"Well, you tried it just for once, found it all right for kicks.
But now you found out that it's a habit that sticks,
and you're an orgasm addict." – The Buzzcocks

The new movie Choke, adapted from the Chuck Palahniuk novel, is about a sex addict (Sam Rockwell) who, in one element of the plot, hooks up with other sex addicts who attend the same Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings as him. Ah, the irony. The same thing happened to Sam Malone on Cheers, if I'm not mistaken, which makes the joke around 20 years old. Yet, despite that fact, sexual addiction as a term and a (non-DSM-recognized) medical problem seem fairly new to cinema.

Sure, there have been sex addicts in films for many decades, but they were more likely to be described as nymphomaniacs, lechers or typical men. Think of Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind, a number of the female characters created by Tennessee Williams and certainly the locked up nymphos in Shock Corridor. In the past few years, however, there have been a slew of actual "sexaholics," both male and female, though some aren't exactly referred to in such a manner.

It's the movie that just keeps on going -- just like its subject matter on a 109 degree summer's day. The Hollywood Reporter says that Ye Olde Times, which saw Jack Black and Lindsay Lohan visiting the Ren Faire has now been revamped into All's Faire in Love. It lost Black and Lohan along the way, but it's aquired Christina Ricci, Owen Benjamin, Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Engvall, and Nadine Velazquez.

The plot sounds as though it has gone an overhaul as well -- the story is now centered on Benjamin, whose shiny new drama degree has landed him a job with a Renaissance Faire theater troupe. Reduced to being their fetch boy, he meets a Faire virgin played by Ricci. That's a virgin to the Renaissance Faire, not the Shakesperean sense of "a faire virgin." But his swashbuckling colleagues aim to disrupt his budding romance.

Cedric is taking the role of Professor Shockworthy, who narrates the story in the fairy-tale style. Of the original cast, only Matthew Lillard seems to remain. Everyone else ever associated with the project has vanished, and has been replaced by Ann-Margaret and Louise Griffiths. The director job has also shifted from writer Robert A. White to Scott Marshall.

So much upheaval is rarely good for a film -- and while I adore Ricci, and find her a trade up from Lohan, it bodes ill to lose Cary Elwes (who is necessary in any film with tights) and Black. As cheesy as the premise sounds, the world of Renaissance Faire is ripe for a really good comedy. I know, I've spent too many years there. I don't know if All's Faire will be the send-up I'm looking for, but I'd like to hope it is.

It's what I call a low fever week on DVD shelves this week, but let's see what we can find. Kim Voynar described Penelope as "a charming but fluffy little fable about a girl born under the shadow of a family curse." Christina Ricci stars as a woman with the face of a pig (!). James (Wanted) McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Catherine O'Hara and Peter Dinklage are also featured. The DVD includes a "making of" feature.

Other indie releases of interest this week: The Curiosity of Chance; Meet Bill; Monsieur Vincent; Never Forever; Times and Winds; The Year My Parents Went on Vacation.

Now that's we've covered the official business of this weekly post, let's talk oddities. The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell is a wild post-apocalyptic comedy that other people have enjoyed much more than I did (which is to say not at all), but what I find really odd is that the DVD comes complete with "National Lampoon Presents" plastered at the top. Now, the National Lampoon label has never embraced comedy that I'd call "nervy." Gross out comedy? Yes. Bad attempts at parody? Yes. Endless pale imitations of frat house laughers? Yes. Beach Party may not have succeeded for me, but at least it tries to push the boundaries of what it's OK to laugh about.

While she made a name for herself with her stint as Wednesday Addams, Christina Ricci has always dipped into brighter and colorful fare here and there. Before the goth, she was Kate in Mermaids, and after, she wiggled her colorful toe socks in The Ice Storm, performed that sexy, bowling alley dance in pale blue for Buffalo '66, and even went a shade of Pumpkin. But with the recent Speed Racer, she took it to another level: super, ultra-vibrant, unrealistic color.

But that's nothing compared to her next gig, which doesn't have her changing race like Robert Downey Jr., but has her going yellow. Crayon yellow. Luckily, it's not live-action. The Hollywood Reporter posts that she is going to voice the lead in a new animated CG feature called The Hero of Color City. She'll play a timid crayon called Yellow, who is one of many crayons threatened when "an evil tyrant" appears to remove color from their world. Could a timid, yellow gal be the hero? The picture was penned by J.P. McCormick, Rich Raczelowski, and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and will be directed by Becky Bristow.

