First Look: Rachel Nichols as Scarlett in GI Joe

Paramount released the first photo on JoBlo of Rachel Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War, Alias) in costume as Scarlett O’Hara in Stephen Sommers‘ live-action adaptation of GI Joe. Ranked Master Sergeant, red-headed Scarlett is the first female character in the GI Joe action figure line. Her weapon of choice is the crossbow (pictured in the promo photo), and her specialty is counter intelligence. I really love the idea of a GI Joe live action movie because it could really be something way above and beyond any army or war-type film we’ve ever seen before. I’ve heard that the script is kind of a stinker, and having the guy who directed Van Hellsing direct also doesn’t inspire confidence. That said, both of the photos released so far from the studio, Snake Eyes, and now Scarlet are more bad ass than I could have ever imagined. They could have gone real corny with colored outfits trying to replicate the look of the original characters from the GI Joe universe. So far I’m really digging the far more realistic black combat gear. [slashfilm.com]

17 Apr 2008 by mike

“G.I. Joe” Film Reveals Characters; Aims for Cross-Generational Appeal

Paramount provides the first character-reveal for their “G.I. Joe” film, as well as insight into what directors and producers describe as an “origins story.” In a photo released by Paramount Pictures, a black-clad ninja, whose face is obscured by a helmet resembling the sort of mesh mask worn by fencing students, grips a sword erect in his hands. He is Snake Eyes, the first character from Paramount’s upcoming film, G.I. Joe, to be revealed, according to USA Today. Due to be released in August 2009, G.I. Joe is being groomed as the resurrection of a franchise, just as Transformers was last year. The sci-fi story about a team of elite military operatives battling an unsavory and villainous organization called Cobra, “G.I. Joe” (the team, not a single person) first appeared in the 1960s as a line of 12-inch figurines from Hasbro. In the 1980s, it evolved into smaller figurines and a successful TV series. According to its director, Stephen Sommers, the movie will be an origins story, so one of the issues will be how to explain details in a way that will both induct new viewers while developing more background to interest existing fans. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who also worked on Transformers, says that this connection between past and present is a basic part of the broad appeal, and maintaining that diversity, particularly of race and gender, is important. “There are quite a few characters in it, and almost certainly a character in which an audience member can see themselves, or want to be,” Bonaventura said. The character of Snake Eyes is being played by man-behind-the-mask Ray Park, of Mortal Kombat, Sleepy Hollow and Star Wars (he was Darth Maul) fame. Other actors on the “good” side include Channing Tatum (as Duke), Rachel Nichols (as “Scarlett” O’Hara), Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), Dennis Quaid (as The Commander). On the Cobra side of the battle are Sienna Miller (as the Baroness), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as the Cobra Commander and in various other roles), Christopher Eccleston (as Destro), and Byung-hun Lee (as Storm Shadow). [thecelebritycafe.com]

25 Mar 2008 by mike

Independent film to be shot in Eastport

Hollywood stars? Maybe. But an independent movie being shot in this seaside community? Guaranteed! Filming on the $250,000 film titled "Ditch Digger" is expected to start this fall. Writer-director James Stiles, 38, said recently he expects a 30-day shooting schedule. The fact that it has lower budget means nothing. Over the years there have been other low-budget films that have had a national release, including "The Full Monty" and "Swingers." The writer-director has ties to Maine. He grew up in Augusta and studied at Rockport College. He owns New England Casting. "New England Casting is the biggest casting agency north of Boston. We have been around since 2002 and have over 1,000 people in our database," he said. [...] Stiles is in the process of trying to recruit some Hollywood talent to star in his film. He said he was talking with another Mainer, Rachel Nichols, who is a friend of his. She now is making two Hollywood films. "She was in the movie ‘P2’ with Wes Bentley in 2007, which came out around Christmastime," he said. "She is now filming ‘GI Joe’ and ‘Star Trek.’ Those are due out in 2009." He said he was uncertain whether Nichols would have time to do the movie, but he was hopeful...

22 Mar 2008 by mike Read More ...

We Know Who Scarlett Is For G.I. Joe!

