'Dexter's' Julia Stiles Says Murder Scenes Were Surprisingly Enjoyable

Showtime's "Dexter" is 3-for-4 when it comes to scoring Emmy nominations for guest star in a drama series. Jimmy Smits picked up a nom for his portrayal of Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado in season three, and John Lithgow took home the statuette last year for his portrayal of the chilling Trinity Killer. This season, Julia Stiles boarded the series about a Miami serial killer-with-a-cause as Lumen, a damaged rape victim freed from abduction by Dexter (Michael C. Hall). Stiles says she read a lot of literature to effectively play the victim, whom Dexter ultimately transforms into a revenge killer.The Hollywood Reporter: How much did you know about Lumen or her story arc when you took the role? Julia Stiles: I actually knew very little. I met with producer John Goldwyn, and he gave me the broad strokes about what the arc of the character would be. I did ask if I would end up killing anyone, and he said yes. At that point, I decided to do it. He told me that when you meet her for the first time, she's been victimized. I was more interested in how she would become more active. The revenge part of it is what intrigued me.THR: The fact that Lumen ultimately got to kill someone is what sealed the deal for you to take the part? Stiles: Yes, the idea that she wasn't just the victim. I was really excited by the idea that she would be involved in Dexter's secret life, as opposed to on the outside of it like a lot of the other characters.THR: How familiar were you with the series ahead of your audition? Stiles: I was a big fan. I'd seen season four with John Lithgow, and that's what got me hooked. Then I went back and watched from the beginning.THR: Following Lithgow's Emmy-winning turn two seasons ago, did you feel particular pressure to deliver another award-winning guest arc? Stiles: Absolutely! My one hesitation was that his shoes are big ones to fill. My saving grace is that I'm a girl and that my character was very different from his. I at least comforted myself with that idea. If I thought too much about how great he was and how much the fan base really responded to his work, I would have been paralyzed. I tried to focus on the differences.THR: What was the most challenging aspect of playing a victim-turned-revenge killer like Lumen? Stiles: I never think of myself as an actor who takes work home with them, but I was surprised, especially toward the end of the season -- around episode 10 -- when some of the details of what Lumen had experienced became really harrowing, and I started to realize that it was affecting me outside of work. One scene in particular, in episode 10, when the detectives have found DVDs showing what has happened to the victims -- it was really dark. It made it more difficult for me to sleep. THR: What did you learn about yourself playing Lumen? Stiles: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the kill scenes and the sacredness of them. As a fan of the show, I felt very privileged to be a part of them.THR: How did you prepare for the role? Stiles: On one hand, it was difficult to prepare because I couldn't see much of where it was going when we first started the season. The details of what she had experienced were really important to me; everything that she had experienced before the attack and abduction was irrelevant because she became a different person. I met with the writers a lot and grilled them for details about what she had experienced -- the sensory experience of her trauma -- because that would affect her behavior when you first meet her. I read a lot about trauma victims and rape victims, but for me, that was very intellectual, and I wanted it to be more visceral and emotional. I had to use my imagination a lot, and that was pretty harrowing. I wanted to do the character justice, in terms of the reality of how she was affected and to justify her revenge later.THR: Was there anything you brought in that the writers incorporated into the script? Stiles: There was a lot of discussion later as the relationship between Dexter and Lumen became more intimate. The biggest question was whether Lumen was ready for any sort of closeness with a man.THR: Were you surprised that Lumen survived? Stiles: Not only was I really surprised that she survived, but I was surprised that she ended up distancing herself from Dexter. The tradition on the show is once you get too close to Dexter, he's got to kill you.THR: Could Lumen ever return? Stiles: I have no idea, only because I don't know if it makes sense for the show. It's out of my hands. So we'll see. THR: Is there a scene that stands out most when you think about your "Dexter" experience? Stiles: In the kill room, when she first gets to put the knife in. That was really special. There was also a nice moment of collaboration where the set designers had put up pictures of all the other victims on the wall, and I remember saying to the director that I felt like it was important that Lumen acknowledge the other girls and say that it was for them, too. We did a separate shot of that, and it ended up in the final edit, which I was really pleased about. It's a great example of how collaborative the show is and what a nice environment it is to work in. The Hollywood Reporter

