As darkness settles in theaters, “Fright Night” in 3D is sure to bite a brand-new generation of horror-film devotees with its imaginative take on a cult classic—a perfect blend of horror and action.

As lead actor Colin Farrell explains, “There are none of those romantic leanings. This vampire is just a killer. He’s over four hundred years old. He’s probably a little bit bored when we find him, but he feeds. He just feeds.”

A revamp of the 1985 comedy-horror classic, “Fright Night” revolves around Charley (Anton Yelchin), a high school senior who’s on top of the world—he’s running with the popular crowd and dating Amy (Imogen Poots), the most coveted girl in school. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a nice guy––at first. But there’s something not quite right, and no one else, including Charley’s mom (Toni Collette) seems to notice! After observing some very strange activity, Charley comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood.

Farrell admits he was, at first, skeptical about remaking this classic film because he holds the original in such high regard. “I was 11 or 12 years old the first time I saw ‘Fright Night,’” Farrell recalls. “I don’t want to say it’s sacrosanct,” he explains about his take on the original film, “but in a way it is and it’s kind of perfect in its own form.

“So I was frustrated when I read the script,” he continues, “because it was so good, I really wanted to do it! Just like the original, it seemed to straddle the line between horror and a kind of sweet tongue-in-cheek comedy.”

The entire cast seems like a hypothetical wish list, beginning with Farrell, who was the filmmakers’ first choice to play Jerry, the centuries-old vampire. “I was so excited that we could get him,” says director Craig Gillespie about casting Farrell in the complex lead role. “I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect. As written, Jerry’s an incredibly charismatic personality, but there is a sinister aspect to him too. I thought Colin would embody that perfectly.”

Farrell, clearly delighted to be baring vampire fangs, says, “When I met Craig, he was enthusiastic and had a very clear idea of how he wanted to tell this story. I want to say it was a no-brainer for me to want to be in his film. It really was a pretty easy decision.”

Essential in Farrell’s portrayal of the vampire is a little help from the special-effects makeup department to aid his facial transformations. The filmmakers wanted to peg Jerry’s transformations to the heat of the moment. As his anger increases, so, too, does his more demonic physical changes. Subtle in the beginning, the process is ramped up throughout the film.

Farrell was definitely up for the task of wearing all six stages of Jerry’s vampire makeups. “That’s sort of unheard of for actors,” says make-up designer Howard Berger. “But Colin is a trouper, and I think he felt like it was Halloween every day. He is, by far, one of my favorite actors to do makeup on, aside from just being one of my favorite people as well.”

The different stages of Jerry’s transformation were actually an experience that Farrell very much enjoyed, mainly because of the artistry of the makeup team. Offering enthusiastic praise, the actor says, “They’ve done an amazing job. They’re Academy® Award–winning makeup artists, and it was a blast to be around them. The days were long, but it was incredible from the get-go.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Fright Night is a DreamWorks Picture distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

MANILA, May 23 — Capt. Jack Sparrow found the elusive Fountain of Youth at the Philippine box-office, as Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” opened at No. 1 with a nationwide gross of a swashbuckling P62.37-million for the Friday to Sunday (May 20 to 22) period. That opening figure is 2011’s highest to date, overtaking “Thor’s” P59.5-M several weeks back.

This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International which locally distributed the film.

The film’s three-day haul also managed to become the third biggest opening weekend ever for a Disney title, close on the heels of 2007’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (P71.3-million) and 2006’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (P65.5-million) which both had the advantage of five-day opening weekends.

Along the way, “On Stranger Tides” also triumphantly broke the following Disney records: Biggest opening day ever at P18.8-million, beating 2005’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” at P18.6-million; biggest Friday (P18.8- million), Saturday (P21.4-million) and Sunday (P22-million) receipts ever, surpassing the grosses of 2010’s “Toy Story 3” on the same days.

SM Mall of Asia (P5.01-M) posted the highest sales over all cinemas, followed by SM North EDSA (P3.35-M), Trinoma (P3.23-M), SM Cebu (P2.56-M), SM Megamall (P2.48-M), Power Plant (P2.20-M), Glorietta 4 (P2.14-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.11-M), Eastwood (P1.78-M) and Alabang Town Center (P1.65-M).

