Latest Movie News From Moviefone

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• Samira Wiley Wants 'Orange Is the New Black' Fans to Put That Anger to Good Use
• Paul Rudd Breaks for Drama While 'Trying to Crack' the Marvel Cinematic Universe
• This 'Lights Out' Trailer Will Make You Really Afraid of the Dark
• 'Ray Donovan' Season 4 Is 'Bigger, Bolder,' and 'Wacky, Really Wacky'
• Two Stars Leaving 'Nashville' Ahead of Season 5 Move to CMT
• 'Game of Thrones' Stars Promise 'People Die' in Season 6 Finale
• James Earl Jones Returning to Voice Darth Vader in 'Rogue One'
• 'The Omen': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Horror Classic

Samira Wiley Wants 'Orange Is the New Black' Fans to Put That Anger to Good Use Posted: NOTE: If your binge of "Orange Is the New Black's" phenomenal fourth season isn't complete, we suggest -- no, insist -- that you log into your Netflix account and see it through to the end before diving in here. Again, SPOILERS AHEAD. Samira Wiley understands that you're angry about the whole Poussey storyline that went down on "Orange Is the New Black" Season 4. In fact, she's happy that you are. Not only is she pleased that viewers felt something so strong and painful when they watched Litchfield inmate Poussey Washington's tragic fate -- and here we are with the big SPOILER -- as she was accidentally killed by an in-over-his-head guard, she also knows fans of the show can put that anger to good use when faced with the reality that this sort of thing is happening to real people in the real world far, far too frequently. But we'll let Wiley tell you more about that -- and everything else about that heartbreaking exit that was nevertheless great television, the impact the show's had on her, and just how soon you'll be seeing her on your TV screen again. Moviefone: I was not happy to see you go, but my goodness, the material they gave you to go out on was amazing. You have to have all kinds of feelings about that. Samira Wiley: Oh man, thank you so, so, so much. I've had a long time to process and a long time knowing this huge secret that I've had for a long time. To know that it has come out and it has come out so well, I'm extremely proud of me and my castmates and the rest of the people involved with the show. Couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.How did that first conversation go, when you were given the news? And did you know that it was going to have, when the time finally came, it wasn't just going to have significance for Poussey, it was going to have this even bigger resonance on a social level? I had no idea! Honestly, like in the beginning, all I knew was that I was going to die this season. And I didn't know why, I didn't know how, I didn't know anything. I remember being really shocked, a little confused, and of course with time came more understanding. I knew in the beginning that it had something vaguely to do with Black Lives Matter, so that made me feel better that it was having to do with a cause and bringing social consciousness, awareness to something that is important that is going on in our world right now. But I didn't really know at all the details until the script came out. How did you feel about it simply as the exit for your character? What did you think her story ultimately meant once you saw how it came to an end? Honestly, I think Poussey's life that we have seen in these last four years of this show, she's really just become this amazing, amazing role model for people, and for young girls. It's interesting because she exists in prison, and what we think about that immediately is that a prisoner is "bad," but how much good we have learned, and how much good we gleaned from Poussey? For her story to have this tragic end, it's horrible. It is completely a tragedy. And there are people out there who are so mad and so angry about it. A lot of them are taking their frustrations out on the show itself, saying, 'How could this happen? How could you do this to Poussey? This is horrible!" I'm happy that people are mad. I want people to be angry, but I want their anger to me more directed at the world, that this is someone's actual true story. It mirrors Mike Brown and Eric Garner's death, and that is something that we cannot look away from. Especially now that people are being so affected when it's on a TV show, and I want people to remember that this is actually happening in real life, and let's be mad at that.I'll tell you, it felt like such a gut punch as I was watching it happen, but also, throughout her whole story, to my mind, prison had totally ruined her life in ways that were more profound than other people's. Prison was really, really destroying her in many ways, and this made a tragic kind of sense. Yeah. I mean, prison is supposed to be there to, I don't know, reform you. But it's turned her into an alcoholic. It ended her life. She ended up there for a small drug offense. And this happens every day. People are having their lives, even if they die in prison or not, if she was still