Reading some of the reviews of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, you get the sneaking suspicion that a lot of my fellow critics believed they were walking into some camp ground of historical meta-fiction where the 16^th President of the United States would dispatch bloodsuckers with some Schwarzeneggerian one-liners. But that’s not the case, and this is where being of the nerdy persuasion has advantages over other critics.

I’m only about 100 pages into Seth Grahame-Smith’s original novel and can say easily that there isn’t an ounce of camp between the pages. It’s no sketch either, as it’s also been compared to a Saturday Night Live skit. The book is a surprisingly thoughtful, well-researched alterna-biography of Lincoln. As if there really was a vampire named Henry carrying around “Honest” Abe’s secret diaries all this time and showed them to Grahame-Smith.

As for the movie, it carries none of the book’s subtlety, but being from the director of Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov, I didn’t expect there to be much. Although clearly more horror flavoured than recent vampire films like Twilight or Priest, the potential for straight-up horror is replaced with absurdest, nearly over the top action sequences complete with CG blood spurts. I think we wanted something closer to Bram Stoker’s Dracula rather than something that feels cut from the cloth of Van Helsing.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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Timur Bekmambetov is working his way through the press junket surrounding the release of his latest movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter hitting theaters this week. The Playlist asked Bekmambetov about Wanted and the possibility of a sequel.

Bekmambetov said:

“An unbelievable thing happened three weeks ago. Because we stopped, we didn’t know what to do for three or four years. Three weeks ago I came up with a great idea and I pitched this idea and everybody fell in love with it. And now I think we’re on track. Right now the writer is working on the script, and it will be shocking.”

No plot details, but he did go on to drop a hint of what direction the movie will be taking.

“It’s a continuation of the story, with Wesley Gibson. Other people are dead, you know, we can’t bring them back. The story is the same character, same mythology, but it’s got a great twist.”

Let’s hear your thoughts on a Wanted sequel and or plot ideas in the comments section below.

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There were two new clips for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter that hit television screens over the weekend. You can check out both in the video below. There’s only a couple of weeks until the movie hits the big screen and this NerdBastard just picked up a used copy of the book to read. The plan is to get that read before seeing the movie.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the June 22 release stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Robin McLeavy, Alan Tudyk and Rufus Sewell.

The driving force in the movie is President Lincoln’s mother being killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers.

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If you watch this new trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, you might be surprised because this almost makes the film sound like a damn bio-pic. Also you might notice that the Emancipation Proclamation has never been more bad ass, what with the action scenes and the Two Steps from Hell soundtrack… Obviously, I can’t speak for you guys, but I’m actually pretty stoked to see this one.

Check out the trailer below:

Abraham Lincoln, in the guise of actor Benjamin Walker, who portrays the 16th president in the summer movie thriller ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, and the film’s cast and crew, will visit the sailors serving aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in June.

As history’s most beloved U.S. president and, according to the movie, its greatest hunter of the undead, Walker will be joined aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln by co-stars Anthony Mackie and Erin Wasson, as well as by the film’s director Timur Bekmambetov, screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith and producer Jim Lemley. Walker will introduce a special screening of ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER for the thousands of sailors serving on the carrier, and the cast and filmmakers will distribute Lincolnesque top hats, as well as fangs – tools that will help the sailors decide, in the words of one of the film’s promotional taglines, if they’re patriots or vampires.

In addition, the sailors will receive movie tie-in edition books, provided by Grand Central Publishing, and special graphic novels conceived by Bekmambetov.

The cast and filmmakers will screen the film at two additional bases at undisclosed locations.

“We’re very excited that 20th Century Fox and Navy Entertainment wanted to provide ABE’s crew the opportunity to preview the new ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER movie while we’re out here on deployment,” said Capt. John D. Alexander, Commanding Officer of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). “We’re extremely fortunate that the studio wants to give us an early showing. It’s something that we’ve never experienced before on this ship, and we’re extremely grateful for their willingness to share this with our sailors.”

“This is really exciting for me to meet the ABE’s crew and screen for them our film ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER,” said Benjamin Walker. “I hope it brings them excitement, goodwill and a taste of home.”

Added the film’s producer Jim Lemley: “We are pleased and proud to have this opportunity to visit with the men and women serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln. We hope they enjoy our film and know how much everyone in the United States appreciates their service.”

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER puts down stakes in theaters everywhere June 22, 2012. The film explores the secret life of our greatest president, and the untold story that shaped our nation. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) bring a fresh and visceral voice to the bloody lore of the vampire, imagining Lincoln as history’s greatest hunter of the undead.

