How Very! Heathers Writer Returns to Film

(NEWSER) - The high-school comedy/murder cult film Heathers is set to be reborn—as a Broadway musical, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Readings have already happened with the likes of Kristen Bell, and much of the original production team is on board. “‘I love my dead gay son,’” the producer quoted from the 1988 original. “If you can get that into a song, then that is just perfect.” More»

Filming slain writer's script a fine sentiment, poorly executed

(NEWSER) - When Waitress writer-director Adrienne Shelly was murdered, in 2006, she left behind the script for Serious Moonlight. Critics speculate that she might have made it work, but that hasn't happened:

• "A wife duct-tapes her husband to a chair and tells him that she will make him fall in love with her again (and if she doesn't, she'll never set him free)," Mick LaSalle summarizes in the San Francisco Chronicle . "The banter is insufferable. The situation is frustrating. Audiences may begin to feel as if they're duct-taped to a chair."

Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, John Calley share the spotlight

(NEWSER) - A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't believe it, a man at last!" the 85-year-old Bacall joked as she hoisted her new hardware. More»

Phillip Seymour Hoffman has a really good sense of humor

(NEWSER) - Ricky Gervais, perhaps best known for the original version of The Office, bids for movie stardom with The Invention of Lying, out next week. Gervais co-wrote, co-directed, and stars as the only person on earth with the ability to lie. He tells the Telegraph about the experience, and what jumps out is the tale of the casting of Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, who joined the cast after a somewhat unconventional approach by Gervais. More»

Track Flick and making 'fetch' happen, anyone?

(NEWSER) - Hard as it is to believe, John Hughes made his last high school-centric film in 1987. Luckily, the 22 years since haven't lacked for flicks that chronicle some part of those awkward, wonderful 4 years. Christopher Borrelli of the Chicago Tribune lists the 10 movies that do it best:

1. Dazed and Confused: Reflects what high school memories essentially are: "plotless, keen distillations of moments and feelings."