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May 25, 2006
Line-up Finalized for Masters of Horror 2nd Season The directors and line-up for the second season of Masters of Horror has been confirmed. Thirteen new one-hour films will debut this fall on Showtime.
Joining the roster of directors this season are Brad Anderson (Session Nine, The Machinist), Ernest Dickerson (Bones, Demon Knight), and Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child's Play).
Returning for a second outing are directors Dario Argento (Suspira, Terror at the Opera), John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins), Mick Garris (Riding the Bullet, The Stand), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) and John Landis (American Werewolf in London).
Stars include Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints, The Dead Zone), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Meat Loaf (Fight Club), Michael Ironside (Scanners, Total Recall), Marisa Coughlan (Boston Legal, Teaching Mrs. Tingle), George Wendt (Cheers), John Saxon (From Dusk till Dawn, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Ted Raimi (Spider-Man), Caitlin Wachs (“Commander in Chief”), Meredith Monroe (Dawson’s Creek) and Matthew Keeslar (Waiting for Guffman, Art School Confidential).
The following episodes have been confirmed:
Family, directed by John Landis and written by Brent Hanley, tells the story of a young married couple (Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar) that moves into a new home in a new city and finds out that their neighbor (George Wendt) is not what he seems.
Pelts, directed by Dario Argento, written by Matt Venne, adapted from F. Paul Wilson's short-story, is an erotic tale about stolen raccoon pelts that violently turn against those that covet them in this Giallo-style adaptation of F. Paul Wilson's short story. Meatloaf and John Saxon star.
The Damned Thing, directed by Tobe Hooper, inspired by Ambrose Bierce's classic short story and written by Richard Christian Matheson, is the apocalyptic tale of a monstrous force that devastates Sheriff Kevin Reddle's family and his small Texas town. Sean Patrick Flanery, Marisa Coughlan and Ted Raimi star.
Pro-Life, directed by John Carpenter, written by Drew McWeeny & Scott Swan, tells the story of a young girl trapped inside a clinic, that discovers the only thing more dangerous than her pursuers is the demonic secret that she carries within her. Ron Perlman, and Caitlin Wachs star.
The V Word, a vampire film directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by Mick Garris, reveals the punishment visited upon two teenage boys who make the very poor decision to break into a mortuary. Michael Ironside stars.
Sounds Like, directed and written by Brad Anderson, adapted from a short-story by Mike O'Driscoll, tells the story of Larry Pearce - an ordinary man blessed with a gift of extraordinary supernatural hearing that drives him to the brink of insanity and forces him to take violent action to silence the horrific cacophony in his head.
The Screwfly Solution, directed by Joe Dante, written by Sam Hamm and adapted from the Raccoona Sheldon short-story, is about a nightmare virus infecting our nation, transforming men into psychotic killers who attack every woman that crosses their paths.
Valerie On The Stairs, directed and written by Mick Garris from a Clive Barker original screen story, tells the tale of a novelist who discovers there are fates worse than literary anonymity in this sexually-charged tale of terror.
We Scream For Ice Cream, directed by Tom Holland from David J. Schow's adaptation of John Farris' short-story, depicts a local ice cream man who, in this case, is turning sweet-toothed children against their parents.
The Black Cat, directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Gordon and Dennis Paoli, has the great Poe, out of ideas and short on cash, tormented by a black cat that will either destroy his life or inspire him to write one of his most famous stories.
May 21, 2006
Del Toro Completing Devil's Backbone Trilogy Variety reports Guillermo Del Toro is continuing his "Spanish" trilogy, following up Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth with 3993, from young Spanish screenwriter Sergio Sanchez.
3993 "portrays 1990s Spain, how it still has some fantastical rooting in things that happened in 1939," as Spain's Civil War climaxed, says Del Toro, who aims to structure the Spanish-lingo pic as a Mexico-Spain co-prod.
Screenwriter Sanchez also penned Jose Antonio Bayona's Spanish ghost story El orfanato (The Orphanage), rolling this month, which Del Toro co-produces with Barcelona's Rodar y Rodar.
Del Toro will use his genre skills on 3993 to deliver a fresh take on a serious subject: the hostages left to fortune by the past.
"I like obliqueness. In Pan's Labyrinth, by reflecting Spain's post-Civil War through an oblique mirror, you have a point of view that is hopefully illuminating in an almost metaphorical way," Del Toro explains. "I'd like to get behind-the-camera support from Spain: sound designers, digital-effects supervision or make-up effects supervision."
May 19, 2006
Rodriguez Casts Half of Grind House Freddy Rodriguez, Rose McGowan and Josh Brolin will star in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a 60-minute zombie movie to be accompanied by a slasher film directed by Quentin Tarantino and released under the title Grind House by Dimension Films.
