7.15.03
Exorcist Suit Settled
Reuters reports a settlement was reached Monday between The Exorcist director William Friedkin and screenwriter William Peter Blatty over the breach-of-contract suit they brought against Warner Bros. two years ago regarding the rerelease of their 1973 horror classic The settlement, terms of which were not disclosed, came on the eve of jury selection, which was set to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

"We settled, and I am not going to go beyond that," said Bertram Fields, who represented the plaintiffs.

In May 2001, Friedkin and Blatty filed suit against the film's producer and distributor, Warner Bros., and its AOL Time Warner-affiliated cable networks TNT and TBS. The two were seeking potentially tens of millions of dollars in the suit.

"All claims were dismissed with prejudice," Warners spokesman Barbara Brogliatti said. "It's over."

7.14.03
Sigourney Heads for The Woods
According to The Hollywood Reporter, writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has found another piece of the puzzle for his upcoming thriller The Woods as Sigourney Weaver has joined the ensemble cast of the Walt Disney Co. feature. Weaver joins Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard and William Hurt in the film's cast.

Set in 1897, Woods revolves around a close-knit community that lives with the frightening knowledge that a mythical race of creatures resides in the woods around them. Shyamalan is also producing along with Scott Rudin and Sam Mercer. Filming is set to begin in the fall ahead of a summer 2004 release.

Exorcist Finally Gets Its Day in Court
Reuters reports more than two years after it was filed, the breach of contract lawsuit brought by screenwriter William Blatty and director William Friedkin against Warner Bros. regarding the rerelease of the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist is set to begin with jury selection Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In May 2001, Blatty and Friedkin filed suit against the film's producer and distributor, Warner Bros. Pictures, and its AOL Time Warner affiliated cable networks TNT and TBS, seeking potentially tens of millions of dollars. They claim breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and seek imposition of trust and accounting concerning revenues gained from the original film and The Exorcist -- The Version You've Never Seen, which was released in September 2001.

7.13.03
Tara Reid Joins Alone in the Dark
Boll KG and Brightlight Pictures announced that Tara Reid (American Pie, Van Wilder) will play Aline Cedrac in Alone in the Dark, the film adaptation of Infogrames popular Horror-Videogame-Franchise. Several days ago Director/ Producer Uwe Boll announced that Christian Slater will star as Edward Carnby, detective of the paranormal in Alone in the Dark.

"With Christian Slater and Tara Reid we have a perfect cast for these two main characters," says director and producer Uwe Boll.

Principal Photography on Alone in the Dark starts July 14 in Vancouver, BC with a $30 million budget. Alone in the Dark is slated for a 2004 release.

7.12.03
Image Launching New Sword of Dracula Series
Jason Henderson and Greg Scott will head up the creative team for Image Comics' latest seris Sword of Dracula due out October. And to get folks warmed up, Henderson and the world-famous Alamo Drafthouse Cinema celebrate the lust for blood with a triple feature of top-notch vampire horror from around the world on July 25.

Henderson, author of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 script and Command & Conquer: Renegade story, said Sword of Dracula is about a re-invention of Dracula for a whole new generation of vampire fans. With new powers, a darker, more intense attitude and a milieu that has as much in common with Mission: Impossible as it does vampiric fright fests, Sword of Dracula's slogan is: "You've seen Dracula -- but you've NEVER seen him like this!"

Art for Sword of Dracula is provided by artist Greg Scott (Marvel's Sabretooth: Mary Shelley Overdrive), who's given Dracula a wildly anime-influenced look, and the series will feature covers by Eisner-award winning artist Tony Harris (Obergeist, DC's Starman).

The lineup for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's (Austin, TX) trio of films offers wildly different interpretations of the vampire mythos. From 1979's Dracula to Hong Kong's Mr. Vampire 2 and on for latenight erotic fare with Daughters of Darkness.

