Empire Magazine sat down with director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce to discuss Iron Man 3 in their latest podcast, which is SPOILER-HEAVY, and some interesting bits came to light. Apparently tired of freaky Wonder Woman sex, Pepper Potts strayed from Tony Stark’s bed and the result was caught on tape. Says Black:

“Pepper, in one draft, slept with [Aldrich] Killian because he was so pheromonially enhanced with this extremis that she couldn’t resist him and she was angry with Tony and so she sleeps with Killian and then he makes a sex tape and broadcasts it in Home Depot.”

That tyrant! Using Home Depot to besmirch Pepper’s reputation would make her look like a total whore in the eyes of migrant workers and women who want new cabinets. Is his evil boundless?

Sybok – Star Trek V

Spock’s brother from another mother has a different belief system than his younger bro. This Saddam Hussein-looking Vulcan comes to the Enterprise’s attention when he takes three diplomats hostage on the planet Nimbus III. Kirk and his crew arrive to negotiate with Sybok, only to have their ship overtaken by the charismatic madman. He then takes the crew on an exploration of Heaven to find God. However, they encounter the outer space equivalent of Satan upon reaching the area beyond the Great Barrier. Sybok sacrifices himself to save the crew. That will teach him to embrace emotion over logic. Dumbass.

Dillon – Alien 3

All of the residents of the outer-space penal colony Fiorina ‘Fury’ 161 are rough customers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be sentenced to end their days on the remote foundry. But Dillon stands tall above them all. A murderer and rapist who has found God at the ass end of space, he’s working to make amends for his past actions by spreading the gospel. Don’t take that to mean that you should mess with him. He’ll still go at you with a pipe if you cross him. Also, this dude fist fought Alien. Not even Predator was that brave.

Mal Reynolds – Serenity

A former platoon leader in the Unification War against the Alliance, the defeated captain decided to live off the grid and keep his profile low. Now he makes his way as a smuggler and thief with the aid of his small crew. Never one to let the Alliance win however, Reynolds’ Firefly-class vessel also houses River Tam, a fugitive with inside knowledge whom the Alliance will stop at nothing to silence.

Zorg – The Fifth Element

As an industrialist and weapons dealer, Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is already a man of low character. Factor in that he’s a puppet for the Great Evil that wants to consume and destroy Earth, and he comes off as a total dick.

Mark Sheppard – Outland

As manager of a titanium ore mining facility on one of Jupiter’s moon, Sheppard likes to brag that the outpost grew to reach it’s most productive under his rule. But that’s because he’s doping his workers with a drug that makes them stay awake longer, work harder, and go completely psychotic either killing themselves or moon prostitutes. When Sean Connery’s sheriff arrives Sheppard finds himself a wanted man. Probably the second-most evil role from Everybody Loves Raymond’s Peter Boyle. I never did like the way he talked down to Brad Garrett.

Riddick – Pitch Black

Riddick is introduced in Pitch Black as a dangerous criminal being transported to prison. However, when the transport ship crash lands on a dark planet inhabited by dangerous, man-eating creatures, Riddick is the surviving crew’s only hope. That’s because he’s replaced his eyes with artificial eyes that enable him to see perfectly in the dark which makes him a better thief, murderer, and all-around badass.

Jabba the Hutt – Return of the Jedi

Despite his inability to move around well and his tiny dinosaur arms, Jabba the Hutt rose to become one of the most dangerous gangsters in the Star Wars universe. He did this mostly by surrounding himself with thugs and guns for hire, which he would dispatch to do his dirty work. He wasn’t pursued by the law because the universe was largely lawless at that time, but Jabba did make powerful enemies. The most powerful of which being Luke Skywalker, the Jedi who would help return balance to the Force and overthrow the Empire. Not a good enemy to make.

With this tease, directed by Luke Scott, we jump ahead thirteen years into the future for TED2023. Here, Pearce slimes it up as Peter Weyland while discussing his interest in changing the world. It’s a short bit that won’t appear in the actual film, but still a pretty cool nod to the world we currently inhabit. Gives me the impression that if anyone is going to stumble across alien xenomorphs, it would be a wealthy British entreprenuar. Richard Branson, I’m looking at you.

Maggie Grace plays the president’s comely daughter who happens to be hanging out at an off-Earth prison when the inmates take over. And the only non-Liam Neeson guy who can save her is Guy Pearce. A wise-crackin’, butt-smokin’, one man wrecking machine whose gonna astronaut his way in and get her off that floating crowbar hotel. Lockout looks completely ridiculous. But also completely awesome. It’s the Con-Air sequel we’ve always wanted. Give me all the tickets.

In space, when you drop the soap, does the soap float in mid-air?

Little Sally Hirst (Bailey Madison) has to go live with her dad Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) in the scary house they’re restoring. We know from the prologue that Emerson Blackwood (Garry McDonald) used to hide in the basement ripping out victims’ teeth to feed the creatures that whisper to him. So it’s going to be rough for Sally.

Don't Be Afraid Of This 'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' Trailer

The plot structure is basic and effective. Sally starts hearing the whispers and the creatures leave gifts for her, but then they start ripping Kim’s clothes and making trouble. Of course the grown-ups don’t believe her. Actually, it’s Alex who’s so obsessed with making the cover of Architecture Digest that he tries to micromanage Sally into behaving. Kim seems sympathetic, at least that Sally should get some sensitive attention, if not totally buying into the creatures.

