In the first installment of SPEED ZONE, CBR News spoke with “Speed Racer” producer Joel Silver about the live-action adaptation of the classic auto racing anime television series. We then spoke with co-star Matthew Fox, who portrays Racer X, and we bring you now an interview with actors John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Christina Ricci about the hotly anticipated Wachowski Brothers film, which opens May 9.

Despite the technical wizardry on display in “Speed Racer,” actor John Goodman dismisses the notion the film is a light pop confection. Goodman, who plays the title character’s father, Pops Racer, says the story is deep, explaining, “You have a son that sacrifices the rest of his life with his family to clean up something his family has a passion for. You got a kid with a deep passion for the same sport that has the potential to be corrupt but [he] chooses to be pure. And that’s based on family love.”

Each actor said their primary motivation to work on the film was the opportunity to collaborate with the Wachowksis. Christina Ricci plays Speed’s girlfriend Trixie, and said when she reads scripts she asks, “Does anything in the movie seem like it’ll be fun? Is there anything about this character that’s challenging?” In the case of this film, “I didn’t think twice about it.”

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Penelope will be coming to DVD in the US on July 15! Check out the following article from Movie Web.

You can bring home Christina Ricci like you’ve never seen her (or her nose) before this July. Penelope is coming to DVD on July 15. We have no cover art for this release yet, but the disc will be priced at $25.99 SRP. The film stars Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Reese Witherspoon.

In this modern day romantic tale, Penelope is about a young girl’s inspiring journey, a mysterious family secret and the power of love. With all odds against her, in order for Penelope to break the family curse, she must find true love with “one of her own kind.” The warm and funny adventure leads her to realize the most important life lesson, “I like myself the way I am.”

Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci), born to wealthy socialites (Catherine O’Hara and Robert E. Grant), is afflicted by the Wilhern spell that can only be broken when she finds love. Hidden away in her family’s estate, the lonely girl meets a string of suitors in her parent’s futile attempt to break the curse. Each eligible bachelor is enamored with Penelope and her sizable dowry … until her curse is revealed.

Lemon (Peter Dinklage), a mischievous and eager tabloid reporter wants a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and hires Max (James McAvoy) to pose as a prospective suitor to get the shot. The handsome down-on-his luck gambler finds he falling for Penelope, but not wanting to disappoint her or to expose his surreptitious ways, he decides to disappear.

Fed up by his latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope breaks free from her family and ventures into the world alone. She finds adventure and Annie, her first friend (Reese Witherspoon) and becomes the person she was meant to be.

Special Features
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Sneak peek at Twilight

The anorexia, the self-harm, the downright weird statements about incest… Christina Ricci freely admits that she was one mixed-up kid. But now, the actress tells Catherine Elsworth, it’s time the world saw her afresh

I’m walking up to the Hollywood sushi restaurant where I’m due to meet the actress Christina Ricci for lunch, when I see a photographer leap out of a car and begin frantically snapping pictures. I follow his gaze to a black Mercedes that has just pulled up at the kerb and see a petite figure in a green minidress, flip-flops and oversized sunglasses hand her car keys to the valet and step swiftly towards the restaurant entrance.

Inside Ricci greets me, a little flustered. She’s used to the paparazzi but today, for some reason, she wasn’t expecting to be followed. ‘I stopped at the pharmacy on the way here and I wasn’t very careful getting out of my car. I just didn’t think. But this dress is so short… I’m pretty certain there’s going to be some crotch shots. At least,’ she sighs, ‘I was wearing underwear.’

By now we’re sitting at a table and have ordered drinks. Ricci hasn’t stopped talking and after a few minutes we’ve already covered the paparazzi, nudity in films (‘I do it all the time – I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal’), what time she goes to bed (‘I’m always in bed by 11 or 12 and people laugh all the time – they want me to hang out until two in the morning, but n-n-no, I need my nine hours’) and her quest to eat healthily.

Today she looks fighting fit – her skin is clear, her huge hazel eyes are bright, and she is slender but not scarily so. It’s a far cry from the well-publicised extremes of her troubled youth when she cut herself and battled with anorexia. At one point she shrank to six stone and so disliked her appearance that she covered all the mirrors in her house.