NOVA Einstein Revealed

Albert Einstein is most likely the favourite researcher ever, but exactly how much will we fully realize about him aside from the hair, the explosive device, and relativity? In Einstein Revealed, NOVA guides us through his existence as reflected in the private papers, showing a guy of turbulent feelings and strong obsessions, yet kind and gentle like a mother hen. Using dramatized interviews, historic photography, and cartoon to enlighten us about his personal existence and the long term mission to comprehend character, Einstein Revealed works in showing both guy and the are nothing you've seen prior.

Today on indieWIRE: One Hot 'Orgy,' 'One Day,' & More

Today on indieWIRE, we introduced IFP's Project Forum's participants, profiled TIFF's developers, questioned 'Senna' director Asif Kapadia, plus much more! Christine Vachon, Rose Troche, Bruce LaBruce One of the 150 in IFP's Project Forum: New projects from Christine Vachon, Bruce LaBruce, David Robert Mitchell ('The Myth from the American Sleepover'), and Rose Troche are probably the 150 that made the cut with this year's Project Forum, located by IFP throughout Independent Film Week (Sept. 18-22) in the Film Society of Lincoln subsequently Center's Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center. iW's Movie during the day: Jason Sudeikis and Tyler Labine Wake Up Close & Personal in 'Orgy': We were not so hot about the tame trailer for that approaching comedy 'A Traditional Fashioned Orgy.' It had been all buildup with no payback. Therefore it would be a enjoyable surprise whenever we discovered a just-launched clip in the film that satisfies about the commitment of its title: namely that individuals really have it on. Abel Ferrara, David Mamet and David Fincher Featured in Film Noir Series at San Sebastian: The 59th San Sebastian Film Festival includes a repertory series, ''American Method of Dying: American Film Noir 1990-2010', dedicated to the current-day American film noir. Satisfy the Toronto Worldwide Film Festival Developers, In Their Own Individual Words: We are pleased to present the Toronto Worldwide Film Festival because the first non-U.S. event within our ongoing series spotlighting festival developers. Toronto Film Festival Announces Participants in Four Industry Programs: The 36th Toronto Worldwide Film Festival introduced the participants in four industry programs today -- coming back programs Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!, Talent Lab, and Producers Lab Toronto, and new initiative Rising Stars. FUTURES Asif Kapadia, Director of Racecar Doc 'Senna': Served By the Speaking Heads!: Asif Kapadia isn't any newcomer. The filmmaker won a BAFTA for his 2001 aesthetically ravishing epic 'The Warrior' and helmed the Sarah Michelle Gellar horror flick 'The Return.' Why shall we be profiling him? His Sundance award-winning sports documentary, 'Senna,' marks his first stab at documentary filmmaking, and that he nails it. Start Looking At 'American Psycho' Director Mary Harron's 'The Moth Diaries': It's been six years since we have been told by Mary Harron, a minimum of about the giant screen. The director who made waves using the one-two knockout of 'I Shot Andy Warhol' and 'American Psycho' happened using the workmanlike and disappointing 'The Well known Bettie Page' and spent the following couple of years largely employed in television. Director Lone Scherfig Discusses 'One Day,' Hathaway As Catwoman, and 'The Approach We Take To Were': 'One Day' includes a rigid structure that some company directors would find impossible. Emma and Dexter -- performed by Hathaway As Catwoman and Jim Sturgess -- survive through 2 decades of tumultuous friendship and love, although we simply discover their whereabouts on This summer 15 every year. But this romantic drama plays to Danish-born director Lone Scherfig's talents. Dubai Film Connection Stretches Deadline, is Available to Arabic and French Scripts: The Dubai Worldwide Film Festival has extended its submission deadline for that fifth cycle from the fest's co-production market, Dubai Film Connection. Until Augu. 22, scripts designed in British, Arabic and French is going to be recognized, permitting a larger selection of filmmakers to sign up. Tribeca Accepting Distribution for Doc Fund, Sloan Filmmaker Fund, All Access & Latin America Fund: The Tribeca Film Institute has become accepting distribution for his or her following programs: The TFI Documentary Fund, TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund, Tribeca All Access and also the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund.