Variety reports Dimension will bow Grind House -- a tribute to the '70s exploitation films that influenced both directors -- on Easter weekend next year. Casting hasn't been announced for Tarantino's Death Proof, which also will run about 60 minutes.
Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Michael Parks and the Black Eyed Peas' Stacy Ferguson also star in "Planet." The two pics will be surrounded by fake trailers created by Tarantino and Rodriguez.
Watts Joins Cronenberg's Next Flick Variety reports Naomi Watts has been cast as the female lead in David Cronenberg's London thriller Eastern Promises for Focus Features and BBC Films.
Pic will start shooting in November, right after Watts finishes filming on Michael Haneke's remake of his own psycho-drama Funny Games.
Eastern Promises, scripted by Steve Knight, delves into the same seedy underside of London life that he explored in Dirty Pretty Things.
Watts, who was Oscar-nominated for Mulholland Drive, will play Anna, a midwife at a London hospital who gets dragged into the criminal underworld when she tries to discover the identity of a dead patient.
Viggo Mortensen is set to play the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai, a man with links to one of London's most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is thrown into turmoil when he crosses paths with Anna.
May 15, 2006
Amityville's George Lutz Dies The New York Times reports George Lee Lutz, whose brief stay in a home in Amityville, N.Y., spawned one of the most famous haunted house stories, the basis for the Amityville Horror novel and movies, died May 8. He was 59.
The cause was heart disease, according to NY's Clark County coroner.
Mr. Lutz, a former land surveyor, moved his new bride and three children into a three-story home on Long Island in 1975, about a year after six members of the DeFeo family had been shot and killed there. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the eldest son, was convicted of the murders.
According to Mr. Lutz's account, his family lived in the home for 28 days before being driven out by the spirits of the DeFeos.
Mr. Lutz's story has been challenged by some who accused him of intentionally moving into the home to profit from the DeFeo murders, but he stuck by his version.
The family's tales of eerie feelings and the waking dead became the source for Jay Anson's 1977 book, The Amityville Horror, a 1979 film of the same title and a 2005 remake of the movie.
Deadwood Headed for the OK Corral? Looks like we're heading toward the early demise of yet another great show as Dark Horizons reports that the upcoming third season of HBO's Deadwood looks to be the end.
The cable network has opted not to pick up the options of the actors on the show, releasing them to pursue other projects. Deadwood creator David Milch is shifting his attention to John From Cincinnati, a one-hour surfing-themed drama project he is writing for HBO.
HBO sources said there are conversations about the future of Deadwood beyond the third season but it is highly unlikely that cast members would be available to do additional episodes in the future.
Breast Cancer Research Fundraiser San Francisco writing teacher Jane Underwood (The Writing Salon) was diagnosed with breast cancer in Fall 2005. Her trials have inspired Morbid Curiosity's editor Loren Rhoads to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in July. Loren needs to raise $1800 to participate. Jane's students will read their Morbid Curiosity stories at an event designed to raise the money. The readings will take place May 23 from 7-9 p.m. at the Borders Books on Union Square in San Francisco. The event is free, but donations are requested.
San Francisco's Morbid Curiosity magazine focuses on true first-person encounters with the unsavory, unwise, unorthodox, and unusual: all the dark elements that make life truly worth living. Visit www.charnel.com/morbidcuriosity for more info.
Snakes Director Heading into Asylum Variety reports helmer David R. Ellis (Snakes on a Plane) will direct Asylum for Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment, which is producing and fully financing the pic. Film is set to start lensing later this year.
Based on a script by Ethan Lawrence, story is about a group of college freshmen who learn that their dorm was once a notorious asylum.
Hyde Park recently announced it is financing and producing helmer James Wan's Death Sentence through its first-look, five-year deal with 20th Century Fox. Hyde Park also has a second-look deal with Disney.
May 06, 2006
Sleepaway Camp's Felissa Rose Joins Dead and Gone Scream Queen Felissa Rose (Return to Sleepaway Camp, Evil Ever After) has joined the cast of Dead and Gone, an indie horror feature directed by Yossi Sasson and written by novelist Harry Shannon.
Rose, who will play attorney Peggy Goldstein, joins a cast that includes Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, Ben Moody of the band Evanescence, Chris Bruno of TV's The Dead Zone, Quentin Jones, Gillian Shure (CSI, The Slaughterhouse Massacre) and Kathryn Bates. The film is scheduled to wrap the week of May 8, and will be scored by master horror composer Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th, House). Find out more here: www.deadandgonethemovie.com.
Omen Director Talks of Curse The director of the upcoming Omen remake sat down with the LA Times and talked a bit about how the making of this movie revived the 'curse.' Set to open on 6/6/06, John Moore says the thriller "is very much a movie that feels right now," says Moore. "I think the world is in a very dark place at the moment, so I think this movie can speak to sort of a metaphorical version of our collective fear."