I ask if she usually eats well these days. ‘No. I eat crap. I’m an inconsistent eater – all the things you’re not supposed to be. I forget to eat, then I’ll eat a bag of potato chips. And then you get to a point at a certain age when you’re, like, “All right, I guess I have to take care of myself now.”‘

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I have added a small change to site’s sidebar today, you can now see a complete listing of magazine and TV shows that Christina is currently featured in. Make sure you check them out because Christina is everywhere right now!

Christina Ricci, who plays Trixie, Speed’s loyal and ultra cool girlfriend in Speed Racer, is excited about the possibility of a sequel to the Warner Bros. film and working again with the groundbreaking Wachowski Brothers.

ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! talked to the star at the Long Beach Grand Prix recently about what she would like to see her character do the next time around.

“I would like her to do more action-y things because I had fun being out there. That was fun stuff,” she told us.

Ricci raved about working with the brothers and laughed about how the cast begged them to start working on another “Speed Racer” movie as soon as they wrapped.

“Larry and Andy created a world that they love and created characters that they loved and are attached to. When we were all leaving, we were like ‘write the sequel!’ ‘We want to come back’. And they were like, ‘I know. I know. We’re going to. Don’t worry’. They were as sad for it to be over as we were.”

When asked if she thought the Wachowskis would jump right back into another film she excitedly told us yes!

“Yeah, definitely. Yes, that’s definitely the impression I got.”

As far as how many sequels she’s signed on for, Ricci was rather coy about that.

“I don’t know. You don’t have to sign up for them. It’s more like if this movie does well, they’ll make another one. But, I’m not really sure. I don’t pay attention to that stuff.”

From ComingSoon.net

I was able to attend the world premiere of Speed Racer today and I have uploaded exclusive photos from the event to our gallery… Please do not post these pictures elsewhere! Pictured are Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Emilie Hirsh, and John Goodman. You can also read about my experience at the premiere in our forums.

Christina Ricci

Like the rest of the planet, you’ll be seeing Christina Ricci bring to life the iconic role of Trixie in Speed Racer this spring. We share a chat with the Pixies-loving beauty behind the blockbuster to get her thoughts on everything from strapping into her latest role to the color of her underwear. Read on, you’ll see what we mean!

What was it like working on such a big summer blockbuster?

It was really fun. I always say that the budget doesn’t really matter so much—yes obvious things are different but—people are still people and you can have the worst people in the world on something that’s supposed to be really heartfelt and passionate, and it’s a horrible experience. You can have the most amazing people ever on another project and that’s what makes it great and fun. And the Wachowskis are such incredible, incredible people to work for and with. And this movie is just so much fun, with everything we got to do and everything that we all wore. It was an ensemble cast and the whole cast got together and really loved each other, so that made it a lot of fun.

Did you want to take home any pieces of the colorful and fun wardrobe?

I did. There were some things that were really, really cute. Kym and I actually got to choose which clothes she sent to Mattel for the Barbie. So, the Barbie is wearing my favorite outfit. And that’s the outfit I wanted to take home, but you can’t take the wardrobe. Kym’s an amazing wardrobe designer because she’s the only person I’ve ever encountered who gives the character underwear as well. So I took home with a lot of pink and red underwear.

What was it like working with Emile Hirsch?

I saw Into the Wild, but that had come out after we had already made Speed Racer. He’s amazing in it, and that movie’s incredible. Emile is such a great actor to have working with you and to work with because he’s really present and he’s very generous as well. I had to go in and audition and with him, and he had already gotten the part, and just the whole time I was auditioning, he was really helpful. So it was really nice; we really got along.

What’s your favorite music?

My favorite band of all time is The Pixies. But right now I’m really enjoying Spoon’s new record. And Nick Cave’s new record is pretty good. I’m still enjoying the Calvin Harris–even though it’s been out a year, I still enjoy it. I listen to a lot of old music, like a lot of Dylan and the Stones and stuff like that, Tom Petty.

Top MySpace friend?

I think I actually went on Fiona Apple’s MySpace page once, right before Extraordinary Machine came out, because I love her. So she’d be my Top friend. I enjoy her immensely.

Christina’s official Myspace is located at Myspace.com/ChristinaRicci!