Okay, months worth of accolades and awards speculation are over.  What better way to cleanse your palette than with the Golden Rasberries, the annual joke awards honoring the very worst in theatrical features.  The list of Razzie nominees from the year that was in 2011 is now online, and it contains a surprise or two.

Opening in theaters on November 4th is the new police drama from Fighting director Dito Montiel called The Son of No One. The film stars an all-star cast of actors including Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Ray Liotta (Cop Land), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Tracy Morgan (TV's 30 Rock), and Oscar winners Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Al Pacino (Serpico).  

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down and speak with director Dito Montiel about The Son of No One. The director spoke honestly about his new film, its autobiographical subject matter, reuniting with his Fighting star Channing Tatum, casting Tracy Morgan in his first serious role, and directing the great Al Pacino. 

Synopsis: Jack and Jill is a comedy focusing on Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jill's neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down. Katie Holmes plays Erin, Jack's wife.

As the delightfully foul-mouthed monster maestro Guillermo del Toro tells it, the Don't Be Afraid of the Dark came about because, as a child, the 1973 ABC telemovie was one of the most frightening things he had ever seen, and he and his brother would chase each other around whispering, "Saaaaallllly," just like the creatures in the film.  When he grew up and rewatched the original, though, he was surprised by how much better his embellished recollection of it was, so he and co-writer Matthew Robbins set about writing a new version that would live up to del Toro's memories.

To direct, del Toro enlisted Tory Nixey to make his feature film debut.  Based on everything we've seen, it looks as though the resulting remake will live to the movie producer and co-writer del Toro had in his head for so long.  A new red band spot is quite disturbing, particularly for anyone who cringes at the idea of dental torture.  It's followed up by a clip and a behind-the-scenes video, which spotlights the adorably precocious star Bailee Madison and del Toro's wonderful accent.

Opening in theaters on August 26^th is a new horror film from the mind of director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) called Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which actually is based on the 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie of the same name. The film has been a passion project of del Toro’s for years but he did not helm the movie, instead tapping comic book artist Troy Nixey to make his feature film directorial debut while he simply adapted the screenplay and produced the new remake.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark stars a talented cast of actors including Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Alan Dale (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Jack Thompson (Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil), and newcomer Bailee Madison (Just Go With It).

IAR’s managing editor Jami Philbrick had a chance to catch up with actor Guy Pearce at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego last month to discuss Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The actor spoke freely about the new film, his familiarity with the original, collaborating with both del Toro and Nixey on set, and the importance of finding the right young actress to play the lead role.

Opening in theaters on August 26th is a new horror film from the mind of director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) called Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which is based on the 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie of the same name. The film has been a passion project of del Toro's for years but he did not helm the movie, instead tapping comic book artist Troy Nixey to make his feature film directorial debut while he simply adapted the screenplay and produced the new remake. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark stars a talented cast of actors including Guy Pearce (Memento), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Alan Dale (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Jack Thompson (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), and newcomer Bailee Madison (Just Go With It).

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with writer and producer Guillermo del Toro, as well as actresses Katie Holmes, and Bailee Madison to discuss the new film. We spoke candidly about del Toro's vision and passion for the project, Holmes' experience collaborating with del Toro, and how Madison dealt with the movie's scarier moments at such a young age.

More often then not, cinematic monsters are big, physically imposing beasts that lumber around feasting on human flesh and secreting goo all over the place.  Such beasts can certainly hit on some of an audience's basic fears, but they're awfully familiar by now.  Two new clips from Don't Be Afraid of the Dark prove that creatures needn't be behemoths in order to be properly scary.  The little beasties inhabiting Blackwood Manor are almost roughly-sized, but they're cleverly sinister and every shade of creepy. 

In the comedic drama Funny People, writer-director Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler pointedly mock the types of vehicles that made Sandler famous through the fictitious movie star George Simmons.  Simmons films glimpsed throughout Funny People include one in which he plays a mer-man and another in which his head is digitally put on a baby's body.  Based on this trailer for Sandler's latest, Jack and Jill would not have been out of place on the list of fake movies lampooning his resume.  In the film, Sandler plays Jack and dons a wig to portray his obnoxious twin sister Jill, who visits Jack and his family in Los Angeles, only to end up on an extended stay, much to Jack's chagrin.

The LA Film Fest came to a close last week with the Sunday night premiere of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a new horror film from the mind of fan-favorite director Guillermo del Toro. The movie, which del Toro produced, is based on a 1973 ABC made-for-TV film that the Pan’s Labyrinth director has said was the scariest thing he ever saw on TV as a child.

Don’t be afraid of the Dark is the directorial debut for comic book artist Troy Nixey and the film stars Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Guy Pearce (Memento), and newcomer Bailee Madison (Brothers). The story follows Sally (Madison), a young girl who moves to Connecticut to live with her father and his girlfriend (Pearce and Holmes) in an old house that they are renovating. Sally soon discovers tiny creatures living in the basement that she tries to befriend but quickly realizes are actually out to get her.

If Guillermo del Toro is involved with a film in any capacity, you can rest assured that it will contain some spectacular monsters, vampires, ghouls, or other creatures that go bump in the night.  He is, after all, the director behind Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, and The Devil's Backbone.  He's also the producer and co-writer of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, a modern update of a 1973 made-for-TV movie that del Toro fervently believes is the scariest film ever made.  The first official poster for the haunted house horror tale has premiered, and it is appropriately spooky.