There is already talk of "merchandise, art supplies, and educational products," so expect a big wave of crayon-centric marketing and coloring books coming our way. At least this marketing kick will inspire tykes to create things.

Ever since the numbers were released yesterday, anyone and everyone (as well as anyone who is everyone) has been talking Speed Racer -- specifically, how a $120 million Hollywood blockbuster could open with only $20 million at the box office. You can blame Iron Man, you can blame the marketing, you can blame the blogs for trashing the film all year long, you can blame Christina Ricci's weird haircut, or you can blame that judge on Project Runway for saying, "You can never have too much color!" Fact is, it missed the mark.

But what could've helped Speed Racer make more money in its opening weekend? The running time has been mentioned a lot in the past 24 hours, but a running time doesn't exactly woo audiences into the theater. Is the film's marketing 100% to blame? Should the trailers have been cut differently? Should they have stressed that this was a film for kids? Should they have added a little viral action into the mix? Or what about overall? From the beginning, were the Wachowski Brothers the right folks for the job? Should they have gone the animated route instead -- or maybe the animated 3-D route? Should they have made this a film for older kids; slap on a PG-13 rating?

In your opinion, what could've helped Speed Racer -- both in its opening weekend and in its development as a feature film?

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At the Long Beach Grand Prix, the roar of high-powered race car engines fills the air, a deep bass thrum cutting through the smell of exhaust in the early summer heat. Tens of thousands of race fans have gathered to take in the metal-and-rubber reality of racing, but in the Long Beach Convention Center, a small group of journalists have gathered to talk about a big-screen fantasy vision of the spectacle roaring around us, Cinematical was there to speak with the people behind Speed Racer: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox, as well as producer Joel Silver.

Emile Hirsch, relaxed and fairly amused, is asked about embodying a classic character. "It's pretty cool." He laughs; "I was a very big fan of the show growing up ... I would just watch it every morning with cereal ... sometimes soda in the cereal. ..." I then asked Hirsch if, after reading the script, he was worried about being Mark Hamill to Matthew Fox's Harrison Ford, that Speed would be out-cooled by Racer X. "Well, now I am ..." The rest of the sentence is unprintable, but Hirsch then mocked Fox's masked mystery man and spoke sincerely about Speed's virtues: "Yeah, (Racer X) is so cool ... No, no, no; Speed's got the nobility; Speed does the right thing; Speed is ... Speed's cool."

(Hirsch on coolness:)

I don't know a lot about Speed Racer aside from what I've gleaned from the theme song over the years -- apparently, the young man's a demon on wheels -- so, in many ways, I'm the best possible audience for Larry and Andy Wachowski's new big-screen interpretation of the character. Originally a Japanese animation program exported and re-dubbed for the American market in the '60s, Speed Racer has now been revived and revitalized for now. And the Wachowskis have created a blast of pure pop family fun; Speed Racer's a bright, bold visual spectacle designed for kids.

And why shouldn't it be? Or, rather, how could it not? This is a property where one of the supporting characters is, after all, a monkey; any fully-grown individual hoping for an adult action film or racing realism is looking in the wrong place. Speed Racer plays like a car-crazed visual wonder -- it looks and feels like what pop artist Roy Lichtenstein would dream if you locked him in a room full of gas fumes, gave him only candy to eat and showed him nothing but Tron, Indianapolis 500 footage, episodes of the '60s Batman TV show and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All at the same time. With the volume very, very high.

Not long ago we asked you folks to submit a bunch of questions for Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci to answer, and guess what -- they answered them! Well, not all of them, but a few lucky individuals had their questions hand-picked, thrown up on a screen and presented to those two charming kids during another one of Moviefone's fabulous Unscripted installments. As always, you can check out an exclusive clip from their chat above -- one you will only see here on Cinematical. In it, Hirsch and Ricci talk about working with a green screen, and how "tripped-out" the whole experience is. I believe Ricci compared it to feeling very high. Hmmm.