Also reporting robust figures are Newport Cinema (P1.58-M), Gateway (P1.39-M), Shangri-la (P1.34-M), Ayala Cebu (P1.27-M), Greenhiils (P1.10-M), Robinsons Ermita (P1.05-M), SM Baguio (P1.03-M), Robinsons Galleria (P1.02-M), Festival (P1.01-M) and Market Market (P 994,626).

Starring Johnny Depp in his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Jack Sparrow is not sure if it’s love—or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past.

Still playing across the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Disney Digital 3D and regular format, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

For a guy in his 30s doing research for a film, going to prom was surprisingly fun. “I didn’t know how much I loved prom until I went to five of them this year,” jokes Joe Nussbaum, who is director of his own “Prom,” Walt Disney Pictures’ new coming-of-age comedy. “It’s such an amazingly good feeling.

“We walked into a lot of high schools to scout locations, and it can make you feel unnerve,” Nussbaum adds. “You remember it all: the stress, you see kids arguing, or someone walking down the hall looking lonely. And that all comes rushing back. It’s not pleasant visiting high school as an adult, and I thought prom would be the same sort of thing. But it wasn’t.”

Though the movie is a lighthearted story, complete with standard high school character archetypes of geeks, preps and jocks, Nussbaum wanted to capture the intensity of emotion that comes from one of the most memorable (or notorious) nights in adolescent life.

Aimee Teegarden (TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) stars as the know-it-all good girl who runs the prom committee and finds herself drawn to a guy who couldn’t care less about it (newcomer Thomas McDonell). “It’s set in your head when you’re a little kid — prom is that defining moment, when you get to look back on your school career and have a moment just for yourself,” she says.

One thing the movie tries to do differently is show the mingling among cliques. They aren’t as separate as some teen films would suggest. “What I like about this movie is it’s a little more real in that sense,” Adler says. “The offbeat character sometimes is friends with the straight-A people.”

Teegarden is definitely one of the latter, playing teacher’s pet Nova Prescott, who finds herself stuck working with bitter outsider Jesse Richter (McDonell) after he gets blamed for a fire. “Nova is the person you all knew would be a politician when she grows up, or run a Fortune 500 company,” Teegarden says. In other words, she’s not someone very open to the unexpected.

It’s almost impossible to live up to the expectations of a prom, Teegarden says. But everyone tries.

“High school elevates all the highs and lows in life,” Nussbaum says. “Everything is a big deal. It’s supercharged emotionally.”

“It’s kind of like a wedding day,” Teegarden adds.

Nussbaum agrees: “You put ‘wedding’ in front of any other word and it takes on a much different meaning. Prom is the same way. There’s a dress, and then there’s your prom dress, and you’re supposed to go shopping for it four times, and pick it out with your mom and friends, and you’ll remember it forever.”

Though it’s a Disney movie, it’s not all sunshine and cheer. Nussbaum says he wants to explore the pressures of being that age, too. It’s what separates a kiddie high school movie from something that touches even with those who aren’t kids anymore.

He witnessed that stress firsthand on his five excursions to study local proms. “I was walking by a table where this girl was just bawling her eyes out,” Nussbaum says, though he had no idea what had gone wrong.

“She was like, ‘I planned for this for soooo loooong!’ She really did. And that’s what gives it so much importance, and hopefully that’s what will make the movie resonate.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Prom” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Two Filipino-American actors join Johnny Depp in his quest for the Fountain of Youth in Walt Disney Pictures’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” They are Daphne Joy and Michael Rosales, who play a mermaid and a pirate on the Queen Anne’s Revenge, respectively.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Jack Sparrow (Depp) is not sure if it’s love—or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica.

A multicultural actor/rap artist/performer, Michael Ilano Rosales was chosen to play a “pirate from the Philippines” from a pool of over 4,000 aspirants. It was also his first-ever acting audition. His Hollywood journey would take him from his home of Hawaii, across 11,000 kilometers to London, where his scenes in “On Stranger Tides” were shot.