Henderson also tells fans to expect copious trailers -- including a trailer for the new comic, vampire prizes and trivia! "It's a vampire event -- anyone who shows up in costume as a vampire gets in for half price!"

Sword of Dracula #1 will be available for order in the August issue of Previews and will arrive in stores in October 2003. For more information, visit www.swordofdracula.com.

"Dracula Night" at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is Friday, July 25, starting at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.drafthouse.com.

7.11.03
William Hurt Joins Shyamalan's Next Movie
Zen reports William Hurt has agreed to star alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard in M. Night Shyamalan's The Woods.

My Bloody Valentine Frontman First Music-Making Since Debut
Rolling Stone reports My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields has recorded the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's new film, Lost in Translation. Shields hasn't released any music since MBV's 1991 debut, Loveless.

Scorsese Joins Sci Fi Project
Reuters reports (via Zen) Martin Scorsese has agreed to executive produce the Sci Fi Channel's upcoming miniseries The Twelve. The miminum six-hour mini follows an FBI agent that sees a variety of events that he believes are signs that an apocalypse is coming on the twelfth day of Christmas. The mini is based on scripts by David Pirie, originally written for the BBC. Sci Fi is currently looking for another writer to rework those same scripts.

Jolie, Berry, Jackman, More at Comic-Con
Wouldn't it be cool if all the celebrities, directors, writers and such for a bunch of upcoming genre projects would all get together in one place next weekend so we could meet 'em? Say maybe the cast of Kill Bill, Battlestar Galactica, Gothika, Tomb Raider 2, Van Helsing -- and we don't mean mid-level stars here. We'd want folks like Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, you know, top of the line. The San Diego Comic-Con said yea, that would be cool -- so they did it.

For those of you that are making the scene at the Comic-Con July 17 - 20, they've got a lineup for you that is chockablock with genre celebrity goodness.

Friday, July 18 starts their Hollywood blitz with panels featuring Stan Lee and Chase Masterson, Rob Zombie, and some 8 or 9 members of the Farscape cast. They'll also be taking a peek at the new Sci Fi event Battlestar Galactica with actor Edward James Olmos and others.

Want some screenwriters, here's a few included in a Friday panel: David Hayter (X-Men), Michael Dougherty (X2), and James Robinson (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). Later, special effects master Stan Winston takes the stage.

Then Miramax's Kill Bill panel featuring cast members David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and Michael Jai White.

And just to wrap things up, get the first news on a new film by Comic-Con special guests Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, coming from The Jim Henson Company, MirrorMask.

That's just freakin' Friday!

We don't have enough space to list all the goings on for the rest of the weekend but here's a few hellacious Saturday highlights:

• They kick Saturday off with Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry at the Warner Bros. Studio panel promoting her new film Gothika.
• And later at 11:30 is Angelina Jolie, the star of Lara Croft Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life.
• Then 90 minutes of Kevin Smith.
• New Line presents Robert Englund talking about the upcoming Freddy vs. Jason (Englund is also the Master of Ceremonies for this year's Masquerade).
• New Line Home Video then takes the stage to talk about the DVD release of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, with the man who helped bring Gollum to life, Andy Serkis.
• Then Sony and Sam Raimi participate in a Q&A about Spider-Man 2.
• Sony also brings peeks at two other upcoming movies, Underworld, with stars Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman and director Len Wiseman, and Hellboy with creator Mike Mignola.
• Topping the day: the cast of Van Helsing, Universal's upcoming release including Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, and Director Stephen Sommers.

And they're not forgetting TV and animation. Matt Groening, a Comic-Con special guest, sits down with some of his voice cast and crew members of both Futurama and The Simpsons. Cartoon Network presents a panel dedicated to its popular Adult Swim series.

Dark Horse brings back Joss Whedon and they devote an additional panel to a whole bunch of the writers from both Buffy and Angel. J. Michael Straczynski talks about his Showtime Original Series Jeremiah. The Executive Producers of Smallville, Al Gough and Miles Millar, along with two of the writers, Jeph Loeb and Mark Verheiden make an appearance along with what they're terming "a major cast member or two."