But anyway, these two cats star in the new film Speed Racer, out this Friday in theaters everywhere. And, as you're probably already aware, Speed Racer was based on an old 14th century poem about two spiders who fall in love with an elephant. Kidding! Of course it's based on the "tripped-out" (just tying it all in) cartoon from the '60s. The live-action feature film was written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski (aka those Matrix guys), and it also stars John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox.

Check out the Moviefone Unscripted chat over here, and watch as the two talk about kissing (with and without tongue), cutting hair, fighting and details on their "perfect drive." Speed Racer arrives on May 9, and you can check out loads of really cool images from the film in our gallery below.

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While I'm personally much more excited about Iron Man and Indy 4, there's certainly been lots of buzzing amongst the internet bees about the Wachowski's adaptation of Speed Racer. In case you haven't seen the millions of trailers, the film looks ... well, it looks pretty damn trippy. Like they took the old cartoon and dosed it up with acid. It looks visually intense, with lots of brought, swirly colors, speedy-fast cars, and fairly simplistic dialog. Jeff Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere put up a post noting that the tracking for Speed Racer looks a bit concerning, with not as many people as the studio might like saying they plan to see it opening weekend.

As commenters on Hollywood Elsewhere have noted, Speed Racer's target demographic looks to be A) fanboys who will pay to see anything about the cartoon they loved in their youth, especially if it's made with groovy CGI and shiny, pretty colors; and B) four-year-old boys. I can't really see a lot of chicks begging their boyfriends to see Speed Racer on date night, though there may be more than a few guys bargaining and sitting through Baby Mama or Made of Honor in exchange for a Speed Racer date.

Cinematical's James Rocchi caught Speed Racer last night at a sneak screening. I caught him on his cell at the Speed Racer junket this morning to ask his initial impressions of the film; here's what he had to say about it: "It's pure, pop family fun, a bold, bright kids' movie that's visually exciting and keeps the tone right." James noted that his overall impression of the film was "generally very favorable -- as a kids' movie." If any Cinematical readers have been to a preview screening of Speed Racer, let us know what you think of how the full movie plays. And the rest of you movie fans -- does Speed Racer look hot, or not? And are you planning to see it in the theater?

I don't remember a heck of a lot about the original Speed Racer TV show except that it had one of the great theme songs of all time. (Man, Greg Kihn spoke the truth: They really don't write 'em like that anymore.) That, and Speed's eyes were extraordinarily large and looked like a girl's, and his mouth never seemed to match what he was saying. Oh, anime! We were so young and untrained in your ways.

Forty years after it ended its two-year run on TV, Speed Racer has grown up to be a movie, starring Emile Hirsch (as Speed) and Christina Ricci (as Speed's girlfriend Trixie), both of whose eyes are appropriately large and well-lashed. Filmed by the Wachowski brothers (err, siblings?) in their first directorial effort since the Matrix movies, Speed Racer looks to be one of those movies that people will either love or hate. When we debuted the trailer back in December, it seemed like half the comments included the word "awesome," while the other half included the letters (and symbol) "WTF?"

You'll be able to see for yourself on May 9 whether the Wachowskis have pulled off the trick of transferring anime -- and racetrack shenanigans -- to the big screen. Meantime, we have more pressing business at hand: Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci have signed on for our Unscripted interview series, for which they'll be asking each other your questions. And they can only do that if you get off your butt and submit one, so do it in the comments section below.

Please post your comment by Friday, April 18, and include your name and the city where you live. Go, Speed Racer fan, go!

In our animated future, we can not only anticipate Wall-E robots, Tintin, and dragon taming, but also the fuzzy and dangerous world of wolves. The Hollywood Reporter posts that we're getting a new animated film called Alpha and Omega, and it's got a whole roster of recognizable names attached -- Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Larry Miller, and Dennis Hopper.

Alpha and Omega focuses on "two bickering wolves -- one a disciplined, Alpha-bred wolf (Panettiere), and the other a fun-loving, comical Omega wolf (Long) -- who are captured and taken thousands of miles from their home. Determined to rejoin their pack, the two mismatched wolves begin a dangerous trek across unfamiliar terrain, battling the odds, the elements, the bears, and one another -- and finding love along the way." Look out, Milo & Otis! There's a new sheriff in town. It's too soon to tell what this will all shape up like, but at least they cast the leads pretty well. Panettiere is good at being terse and Alpha, while Long is pretty much Omega in human form.