As a musician, Rosales transforms into Mic3—Mic (Mike), short for Michael, 3 for the third child, and the 3 for the main islands of the Philippines. His goal is to reconstruct today’s hip-hop landscape, to bring it back to its artistic foundation and roots and provide a meaningful message to the listener. In 2008, Rosales released his first full-length album, “Respect My Pride.” The album features English and Filipino language music that inspires an appreciation of the Filipino culture and heritage. A feature video, “Balikbayan,” was filmed in the Philppines, reinforcing the cultural messages found in his music behind a backdrop of historical Philippine landmarks. Rosales has shared the stage with several notable performers, including Damian Marley and Busta Rhymes.

Counting the recent hit “Just Go With It” and such popular TV shows as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Criminal Minds” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to her credits, Daphne Joy was born and raised in the heart of Olongapo, Philippines. Although her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was just 8 years old, she was able to retain her Filipino culture and upbringing. Despite the language barriers and overall culture shock, Daphne was able to completely readjust to her new surroundings, and with her natural beauty, easygoing personality and wit she made friends and was able to adapt to the American way of life.

Intrigued by her new country’s pop culture, Daphne became interested in entertainment, becoming involved in dance groups, choir, cheerleading and talent shows. At the age of 18 she transferred that interest to acting, and was soon working in front of the camera. She was also featured in several A-list recording artists’ music videos, along with commercials, national print campaigns, magazine covers and features.

Opening across the Philippines on May 2011, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Time Magazine’s choice as the Best Motion Picture of 2009, “The Princess and the Frog” marks Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to hand-drawn animation, a return to the classic fairy tale and a return to the musical – in the tradition of “A Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”

“If there was a single lesson we could take from Walt Disney himself to take Walt Disney Animation Studios into the future,” says executive producer John Lasseter, “it is to leverage the richness of its past: its beloved storytelling forms, its successful characters, its musical opulence—all of these are an essential part of our newest hand-drawn project.”

The filmmakers saw the hand-drawn medium was as vibrant and appealing as ever, and ventured into recapturing and reinventing the art form with reverence, purpose and a renewed sensibility. “At every turn,” director Ron Clements says, “we realized that we could reach out and touch the legacy of the animated Disney fairy tale, and yet move in surprising and interesting new ways, rather than slavishly imitating or reproducing what had been done before.”

Once upon a time, not so many years ago, the traditional hand-drawn Disney animation gave way to new technology, leaving behind the single art form most closely identified with Walt Disney himself.

In 2006, when John Lasseter and Ed Catmull took the reins of Walt Disney Animation Studios, they understood that traditional handcraft of Disney animation certainly had not lost its value as either art or entertainment. And although his greatest fame has come from pioneering in the field of computer animation, Lasseter’s love was not exclusive to his own specific form. He grew up with and began his career in the traditional animation that Disney invented, nurtured and developed over decades into an art form all its own. New animated features were being considered, in whatever animation technique was deemed most suitable.

“We were invited to pitch ideas for new hand-drawn Disney features,” director John Musker recalls. “We were all particularly inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale of ‘The Frog Prince.’”

Producer Peter Del Vecho has taken great personal pleasure in being part of the rekindling of a great art form. “There’s something really rewarding about watching the animator put down pencil to paper, and then when you’re watching the film, you forget all about the individual pencil lines and those characters are really coming off the screen. You kind of take them home with you in your mind—each of the characters is rich and has a life of their own.”

Music was another element of the Disney legacy that the creative team wanted to reach back and touch, but take in a new direction, too. Clements and Musker pitched the film as a musical, but not in the traditional Broadway-style form that Disney had pioneered in 1937 and reinvented in the 1980s. They pitched the idea that the music would be a tapestry of zydeco, blues, gospel, jazz and all of that distinctly American sound.

The return to tradition allows audiences to once again share an opportunity to see whether true love can really triumph, to strive for an ending where everyone lives happily ever after, and to leave the theater humming that song that they can’t seem to get out of their heads.

Opening soon across the Philippines , “The Princess and the Frog” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.

