Entertainment - Variety

BEHR WILL BEAR 'GRUDGE'
Wed Jan 7, 7:00 PM ET

CLAUDE BRODESSER

(Variety) Former "Roswell" star Jason Behr (news) will star opposite former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar (news) in a remake of Takashi Shimizu's Japanese-lingo horror pic "The Grudge" for Senator Films.



Behr just wrapped the starring role in helmer Rebecca Cook's indie "Shooting Livien." Other Behr credits include "Rabbi," directed by Jefery Levy, and 2001's "The Shipping News."


Takashi will direct the remake, produced by Nathan Kahane, Doug Davison and Roy Lee; "Spider-Man" helmer Sam Raimi (news) exec produced via his Ghost House Pictures.


Pic is set to lense this month in Tokyo; Columbia Pictures will distrib Stateside.


Screenplay for the new film is adapted by Stephen Susco, combining elements from the original and its three sequels. Original "Grudge" concerned a murderous curse stemming from a grudge held by someone who died enraged. Behr plays a college student at an international university in Tokyo, the boyfriend of Gellar's character. Gellar joined the cast last month (Daily Variety, Dec. 15).


Behr was repped in the deal by Robert Stein Management.


Copyright © 2003 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Variety is a registered trademark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc. and used under license. All Rights Reserved.

Thats really

I really looking foward to see Jason and Sarah at the same movie!

Postman

Waaaay news!
So maybe this one we'll reach us on the screen

Good going, Jason!

Lori

Thanks for posting it here Vicki!

That is great news. He is really getting good projects, and this could be one which will get a wider release.

That's great news . Jason and Sarah first in Buffy together and now in Grudge together .

At least we know how they are together on screen

I can't wait for this...okay all of his flicks

Lori

more news on jason's movie. it's basically the same info that Vicki posted because it's all from an article by Variety, but still, it's always great to see news about jason behr. thanks to moviehole.net for this.

Buffy co-stars reunite on film
Posted on Thr, 8-Jan-2004

Jason Behr, best known as Max Evans on the now defunct WB series "Roswell", has just scored himself a nice plum movie role.

Katy Heigl's hot-water bottle has won the male lead in the remake of "The Grudge", starring opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar. Funnily enough, Behr and Gellar once acted alongside each other on an episode of "Buffy" a few years back.

According to Variety, The screenplay for the new film - to be directed by Takashi - is adapted by Stephen Susco, combining elements from the original and its three sequels. The original film concerned a murderous curse stemming from a grudge held by someone who died enraged. Behr plays a college student at an international university in Tokyo, the boyfriend of Gellar's character.

"The Grudge" is set to film this month in Tokyo. Columbia Pictures will distribute in North America.
http://www.moviehole.net/news/2992.html

i'm not one for horror movies, which is this movie's genre, but because jason's in it, i'll watch it in the theater AND buy it on DVD!

Wow, this is great news. I can't wait to see it

Congrats to Jason!

Can't wait. SMG and JB did great together in BTVS....it will be awesome to see them again, together!!!

Thanks for posting that

Lori

Oh, Vicki, you have just made my new year a very very very very happy one!

Since I was a baby (totally not kidding), I have been watching all kinds of Asian action and horror films, so I have an obessesion with all things Japanese. (Thanks, Dad. Hee hee) So Japan/Japanese film and Jason mentioned in the same sentence has sent me into a coranary stage of excitement.

I'm so happy, oh so happy.......

omg this is sooooo cool i only found this out today.him and SMG that will be good 4 him...i hope i get to c it!!!!!!!

Wow That's great News

So do you think we'll see Jason doing some martial arts?
Or will he leave that up to SMG?
Can you see him whipping up some bootie? I think that would be awesome.

Lori

Wow Tokyo! Jason is really getting around isn't he? How long is he supposed to be over there for?

podmom I love the little bouncing Tigger in your post, very cute!

Hey gj I don't know that we have any idea how long he will be gone.

