Back in September, standing outside of Austin's Paramount Theatre, myself and a couple of others listened to Darren Lynn Bousman as he talked about the challenges he was facing in getting Lionsgate to properly release his Repo! The Genetic Opera. The studio had taken down rave after rave after a select screening several months before, and now the next night's Fantastic Fest screenings were as good a chance as any to prove the film's worth.

Well, I saw the film the following night amidst an impressive turn-out of die-hard fans, so while I may have already made my own thoughts clear, I cannot deny its growing (and all but inevitable) cult following, and it seems that neither can Lionsgate. Following a limited release and successful road tour, Bloody Disgusting reports that each will be expanded in the weeks to come to include the likes of Phoenix, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, and Houston.

As for everyone else, you can either keep your fingers crossed for a third tour (though Bousman and co-creator Terrance Zdunich may want to see their families for the holidays, who knows) or just wait for the DVD, which will apparently still hits stores in January.

Bit by tenuous bit, Todd Solondz's next film is coming together. It started brewing in June of 2007, then stalled due to money issues, and then got cooking again in August with the help of Werc Werk Works. But now, oh now, the film has got its superstar.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Paris Hilton has signed onto the dramatic comedy, along with Allison Janney and Charlotte Rampling. (In addition: "Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Renee Taylor, Michael Lerner, Michael Kenneth Williams, Chane't Johnson, Eric Wareheim, and Chris Marquette are among the other actors that Werc Werk Works announced as joining the project. ")

Once called Life During Wartime (there's no title attached to the current news), the film still stars Paul Reubens and focuses on a family during wartime. If nothing has changed, it brings together characters from Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness with different people playing the roles. I first imagined Reubens as Dawn Wiener, but maybe it's Paris?

This could be terrible, and help along Solondz's cinematic decline, but I wonder if this could have House of Yes potential -- in other words, could Paris pull off something Tori Spelling-esque? If anything can make her interesting, I'd think it'd be screen time with PeeWee and Janney. Thoughts?

Repo! The Genetic Opera is tailor-made to attract a fan following in coming years. To an extent, this stage-inspired future-set goth-rock horror musical already has, and its limited release – not to mention a concurrent road-show tour – is fitting for a film unique enough to never worry itself (nor its studio) with a screen count in the triple digits. This is a cult classic in waiting for Hot Topic teens who still believe that Tim Burton directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and won't know who Joan Jett is when she makes an appearance; the emphasis here falls heavily on 'cult' and not so much 'classic'.

"Well, this is the biggest depression since The Notebook." -- Paris Hilton

I'll be the first to bash Paris Hilton on any given day of the week, but I must admit these fake presidential videos starring Hilton have brought us one or three actual laughs. In her latest video, just posted over at Funny or Die (watch it after the jump), Paris Hilton is joined by one of our greatest fake presidents, Martin Sheen, as the two discuss what it takes to become the nation's next fake president. Both take on such issues as the economy, foreign policy (which Hilton calls FoPo) and Iraq. Toward the end even Charlie Sheen makes an appearance, but then bails to take in a jacuzzi. While I'm not so keen on the word 'president' being associated with Hilton in any way, shape or form, part of me wouldn't mind watching her host a debate. The girl has a larger fanbase than either candidate, and I'm sure she'll choose questions that keep them on their toes. "Prada or Gucci ... and why? Senator Obama, we'll start with you." What say you?

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Can you guess which sought-after, Oscar-nominated actress is enjoying some time with fans on the red carpet above? [Photo via Getty Images]

I'd just like to point out that all our writers currently attending the Toronto International Film Festival have been working their asses off to bring you the best reviews, interviews and scene coverage found online. Speaking to James Rocchi before via IM, I thanked him for taking a Paris Hilton bullet for the team and asked if he needed us to inject anymore Red Bull straight into his veins. For those who've never attended or worked a major film fest before, let me just tell you that it is non stop all day, all night ... and you will return home with a nasty, week-long illness. These kids do it because they love it, and they love you for reading them. So thanks team -- keep up the good work!