Walt Disney Animation Studios serves up a joyous gumbo of adventurous storytelling, captivating characters, offbeat comedy and memorable music in the all-new feature “The Princess and the Frog,” an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans .

From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. “The Princess and the Frog” marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman.

Everyone knows the story in which a princess finds true love by kissing a frog that magically turns into her handsome prince. In this telling of the story, the girl still kisses a frog, but the result is quite different; it’s only one of dozens of surprises in this mix of wacky humor, thrills, melody and emotion. Love eventually finds a way—between a prince and a princess…between frogs, perhaps…or maybe between a firefly and the object of his affection. But it’s clear that the most important details lie well beneath the skin. The film features Disney’s newest princess, its next great fairy tale and the Studio’s return to the Disney musical, reminiscent of classics like “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”

The voice cast for “The Princess and the Frog” features a varied and renowned troupe of actors. Tony® Award winner Anika Noni Rose (“Dreamgirls”) stars as Tiana, while international star Bruno Campos is Prince Naveen. Academy Award® nominees Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”) and Oprah Winfrey (“The Color Purple”) provide the voices of Tiana’s loving parents, James and Eudora.

The film is executive produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer John Lasseter while Disney veteran Peter Del Vecho is the film’s producer. “The Princess and the Frog” is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker from an original story by Clements & Musker and Greg Erb & Jason Oremland; the directors teamed up with writer Rob Edwards to create the screenplay. Don Hall is story supervisor.

Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman (“Cars,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Toy Story”) created an all-new score for the feature in a range of styles, including jazz, blues, gospel, Dixieland and zydeco; and featuring seven new songs, plus the featured end-credit song by multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award®-winning Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo, who sings “Never Knew I Needed.”

Opening soon across the Philippines , “The Princess and the Frog” is the 49th animated feature film from Walt Disney Pictures, a tradition established nearly 75 years ago with the release of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Best known as the put-upon son of “Austin Powers,” versatile actor Seth Green joins John Travolta and Robin Williams in Disney’s uproarious, family comedy “Old Dogs.”

Green plays Craig, the ambitious young maverick longing to succeed in the sports marketing business owned by the characters of Travolta and Williams. “I was thinking about who was going to play this guy, and just the visual of Seth Green standing next to Robin and John made me laugh,” says director Walter Becker.  “He could be one of the funniest guys on the planet. His delivery is just so dry.  In every scene, I could cut to him, and with just one look, huge laughter follows. He was really a treat.”

Green tips his hat to his co-stars.  “All of my scenes are with Robin and John and that to me was very exciting. I’ve been a fan of both of them for so long,” he says. “I’ve been in films with John, but we haven’t really gotten to do a lot of interacting. And Robin is really a hero of mine, I’ve loved him for as long as I’ve wanted to be an actor. So getting to act with him was thrilling.”

Seth found his ultimate performance test in “Old Dogs” while shooting an elaborate Japanese karaoke scene. His go-getter character immerses himself in the Japanese culture in preparation to run the business out of Japan . “On my second day of shooting, I did this glitzy karaoke scene in front of 150 extras. I got to sing and entertain them, which is not something I typically do. I owned that stage,” he laughs. “It’s very silly seeing me in this kimono with eyeliner and these sparkly shoes, screaming and jumping around to songs like ‘Mr. Roboto’ and ‘House of Pain.’”

Seth Green was named the Best TV Actor by Entertainment Weekly magazine while E! Entertainment Television’s poll proclaimed him the hottest young actor in Hollywood .  He recently wrapped the lead role in Disney’s upcoming “Mars Needs Moms.” Green and Matthew Senreich created/executive produce/write/direct (and Green provides multiple voices each week for) the Emmy®-winning “Robot Chicken,” their stop-motion animation, pop-culture parody show on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.  The “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” special earned Green an Outstanding Voiceover Emmy nomination and the 2009 Annie Awards for writing and best animated TV show.  Green won the 2008 Annie Award for directing the first “Robot Chicken: Star Wars” special and both specials were Emmy-nominated.  Green, Senreich and Tom Root executive produce “Titan Maximum,” their new Adult Swim show with Green voicing the villain.  Green also voices Chris Griffin on “Family Guy,” the hit Fox animated series.