alive, she still had her best years taken away from her for something, a crime that I do not think matched her sentence. Still, we got to see her have a little taste of love and happiness in the lead up to her exit. What did that mean for you to get to play those more serene and centered scenes with her? That was great. I'd been waiting, honestly, Scott, for that since probably the very first day of being able to bring Poussey to life. We see her in Season 1, and she has a thing for her best friend, Taystee, and it's never reciprocated with Taystee, and she never receives any love for three whole seasons. So to finally, finally, finally, the thing that I've been wanting forever, to get, and tragically we see, and it makes it hurt so much more because she finally gets the thing we've been wanting her to get for so long. And then, it's all for nothing because she's gone.Let's talk about the fact that they gave you that additional final episode flashback to really show that one special evening that she had, one of those unique memories in the world that she had. And to close out on that, and on that specific image of Poussey -- and of you -- what did that mean to get that opportunity? Well, in the beginning, when I was first told about the fate of my character, all I knew was that I was leaving in Episode 12. I had no idea I was even going to be in Episode 13 at all. So number one, just knowing that I was going to be in it, I was like, "Oh, that's great." But then, getting the material and seeing what the story that they were trying to tell, it's again, against the grain. It's against what you think what actually happened. It's not some sad story. It's not about something horrible that happened to her. It's just this awesome best-night-of-my-life night backstory. Especially the last scene that you mentioned of her looking into the camera, that was, well, one of the strangest things I've ever done on "Orange" because no one ever looks right into camera. And I remember we were on the set, and it's not in the script. It's not in the script at all that I look in the camera. I look off into the distance. So we filmed it, I thought we were finished, I'm getting ready to go home. Someone runs down and they're like, "Hey, Jenji wants you to look into the camera." And I honestly thought they were kidding. I was like, "What? No, she doesn't." That's just the genius of Jenji Kohan. I just followed what she said, and even though I felt like "Maybe this is wrong, this is a weird choice," it ended up really, really working, and I'm happy that I trusted her. I'm happy that Netflix trusted her. Because it ends up being something really powerful. It really struck a nerve. It made me realize how much we love this character, and know at the same time we're not going to see this character again. It was so effective. Wow, yeah. Actually I haven't watched it yet. I can't really watch the last ... I've only watched maybe, say, the first four or so episodes. I'm taking my time with it because once I watch it, then it's really over. Yeah, I think that's a smart move on your part. Watch it when you know you're ready. "Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner comes in and directs this exit episode. Tell me what that was like to have him come into Jenji Kohan's show, and to work with him as you've got really your biggest moment in the show to deliver as an actor. Yeah. Well, number one, Jenji and Matt are really good friends in real life. It was nice to just know that and know that Jenji handpicked him to come in and say that, "I want you to handle this one." My first conversation, the first time I ever met Matt, he pulled me aside and he told me, he said, 'Hey, this is just another episode of television. That's how I want you to think about it. That's how we're going to shoot it. You know how to do this. You know how to shoot an episode of television, and that's what we're going to do." Which was the opposite of what would have been so hard for me: if he came in and said, "Hey, this is going to be the biggest episode of your life -- don't f*ck it up." I wouldn't have been able to handle that. I don't know how he had the wise words to tell me what he did, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. And working with him, having that first conversation really built our trust, or at least my trust in him, from day one.Once it was all said and done, after that particular day -- and I'm sure everybody took care of you on set as you were leaving and lots of hugs and crying and stuff, but once you had time to yourself to sit with it, how were you feeling? On that day -- that day, actually, was not the very last day that I shot on the episode. There was another day after that, which was more ... it was actually really interesting. The very last scene that I shot on that set was the scene where I ask Judy King to help me out. I ask her for a job. That's the very last scene I shot on that set. That almost ended up being more emotional for me because there is the hope there in that scene, you