screen anti-hero that’s not Dwayne Johnson or Vin Diesel or similar. Cooper is a vastly talented actor (his dual work in The Devil’s Double is proof positive of that). And, pardon me while I succumb to my ladyhood here, but Heard and Cooper are likely to turn in some scorching chemistry. [Deadline Ferndale]

The Rum Diary marks Johnny Depp’s return to Hunter S. Thompson territory, following his cult favorite work in Terry Gilliam’s delirious adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Yet audiences expecting more of the same drug-fueled mania will be disappointed. While it’s filled with offbeat characters and the occasional stylistic quirk, Bruce Robinson’s film offers a straightforward, earnest narrative about a young marble-mouthed author finding his writing voice while fighting capitalist corruption. Set in a volatile Puerto Rico, circa 1960, Thompson’s semi-autobiographical story follows struggling journalist/alter ego Paul Kemp (Depp) as he joins the staff at a local rag run by domineering editor-in-chief Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). It’s a day-to-day portrait of Kemp’s hard living in paradise, set against a backdrop of conflict between the natives hoping to protect their land and the capitalistic cronies interested in transforming the archipelago nation into an overdeveloped tourist spot.

Getting The Rum Diary to both page and screen has been a real trip. Hunter S. Thompson wrote the book back in the 1960s, chronicling his adventures writin’ and boozin’ and livin’ down in Puerto Rico (as told through the eyes of his alter-ego “Paul Kemp”), but it was not published until 1998. A film adaptation has been kicked around since 2000, with the film ultimately lensing in 2009, though the film won’t be released until later this year. Johnny Depp plays Kemp in the film, marking Depp’s second attempt at playing Thompson (or, more accurately, a Thompson-based character from the author’s own work), after turning in one of his best performances as the gonzo journalist in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas back in 1998. Depp again takes on his Thompson twang for another dip into the life of the icon. This time, drugs have been swapped for rum, the deserts of Vegas for the oceans of Puerto Rico. The Thompson follies will likely not abate, however. The film also stars Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi, and Amaury Nolasco. Kick back, take a sip, and check out the trailer after the break.

I like these twitter Q and A’s. The best one so far to speak of is the video Q and A with Werner Herzog, a man that could probably still give existential and out there answers to the dumbest of questions. He’s a guy I could listen to all day. Another guy I could listen to all day? The very friendly John Carpenter. From 2:00-3:30 p.m. (PST), the director behind too many to count classics will be participating in a twitter Q and A. Sadly, this not a video one like the Herzog’s. But considering it’s been quite some time since the horror icon’s Ghost of Mars(…) and the fact that it may be a few more years until we get a followup to The Ward, it’s still a rare treat. Here’s all you have to do to throw a question to Carpenter: Send your questions to @ARC_Entertain and make sure to include #theward in your tweet. And for those of you who didn’t know, Carpenter is already an active participant on twitter: @TheHorrorMaster The Ward is now in limited release and on VOD.

Assault On Precinct 13. Halloween. The Fog. Escape From New York. The Thing. Christine. Starman. Big Trouble In Little China. Prince Of Darkness. They Live. In the Mouth Of Madness. That’s an incomplete list of films directed by John Carpenter from 1976 to 1994, and almost every one is a fantastic piece of cinema. Most directors (genre or otherwise) would be happy to see one or two great movies on their resume, but Carpenter can already claim several. And then, sadly, he died in 1995 and was secretly replaced by a hack doppelganger who’s continued to make mediocre (at best) movies in his name. Welcome to John Carpenter’s The Ward, where you can check in, but… I wouldn’t advise it.