Source: Coming Soon

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It’s a pretty sad world when a movie called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter seems more badass than the last five straight-up vampire movies that have been released, but there it is…

And here is the wicked new red band trailer for ALVH, which features lots of blood and mid-air decapitations. Also it features a pretty villainous sounding Rufus Sewell  as Lincoln’s vampire nemesis. Take a look at the new trailer courtesy of IGN below:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, adapted by Seth Grahame-Smith from his own novel and directed by Timur Bekmambetov and produced by Tim Burton, stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Robin McLeavy, Alan Tudyk and Rufus Sewell. It will be in theaters on June 22, 2012.

Source: Coming Soon

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Russian director Timur Bekmambetov is currently putting the finishing touches on his adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. And now, in honor of his Russian-ness, we have the Russian-language trailer for AL:VH, which somehow makes the film even more badass. Check out the Russian trailer (thankfully sans the Johnny Cash) below:

Source: Topless Robot

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The American people love the image of their President being a total badass. Think Washington crossing the Delaware, Harrison Ford telling those terrorists to, “Get off my plane!” We want our leaders to be ass kickers. And with that thought in mind, I think America is totally ready to embrace Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter.

Watch the new international trailer for Timur Bekmambetov‘s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, containing some new footage, below.

In addition to the new trailer there’s also a new featurette with short talking head clips from director Bekmambetov, producer Tim Burton, and others.

Based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also penned the script, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter stars Benjamin Walker as Lincoln, as well as Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Alan Tudyk, Anthony Mackie, Rufus Sewell, and Erin Wasson.

The film explores the secret life of our greatest president, and the untold history that shaped our nation. As a young boy, Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) witnesses the shocking death of his mother, leading him on a path to an ongoing war – and ultimately to the presidency – he chronicles in a hidden diary. The journal reveals the incredible story of a clandestine warrior who never stopped fighting for the country he led and the people he loved.

It opens in theatres nationwide June 22nd.

Souces: /Film, Comic Book Movie

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Twentieth Century Fox has dropped the first trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, hitting theaters on June 22. Produced by Tim Burton and directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), the big screen adaptation stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Robin McLeavy, Alan Tudyk and Rufus Sewell. The screenplay was written by Seth Grahame-Smith, based on his own novel.

Just wait until we see some of the Cosplay that will come out of this movie, hot southern vampire chicks and tall lanky Lincolns with axes.

After watching this trailer this NerdBastard is making a change to his “Bug Out” bag with the addition of an axe. A “Bug Out” bag is the bag you have ready to grab at a moments notice in case of alien attack, zombie outbreak, natural disaster, or getting kicked out of the house by the old lady.

What do you think? Does this trailer make Are you going to see this in the theater?

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There’s five new stills from the upcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie. Everything is starting to point to this movie being a great ride.

Movie Synopsis: 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a re-imagining of the 16th President’s life that depicts him as an axe-throwing, highly accomplished killer of vampires — an obsession of his since those bloodsuckers supposedly took the life of his mother. Lincoln eventually learns that the vampires have fled to the southern states of the U.S. and are concocting a plan to conquer and enslave the entire country — this in turn leads to the Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter of which the vampires are aligned with.

The majority of the stills in this set show an early scene from the film, young Lincoln has journeyed to Louisiana to rescue a friend — a freed black man named William Johnson (The Hurt Locker‘s Anthony Mackie), who’s been captured by a group of Southern vampires.

You see vampires of that time liked the idea of slavery, for them, it turns plantations into a grocery market and backyard feeding ground. The Confederacy and slave owning states were like an all-you-can-eat Sizzler buffet for those bloodsuckers looking to feed with little to no consequences.

Grahame-Smith (Author of the book) built this part of the story around true-life accounts of Lincoln’s visits to Louisiana as a young man, where he was disgusted by the sight of blacks being chained together and whipped, and his early abolitionist feelings began to form.

“In the movie, it’s a similar experience, seeing it all for the first time, and choosing how he’s going to deal with it from that point on — whether it be entering into politics, or whether it be sharpening his axe,” Walker the movie’s director says.

As you can see, Abe’s first big fight doesn’t go well at first. Young Lincoln is soon overpowered by two vampires, played by Rufus Sewell (kneeling) and supermodel Erin Wasson (seated on top of him).

“It’s the first time in the movie he has had to exercise his skills on his own. He’s choosing his new targets, and choosing how to use these new found skills. Who knows if he will be successful?” Walker says with a laugh: “I mean, we do …”

The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on June 22th, 2012.

Via: Entertainment Weekly

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Twentieth Century Fox has put a behind-the-scenes video, an international poster, and a couple of new stills for their upcoming movie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The two stills are not much to look at but it does drive home the point that Abe loves, and will be swinging his favorite axe. The movie poster is not what I was looking for either, we need to see Abe in the oval office polishing his axe.

Be sure to check out the behind the scenes video, it’s fun.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the supernatural thriller is based on the book by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also penned the script. Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Robin McLeavy, Alan Tudyk and Rufus Sewell star in the June 22 release.

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