know what I mean? You think she's going to get out and you think she's going to be okay. So there was that. Then also, that was the very last time I was ever on that set. I remember walking around that set and grabbing different things. I grabbed my prison boots and my sweatshirt. I went and grabbed a cup from the cafeteria. Just little mementos I wanted to be able to bring home with me because it was the very last time I would ever be there. But on the day of, on the day of that scene, it was just so great to have every single person there. We'd never had my whole cast there at the same time like that, maybe since season one. And even then, our cast has grown so much. There has never been as many people as were on set as that day. I think away from the extras, just the principal cast members, there were probably over 50 of us. So the love that was there that I felt was just ... it was just great. It was really great to have everyone there. Our set is so fun and loud and boisterous, and everyone's always walking around and cracking jokes. It was different that day. It was more quiet. But it felt like we were all telling a story as one. I didn't feel alone.I can't imagine a work experience that had to be more rewarding and challenging than "Orange Is the New Black." How has the run on the show changed you? Wow. I feel like I've really grown into the person that I am, into a young woman, on this show. I was 24 or 25 when I first got this show, and I'm 29 now. I feel sort of like a different person. I was a bartender, and just trying to remember to put sugar on this glass and salt on that glass, and don't mix them up. Now, I'm talking about social issues and Black Lives Matter and trying to make a change in the world through art and through acting. I can't walk down the street like I used to anymore even because this show has changed my life so much. People love this show in a way that I have never experienced before. I'm still dealing with it, still dealing with all of the changes. A lot of it is still so new for me. But I know that I have never, ever, ever experienced anything like "Orange Is the New Black," and I probably never will, and I'm so, so, so thankful for it having come into my life and changing me for the better. "Orange Is the New Black" Season 4 is streaming now on Netflix. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Paul Rudd Breaks for Drama While 'Trying to Crack' the Marvel Cinematic Universe Posted: Between his size-changing superheroics in "Marvel's Ant-Man," his hilarious turns in the Judd Apatow-verse, and his enduringly dreamy Baldwin-ism in "Clueless," it may surprise you to learn that Paul Rudd got his start flexing his dramatic muscles in works by Neil LaBute, John Irving, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and William Shakespeare. In his new film, "The Fundamentals of Caring," premiering on Netflix today, June 24th, after its purchase following a debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Rudd returns to his more serious-minded roots -- though not without a share of laughs. Based on the admired seriocomic, semi-autobiographical novel by author Jonathan Evison, the film provides a change-of-tone showcase for Rudd after his recent stints in lighthearted comedies and comic book fare. In the grounded, emotionally-driven movie, Rudd plays Ben, a man who's trying to turn a haunting person tragedy into a new career purpose as a full-time caregiver; his first charge is Trevor, a sharp-tongued teenager who muscular dystrophy has kept him isolated for much of his life. Together they embark on a road trip that promises to be either disastrous or transformative. "What you learn when you watch Paul is he's always doing something on camera," says the film's screenwriter-director, Rob Burnett, who previously served as a longtime executive producer of "The Late Show With David Letterman" and created the TV series "Ed." "There's always something going on inside, and that comes right out of him." "So I was never worried about the comedy because he's Paul Rudd, and because I had Paul Rudd, I was then not worried about the dramatic stuff either," Burnett continued. "His performance in this is very nuanced. He's playing a tragic guy, but he never leans into that tragedy." "He's a classically trained actor -- the guy knows his sh*t!" agreed Rudd's co-star Craig Roberts, who plays Trevor. "The guy is a very good actor. He's just so, like Rob says, he just so happens to be one of the funniest people at the same time. But he has this accessibility that not many actors have. He's very, very likable. I keep comparing him to Jack Lemmon. Just so charming. When he says something, you truly believe that he means it. That's a crazy gift to have." So is Rudd's facility with an improvised one-liner, says Roberts. "That guy is quick!" he marvels. "It's scary working with him, at the same time as it being exciting. You have to be on your game -- drink a lot of coffee!" At the movie's premiere in Hollywood, Rudd joined Moviefone to talk a bit