I hope that a film site goes up with more info

Lori

Go J !!!!!
your is great job!

Only for you J:

Love is a silence that sometimes become music.

One look, and our feelings are released in a kiss.

I borrowed this info posted by Anti-Matter from else where:



And a link:
The Grudge at Cinescape


Lori

Thanks for bringing that info Lori!

Lori, I think that Jason doing Martial arts, would be very .

Me too!
I think seeing him do some kick @ss stuff would be
I wonder if we'll get some 'skin' as well
He plays a college student so I wonder how much of that will play in the film.
I want to see some smoochies too

Lori

Lori I think we all want to see smoochies and if not with Katie I think we'll settle for Sarah.

Yes, if not Katie then Sarah will do just fine

Lori

I will just settle for some SKIN!

ME TOO!!!

Lori

It's amazing whats hiding under that shirt.

Why does he wear those things for goodness sakes? :rolleyes:
I mean he lives in a warm climate...what's he need shirts for?

Lori

Youv'e convinced me!!

All you need to do now is convince J....or failing that raid his closet.

That'd be a dream to see Jason whooping some a$$ on the big screen, but I think The Grudge will be more like The Ring and the original, The Ringu. Which were scary, btw. I couldn't sleep without the light on for almost a week after seeing them.

Japanese horror films are scary because they make you feel like you're on the edge the whole time. Spine tingling and hair raising would best describe how you feel when you watch some of the movies. When you think something is going to happen, you're wrong. And when it does happen, you're shocked, disturbed, and confused all at once.

I'm still really excited about Jason doing this movie, but I don't think I can wait year to see it. I'm debating on whether or not to rent Juon and the rest of the sequeals. . . But I'm so anti-spoilers I will probably refrain from doing so.

I need to see 'The Ring'.
I heard it was scary!

Well whup @ss or not....Jason is in it and I'm all for it


Tan raiding his closet
Yeah, we need to do that

Lori

We could have a panty raid only we take the shirts!

my friend watched juon. she said it was scary as sh**. so, i dont think that i'll be renting the original anytime soon, but i'll definitely watch the grudge because jason's in it. one scary movie is good enough for me and if i have to watch one, it'll most definitely be the grudge.

i'm living in okinawa, japan right now and i was so disappointed to hear that they were going to start shooting in tokyo in the summer or fall because that's when i'm moving back to the states.

i guess i'll just have to settle for seeing him on tv...and my computer...and on the walls of my room...and hopefully on the big screen if the movie gets distributed there

here's even more news on the movie. there's two articles. found these at jason-behr.com. (before, i had said these articles were from moviehole.net, and i was wrong. so i corrected it. these are from jason-behr.com)

'GRUDGE' NOTICE AT CHUD.COM (Cinematic Happenings Under Development)

"Another Grudge Held"

1.8.04
By Dave Davis
Contributing sources: Variety

When Columbia's pseudo-Americanized version of The Grudge hits the States, it'll come with a pair of pretty faces that once graced the WB network.

Soft-spoken Roswell extraterrestrial Jason Behr (isn't he dreamy?) will co-star in the film alongside the former bane of bloodsuckers Sarah Michelle Gellar, as the pair get freaked out by unnerving noises and a blanched boy.

The film essentially revolves around a house in Japan where something terrible once happened, and how the supernatural curse affects anyone who steps foot inside its doors. Gellar plays a social worker, while Behr will be her college-student boyfriend.

In a rare example of maintaining an original film's aesthetics, Japanese director Takashi Shimizu is helming the English-language remake of his own creepy haunted house tale (originally titled Ju-On) for the first modest-budgeted production from Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. The story's unsettling atmosphere and imagery have seen several previous incarnations in Japan, both cinematic and direct-to-video (featuring sexy young Kill Bill whirlwind Chiaki Kuriyama), all under Shimizu's control.