We Know Who will play Shana "SCARLETT" O' Hara in the upcoming movie version of "G.I Joe": RACHEL NICHOLS! She will next be seen in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. ALIAS fans will remember her as the girl who played RACHEL GIBSON. Rachel is an Amazon! She stands at 5'10". She was also Yahoo's Model of the month back in September 2000. For those of you readers who are not familiar with Scarlett here is a little info on her character. She was the first female action figure in the G.I. Joe toy line and is also the only member of the original team to see much action in both cartoon and comic incarnations. The official line on Scarlett is that her full name is Shana M. O'Hara. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she is as adept with standard weapons as any of her comrades, her weapon of choice is the crossbow, which fires various bolts with specialized functions. Her rank is Master Sergeant, and she serves from time to time as team leader. Her primary specialty for the team is counter intelligence and is additionally skilled in martial arts and acrobatics. She has long red hair, which she tends to put up into a pony tail. In some of her appearances, it is shown she may speak with a southern drawl or localized Georgian Accent. Her quote is "Beauty may only be skin deep, but lethal is to the bone" G.I. Joe is due out to hit theaters on August 7th 2009. [latinoreview.com]

19 Dec 2007 by mike

Nichols Is An Orion

A few weeks ago Rachel Nichols of Alias fame stated “there’s a good chance you’ll see my shining face in the new Star Trek.” Yes you will indeed see her shining face, but it will be of a different hue than you are used to. TrekMovie.com has learned that Nichols will be playing an Orion (but it hasn’t been confirmed if she is of the ’slave girl’ variety). The name of her character is not known, but it is a new character. The first appearance of a green-skinned Orion was in the unaired Original Series pilot “The Cage.” The two part episode “The Menagerie” reused the footage and established that ‘no man can resist’ an Orion Slave girl. Orions showed up in a handful of episodes from The Original Series, The Animated Series as well as Enterprise. The appearance in the Star Trek movie will be the first for a Star Trek feature film. More on Orions at Memory Alpha (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Orion). [trekmovie.com]

18 Dec 2007 by mike

Rachel Nichols Talks ‘Star Trek’

Rachel Nichols has seemingly confirmed the rumor that will be in the Star Trek movie. In an interview with the Toronto Sun the 27 year old actress said “I’m very restricted on what I’m allowed to say, but yes, there’s a good chance you’ll see my shining face in the new Star Trek.” Nichols said she did not even know the name of her character and even her mom didn’t know about it until she saw the rumor reports online. As noted in the first report on Nichols, she has worked with Star Trek director J.J. Abrams before on his show Alias. The connection is not lost on Nichols who said “J.J.’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met … He’s very, very loyal.” Nichols is best known for her recurring role as Rachel Gibson on Alias, but before that she had appeared in several films including a number of horror films. Since Alias ended in 2006 she has worked on four feature films in larger roles including the lead in the horror/thriller P2 opening this weekend. The actress will also be appearing alongside Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in the Mike Nichols film Charlie Wilson’s War opening this Christmas...

08 Nov 2007 by mike Read More ...

How to clothe a deal

Rachel Nichols shows she has some pull in negotiating for part in thriller P2 Some firsts you never forget -- first love, first job and, of course, first "negotiation over nudity." (Mine went something like: "Sir, put you're clothes on or we'll pepper spray you!") For Rachel Nichols, this auspicious inauguration into the finer details of cinematic skin-flashing came about thanks to the horror thriller P2. In it, the 27-year-old beauty stars as a workaholic executive abducted and terrorized by a doting, psychotic parking-garage attendant (Wes Bentley). Problem was, while she loved the story, she was less than thrilled with her prospective costume. Or lack thereof. "In the first incarnation of the script she wakes up (after being drugged by Bentley's character) in a negligee, which meant no bra and no underwear, and then she gets wet, and I was like, 'Come on guys, I can't be running around naked for six weeks.' So we negotiated to find a dress ... It was all very technical. It's all about the curvature of this, the angle of that." Nichols and the producers settled on a cleavage-baring dress with a bra sewn in for additional padding. "I didn't want any wardrobe malfunctions while I was running around in this garage."...