Nixey does the creature tease well with glimpses, keeping the creatures hidden but present enough that they’re part of the movie. Alex sticks his ears so close he almost gets nicked, but that’s just a joke. Seeing the creatures in shadow from Sally’s foot level is cute and whimsical.

The creatures attack with deft skill though. You definitely get your money’s worth in several scenes of full on little armies stabbing and grabbing the groundskeeper and embarrassing Alex at his dinner party. Those are great sequences.

The only distracting aspect of the film is an apparent anti-psychiatry bent. Sally’s mom has her on Aderol and Alex’s psychiatrist friend wants to prescribe more for Sally. It may be effective to set a monster movie in the world of obtuse adults, but when you cast the wife of the most vocal spokesperson against prescription medication, it can’t help but feel like an agenda. And it was probably only meant to show that the grown-ups don’t get Sally, but that’s where my mind goes.

I like seeing a creature movie where the creatures interact with the world. Horror movies don’t scare me so I have to appreciate them on a different level. I don’t know if Dark will scare you but it’s entertaining and creative.

Guillermo del Toro's 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' Trailer

The movie is about a little girl played by Bailee Madison, who moves into a haunted house with her dad (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Katie Holmes). Also, lots of loud and scary PG-13 ghosts. You can go ahead and watch it in the dark, since it says right in the title not to be afraid of said dark. Enjoy.

Check out the spookeriffic poster for producer Guillermo Del Toro‘s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark below. Those hands under the stairs are the movie itself, grasping to reach the surface after getting locked into a film basement, following the sale of Miramax. Now it’s finally escaping into theaters, specifically to grab you by the ankles, on August 26, 2011. Though the poster says the 12th, but that’s just a trick meant to confuse and frighten you.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark follows the story of a young girl who has to live with her father and his new girlfriend, because her mom abandoned her. There’s nothing scarier for kids than the thought of a parent abandoning them… other than evil night goblins. Night goblins is a close #2. Curse you, night goblins. Terrorizing our nation’s children broken home children.

Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes star in the film, directed by Troy Nixey. (Fangoria)

He’ll be joining Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Rafe Spall, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, and Logan Marshall-Green. No idea why Cillian Murphy isn’t also a part of this project. Maybe his voice-mailbox was full when they called. (The Playlist)

Nucky Thompson best watch his back. The bootlegging industry just got a little more cutthroat with Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska, and Jason Clarke all jumping on board The Wettest County in the World, a semi-true story of bootlegging in Virginia during the prohibition era. The foursome will join Shia LeBeouf and Tom Hardy, both of whom had already been announced.

The film follows a familiar “cops and robbers” type premise, with the twist being that the robbers are actually bootleggers. LeBeouf will play a rumrunner and boyfriend of Wasikowska, Pearce will play “an overly violent deputy” (awesome), and Oldman will play a good ole’ fashioned gangster, which is out of character. Surely the gangster has to have a massive disfigurement or talk through a voice box or something. Oldman only plays it straight for Batman these days.

The promise of gangster violence and back-country Appalachia sounds pretty appealing, but this movie may need more. Show me a clip of LeBeouf getting beaten to a pulp while a Scott Joplin ragtime tune plays in the background, and I’m sold. (THR)

_{Here comes the tickle monster!}

Miramax has released the trailer for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a horror film remake written and co-produced by scare guru Guillermo del Toro. I saw this first at Comic-Con (don’t be jealous, it doesn’t suit you), and I’ll admit, the last part made me jump in my seat. But I’m still totally 100% man. They also screened a clip that dealt with teeth and a hammer. Use your imagination. Nope, it was still cooler than that.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark centers on a young girl who is sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own. It’s not to be confused with the old Nickelodeon show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” even though I’m sure you can find almost the exact story in the archives.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark hits theaters January 21, 2011.

Check out the trailer after the jump…

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

Director: Troy Nixey

Cast: Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes

Synopsis: A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Release Date: January 21, 2011

When the plug was pulled on Miramax last year, a few films were sent to the dreaded Disney Vault with little hope of every seeing the light of day. But there is good news for horror fans today.  Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, the Guillermo del Toro-penned and Troy Nixey-directed R-rated remake of the 70′s TV movie classic, will break free from its imprisonment. No longer will it be forced to pay protection money to such D-Vault tough-asses as Tinker Bell and the Fairy Prince and Tigger’s Eighth Movie.

The remake stars Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes as a couple who are placed at risk when Pearce’s daughter accidentally unleashes malevolent creatures in the old mansion they’ve just moved into. Given the R-rating and del Toro’s involvement, this could shape up to be pretty creepy. Though I’m sure Mike Tyson left things far scarier behind when he abandoned his mansion. (EW)

Animal Kingdom, the repetitively-described Australian crime drama, was loved by all when it debuted at Sundance. That’s to be expected when your film includes music from bands like Air Supply. If 1980′s comedies have taught me anything, it’s that Air Supply is huge in ski resorts and mountain towns.

The movie tells the story of a family of criminals as they are descended upon and taken apart by a group of detectives when one of their own turns on them. Think of it as a dramatic take on The Goonies. Without the pirate ship and kids and deformities.

Watch the full trailer to see what all the buzz is about after the jump…

Animal Kingdom – Official Full Length Trailer – Watch more Funny Videos