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Today in Backstage casting notices, we have a spook-tacular opportunity for Los Angeles-area talent. The L.A. Haunted Hayride, a local favorite, seeks male and female performers for several creepy roles, so get in the spirit! The attraction, which this year bears the theme Secret Society, “will bring guests down the dark road of the power and sacrifice that takes place in the shadows to bring the world their favorite night of the year.” Roles currently being cast include Tall Creatures, Small Creatures and Chainsaw Maniac. The paid gig will begin rehearsals on Sept. 24, and will run throughout October in L.A. All talent must be 18 years or older. For more information on the Haunted Hayride, you can see the full listing here. And be sure to check out all of Backstage’s L.A. casting notices! For advice on auditions, headshots, and more, check out Backstage’s YouTube channel!

Hollywood always seems to be looking for the next big lucrative film franchise. Studios have looked at several existing properties in hopes of finding their big meal ticket, and some of those properties include classic action figure toy lines and cartoon series from the 1980s. We’ve already seen films for G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a few others, but there are a helluva lot more out there that would make for some great movies!

I’ve put together a list of several different action figure and cartoon properties that I would love to see adapted for the big screen. Most of the properties on this list are ones I loved as a kid, and it would be so cool to see them brought to life in a way we've never seen before. I briefly talk about each franchise on the list and give a...

As Superman prepares for global lift-off, Cocker fine-tunes the premiere of the opening night film at the Sheffield Doc/Fest

This year's Sheffield documentary festival kicks off on Wednesday with a double celebration for the city: it's hosted the fest for two decades, and it's put in 100 making stainless steel.

The opening night event, The Big Melt, smelts the two together: a documentary by Martin Wallace, it splices archive footage of the city and its steelworkers to a live soundtrack by Jarvis Cocker and other Sheffield musical alumni, including the City of Sheffield Brass Band, Richard Hawley and members of his band, some of Cocker's Pulp colleagues, the Forgemasters, a string quartet and a youth choir.

Said Cocker: "I only hope that we can pay proper homage to the extraordinary individuals featured in this footage. Our aim is to melt faces (and hearts) and to blow minds. With maybe a...

Small Creatures is the micro-budgeted first time feature from director Martin Wallace and concerns a group of teenage boys living in an estate outside of Liverpool; their bleak lives, disinterest in education and eventual, inevitable descent into drugs and gang violence. Very much in the tradition of recent films like Fish Tank and This Is England but without the same sense of social realism or grit, it is nonetheless a well produced little drama with some fine performances by young actors even if the heavy use of visual metaphors puts it more in line with 'nice-fantasy-realist' films. It's less 'Kes' and more 'A Kid for Two Farthings', so to speak. [Continued ...]...

Coggie (Michael Coventry) is a susceptible schoolboy who lives on a council estate in Liverpool with his mother (Jane Hogarth) and older sister (Terri Reddin). He spends most of his time hanging around with friends Macca (Paul Bamford) and Ste (Tom Pauline). But when Ste’s behaviour worsens and Coggie finds himself on the cusp of a life consumed by violence and drugs, he decides enough is enough and, in the company of Macca, attempts to break free of his friend’s aggressive dominance.

The latest in the line of social realist dramas, Small Creatures at first attempts to elevate itself above its obvious shoe-string budget, but unfortunately succumbs to an over-reliance on visual metaphors and imagery to elicit meaning – a feat that’s so rarely achieved to a decent measure that writer and director Martin Wallace’s intentions feel instantly unrealistic for someone so inexperienced. They just end up...

★★☆☆☆ Martin Wallace's debut feature Small Creatures (2010) is a gritty slice of adolescent social realism that, whilst rich in striking imagery and visual metaphors, fails to effectively combine the dark world of playground brutality with some sumptuous visual diversions. Coggie (Michael Coventry) lives with his mother and sister in a rundown Liverpool council estate, spending most of his time hanging around with his two friends Macca (Paul Bamford) and Ste (Tom Pauline).

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Cannes is now over which means it’s time to move to Britain as the Edinburgh Film Festival kicks off!

We’ve just been sent the full line-up for the 2012 Edinburgh Film Festival which is now in it’s 66th year. We have our people (Jamie, Steven and Emma) on the ground at the event right now ready to catch as many films as they possible can throughout the next wee or two as we get to see 121 new features and 19 world premieres.

I’ll let the full press release below do the talking but let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments section below.

World Premieres:

Berberian Sound Studio Borrowed Time Day Of The Flowers Exit Elena Flying Blind Fred Future My Love Guinea Pigs Here, Then Leave It On The Track The Life And Times Of Paul The Psychic Octopus Life Just Is Mnl...

The full programme for the 66th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), which runs from 20 June to 1 July, has been officially announced and will feature nineteen World premieres and thirteen International premieres.

The Festival will showcase one hundred and twenty-one new features from fifty-two countries, including eleven European premieres and seventy-six UK premieres in addition to the World and International premieres. Highlights include the World premieres of Richard Ledes’ Fred; Nathan Silver’s Exit Elena and Benjamin Pascoe’s Leave It On The Track and European premieres of Lu Sheng’s Here, There and Yang Jung-ho’s Mirage in the maiden New Perspectives section; and the International premiere of Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé, Juan Carlos Tabio and Laurent Cantet’s 7 Days In Havana and the European premiere of Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America in the Directors’ Showcase. In addition to the new features presented,...