The American remake (being shot in Japan) should be on screens in time for Halloween 2004.

http://www.chud.com/news/jan04/jan8grudge.php3

* * *

AT CINESCAPE.COM:
Movie News

"ROSWELL cast member holds a GRUDGE against the Slayer: Jason Behr reunites with Sarah Michelle Gellar"


photo 2003 copyright Sue Schneider, from In the Cut premiere

Dateline: Thursday, January 8, 2004

By: Patrick Sauriol
Source: Variety

Former ROSWELL star Jason Behr is reuniting with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER's Sarah Michelle Gellar on the American remake of THE GRUDGE. Behr starred in an early episode of BUFFY before going on to lead the cast of ROSWELL. He will play Gellar's character's boyfriend in the film, a student in university at Tokyo.

Also revealed with today's casting news is the detail that Stephen Susco's script combines plot elements from all four films in the Japanese GRUDGE film series. The original picture concerned a virus-like curse that seems to make everyday people fall into a murderous fury before dying a violent death. Unlike other American remakes of Japanese horror films, THE GRUDGE is set in Japan and will be filmed on location beginning this month.

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?a...this_cat=Movies

http://www.jason-behr.com/news/587.shtml

in the first article they said it should be in theaters this year because filming starts this month! but i heard from somewhere else that it wont start until the summer. i think they should start during spring break cuz that's when i'll be going to tokyo. that way i could visit the set and tell y'all about it. so if anyone could find out when they are shooting, that'd be great! and let's hope that it really will be released this year. but i bet it wont be until halloween next year.

Why settle for just his shirts - make everyone happy and take then entire cupboard!

Summer shooting?
Out 'maybe' Halloween 2004?
Well I guess we'll find out.
Thanks for that info

Raiding Jason's cupboards....I raid away

Lori

They begin filming at the end of this month and should be wrapped in 7 weeks from then.

Well that sounds better to me

Lori

a busy bee is he

He's busy, but I want his work to actually get aired!
I want to see the finished products instead of them sitting around on a shelf somewhere.
This movie looks to be on that we'll get to see

Lori

here's some general information about the movie (i.e. the plot, sorta). from filmjerk.com.


Clea Duvall and Kadee Strickland Join “Grudge”; More Plot Details Uncovered
Written 01-15-2004 by ChrisFaile

Clea Duvall ("Carnivàle," "Identity") and Kadee Strickland (a supporting player in "Something's Gotta Give" and "Anything Else") are the latest two actors to join the remake of Takashi Shimizu's Japanese-language horror film “The Grudge,” FilmJerk.com has learned. They will play the sisters Jennifer and Susan Williams, respectively; in addition, casting notices have since gone out for the role of their mother, as well as for three supporting roles. The production, which already has cast a pair of WB series veterans in Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr, is set to begin January 26 in Tokyo, Japan.

Basing itself on plot elements from the films “Ju-on," “Ju-on: The Grudge” and "Ju-on: The Grudge 2," the film has been described as being about “a murderous supernatural curse, born from a grudge that is held by someone who dies angry. The curse passes like a virus to its victims.” Prior to this point, little else was known was about the plot, but casting documents FilmJerk.com, which we have obtained from sources, give further depth.

The role of Claire Williams, yet to be cast, is described as a Caucasian woman in her 60s and the mother of Matthew (also to be cast), Susan and Jennifer Williams. In the film, Claire comes with her son and daughter-in-law Jennifer to live in Tokyo. An old woman who never speaks, Claire feels overwhelming dread the moment she sets foot in their new house. After moving in, her health deteriorates, and she requires regular care. A mute witness to the deaths of Matthew, Jennifer, and her regular nurse Rika, Claire tries vainly to warn Karen (played by Gellar) when she shows up to take over Rika's job -- but she's too dazed and disoriented to communicate.
.
Also being cast are the crucial supporting roles of Maria, a breathtakingly beautiful and sensual Latin woman in her 30s, and Peter, an English teacher. At the start of the film, Maria is happily married to Peter, but – out of nowhere – Peter casually commits suicide, hurling himself out of a window to his death.