New on DVD & Blu-ray, Week of August 9: 'Paul' and 'Your Highness'

It's a less-than-stellar week on the home video front, with several unspectacular major theatrical releases -- revolving around slackers -- coming to roost on DVD. Leading the way, so to speak, is 'Paul,' a road trip about a slacker, runaway alien -- named Paul -- who joins up with two oddball Brits in a mad effort to rendezvous with a rescue space ship so he can go home. Next up is 'Your Highness,' a medieval tale about a pair of princes -- one a do-gooder who slays dragons and rescues damsels in distress, the other a ne'er-do-well who smokes "wizard's weed" -- and their quest to save a woman kidnapped by an evil wizard. The best bets this week are the Blu-ray debuts, so read on. 'Paul' What It's About: Two sci-fi geeks on a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland accidentally encounter an alien who sends them on an insane road trip. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smartass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town -- ­a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost). The resulting trek is loaded with mayhem -- and some laughs. It's Kinda Like: 'E.T.' meets 'National Lampoon's Vacation' What We Say: A wise-cracking alien on the lam? That's pretty much the heart of the matter here, to which Brits Simon Pegg and Nick Frost add their loopy brand of cynical, dotty, off-the-wall humor. There's plenty of side trips and excursions to the main plot -- government agents, religious fanatics, UFOlogists -- as well as more pop culture references than you can shake an alien probe at (or yeah, there are alien probe jokes, too). Though not up to 'Shaun of the Dead; (a tough film to top), 'Paul' is still an enjoyable pastime. And Paul is so real. Hmmm. • Extras: Bloopers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary by director Greg Mottola, Pegg and Frost, a featurette on how Paul was conceived and created. Rotten Tomatoes Reviews | Buy DVD | Save DVD to your Netflix queue Watch a trailer: 'Your Highness' What It's About: A pair of brothers -- Fabious (James Franco), a handsome, chivalrous hero who lives by good deeds and his sword, and Thadeous (Danny McBride), a shaggy haired slacker who lives for "wizard's weed," booze and easy women -- must join forces on a wild adventure to rescue Fabious' betrothed (Zooey Deschanel) from the clutches of an evil wizard (Justin Theroux) who needs her soul in order to take over the universe. Along the way they encounter assorted demons, werewolves, and traitorous knights -- as well as an elusive warrior (Natalie Portman) with a dangerous agenda of her own -- before they save the day and prevent a new Dark Age. It's Kinda Like: 'The Princess Bride' meets 'Evil Dead' What We Say: This uneven parody of sword and sorcery films has its moments of fun -- but not enough to offset the lame slacker jokes, vulgar bathroom (actually, since it's the Middle Ages, cesspool) humor, and uninspired acting. The very slow, humorless scenes revolving around the travails and insecurities of Thadeous get juxtaposed with wild violence right out of a typical, modern slasher film, making this outing very uneven. It has nowhere near the inspired lunacy of a 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' say. If you were hoping for this to be director David Gordon Green's 'Pineapple Express' in the Middle Ages, you'll be sorely disappointed. • Extras: Commentary, alternate scenes, commentary, featurettes. Rotten Tomatoes Reviews | Buy DVD | Save DVD to your Netflix queue Watch a trailer: August 9 Blu-ray Debuts: 'If ....' (1969) Revolution was in the air when Lindsay Anderson made this daringly chaotic vision of British society, set in a boarding school in late-60s England. Malcolm McDowell stars as an insouciant Mick Travis, who, along with his school chums, trumps authority at every turn, finally emerging as a violent savior against the vicious games of the establishment. From The Criterion Collection. 'The Battle of Algiers' (1965) Vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafes, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style. From The Criterion Collection. 'Dazed and Confused' (1993) Richard Linklater's visual dissertation on the last day of high school just before the summer of 1976. 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (1982) Amy Heckerling nailed down the teen life in California high schools, malls and beaches in this wonderful comedy, based on the book by Cameron Crowe. Introduced Jeff Spicoli to the world. Other New August 9 DVD Releases: 'Choose': A journalism student, with the help of her detective father and a therapist, tracks a serial killer who selects victims and forces them to choose between horrific options. Stars Katheryn Winnick, Nicholas Tucci, Kevin Pollak, Richard Short, Bruce Dern. 'Dream Home': (2010 -- Hong Kong) Cheng Li-sheung is a young, upwardly mobile professional finally ready to invest in her first home. But when the deal falls through, she is forced to keep her dream alive -- even if it means shedding the blood of her would-be neighbors. 'Jumping the Broom': There's a collision of worlds when two African-American families from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds get together one weekend in Martha's Vineyard for a wedding. Stars Angela Basset, Mike Epps, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, Julie Bowen. 'The Last Godfather': (2010 -- USA/South Korea) Mob boss Don Carini (Harvey Keitel) is retiring from the family business and surprises everyone by anointing his goofy grownup love child Younggu as his successor, fomenting a struggle for power among family, friends and enemies alike. Also stars Hyung-rae Shim, Michael Rispoli, Jason Mewes. 'Mars Needs Moms': Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she's nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. Milo's quest to save her involves stowing away on a spaceship, navigating an elaborate, multi-level planet and taking on the alien nation and their leader. A boring, mish-mash of a film that set back the cause of motion-capture animation. 'Super': After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy (Rainn Wilson) transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills. Stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion. 'Tactical Force': An LAPD SWAT team begins a routine training exercise in an abandoned hanger, but things spiral dangerously out of control when they find themselves caught in a three-way war with two rival gangs who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Stars Steve Austin, Michael Jai White, Keith Jardine. Check out more August 9 DVD releases at OnVideo.

