You might not know him by name, but you would definitely recognize actor Greg Ellis if you saw his face. Ellis has appeared on dozens of popular television shows such as X-Files, Nip/Tuck, Trust Me, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and season three of 24 as biological weapons dealer Michael Amador. He’s also had roles in several successful feature films including the Academy Award-winning Titanic, Beowulf, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek where the actor had the honor of being the new franchise’s first official “red shirt” (a stock character who dies soon after being introduced). But Ellis is best known for his role as Lieutenant Theodore Groves in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, including last summer’s mega-hit Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

Ellis first played Groves in the original Pirates movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and while he did not appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, he did return to the series for the third chapter, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. But the actor’s largest role in the series came with the most recent edition to the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the film, Groves is promoted to Lieutenant Commander while working with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) aboard the H.M.S. Providence to find the Fountain of Youth. He aids Barbossa and Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) on their quest to find the Fountain and claims it for the British Empire before ultimately battling Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and the Spaniards.

I recently had a chance to speak with actor Greg Ellis about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The actor spoke candidly with me about the film, his character’s evolution, playing sidekick to Geoffrey Rush’s Barbossa, the differences between working with the film’s director Rob Marshall and former Pirates director Gore Verbinski, his reaction the first time he saw Johnny Depp play Jack Sparrow, playing the first “red shirt” in Star Trek, and the loophole that J.J. Abrams has come up with so that Ellis can possibly appear in Star Trek 2.

Actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse has made a career of playing geeks on screen but he’s probably best known for creating the quintessential movie nerd, McLovin in the recent comedy classic Superbad. Since then Mintz-Plasse has mastered the awkward teenager role in films like Role Models, Year One, and Kick-Ass. Now the actor returns, once again playing the school loser in the new 3D horror film Fright Night, which opens in theaters on August 19^th.

The new movie is a remake of the classic 1985 horror film of the same name starring Chris Sarandon (The Princess Bride), and Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes), which was directed by Tom Holland (Cloak & Dagger). In the new Fright Night, Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays Ed Lee an unpopular high school student living in a suburb of Las Vegas who begins to suspect that his best friend Charley’s (Anton Yelchin) neighbor is really a vampire. But when Ed tells Charley the truth, he doesn’t believe him and it begins to draw a wedge between the two friends, which is what eventually leads Ed right into the arms of Jerry the vampire played by Colin Farrell (Miami Vice), who turns Ed into “Evil” Ed. Now, Charlie must defeat Jerry before he turns his mother (Toni Collette), his girlfriend (Imogen Poots) and the rest of Las Vegas into vampires. However, in order to do that he’s going to have to battle his former friend “Evil” Ed, who is hell bent on killing Charley and having his revenge.

Tom Holland's 1985 original Fright Night combined themes of suburban paranoia, sexual confusion, and adolescent angst in a clever twist on Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window.  The hero is not Jimmy Stewart, but a high school student convinced that his neighbor is, in fact, a bloodthirsty vampire. Of course, his mother and almost everyone else react with disbelief, but neighborly Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) does have some supernatural secrets up his non-literal sleeve.

This Friday, a 3D Fright Night remake hits theaters, with Anton Yelchin as Charley and Colin Farrell as his vampiric neighbor Jerry Dandrige.  Craig Gillespie, who previously directed Lars and the Real Girl, fills out his cast with  Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, along with David Tennant as Peter Vincent, the character originally played by Roddy McDowall.

Over the last 25 years, the film has amassed a cult of loyal fans, some of whom reacted warily to the prospect of a remake.  A consistent reassurance, however, has been the presence of screenwriter Marti Noxon.  Noxon has genre credibility to burn, having served as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, eventually taking over for Joss Whedon as the day-to-day showrunner on the beloved series.  Not only that, but she also wrote and produced on ABC's popular Grey's Anatomy and AMC's acclaimed Mad Men.  Noxon, who also contributed to the I Am Number Four script, graciously took the time for an exclusive interview with IAR, where she discussed Fright Night, potential sequels, and her involvement with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Logical dilemma, Fright Night edition: A vampire, in this case Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) really wants to get inside the Brewster household, where his teenage nemesis Charley (Anton Yelchin) hides with his unsuspecting mother (Toni Collette) and girlfriend (Imogen Poots).  Charley knows well enough not to invite Jerry into the house, and Jerry, being a vampire, can't very well just barge in.  So, faced with this conundrum, how does a predator like Jerry get at his prey?  A new red-band clip that's only red-band on account of bad language provides the answer, but be warned it is definitely a spoiler and a half.