about smaller-scale moviemaking, his comedy obsessions, and his creative stake in the next Ant-Man movie. Moviefone: Coming out of "Ant-Man," something that big, tell me what that meant to you ... to be able to do a movie like this. This is the kind of movie they say Hollywood doesn't really make anymore: intimate, small-scale, character-driven. Paul Rudd: Well, it seems like it's just harder for any movies to get seen and made -- I guess they're still getting made, it's just, yeah. It seems like movies now become big event pictures, and that kind of middle one gets pushed to the side a little bit. But yeah, it's nice to do a kind of a smaller film that's character-based. Working with Rob Burnett -- you're a serious student of comedy, so I'm sure you knew his lineage extremely well. Sure! Oh absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Were you quizzing him all the time about comedy theory? No, I quizzed him all the time with Letterman stories. I wanted to know certain things in the show. "What was it like to film this piece?" He's a company man, he's not going to divulge too much. I'm saying, "It was really cool. You directed that great remote piece with David Letterman and Steve Martin. What is that like? What was that day like?" He would just tell me what it was like and how he couldn't believe he was there and he's telling me, "These guys ... this is what you need to do." Yeah I mean, I'm a huge Letterman fanatic. I was really interested in those stories. As far as the theory, I think, in a way, because I grew up with that Letterman influence, I already feel like Rob, and I have kind of a similar understanding of comedy theory or joke theory or playing against the joke. Certainly with this kind of material. I felt like we were always on the same page. I could tell when I read it the first time through. That's why I wanted to do it. I thought, 'Wow, these jokes have been written with a very deft hand.' What are you excited about in terms of your creative stake in "Ant-Man and The Wasp," not just as an actor, but as part of the storytelling process? Yeah, it's a challenge and it's exciting. It's been ... it's a lot of work, but it's also really cool to have an understanding of the world. I approach the story and all the characters from a much different place than I would if I were just acting in it. So I'm learning a lot more about the Marvel world, but I'm loving trying to crack these stories and these characters. "The Fundamentals of Caring" is available now on Netflix. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

This 'Lights Out' Trailer Will Make You Really Afraid of the Dark Posted: Scared of the dark? Well, the new "Lights Out" trailer is going to give you nightmares — if you can even go to sleep! The premise of the horror movie is pretty simple: A monster terrorizes a young woman and her kid brother when the lights are turned off. The monster's name is Diana and was friends with their mother as children. But something terrible happened to Diana, and now she haunts the entire family. Fear of darkness is something that many people had as kids (or even as adults), and the movie plays brilliantly to that. The few glimpses we get of Diana are creepy, and the family dynamic adds drama to the basic scares. "Lights Out" stars Maria Bello, Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, and Charlotta Losten, and opens in theaters July 22. Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'Ray Donovan' Season 4 Is 'Bigger, Bolder,' and 'Wacky, Really Wacky' Posted: With a constant stream of high-end L.A. scandal, extreme family dysfunction, histories of sexual abuse, infidelity, incarceration, violence and the occasional murder, "wacky" is not the first adjective that comes to mind when describing "Ray Donovan." But that's the word series star Liev Schreiber keeps coming back to when describing the Showtime series' fourth season. "It's bigger, bolder -- It's wacky, really wacky, this season," he says. Which may come as only a half-surprise, given that the show very frequently enjoys heading down often hilarious comedic side roads while exploring the various darknesses that often threaten to consume the members of the Donovan family. Still, Season Three ended on a gut-wrenching and potentially game-changing note in which Ray, badass fixer of L.A. rich-people problems, was finally confronted with the enormous emotional toll that childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest had taken -- not on only him, but his entire family. "Ray has to push the reset button a little bit," explained Schreiber. "I think at the end of last season, some very big questions were asked. He was asking himself some very big questions about faith, and about sobriety, and his own personal spirituality." But instead of signaling Ray's descent into a messy morass of depression or rage, acting out against either his family or the lowlifes he encounters on the job, he's actually more interested in putting the shattered pieces of his psyche back together. "He's