08 Nov 2007 by mike Read More ...

INT: Rachel Nichols

At the young age of 27, Rachel Nichols has already paid her dues in a variety of different films (DUMB AND DUMBERER??), music videos, modeling gigs, and most notably, t.v. shows - being featured prominently on ALIAS and THE INSIDE... But to a genre crowd perhaps unfamiliar with her work, Rachel immediately made an impression with her memorable turn as a babysitter in Andrew Douglas' remake of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. (True, she wore a belly-shirt like no other, but it was her sly, seductive performance that made the character stand out in an otherwise unremarkable film.) Now she's landed a role that may very well etch her permanently in the hearts of horror fans: Angela, the brave heroine who faces off against a very disturbed security guard in P2 - which comes to us from the twisted minds behind HIGH TENSION and THE HILLS HAVE EYES. I was lucky enough to receive a call from Rachel a few days ago (that's right, she's got my digits! So what if her publicist gave them to her...) and we spoke about, among other things, what it was like working with those mad geniuses, and why she drinks beer at 6 in the morning. (Don't worry, she's got a good reason.) Thanks so much for your time, I'll try not to take up too much of it. Rachel: Oh no problem! I'll try my best not to ask the same questions you've been asked a hundred times already, although I'm sure I will anyway. Rachel: (laughs) That's okay, if you do, I'll tell you that I've already answered that one. And here's one of those questions! What initially attracted you to P2? Rachel: The horror genre is obviously a huge one, and I read a LOT of scripts from that genre. And when I read this one, it was different, because of two things: one, the basic story of the parking garage, I had never seen that before. Of course, the woman-in-peril, the woman-as-survivor, flight or fight - that's part of many horror thrillers, but the parking lot idea was one I'd never heard of. The second reason I loved it was that the circumstances felt very real. Any woman will tell you that she's got special tricks when she's in a parking garage, she's got special things that she does, she's got a special place where she parks so she always remembers where her car is. It felt viable, like a viable object of fear, and I think doing a horror movie that could potentially resonate with your audience is the BEST kind of horror movie you can make...

07 Nov 2007 by mike Read More ...

Rachel Nichols is having a lot of fun

Rachel Nichols is not the kind of girl who likes to park -- at least not anymore. In the new film "P2," she plays a businesswoman who is the target of a psycho after she's locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve. It turns out all this parking hell has been very, very good for a rising young actress. "For the first time ever I'm on the side of busses. It's my face! I was driving on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and a bus was next to me. I glanced over and I'm looking at myself [on a billboard] at eye level," Nichols marvels. Born in Augusta, Maine, Nichols graduated from Columbia University with a major in math and economics. A former model, she was a series regular on "Alias" and has also done film roles in "Shopgirl," "Resurrecting the Champ" and "Autumn in New York." How do you go from Maine to Hollywood? And how did you land a choice role on "Alias?" It was a gradual progression. I went to Columbia University and I never had designs on Hollywood. I majored in economics and minored in psychology. I had lofty ideas of working on Wall Street. At the time, I had always wanted to go to graduate school. My parents said, 'We can find a way to pay for Columbia, but that's it.' So I did a little modeling to pay the bills. I got 'Alias' because Jennifer Garner was pregnant during season five, so they brought in a young recruit named Rachel to do some of the action. I got to do the butt kicking...

06 Nov 2007 by mike Read More ...

More Casting For Abrams' "Star Trek"

A very reliable source told me that they overheard that the beautiful Rachel Nichols (pictured inside) is the latest addition to J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot, which is about to begin filming along with Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Chris Pine, and Simon Pegg. Much like Keri "Felicity" Russell in MI3, Nichols has previously worked with Abrams (on Alias), so it's good to see him developing a little troupe of sorts, at least one that isn't just Greg Grunberg (who has yet to be cast in Trek, but come on, you know he'll be in there somewhere). Star Trek hits theaters on Christmas Day in 2008. Nichols will next be seen in P2 as well as Mike Nichols' (no relation) Charlie Wilson's War. No info on which role Nichols has been cast, but according to online speculation, it could be Janice Rand (played in The Original Series by Grace Lee Whitney), Number One (Pike's first officer, played by Majel Barrett in The Cage), Chapel (also played by Barrett) or maybe even a Romulan or a love interest for Kirk. This information is preliminary, of course, and entirely rumor. [freezedriedmovies.com]

02 Nov 2007 by mike

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