Our guest this week is James Gunn, writer of the films “Scooby Doo,” “The Specials” and the “Dawn of the Dead” remake, and director of “Slither” and the forthcoming “Super.”

Introduction

Farrell talked about encountering Isabel Lucas from “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and then seeing another star of the forthcoming “Transformers” film.

Farrell also explained that Lon will no longer be on the show each week, making time for all the other shows and his other duties at the network.

Trailer Talk

“Black Swan” | “Black Swan” trailer

This is the new thriller from director Darren Aronofsky, set in the world of New York City ballet. It opens on December 1st.

Tinchy commented that the film seems to take on a kind of dream logic, making it a big departure from “The Wrestler.”

Farrell thinks it looks great, and compared it to “All About Eve,” “Step Up” and “Single White Female.” She’s also curious about star Natalie Portman’s physicality in the role. (Can she believably play a ballerina?)

I’m Still Here | “I’m Still Here” trailer

A documentary following the “lost years” of actor Joaquin Phoenix, after he dropped out of his Hollywood acting career to try and become a professional rapper. The film opens in limited release on September 10th.

Farrell noted that you never hear Joaquin Phoenix rap in the trailer. It doesn’t really talk about the film itself at all. She thinks it’s trying to make it seem different from what the hype has been about with the documentary.

Tinch thought it was smart to take the trailer a different way, rather than focus on the “walking away from Hollywood”/Joaquin goes crazy stuff.

In Theaters

“Piranha 3D” | “Piranha 3D”: Outboard Motor Scene

Tinchy didn’t love it and didn’t find it clever, but Farrell LOVED the movie. She thought it was genius and delivered exactly what it promised, and used 3D extremely well. Tinch thought it was a satirical comedy on the vapidity of modern American horror films. He felt it lacked panache, despite being an admirer of director Alexandra Aja’s previous film, “Haute Tension.”

Tinchy also notes that the film brings most guys’ Spring Break fantasies come true…3D boobs.

Farrell was surprised that it didn’t do that well, considering how well it plays for teenage boys. The hosts considered that maybe the R rating kept teens away.

“Twelve” | “Twelve” trailer

Farrell thinks this film bombed at the box office because of the marketing and because it didn’t get into enough theaters. She thinks Chace Crawford’s arrest also had some impact, and the lack of name recognition in the young, unseasoned cast.

She also praised the performance of Philip Ettinger.

Hollywood Headlines

X-Men First Class updates

Actress January Jones has been confirmed for “X-Men: First Class,” as has Oliver Platt.

NYMag.com had even more info, including tidbits about the film’s “international” Bond sort of feel and its 1960′s setting.

Amanda Peet to star opposite David Duchovny in Neil LaBute’s new play

Peet will star with David Duchovny in writer/director LaBute’s new play, “The Break of Noon,” beginning October 28th at the Lucille Lortel Theater in New York. She will play a dual role, as Duchovny’s wife Ginger and Ginger’s cousin, Jesse.

Brooklyn Decker to appear in “Battleship”

Model Brooklyn Decker, who has appeared in “Ugly Betty” and will star opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in “Just Go With It” in 2011,

Scott Foundas Praises “The Social Network”

This has been called a conflict of interest, as the film will open the New York Film Festival, for which Foundas works. A quote:

“This is very rich material for a movie on such timeless subjects as power and privilege, and such intrinsically 21st-century ones as the migration of society itself from the real to the virtual sphere—and David Fincher’s The Social Network is big and brash and brilliant enough to encompass them all.”

Michael Douglas Diagnosed with Throat Tumor

Actor Michael Douglas will undergo radiation and chemotherapy after the discovery of a tumor in his throat.

Shia LaBeouf Talks Up “Indiana Jones 5″

Labeouf has confirmed discussion that he’s in negotiations to return for another installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise. He’s also praised the new screenplay and concept for the next movie.

Funny or Die “Piranha 3D” For Your Consideration Video

Farrell and Roger screened a humorous clip from Funny or Die featuring actors Jerry O’Connell and Adam Scott promoting “Piranha 3D” for Oscar consideration.

Interview with James Gunn

- Tell us about “Super”

Felt very fortunate to have this big cast of people working for almost nothing, and working with him. He was scared for the cast and the producers and the cinematographer for giving so much of their lives to the movie.

It follows a sad line cook (Rainn Wilson) who meets a recovering addict (Liv Tyler) and they fall in love. She eventually leaves him for a drug dealer that leads the guy to a spiritual awakening that leads him to become a superhero.

- How much do you care about critics?

After the people directly involved in “Super,” he cares about the intensity of the “fans.” He’d rather have a small group of people who the movie really touches than a movie that’s universally agreed to be pretty good.

- How has social media impacted the way they’re promoting the film?

James has been big into Twitter, and so is star Rainn Wilson. The most fun tweets were by the interns, many of whom they had found on Twitter.

- Do you have a temper on set?

He’s nurturing to a point, but he also loses his temper about 3 times during a movie. He also gets “curt” about 100 times. If people aren’t listening, he gets upset.

- What do you think about “Kick Ass”?

He’s friends with Mark Millar, who wrote the comic book “Kick Ass.” The script for “Super” actually pre-dates “Kick Ass.” They discovered they were both working on similar projects by chance.

It was a similar situation with “The Specials” and “Mystery Men.”

People always make a big deal out of that stuff, but it never affects people’s enjoyment of a particular film.

- Could you make a romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock?

James wrote a rom com called “The Newlyweds,” and it was fun, but he kept wanting to put a monster in it. He doesn’t think he’ll do a traditional romantic comedy.

He likes a lot of romantic comedies (like “My Best Friend’s Wedding”) but doesn’t think he could make one.

He’s doing a segment for a new Farrelly Brothers movie take-off on “Kentucky Fried Movie” with Elizabeth Banks, Josh Duhamel and 2-D animated creature.

- Thoughts on 3D?

This one’s 2D, but he’d like to do a 3D movie. He thinks “Slither” could have been good in 3D. He just hates when movies are shot in 2D and then digitally made into 3D in post.

- What did George Romero think about “Dawn of the Dead”?

Romero said he thought it was a good action movie. James thought George Romero was going to be a producer, but one of the other producers said no, which he thought was screwed up. He’s happy with the finished film, though.

His whole idea was to make a totally different movie from the original just based on the same setting of the mall. He hates remakes that go scene-by-scene through a movie he’s already seen.

- Do you typically like to stay close to the script or do you improv?

He tended to improvise a lot on “Slither” because of the bigger budget. Most of his movies, though, he sticks pretty closely to the script. “Super” is exactly how it read on the page.

- Favorite all-time horror film?

He loves “Rosemary’s Baby.” He’s also a big David Cronenberg fan, particularly “The Thing” and “The Brood.”

- Talk a bit about Lloyd Kaufman.

Roger Corman is a nice guy, but he’s just trying to make a buck. Lloyd is an artist and those movies are what he believes in.