Shakespeares Cat

When you are the cat of the greatest writer in the English language, and live in the second largest house in Stratford, it would be a tragedy to not dress the part. His cats name? Bill.. About our Throw Pillow: Add stylish fun to any room with our roomy Throw Pillow. It measures a sprawling 18 X 18 with an 11 X 11 image area so you can lounge in comfort. Its made of ultra-soft brushed twill with a sturdy canvas image area. Ships with pillow insert. Removable zippered cover for easy laundering.. Cat

'Bellflower' Director Evan Glodell on Building His Own Cameras and That Awesome Fire-Breathing Car

Pre-release buzz on the apocalyptic indie 'Bellflower' has either centered on its being made for the staggeringly small sum of $17,000 or its awesome, fire-breathing "Medusa" car. Evan Glodell not only wrote, directed and stars in the film, he also built the cameras that give it its unique, grungy aesthetic. He also built the Medusa car, which is where most of that $17,000 went. That's right, most of the movie's budget didn't even go toward the film itself, but to making a badass car inspired by Mad Max's own post-apocalyptic ride. The film's cinematographer, Joel Hodge was sporting a fresh cast at the premiere. "The car tried to kill me," he joked of cutting himself on broken glass from the Medusa car. His medical bills, no surprise, cost more than 'Bellflower's puny $17,000 budget. Moviefone caught up with Glodell before the film's release and at the LA premiere, where he talked about the film's DIY aesthetic and where the Medusa car is now. Moviefone: When did you get the idea for 'Bellflower?' Evan Glodell: I had the idea when I was 23. I'd just had my heart very badly broken. But it took me about eight years to finally get the movie made. We shot most of it in the summer of 2008 in Ventura and Oxnard and then we edited it and did pick-ups for the next two-and-a-half years. You built your own cameras for this movie, which gives the film a really unique look. Is the dirt on the screen part of the aesthetic? It's definitely part of the aesthetic. There's a lot of imperfections -- a lot of them -- and I think that's so cool but there were some things I want to go fix, like when there were dirt chunks over someone's face when it's handheld, but some of the other stuff looked so awesome. Has anyone else every done this, building their own cameras and shooting a feature film with them? No one has ever done anything that's, like, large-camera. From what I know it's completely unique. So you couldn't have been able to make the movie, cost-wise, without having built your own camera? That's not entirely true. The sort of base camera that I hack up and make variations from is a really nice digital camera that I was a beta tester for. I could have shot with that and it would have looked very, very different. How did you find the cast? Some of the actors were my friends first. The lines with Jessie [Wiseman, who plays girlfriend Milly in the film] have become blurred, we've been friends for so long. I saw Tyler [Dawson, who plays best friend Aiden] in a play and showed him the first chapter of a script. He was the character I was having hardest time casting. I went up to him after this play and told him there's a movie I'm going to make, but I didn't have the resources to make it, that didn't happen until five years later. What sold him on the project: Was he a major 'Mad Max' fan too? He was a friend of a friend. I didn't know it, but apparently the person who invited me to the play had been showing Tyler my short films for months and he was super stoked on them, but no one was doing the same on my end. How hard was it to convince Jessie to do those nude scenes? Jessie was one of the first