In 1985's Fright Night, writer-director Tom Holland worked a clever twist on Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, only instead of Jimmy Stewart believing his neighbor to be a murderer, a high school student was convinced that his seemingly normal new neighbor was actually a creature of the night.  The new 3D remake is built around the same scenario, but looks to feature its own unique tone and style, both of which are on display in three new official clips.  First there's a vampiric Colin Farrell trying to get invited into the Brewster household, since his species has a hard time going anywhere univited.  Then there are two clips demonstrating that, like the original, this film will have a sense of humor, even if it's only courtesy of David Tennant's Peter Vincent, a Vegas magician enlisted to help Anton Yelchin's Charley Brewster bust some bloodsucking skulls.

For the last few months, there's been a steady trickle of pictures from Fright Night, the upcoming 3D remake of Tom Holland's 1985 horror-comedy that successfully combined vampiric scares and an off-kilter sense of humor.  None of these instances of a photo or two passing before your eyes, however, could prepare your cones and rods for this onslaught of images from the film.  Thrill to these perhaps-a-little-spoilerific images of Anton Yelchin as Charley and Colin Farrell as his vampire neighbor, along with looks at Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette, David Tennant, the delightfully-named Imogen Poots, and younger Franco brother Dave Franco, whose character evidently wears only striped zip-up sweatshirts.

A very early, unsubstantiated rumor from last month purports that DreamWorks has given some preliminary thought to an eventual sequel for Fright Night, this summer's 3D remake of writer-director Tom Holland's 1985 horror-comedy.  According to the rumor, a potential sequel would focus on Peter Vincent, the Criss Angel-style Las Vegas magician enlisted by Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) to combat his vampiric neighbor (Colin Farrell).  Vincent is played by David Tennant, and anyone who has seen his turn as the Doctor on the BBC's Doctor Who knows that he could carry a vampire-slaying vehicle all his own.  His coolness alone is basically the only thing giving credibility to that rumor.  Said coolness is on display in two new images from the remake, with Vincent both reclining at home and sporting a crucifix-y shotgun.

So far, everything seen from the upcoming Fright Night 3D remake have omitted the often playful sense of humor that helped make writer-director Tom Holland's 1985 original a distinct and enjoyable cult film.  A series of four new UK posters put four primary characters forward, with Colin Farrell's vampiric Jerry Dandrige, Anton Yelchin as neighbor and high school hero Charley Brewster, Imogen Poots as his ladyfriend Amy Peterson, and David Tennant rocking the guyliner and a shotgun as Peter Vincent.  Not only that, but they indicate the potential for a sense of humor, since all four boast some big character-specific puns.

At last night's MTV Movie Awards, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse took home the lion's share of the golden popcorn, and DreamWorks took the opportunity to unveil a new trailer for the Fright Night 3D remake starring Anton Yelchin as Charley Brewster and Colin Farrell as his vampiric neighbor.  Befitting the occasion, the 1:30 trailer even includes an allusion to Twilight.  More importantly, it provides our first look at David Tennant in action as Peter Vincent, the Las Vegas illusionist who aids Charley in his battle with the neighborly bloodsucker.

Fans of of forgettable sequels to cult horror-comedies will remember that writer-director Tom Holland's 1985 original Fright Night spawned a Holland-less sequel, Fright Night Part 2.  With the 3D Fright Night remake, starring Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell, hitting theaters this August, DreamWorks is apparently pretty hot on the Craig Gillespie-directed re-do.  Hot enough that there are preliminary discussions about a remake, which would put supporting players David Tennant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse front and center.