This week, the Nicolas Cage 3D grindhouse flick Drive Angry hits video store shelves. And while it’s not be a good idea to drink and drive, it can be quite fun to drink while watching Drive Angry. In the tradition of Planet Terror, Death Proof and Machete, Drive Angry features plenty of violence, fast cars and boobs. Surely, it will be on the short list come Oscar season next year. Get a jump on your awards ballot by checking this movie out, knowing it will just get better the more you play this game.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly round-up of all things interesting and wonderful happening in the world of movies. At least, that’s what it was born as. Lately it’s been feeling as if it might be more of a Rachel Weisz News After Dark kind of column. A Rachel Weiszsexual, if you will. And yes, that’s the technical term. It’s a tough affliction to live with. Because their just isn’t enough Rachel Weisz in the world. Luckily Hollywood is hell-bent on changing that… Guess what this week is… Rachel Weisz week. Based on a survey of our male 18-35 demographic, which represents a solid percentage of our readership, this is somehow preferable to all of my updates about Doctor Who. I don’t see why, as Doctor Who is excellent. But I can understand your affinity for Rachel Weisz news. Anyway, she’s not only in line to take a high profile role in Oz the Great and Powerful and The Bourne Legacy. According to a report from Cinema Blend, Weisz is high on the list to star opposite Johnny Depp in Rob Marshall’s remake of The Thin Man. Even though that film sound unnecessary, we just can’t say no to more Rachel Weisz… can we?

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s interested only in providing you with movie news, it does not seek to earn your affection. Alright, maybe not your affection, but definitely your obedience. So be a good little soldier and read it every night before you lay your head down to sleep. We open tonight with a peek at the French poster for Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, which may or may not be debuting in the UK right before it opens at the Cannes Film Festival. All I know is that I’m interested to see it, because reports have been all over the place. And all over the place usually isn’t a bad thing when it comes to a Terrence Malick film.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr snubs his nose at all the films up for the Oscar in order to enjoy the R-rated smorgasbord that is available in the theaters. He kisses his wife and takes six days off from marriage, just like Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis in Hall Pass. He takes those six days to find a fast car so he can Drive Angry, following Amber Heard and her short shorts in 3D. Apparently no one told him she’s a lesbian now.

Nicolas Cage is miffed; you might say perturbed. His daughter and her husband have been murdered and his infant granddaughter has been abducted. The perpetrator of these vile acts is the leader of a satanic cult of which his daughter was a former member. Cage proceeds to scorch the Earth between him and this madman in an effort to recover the only remaining connection he has to his beloved daughter. Along the way, he becomes involved with a waitress who accompanies him on his odyssey of rage. They are set upon by a mysterious suited man who calls himself The Accountant and seems to have a knack for seemingly impossible homicides. Will our intrepid anti-heroes be able to rescue the child before the forces of darkness claim her? What is the secret the vengeful rider seems to be harboring? Is that Tom Atkins?! Sometimes unique providence shines upon a critic when he is presented with a film that perfectly speaks to him. Every element, every frame, every absurdity seems suspiciously designed to strike just the right chord. The drawback inherent in a situation like this is that it becomes difficult to write a review that will communicate the quality of such a film for the masses. In short, trying to convince you that Drive Angry is a great film outside of an extremely esoteric appreciation may prove difficult. Drive Angry is essentially the perfect example of Junkfood Cinema fare: technically terrible but nevertheless lovable. If that doesn’t sound like your [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

William Fichtner needs no introduction. He’s headed a sting operation against Ecstasy dealers, had Heath Ledger shove a grenade in his mouth, and now with Drive Angry, he plays a mysterious figure that’s short on talk and big on results. Especially if those results involve a baseball bat and the oh-so-fragile human skull. The Accountant is bound to be an iconic character in the same vein as Pulp Fiction‘s Winston “The Wolf” Wolfe. He’s an unflinching hunter not bound by the laws of this world (or the laws of physics), and Fichtner delivers the usual acting power that he’s known and applauded for. Fortunately, Fichtner was nice enough to take time out to speak with me about the role, his love of cars, and what KC and the Sunshine Band has to do with demons from Hell.