We're back on the red carpet today with a bunch of tasty images from several different premieres, including The Brothers Bloom, The Duchess, Paris, Not France, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and more. Check out the gallery below for some fantastic images from this year's Toronto bash (more hi-res images here), and make sure to keep it tuned in right here all week as we still have a long way to go. For a comprehensive list of all our Toronto coverage so far, head on over to our official fest Hub, or check out some sweet daily recaps over on Moviefone.

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[photo via Getty Images]

"With less than one hour to go and no restraining order in place, I feel comfortable now letting you all know that this film was the subject of legal threats and was almost not shown at all here at the festival ... This version will probably never be seen again. I am hoping that Paris will see, with the audience tonight, that there is nothing to be afraid of here. And will eventually let the film be distributed ... I can guarantee you three things: you may be the only people to ever see this version, you will not be disappointed, and everyone will be asking you if you saw it."

-- William Morris agent Cassian Elwes in a Sept. 9 e-mail to acquisitions and buyers before yesterday's 6:00 screening of Paris, Not France at the Ryerson.

Any film festival needs some hullabaloo, some hint of scandal, some touch of trouble; this year, at TIFF, it came with word that all but one screening of Paris, Not France, Adria Petty's documentary about the life and times of Paris Hilton, had been pulled from the schedule with the threat of legal action; Nonetheless, there was one screening of the film left, with Ms. Hilton in attendance. (I encourage you to briefly try and wrap your head around the narcissism and gall it must take to make an appearance on the red carpet for a film you do not want shown.)

Oh yes, you heard that right -- and I almost slapped myself when, during a Toronto Fest meeting earlier today, I unfortunately had to inform our team that coverage of Paris, Not France was a top priority. Congrats Ms. Hilton, you've successfully found a way to turn all the attention toward your documentary by making it look like you want nothing to do with it. Of course, that's not the case at all -- heck, it's not like the chick ever pulled something like this before (cough ... sex tape ... cough). But let's back up for a minute ...

... there's a Paris Hilton documentary playing Toronto? Yup, it's called Paris, Not France, and it marks the first feature for music video and commercial director Adria Petty (daughter of Tom). What's it about? Apparently, the flick follows Paris around for a year and provides us with one of those intimate looks into the life of blah blah .... and then she says "That's hot" about a gazillion times ... the end. So why is everyone talking about it?

Well, because Paris (and her "people") somehow managed to get the festival to pull all but one screening of the doc for reasons they're not willing to disclose at this time. So what's up? Is Paris really that upset with the way she's portrayed in the film that she doesn't want it shown? Or, is this whole "pull the screenings, threaten lawsuits" thing just a ploy to get people (like us) talking and wanting and needing? I'd say it's certainly suspicious, especially since we're talking Paris Hilton here, who, whether you like it or not, is pretty smart when it comes to marketing herself as a larger-than-life personality.

What do you think? And does all this hoopla make you want to see the film even more?

[via Risky Biz Blog]

In the vast wasteland of crappy movies Paris Hilton has popped up in is a little film called Pledge This! If you follow bad movies, you might recognize the title, and if you peruse IMDb's Bottom 100, you would see that it's resting at #15.

But it seems that the poor movie's bad luck is at least partially due to Paris' lackadaisical promotion of the film, not the fact that out of those who bothered to watch and rate the film (almost 5,000), it gets a 1.6/10. The AP reports that a lawsuit has been filed in Miami, claiming that she owes $75,000 for not making good on her promotional obligations. She was paid $1 million for her "acting services" as well as "reasonable promotion and publicity." So I guess she filled over 90% of her contractual obligations, but just slacked in that last 10. Bad worker Hilton.

This is an interesting scheme -- hire a rich celebrity with no cinematic discretion to star in a crappy film, and if the film tanks and she wasn't going wild publicizing it, blame her. Here's to hoping this keeps her from making another Hottie film, at the very least.