actors I met when I moved out [to LA]. I've made tons of short projects and films with her. We made the decision to do the nudity part of the thing when we wanted to make the movie -- it was kind of her idea, she wanted it to be really real. Did you decide to play the lead character to save money or because it was such a personal story? Because it was so personal. I really was scared to do it. I was just not very confident of myself as an actor. Out of all the things to do with movies, acting is the thing I least enjoy. But from my experience in casting, I was like, there's no way I'm going to get someone who understands this part this better than I do, so I decided to go for it. Your character just gets progressively darker as the film goes on. What was your inspiration for his sort of hellish makeover? I got into an accident a couple of years before I started making the script, so the journey of recovering from that ... it was really going into hell. What's your reaction to some of the elaborate praise for the movie? It's absolutely blowing my mind. I did not expect that. I thought people would think a couple of ideas were original and be excited by them. What were you most flattered or surprised by? What I'm most surprised by is that a lot of people come by and tell me they really liked my performance. I thought it was going to ruin it and so that's a big one. I'm not so much flattered as relieved. What is it about the apocalypse that fascinates you so much? I think when things aren't going well, you fantasize a lot, and so the idea of all the order being taken away is really appealing. It's like you'd get a fresh start. And I've always loved 'Mad Max.' How many times have you seen 'The Road Warrior?' I don't know. A lot. And we watched it before we would shoot stuff, to get Tyler excited. How did you get permission for those clips of Lord Humungous? We actually recreated those scenes. Our Lord Humungous is a guy named Brandon. We made our own costume, it was awesome, it was made out of cut-up purses and hockey masks. We shot all this footage of him, just tons of footage of Lord Humongous. Where's the Medusa car now? Right now it's my only car so I still drive it. Is it street legal? It's registered and insured. I never went out of my way to tell the police or DMV about it. I've been pulled over a couple of times by the police. They're just curious and I tell them it's a movie car and they get excited and want to see a demo. And you did all the customizations yourself? Yes, me and Paul Edwardson. We built the Medusa car and the Speed Biscuit [a car that dispenses whiskey from a dashboard fountain] and the flame thrower and some of the other special effects. You've said your next project is called 'Tales From the Apocalypse.' That's sort of a joke name. I'm trying to drop it. I had no idea how much the word "apocalypse" would come up with this movie! So it doesn't have a name, but I am working on a series of films. They're not sequels, they've all got separate plots, but they are all related. Do you have funding for it? A lot of people have been talking to me about it. A lot of them are very enthusiastic about helping out when I'm ready to show the script around. That was the goal to make this movie and maybe someone would see it, and help us out on the next one. Will you keep using your own cameras? Yes, I already have a new camera that I haven't built yet. I managed to somehow end up with a new set of stuff in the next script already and I was like, 'Are these always going to be weird custom objects?' I guess so. Each one takes time to create and I think it's something that I will always do. So are you guys pumped to see 'Bellflower' this weekend? Photos courtesy of Oscillosope Laboratories.