Three years later, Maria is working as a Japanese "hostess," and she has lost the purity viewers once saw in her at the beginning of the movie; she is obviously lost without Peter. She has succumbed to the hard life, with teased-up hair, heavy makeup, and short, tight, revealing clothes. Still embittered over the death of her husband and her descent into the world of sex workers, Maria is gruffly uncommunicative when Karen shows up to investigate Peter's death as part of “The Grudge” but she yields to nostalgia and looks through her old photos from the happy days of her courtship and marriage. Can she give Karen enough clues to the stop the supernatural curse?

Director Shimizu wrote and directed the original film and producers for the remake include “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi. The screenplay for the new film is credited to Stephen Susco.

The Scorecard
Producers: Nathan Kahane, Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Taka Ichise, Doug Davison and Roy Lee
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writer: Stephen Susco
Casting Directors: Nancy Nayor and Kelly Wagner
Start Date: January 26, 2004
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Production Company: Senator International, Ghost House Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment

http://www.filmjerk.com/nuke/article772.html.


***
kinda sounds like we're looking to Sarah Michelle Gellar to save the world from evil again.

Thanks for posting that info

Lori

here's some plot news if anyone's interested

What's the story with The Grudge?
Posted on Tue, 20-Jan-2004

Creature Corner have an official plot synopsis for “The Grudge” remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr.

This is what’s said : Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar, naturally) is a medical student co-opping in Tokyo with her boyfriend Doug. One day, Karen is asked by her boss, Alex, to take care of an elderly American woman, Claire, in the absence of Rika, the nurse who regularly takes care of her. Claire, nearly-catatonic, lives with her son, Matthew, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who have just moved to Japan because Matthew was offered a high paying job at Toyota (of all things). Matthew's sister Susan also lives/works in Japan and is their segue into the foreign Japanese culture. While cleaning the house, Karen is visited by ghastly images and ends up discovering a young boy duct taped into a closet. Creepy. "The Ring"-like antics ensue, I won't spoil the whole thing. The script's first half is told through a very engaging sequence of non linear events. Who is the boy? Why is he duct taped into a closet with his cat? What's the deal with this old woman? What the hell is Rika up to? And what is that constant loud hissing noise? No question, if done.

http://www.moviehole.net/news/3048.html

i'm guessing that jason's character is doug because they say that jason is playing SMG's boyfriend. so i guess doug's the name. and it looks like the grudge is making some news

Hey that is great!
Thanks so much for bringing that over!
'Doug'? He doesn't look like a 'Doug'

If you know more of the synopsis would you PM it to me please?
I like being spoiled

Lori

i dont know lori...i think he could pass as a doug..not the best name but i can see him as a doug *squints eys....and thinks long and hard*

sheri

I don't have any specific info on the plot, but when i find some, i'll make sure to PM you, Lori. i like being spoiled too.

i think jason can pull off being a doug. but the name doug just reminds me of that nickelodeon cartoon. the kid with that green sweater vest and his dog, porkchop. i liked that cartoon...

anyway, i can't wait for this movie to come out. at imdb.com they say the release date is sometime in 2005. i've heard halloween this year. i'm getting antsy about it, and jason's other films, too. he's been busy.

Well I guess since he made the name 'Max' sexy that he can do it with 'Doug' too

And I'm antsy for a Behr film as well.
He keeps making them, but they aren't getting put out there for us to see

Lori

I agree with you Lori. It has been almost two years since we seen our man in action. The last thing he did was Roswell. So I am hoping by some kind of mircle that these movies get released soon.

CS

I'm so happy with this news, I was so anxious to see Jason in a movie or tv soon, now that I discovered him, I can't be without seeing him.

i cant wait, i cant wait, i cant wait (i don't know what this is but it looked happy bouncing around) anyway, will any of jb's films be showing in the US...happily ever after(?), shooting livien, the grudge, anyone know...i know it's too soon to tell but, anyone?

Hopefully all, but I think we will have the best luck with 'The Grudge'.
'Shooting Livien' is being edited right now so who knows.
We can only hope

Lori