He's already made a documentary about the quest to meet his father, and now Adrian Grenier is heading for doc land again for what sounds like a pretty funky endeavor.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Grenier has nabbed a number of big names that include Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Eva Longoria, Paris Hilton, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Landau, Noam Chomsky, and Lewis Black for his new documentary titled Teenage Paparazzi. While this sounds like it could be centered on the phenomenon of Lindsays and Britneys, the film will focus on Grenier's "relationship with a 14-year-old paparazzo who took his photo," while also discussing the culture of fame.

But here is where things take an interesting turn -- the film "will interweave the relationship portrait with philosophical interviews in the style of Ricard LInklater's Waking Life." If that means just a bunch of discussions, cool. If that means that those discussions will be rotoscoped, that would be awesome. RIght now, the film is getting shopped to distributors, but hopefully we'll find out more soon.

In these supposedly progressive times, gender equality is one of those touchy issues relegated to the last paragraph of a trend piece nobody reads. When Katherine Heigl suggested to Vanity Fair that Judd Apatow's movies were sexist, the assertion came across like an after-the-fact shrug of acceptance. Ever the galvanizing provocateur, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis confronts the issue head-on with a thorough analysis of the gender bias in this year's summer blockbusters.

With "Iron Man, Batman, Big Angry Green Man" and other massive expressions of virility invading the box office, female roles appear to be relegated to the back of the multiplex. Dargis touches on the rumors that Warner Bros head Jeff Robinov believes no woman has been able to sell a movie since Julia Roberts (a point that Natalie Portman might contest, but not Paris Hilton) before sizing up numerous upcoming studio releases, with particular attention paid to Anna Faris, "who could be the next Judy Holliday but without the right material will, alas, probably end up the next Brittany Murphy." It's the kind of pronouncement that hits you in gut.

I almost wrote up a fan rant this week about Paris Hilton. After a paragraph, I realized that I was stating the obvious and backed away from it all. See, she recently had an interview with MTV/VH1 where they actually noted that it was a "word-for-word" transcript in case you didn't believe it. The discussion started with Christine Lakin (her Nottie co-star) trying to explain what a primary was. Irk #1, not having the slightest clue about the political process -- and not even potentially remembering any bit of schooling I assumed she had. Why am I surprised? I don't know.

From there, it went through a bunch of b-s, and then we get to Irk #2. Farts came up, and when asked: "So, Paris, even when you're at home by yourself, you don't occasionally let one rip?" she responded with: "No! Girls don't do that. Ew." Oh yes, that's right. Our skin is always perfect, we never fart, we don't grow excess hair, and when we go to the bathroom, it's just to powder our noses, not to deal with anything unsightly. Good lord. Is it wrong of me to want to send over some flatulence fiends to torture her for days with dutch ovens?

Anyway... I need a little reassurance that the world isn't doomed when women like Paris are popular, so this double feature is about women who discover their brains and put them to good use. They're both blonde, and both have lots of success, so Paris, this is me hoping that there is still hope for you, and giving you a hint about where to start: a double feature of Clueless and Legally Blonde.

So I've been watching this whole Britney Spears drama unfold today, and it got me thinking about the kind of biopics we'll be seeing in 10-15 years; the sort of stuff that will be based on the fascinating lives people are living right now. I hate to be the one who says this -- and as much as she's a total trainwreck, I still hope she pulls through -- but are we really that far away from waking up in the morning to TMZ breaking the news of Britney Spears' unfortunate death? Yeah, you've got Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton -- two giant headaches; there's no denying that. But Spears is in a league of her own. She's right there. She's on the verge of leaving this planet ... and it's almost like the media want her to die in some absurd way because they'll have their story of the year.