And on Sunday, Eliza Dushku joins Comic-Con to present the first-ever screening of the pilot for her new Fox TV series, Tru Calling.

Those are some highlights but for all of the information (and there's literally pages and pages of it) go to http://www.comic-con.org.

Blade 3 Getting Underway
Filmjerk reports a third installment in the Blade film franchise is set to begin filming Sept. 22 in Vancouver, B.C. Wesley Snipes will reprise the title role of the half-human, half- vampire warrior based on a popular Marvel Comics character. Kris Kristofferson will also return as his mentor, Whistler. Casting is currently underway for the other key roles, which include a pair of powerful vampire hunters and an ancient vampire known as Drake.

The story finds Blade teaming with a group called the Nightstalkers as they battle evil vampires intent on waging war on mankind, the site reported. David Goyer, who wrote the script for both previous Blade films, will assume directing duties as well this time around. The film is tentatively set for release in late 2004.

Charles Vess Guest Editing Locus
Hellnotes reports that with artist Charles Vess at the editor's helm for July, the focus of LOCUS Magazine is graphic novels. This issue is filled with some amazing art and outstanding explanations of what goes into the partnership of artist and writer as they present a story. Gracing the cover is Alan Moore. http://www.locusmag.com

7.07.03
Wes Craven's Cursed Hits Snag?
Dark Horizons reports The Wes Craven horror flick Cursed has rumored to have hit a snag with the production and is potentially delayed as they try to come up with a new ending.

Principal Photography Begins on Riddick
DH reports principal photography has begun on Riddick in Vancouver this week, and in the official announcement there's a short synopsis: "Riddick has spent the last five years on the move among the forgotten worlds on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society, which has been invaded by the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), a zealot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers. Exiled to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra (Alexa Davalos), the lone survivor from an earlier chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle with possibly the fate of all beings-both living and dead-hanging in the balance."

Stan Winston Developing Comic Series
THR reports Oscar-winning special effects wizard Stan Winston recently drew the cover art for his new comic creation, Stan Winston's Trakk, which follows the intergalactic adventures of an immortal monster hunter in 2099. Trakk, which is written by Francis Takenaga and illustrated by Philip Tan, evolved from a movie idea Winston first conceived nearly 20 years ago that never came to fruition. Winston launched his new franchise as a four-issue series called Mutant Earth from Image Comics.

Trakk proved so popular that it is now its own stand-alone comic series, scheduled to retail in September, and is negotiating with game publishers to bring Trakk to the interactive realm. He also is in talks with movie producers, hoping to bring Trakk to life as the big-budget Hollywood spectacle Winston originally envisioned.

"My real love is for fantastic characters surrounded by fantastic stories," Winston said. "The creative part of me has wanted to create characters no one has seen before and tell new stories. Comics are a wonderful way to introduce new stories to the same audience that loves movies and video games. And comics don't require the $100 million price tag of movies or two years' development time of video games."

7.01.03
Bubba Ho-Tep Getting Theatrical Release
Don Coscarelli's King of Rock and Roll vs. the King of the Dead epic, Bubba Ho-Tep (based on the Joe R. Lansdale story) is finally getting a theatrical release thanks to American Cinematheque/Vitagraph Films.

Bubba Ho-Tep stars Bruce Campbell as a geriatric Elvis who rids his Texas nursing home of an Egyptian mummy with the aid of Ossie Davis (who thinks he is JFK).

The film will be released nationally to theatres in September beginning with New York and Los Angeles.

Black Dahlia Film in the Works
Filmmaker Ramzi Abed (The Tunnel, The Interview) said he's gearing up to shoot his next project, according to Film Threat. An as of yet titled film inspired by the last days of Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) is the flick and David J of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets already confirmed he'll compose the score for the film. Confirmed cameos are artist Robert Williams, Lloyd Kaufman and Julie Strain. Crispin Glover, Fairuza Balk, and Seth Green are being looked at for the principal lead roles.