The prospect of Robert Rodriguez teaming with Rose McGowan for Red Sonja was an interesting one. Here’s a better one: Simon West coming off of a great, sleek bullet-based action movie The Mechanic and teaming with Amber Heard, fresh off of Drive Angry 3D and whatever awards she wins for Best Daisy Dukes ability. According to Empire, producer Avi Lerner claimed that Simon West had already gotten the gig, and that Amber Heard was at the top of Lerner’s list for the lead. Picture that. A veteran action director taking on the swords, sandals and sweat of Amber Heard in a chainmail handkerchief (that’s trying to pass as a bikini). Go ahead. Keep picturing it. It’s potential to kick several thousand cubits worth of ass is high, but at any rate, it seems like it could make Robert E. Howard fans happy.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see every single picture from Drive Angry because I’ve seen the movie, and it’s about as fun a ride as you can imagine. The 3D is gimmicky and wonderful, the story is on a hellbent mission, and William Fichtner creates a character that will live forever as an icon. He, however, is not the main focus of these new pics from the movie. That focus happens to be Amber Heard in Daisy Dukes. The marketers know what they’re doing. Enjoy the new pics intermingled with some old favorites:

If you can name the last John Carpenter film, you’re a better buff than I. If you can name the last good John Carpenter film, you would say, “In the Mouth of Madness,” because that’s technically correct (the best kind of correct). Now, with The Ward, he’s driven Amber Heard crazy and tossed her into a group shower where a ghost can attack her. All of this will make more sense once you’ve seen the trailer:

Your time is valuable. I understand that. But we have a trailer for you to watch for a film you’ve probably heard absolutely nothing about. And to make matters worse it’s a remake. But what if I told you this particular new film stars Amber Heard, Odette Yustman, and Karl Urban? That’s two attractive ladies and Bones McCoy right there. What if I added in the fact that two of those actors, the ones without penises, spend part of the film in tiny bikinis? Plot and pedigree don’t even matter anymore do they? I didn’t think so. You people are perverts. And I love you for it. So with no foreknowledge of what this film is about go ahead and watch this new trailer for And Soon The Darkness…

In 2004, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, Facebook was founded, and the United States finally lifted their decades-old travel ban against Libya. Perhaps more importantly, at Comic-Con that year, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, and Ioan Gruffudd took to the stage to discuss filming their upcoming feature Fantastic Four and to present the partial cast to rabid fans who had been sifting through rumors months and months before. Now, friends, it’s time to start that process all over again. Because 2004 is such a vague memory.

Director Patrick Lussier and writer Todd Farmer have joined 3-Dimensional forces again for the driver from hell revenge road flick, Drive Angry. The film stars Nic Cage as a man escaped from Hell on the hunt for those that killed his daughter and kidnapped his grandchild for a ritual slaughter. He’s only got a limited amount of time to catch them before the baby gets killed or The Accountant (William Fichtner) catches up to him and drags him back to hell. Also along for the ride is mega-hottie Amber Heard. The footage we saw was pretty awesome and can basically be summed up as “Nic Cage Blows up Cars with Shotguns” as he blows up or otherwise destroys something like five cars, most of them with a shotgun.  The effects weren’t finished yet (the clip was hurriedly put together for SDCC), but it was still impressive. The 3D was very deep in some areas, with the hoods of cars seemingly parking in your lap before exploding. Lussier told us that virtually all of what we were seeing was practical, metal on metal action, with Cage and Fichtner behind the wheels for real. Also of interest was the revelation of the “God killer” gun, a weapon used to kill demons, and presumably gods, that Cage steals from Hell to use on his quest for revenge. On the Reject Radio podcast last Sunday, I made the prediction that we would see one cast member butt naked in the film and put my [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane deserves to be seen and enjoyed by US audiences. It’s far better than most studio horror releases of the past four years, it has a sexy lead in Amber Heard, and buying an import copy takes money away from the Weinsteins if and when they ever get around to releasing a domestic DVD or Blu-ray.

The last two weeks have been flooded with rumors and hearsay about Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming film X-Men: First Class. The gates were opened just after Vaughn signed onto the project and began hunting for talent to fill his young mutant story. The latest centers around Amber Heard (Zombieland, Pineapple Express) and the character of Mystique.

The rumor is that Ms. Fox won’t be in the next film per the decision from Mr. Bay. Why am I being so formal? It’s because I’m blogging in a tuxedo.