And then after she dies, MSNBC will run non-stop coverage (though it's an election year, so Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood will win out in the end), interviewing the editor of In Touch Magazine 30 times throughout the day, asking them this same question: How come no one was there to help this girl out? And while the editor from In Touch Magazine talks, they'll show the same music video montage -- Britney in a school girl uniform, Britney in leather, Britney at the VMA awards. Larry King will bring on her mother. Then her father. And if he's lucky, he'll get a pregnant Jamie Lynn. The trifecta! You go Larry! The film sites (including Cinematical) will try to find a way to spin the story in a way that announces which jackass first nabs her life rights for a biopic, and that will be it. The end of Britney.

Until the day comes for a biopic. And we run through the names of a few up-and-comers trying to decide who should play Britney. I'll probably write the post, and say something like -- "I vote for Lohan, since she already knows how to sing and could probably pull off a believable Britney." And how ironic would it be if that performance is what nabs Lohan an Oscar nod? Nah ... too soon. Too soon. Maybe Jamie Lynn would play Britney, in a fitting tribute to the girl who taught her how to have stupid sex at 16. But you know what? It doesn't have to go there. Now is the time for her f**king family to drop whatever sh*t is stored in that warehouse they call an attic and get this girl some help. Because when and if it ever happens, I want Britney to star in her own biopic. And I want it to end with her smiling at the camera, with her middle finger in the air, as she goes ... "See, I survived. And f*ck you Perez Hilton!" (Only the MPAA will ask her to remove the word 'f*ck' in order to get the film down to a PG-13 rating. And we'll probably write a post about it.)

You never forget your first love ... except when she's Paris Hilton. Yes, the trailer you've all been waiting for has finally arrived online -- Paris Hilton's new romantic comedy, The Hottie & the Nottie. And you know what, if Paris Hilton was a nobody -- a random actress plucked from obscurity -- then I'd say they found the perfect girl to play the "hottie." Hilton looks pretty damn good in this trailer; definitely the kind of girl you'd imagine a guy falling for at a very young age. But then she opens her mouth ... and you want to stick a gun into yours.

Joel Moore (who I happen to kind of like some) plays this dude named Nate who, as a guy in his early twenties (I imagine), winds up running into Cristabelle (Hilton), the girl he's been in love with since the first grade. Nate really wants to "get with" Cristabelle, except there's one problem: She refuses to date anyone until her best friend, June (Christine Lakin), finds a man of her own. And June, well ... let's just say the leftover creature makeup from Alien vs. Predator was put to good use. This girl is horrific to look at, in a very loony-tune sort of way. So now Nate has one giant obstacle in front of him: Find June a guy, and he gets Cristabelle. Of course Nate has the wacky best friend who gives him tons of bad advice, and the trailer doesn't allow Hilton to say too much -- they just parade her around in one tight outfit after another. The film arrives in theaters on February 8, just in time for Valentine's Day. God bless you if you buy a ticket for it. And check out the trailer above, or over on the film's official website.

Variety reports that Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) have joined the cast of Dark Castle's Orphan. In a nod to Bad Seeds everywhere, the film focuses on a young couple (Sarsgaard and Farmiga) that have recently lost a child and decide to adopt a young girl to fill the void. Of course, nothing is ever that easy and the girl "is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be". David Leslie, a relative newcomer, wrote the screenplay based off an idea by Alex Mace. Already signed to direct is House of Wax helmer, Jaume Collet-Serra. Serra started off directing TV commercials and music videos, and Wax was his first big-budget production. Orphan seems like a definite step up for Serra; when your casting pool goes from Paris Hilton to Peter Sarsgaard you must be doing something right.

Sarsgaard has already completed the Philip Roth adaptation Elegy with Penelope Cruz, and is wrapping up work on two more literary adaptations. First up is In the Electric Mist; based on James Lee Burke's novel about "A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers" and Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Farmiga is currently filming Nothing But The Truth, a political drama with Kate Beckinsale and will next star in a literary adaptation of her own called The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas for Mark Herman (Brassed Off). Orphan is set to start shooting next week on location in Toronto and Montreal, Canada.