Ratings: No Happy Ending for The Bachelorette

The Bachlorette In her pursuit of love, Ashley found her happy ending. In the ratings, The Bachelorette did not. Read our recap of The Bachelorette finale The two-hour finale of ABC's dating show averaged 9.50 million viewers while scoring a 2.7 among 18-to-49-year-olds - a whopping 29 percent less than last year in the demo. Then at 10/9c, the "After the Final Rose" postgame show drew 9.31 million and a 2.8 demo rating - down by 26 percent from 2010. This season of the franchise tied Season 4 (with DeAnna Pappas) as the lowest-rated ever. Ashley failed to galvanize much excitement, and fans expressed their frustration, if not displeasure, with the whole psychodrama involving Bentley. MasterChef's Joe Bastianich blogs: Cooking isn't child's play On the up side, the Season 7 climax beat its competition by a mile. The only first-run competition came from Fox, which aired Hell's Kitchen against The Bachelorette's first hour (5.45 million viewers, 2.4 demo rating) and MasterChef against the second (5.36 million, 2.3). The Bachelorette was also the most-watched show on Monday nights all summer - but mostly against reruns. In the final prime-time hour, "After the Final Rose" beat out reruns of CBS' Hawaii Five-0 (4.40 million viewers, 0.9) and NBC's Harry's Law (3.16 million, 0.6). Catch up with the latest TVGuide.com news CBS stuck with reruns of its comedies in the first two hours - How I Met Your Mother (3.74 million), and two episodes of Mike & Molly (4.06 million and 4.81 million) sandwiched around Two and a Half Men (5.24 million).

'Apes' premieres in Hollywood

The Thursday night premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at Grauman's Chinese Theater wasn't so much about monkey business as it was Blighty banter."Anywhere the Brits are, that's where quality is," bragged thesp David Oyelowo, one of several Brits who turned out for the screening and afterparty at the Roosevelt -- including director Rupert Wyatt and cast members Andy Serkis and Tom Felton."It's like playing Hamlet or Macbeth -- you can't let the fact that Olivier played it hang over you," Oyelowo said.Still, he admitted that even a Brit's bite can't compete with a byte; on set, there wasn't much room -- literally -- for friendly battles of wit. "There was so much technology that in-between scenes you were just trying to get out of the way," he said.Star James Franco said, "Ten years ago, my initial instinct with CGI was 'run, that's fake acting.' But now I think that this movie could only have been made this way -- the effects are required, and I fully embrace that."Felton, whose "Harry Potter" frenemy Rupert Grint was among the guests, said he got thrown around on set by Serkis. "Andy is this real gentleman of a guy, then on set he turns into a sort of psycho ape," Felton said. "I was bruised and battered." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

LACMA adds screenings to 'Burton' exhibit

The Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA just got a little bit cooler -- beginning Friday, LACMA will hold weekly outdoor screenings of Burton pics "The Corpse Bride," "James and the Giant Peach," "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Alice in Wonderland." Screenings complement the already popular and expansive Tim Burton art exhibit that serves as a retrospective on the helmer's art work going back all the way to his childhood. The exhibit has drawn more than 130,000 visitors since its May opening and sells out each weekend. Foot traffic through the Burton exhibit averages more than 3,000 patrons each day. A costume contest and gala are in the works for the exhibit's Halloween finale. LACMA hopes to accommodate all visitors during the final months of the exhibit and plans to keep it open from 11 a.m. Oct. 30 through midnight Halloween. Free August screenings are held at LACMA-adjacent Hancock Park every Friday at 8 p.m. More information on LACMA, the Tim Burton exhibit and ticket info can be found at lacma.org. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com