The original 1976 Omen starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as a couple who discover that their young son, Damien, is quite literally a little devil. In this version, Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles play the horrified parents. "We cast it younger purely and simply because for starters Liev and Julia are strong actors," Moore explains.
The first four thrillers in the franchise were beset by the "Omen curse," wherein bizarre and frightening occurrences beset the productions, including the death of the trainer on the first "Omen" at the animal center where a baboon sequence was filmed.
Moore acknowledges his "Omen" also had its share of unexplained problems. "One day we shot the scene whereby the Thorne character [Schreiber] cuts the child's hair and finally reveals the mark of the beast and realizes his son is the son of the devil. That scene also involved a choreographed fight with Mia Farrow. It was a tough day's work."
But it didn't survive. Somehow the laboratory managed to destroy every frame of footage filmed that day - some 13,500 feet. "The worst the lab and the collective crew ever heard of is losing a roll, which is 400 feet," says Moore. "The guys in the lab were in tears. They had no explanation. It had never happened before."
A large portion of The Omen was to have been shot in Croatia in December, but the production ran foul of the church, which didn't approve of the subject matter. "Unfortunately, they had sway over the government, and they rescinded our permits."
So the production moved to the southern Italian town of Matera. "It is probably most famous for having shot parts there of The Passion of the Christ - how do you like that for irony?"
Fox Signs Grudge Producer to Longer Deal Variety reports Taka Ichise, producer of both the Japanese and American versions of The Grudge, has signed a three-year first look deal with Fox to produce English language projects, but also to receive Fox financing for Japanese language projects.
Ichise is currently developing The Entity for Fox Searchlight, reteaming with Ringu director Hideo Nakata.
Stan Lee Turns to Reality TV for Next Superhero AP reports the creator of Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk is on the hunt for a new superhero, and he plans to find it on reality TV. Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee said Friday that his new reality show Who Wants to be a Superhero? breaks new ground.
"I've never lived in a world of reality," quipped the 83-year-old writer.
Eleven wannabe superheros whittled down from 200 are set to compete in the show, which is scheduled to premiere July 26 on the Sci-Fi channel. The winning superhero will be the star of a new comic book created by Lee.
The reported catch-phrase for those who don't make the cut? "Turn in your spandex!"
Shyamalan Talks About Lady in the Water M. Night Shyamalan talked with the LA Times about his upcoming flick Lady in the Water and said this is no Splash.
"It's not a mermaid story, " says Shyamalan. "A mermaid is just one story of hundreds of stories of creatures that lived in the water. There have been stories of entities that lived in the water since the time of Babylon. In some of these stories from earlier times, these entities would lure boats to the rocks and crash them. They were a [reflection] of the psychosis of being out at sea for so long. Mine is an entirely made-up version of the sea nymph story."
As he scrambles to finish editing, the director says the film, made for a reported $75 million, began life three years ago as an epic serial that he'd tell his daughters as they drifted off to sleep every night. The film, now officially billed a "bedtime story" on the poster, tells the tale of lonely apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), who discovers a mysterious young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) swimming at night in the pool of his building.
"He comes to believe or suspect that she's a character in an old bedtime story," says Shyamalan. Something the director is calling a narf, who's being menaced by evil creatures called scrunts. Heep, in turn, tries to explain to other inhabitants of the apartment building their destined role in the narf's story. "At first they feel very silly, a lot of them," says the director. "It's ultimately about finding one's own childlike innocence, opening yourself up to the absurd, and being rewarded for that."
The film is set to open July 21 and reportedly features the director's long, long takes and his sense of eeriness but no twist ending. "I do tell the kids stories with twist endings," he admits. "This wasn't one of those. This was a beautiful straight fairy tale."
May 03, 2006
Se7en Coming to Comics Jonah over at Comic Book Resources dropped us a line with a fantastic bit of news. Zenescope Entertainment will release a seven issue monthly series based on the film Se7en. Kicking off in September, each issue will explore a different sin in 32 page, full color format with a variety of creators bringing their talents to the table.
Zenescope acquired the Se7en license after establishing a relationship with New Line Cinema when they landed the Final Destination license. Click here to check out the full story.
"Do you know what's Really Scary? You want to forget something. Totally wipe it off your mind. But you never can. It can't go away, you see. And... and it follows you around like a ghost."
--Eun-ju, A Tale of Two Sisters
'Well, we need to nip this thing in the
bud. I mean, otherwise, things are going to get Really Scary.'
--Cordelia Chase, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
'From here on, it gets Really Scary.'
--Geoffrey Rush, House on Haunted Hill
'Wanna see something Really Scary?'
--Dan Aykroyd, Twilight Zone The Movie
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