So they might not be as likely to 'freak your trip' as the last poster, but Comics2Film now has four new character posters for the Wachowski's highly-anticipated adaptation of Speed Racer. Our first poster release came back in December and now these new releases give some of the main characters their very own one sheet. Racer X, Trixie, and two new posters of the Speed Racer himself, Emile Hirsch, are now available (I guess nobody thought that a Chim Chim poster would help draw in the crowds).

Based on the popular Japanese series, the film centers on a young man with the unlikely name of Speed looking to be the champion of The Crucible; a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon star as Speed's parents, and Christina Ricci plays his girlfriend -- with the advantage that she kind of looks like a cartoon to begin with. Rounding out the cast is Matthew Fox (LOST) as Racer X and Scott Porter as Rex Racer.

There has been plenty of discussion about the somewhat 'trippy' look of the film, and these new posters are keeping right in line with that psychedelic vibe. Which is kind of funny if you think about all the hassle the Wachowski's got over keeping the film 'family friendly'. So whether fans like it or not, it seems like the new Speed Racer is going to be all about wholesome spectacle (probably best enjoyed in IMAX). If you don't believe me, you could always take a look at the new trailer over at Yahoo. Speed Racer will arrive in theaters on May 9th, 2008.

Unfortunately, soon after the two international trailers for Speed Racer hit the net, they were pulled from the eager eyes of fans everywhere. And it's too bad, because they were pretty good. However, there's now a long, new trailer over at Yahoo that has much of the bubblegum color action of the others (like Racer X clips and visions of Christina Ricci as Trixie), plus a whole bit on how Speed Racer came to be.

This time, we see the little pre-racing tyke dreaming about the day when he'll be a racer himself -- to the chagrin of his teacher. Back then, he was just like any normal kid -- daydreaming in class, making flip books with his notebook. Basically, if you're interested in the story of the racer, this is the trailer to see.

Me, however, I still like the teaser the best -- with that little bit of Speed Racer music at the start, and then those uber-surreal, almost comic-like action sequences. Luckily, that trailer plays right after the last one finishes (with a short commercial in between). Speed races to theaters on May 9.

Here he comes. Here comes Speed Racer. He's a demon on wheels! Good lord, I'm hooked, and I have to admit -- Speed Racer didn't really appeal to me until I saw the trailers. In case the last incarnation wasn't enough to whet your speed racing appetites, two new international trailers have hit the net.

Above, you get more of the usual -- color-infused, wild-arse racing -- one that at least briefly gives me flashbacks to Grease. (Speed Racer fans, I ask you -- which came first -- tire slashers in Speed Racer, or Grease?) That's the trailer you can check out above. After the jump, you can check out the second version. It might seem the same at first, but stick with it. Along with more dialog, you can check out Christina Ricci's pixie-bobbed Trixie. And, most importantly -- Matthew Fox's Racer X.

The film hits theaters on May 9.

Here's a few bites to chew on:

• Back in July, I alerted you to the news that Keira Knightley signed on to play Georgiana Cavendish, the 18th century Duchess of Devonshire in an upcoming flick called The Duchess. Now Variety is reporting that Lord Voldemort -aka- Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper of The History Boys, and Cassandra's Dream co-star Hayley Atwell have also signed on to the film that starts shooting on the 23rd in the UK. Fiennes will play the Duke of Devonshire, Cooper will be Georgiana's lover, Earl Grey, and Atwell will take on the role of her best friend, Lady Bess Foster. And yes, this Earl Grey is the man linked to the tea. Georgina's life was pretty wild -- affairs, lovers, and messed-up marriages, so this could be one fun flick.
• Variety has also posted that Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci's Penelope is finally coming out in theaters. Summit Entertainment has picked up the North American rights, and it will be released on February 1. You might remember that IFC and the Weinsteins nabbed the rights in Toronto last year, set it up for release in April, and then stopped it all to focus on "its core business of smaller-budget indies." You'd think they could've at least put out what they'd purchased. Luckily, Summit head Rob Friedman says: "It is the kind of material that will allow our marketing group to really shine," and it looks like its time has finally come. (Crosses fingers.) While we wait, you can check out Kim's review here, and the trailer here.