in a mode of repairing himself," says Schreiber. "Where we pick him up, he's on the path to healing, to getting better, to recovery. How long that lasts is another question, but he's certainly on the path." The actor admits that the show's upscale Hollywood intrigue provides an inviting way into the transplanted Boston clan's stories, but it's the alternately cozy and cutthroat family drama that's captivated him. "For me, the journey that he's taken as a father and as a husband has been the one that's been most illuminating," he says. "I love the fixes and I love the scams and I love the trouble he always seems to find himself in. But all of it, for me, is connected to his journey as a father and as a husband. And that's what I like about the writing on this show. All of those fixes are evocative in one way or another, or refer back to that thing that we can all relate to as men, and as women, as mothers, and lovers, and wives, how we negotiate our work lives and our home lives."Actress Paula Malcomson, who plays Ray's wife Abby, the very epitome of the "long-suffering" spouse, says that she's harboring a scary secret while also playing host to almost all of her oft-contentious in-laws. "Actually, all the Donovans are living at Ray and Abby's house, basically -- everyone's there. It's really fun, because we've got just a house full of people." Her character will also enjoy contented moments ... with a caveat. "It depends on how you define happiness. It's all relative. I think she's dealing with some personal things. I think there is a certain amount of joy that she has in this long marriage, in this sort of holy grail of relationships, really. She has her moments of joy." Through her own crisis, she'll strive to remain Ray's rock. "The fact that she's the abiding wife is, she's always there, so there is a place to go: there is a home; there is an intimacy; there is a relationship; there is a safe harbor for him," she says. "It's whether or not he chooses to take it."Not every Donovan will be under Ray and Abby's roof. Ray's ever-troublemaking ex-con father Mickey was essentially run out of L.A. by his son, ending -- at least for now -- his seemingly ceaseless ability to drag his family into one ill-conceived illegal scheme after another. Actor Jon Voight says Mickey regroups in the three-casino town of Primm, Nevada, on the California border. "That roller coaster in Primm, Nevada, had a little bit of poetic resonance for the character," reveals Voight. "The roller coaster reminds me of Mickey. He goes up, he goes down, he goes up, and that's who he is. He has highs and lows, and sometimes you're rooting for him, and sometimes you're saying, "Stay away from that." Sometimes you say, "You're disgusting," and then you say, "He's not so bad." You go on a roller coaster with him. Without his blood kin to cajole and corrupt, Mickey assembles a new clan to do his bidding. "He kind of gathers another family,' says Voight. "All of a sudden, he's got a couple of guys, and it depends on if he gets people to listen to him. He's got to bring them problems. He works for someone under and assumed name, and he's pulling a scam under everyone's nose. Then it finally becomes revealed, and then they come after him." And of course, Mickey is often the vehicle through which "wacky" enters the picture. "Liev started us off by directing the first episode," says Voight. "He's asked me to do some crazy things in this first episode, and it was great to be with Liev doing them. We had a lot of fun, we laughed a lot, and we exhausted ourselves in doing it. We were up in the middle of the night doing crazy stuff. I saw some of it and it looks really wonderful. We were chuckling seeing it!" Wackiness aside, Schreiber says the series is truly fueled by the human connections, however fractured, it depicts. "In a script we were just working on the other day, ironically it's Mickey who said that it really is all about love," he explains. "At the end of the day, all of the monuments that men have made, this incredible world we live in, in one way or another, every little piece of it was shaped by some expression of love. And that aspect of Ray is really interesting to me. Also, surviving: surviving abuse and surviving life, and particularly Ray's life, it's a remarkable achievement." "Ray Donovan" Season 4 premieres Sunday, June 26th at 9 p.m. on Showtime. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Two Stars Leaving 'Nashville' Ahead of Season 5 Move to CMT Posted: While cancelled ABC drama "Nashville" has been revived by CMT for its upcoming fifth season, not everyone from the cast will be making the move to basic cable. TVLine reports that two series regulars are departing the show: Will Chase, who played Rayna's former fiancee Luke Wheeler, and Aubrey Peeples, who played the scheming up-and-comer Layla Grant, will no longer be with the series when it makes its CMT debut. No official reason was given for the exits, and producer Lionsgate TV declined to comment on TVLine's report. The move is a bit jarring, if not entirely unexpected. Both characters didn't have much to do over the course of season four, with awkward, repetitive arcs defining them in recent months. And both Luke and Layla's season finale storylines seemed pretty close-ended: Luke, having successfully defended Will from homophobic backlash, decided to return to his ex-wife (a head-scratching move when that character was never seen -- or even named -- on the show before); Layla, meanwhile, got her comeuppance when Avery discovered her revenge scheme against Juliette (and her manager, Glenn, promptly dumped her). It's unknown at this point if any other actors will follow Chase and Peeples out the door, though previous reports indicated that all the major stars of the show -- including Connie Britton, Charles Esten, and Hayden Panettiere -- were still under long-term contract for the series. The season four finale left the fate of Panettiere's Juliette up in the air, which some reports speculate may have been in part to accommodate the actress's ongoing struggle with postpartum depression. It's unclear how Panettiere's treatment will affect her role going forward (and if it will affect the season five premiere date). Season five of "Nashville" will also see new showrunners join the series, with the team of Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick ("My So-Called Life," "thirtysomething") taking the reins. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. [via: TVLine] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'Game of Thrones' Stars Promise 'People Die' in Season 6 Finale Posted: As season six of "Game of Thrones" comes to an end this weekend, fans are no doubt anxious to see where the residents of Westeros wind up before the (abbreviated) final stretch of the series begins. Now, some of the show's cast and crew have offered an idea of what viewers can expect from Sunday's season finale. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Miguel Sapochnik, the director of last week's epic "Battle of the Bastards" episode, for his take on the season-ender. Sapochnik, who also helmed the finale, offered a blunt, two-word teaser: "People die." Viewers will have to wait until Sunday to see just who those people are, but the cast members who talked to THR have promised that the installment will certainly maintain the momentum that "Bastards" began. Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy) told the trade that the episode is "Thrilling, epic, and overwhelming," while Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) described the installment as "Breathtaking, amazing, brilliant." Superlatives such as those have become expected from "Thrones," but star Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) perhaps encapsulated things best when he revealed his own teaser to THR. "Do. Not. Miss. It," he told the trade. You don't have to tell us twice. "Game of Thrones" airs it season six finale on Sunday on HBO. [via: The Hollywood Reporter] Photo credit: Helen Sloan/HBO This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

James Earl Jones Returning to Voice Darth Vader in 'Rogue One' Posted: A bunch of intel about "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" has been revealed this week, and the details just keep on coming: Entertainment Weekly reports that the original voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones, will reprise his role for the spinoff flick. EW spoke with director Gareth Edwards and producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy about the character's reappearance on the big screen, and they teased that the character is just as imposing as ever, if a bit more of an enigma at this point in the "Star Wars" chronology (about 19 years after the events of "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," to be exact). "He will be in the movie sparingly," Kennedy told the magazine. "But at a key, strategic moment, he's going to loom large." Much of Vader's presence in the flick will be peripheral, according to filmmakers, who tell EW that Vader is more of a whispered-about legend than a known entity at this point. (And that's just the Empire -- members of the Rebellion "are barely familiar with" him, according to the magazine.) "Within the Empire, there is the culture of knowing of the existence of Darth Vader," Edwards explained to EW. "There's definitely an underlying feeling that there is a power – a dark power – available to the Empire and that if you overstep your mark, you will suffer the consequences." Vader is set to butt heads in a major way with "Rogue One"'s main antagonist, Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), especially since Vader has proven he's beholden to no one's authority, outside of the Emperor himself. We can't wait to see the notorious villain (and hear Jones's performance) back in action. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is due in theaters on December 16. [via: Entertainment Weekly] Photo credit: Getty Images This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'The Omen': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Horror Classic Posted: Four decades later, we're still haunted by the chilling thousand-yard stare of little Harvey Stephens as Damien in "The Omen." Released 40 years ago this week (on June 25, 1976), the occult horror film would mark the only significant acting role Stephens ever played, but it had a vast and lasting impact -- it revived Gregory Peck's career, spawned several sequels and remakes (including the cancelled A&E series "Damien"), launched a wave of Antichrist-themed movies, and generated one of the most familiar (and overused) pieces of music in horror-movie history. In honor of the film turning four decades old, here are a few facts you need to know.1. A lot of "Omen" viewers have thought that rhyming-prophecy quotation actually comes from the Bible. It does not; screenwriter David Seltzer made it up. In fact, he claimed he'd never even read the Bible before being commissioned to write the screenplay. 2. For the role of Ambassador Robert Thorn, the filmmakers initially sought biblical-film go-to guy Charlton Heston, but he worried that the result would be cheesy and passed. William Holden also turned down the part, claiming he found the satanic subject matter distasteful. Gregory Peck, whose career had been in such a slump that the 59-year-old was considering retirement, took the role for a fraction of his usual fee -- just $250,000 against 10 percent of the film's gross. When the movie became a smash, it gave Peck the most lucrative payday of his career. Holden, of course, accepted the lead in the 1978 sequel, "Damien: Omen II," while Heston would star in "The Awakening," a 1980 movie with a similar premise.3. Four-year-old Harvey Stephens (above) won the role of Damien during a group audition, when director Richard Donner asked the potential little Antichrists to attack him the way Damien attacks Katherine (Lee Remick) in the church. Stephens went further than the other boys, clawing Donner's face and kicking him in the junk. That won Stephens the part, but Donner still didn't think he was scary enough, so he had the blonde boy's hair dyed black. 4. In the life-imitates-art department, the movie's shoot was beset by so many horrific accidents that the production seemed cursed. On the first day of the shoot, several crew members were in a car that was involved in a head-on collision. Peck and Seltzer both flew to England on airplanes that were struck by lightning during their flights, just eight hours apart. Producer Mace Neufeld flew to England a week later, and lightning struck his plane, too. In another instance, the production canceled a charter flight on a plane, which then took on new passengers and crashed, killing all on board. Eeriest of all was the accident that happened two months after "The Omen" opened, on Friday the 13th of August, 1976. John Richardson, the special effects designer behind such gruesome "Omen" deaths as the decapitation of Keith Jennings (David Warner) by a stray pane of glass, was in Holland working on the film "A Bridge Too Far" when his BMW crashed. His assistant Liz Moore, who was in the passenger seat, was cut in half. Supposedly, Richardson crawled out of the car and saw a road sign that said he was 66.6 kilometers away from the town of Ommen.5. The baboon attack on the car in the zoo sequence was accomplished by placing a baboon in the car with Lee Remick. At first, zookeepers used a baby baboon, but the other baboons didn't seem to care. Then they put the alpha baboon in the car, and the rest of them went ape. The terror on Remick's face wasn't acting. 6. No goldfish were harmed in the scene where the goldfish bowl shatters. Donner didn't want to kill any fish just for the sake of shooting a movie, so he had dead sardines painted orange.7. To take advantage of the movie's "666" motif, 20th Century Fox held sneak previews on June 6, 1976. When patrons came out of the auditorium, they were shown posters pointing out the 6/6/76 date, and many reportedly freaked out. 8. Composer Jerry Goldsmith wrote some 300 movie and TV scores in his 50-year career, but the only one that earned him an Academy Award was "The Omen." He was also nominated for Best Original Song for "Ave Satani," the bombastic choral piece that's become a staple of occult movie trailers ever since. It's one of the few Best Song nominees in Oscar history whose lyrics aren't in English. Rather, they're in bad Latin. 9. Warner was asked once what became of the prop severed head (pictured) of his ill-fated "Omen" character. He quipped, "I lost it in the divorce." 10. "The Omen" cost $2.8 million to make and another $2.8 million to market. It made back $61 million in North America and became the fifth biggest hit of 1976. Donner has said the film made so much money for Fox, that it enabled the studio to give George Lucas the money he needed to finish "Star Wars" the way he wanted. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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