Green was the lead in Paramount ’s comedy “Without a Paddle,” and the indie film “Party Monster.”  He also won rave reviews for his starring turns in “Knockaround Guys,” “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “The Italian Job,” “ America ’s Sweethearts,” “Rat Race,” all three “Austin Powers” films, and numerous television roles.  He mocked his well-earned nice-guy rep on “Entourage.”  Aside from his other accolades, Green reached the pinnacle of showbiz success in the most tangible medium…multiple action figures made in his likeness by the industry’s top toymakers.

Opening across the Philippines on Jan. 20, “Old Dogs” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.

Three-time Grammy Award®-winning Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo extends his songwriting skills to include the movies, as he sings “Never Knew I Needed,” in the soundtrack of Walt Disney Animation Studio’s return to the hand drawn, ‘Princess’ movie, “The Princess and the Frog.”

From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes “The Princess and the Frog” — a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince called Naveen who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.   Ne-Yo’s “Never Knew I Needed” is a song that captures the journey of both Tiana and Prince Naveen.

In joining project and performer, Disney again demonstrates its commitment to carry on the tradition of the finest in animation by utilizing the best of today’s talented artists.

Ne-Yo discusses his involvement with the animated film in the following interview:

Q:  What attracted you to “The Princess and the Frog”?

Ne-Yo: What drew me into this project, for starters, was the opportunity to be a part of something I grew up with—Disney.  I grew up watching all of the Disney films.  Let’s just say that Disney and I have known each other for a very, very, very long time.  Also, it was the opportunity to be a part of something as classic as a Disney film.  This is a brand new Princess for Disney—the first African-American Princess.  So, it just made perfect sense for me to dive in.  I was presented with the opportunity, and I jumped at it.  And, I think that it’s going be a very nice marriage.

Q:  What did you think of the film when you first heard about it?

Ne-Yo: When I heard that Disney was going to create their first African-American Princess film, I wasn’t worried. You know, there’s an air of quality that goes with the Disney brand.  So I knew that it was going be done with class.  I knew that it was going to be done the best that it could possibly be done.  I knew that going into the project, and I just wanted to make sure that my contribution was going to be up to par with what Disney was putting together.

Q:  What was your inspiration for the song, “Never Knew I Needed”?  How did it come about?

Ne-Yo: In putting this song together, I saw bits and pieces of the movie, to get a better grasp of who the characters were—what their story was, and what their motivations were for their actions.  And from there, they really didn’t give me much more direction than that, other than that it needs to be something that sums up what you feel the essence of this film is—two people, two different walks of life, two different, set paths.  They know exactly what it is they want and they’re going after it.  And while they’re doing that, they find each other and realize that, within each other, they found something that they didn’t even realize they needed—that they didn’t even realize was there.  And it just so happens to be more important than what they were going for in the first place.

Putting the song together was a little different than my normal writing process, because it needed to be very specific.  It needed to be Disney, but at the same time, it needed to be contemporary enough for regular, everyday radio.  So, I had to make sure that the melodies were sweet, sweet like classic Disney, but at the same time, that the actual drum patterns and lyrical content were, dare I say, ‘edgy’ enough to grasp the attention of someone who may not be that big a Disney fan—maybe someone who is new to what Disney is.  You know, it’s taking the classic Disney fan, and the new Disney fan, and trying to bring them together through this one, very well written, very finely produced song.

Q:  How does it feel to be involved with something that has the potential to become an animated classic?

Ne-Yo: It is, honestly, an honor beyond words, just to be a part of anything Disney.  Like I said, I grew up with Disney, you know, so I can’t even find the words for that.  And for me, personally, this may not mean anything to anybody else, but for me to have my name in the credits next to Randy Newman’s name, that’s big for me.  That’s something for me to smile about in the privacy of my own home. Randy Newman, I’m a huge fan of what he does.  The man is a master songwriter.  It’s just an absolute honor.  Actually, I’m beyond honored to be a part of this project.

(Opening soon across the Philippines , “The Princess and the Frog” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.)