If things keep moving smoothly for Abed, shooting should begin late this summer.

Thanks Again to the Really Scary Family
And as always, the Really Scary-ites come through. Thanks for all of your e-mails -- Black Sabbath, directed my Mario Bava and featuring a trio of stories, was the movie Andrea was trying to recall.

Christian Slater Joins Alone in the Dark
Boll KG and Brightlight Pictures announced today that Christian Slater (Windtalkers) will play Edward Carnby in Alone in the Dark, the film adaptation of Infogrames popular horror-videogame franchise.

"We are very happy to have Christian Slater on board. He is perfect as Edward Carnby", said Uwe Boll, director/producer.

Principal Photography on Alone in the Dark starts July 14 in Vancouver, BC with a $30 million budget.

6.30.03
Dreamworks Picks Up Korean Horror Flick
Dreamworks has acuired English-language remake rights to the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters, according to The Hollywood Reporter (via Zen). Craig Rosenberg will adapt the film about two sisters who return to the home of their father and abusive stepmother after spending time in a mental institution. In addition to dealing with their stepmother while trying to recover, a ghost begins to interfere as well.

Lions Gate Considering Drawn
THR reports (via Zen) Lions Gate is in talks to buy rights to Rand Ravich's (Candyman 3) spec horror script Drawn. Eli Roth will direct the project, while Nick Wechsler and Lorenzo di Bonaventura are producing. The story follows a man who is so obsessed with becoming a successful artist that he begins to make choices that may release an ultimate evil.

Punisher Casting & Details
Laura Harring and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos are joining the cast of Artisan Entertainment/Marvel Studios' The Punisher for director Jonathan Hensleigh.

Mulholland Drive star Laura Harring is set to play the ruthless, vengeful wife of the film's evil Howard Saint (John Travolta).

X2: X-Men United star Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is in negotiations to play Joan, the Punisher's neighbor who lives by herself and is unaware of his alter ego. A classy and reserved woman, Joan has had her own share of hardship and feels safe and comfortable being around the man who lives next door.

Thomas Jane has been training with four Navy SEALs and working out twice a day for the film's starring role. About the realistic fight scenes, Thomas Jane said, "all old-school stuff. What would you really do to take these guys out? What it usually comes down to is, you poke their eyes out, you slit their throat, break their nose, brutal stuff. that kind of ends the fight kind of quickly. that's why you don't see it too much. No wires, no Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stuff. It's all going to be real world."

Alan Moore Horror Stories Getting Redux
Zen reports Avatar Press has announced that it will publish a career-spanning series of comic book horror stories from one of the medium's acknowledged masters with Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths.

Here's Avatar's description: "The magical mind of Alan Moore is unleashed in this new monthly series which weighs in at a super-sized 40 pages per issue! Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths features tons of Alan's classic short sequential comic book stories that have been long out of print, stories that have never before been seen, and special developmental sections with original script pages and comments from Alan and the creators!

The debut issue features the amazing Nightjar, a story written 20 years ago to run in legendary British comic anthology Warrior Magazine, but never fully drawn. With art by BryanTalbot, the first part of the story is finally illustrated and sees print here along with Moore's notes on where the series was originally going to go. As a special bonus, we include Alan's original script. Nightjar is a true lost gem that fans have been dying to see for two decades, polished for publication for the first time ever!

Also in this issue is the story Zaman's Hill, originally written for Moore's aborted novel titled Yuggoth Cultures.

Help Out a Fellow Really Scary-ite
Calling all Really Scary-ites: We just got a letter from Andrea regarding a horror flick. She's got part of the story but wants to know if we can help her out with the title.

Story goes something like this...

Rich old woman dies. Servant or maid, pries ring from dead old rich woman's hand. Servant maid lady goes home, to find she cannot sleep, bath-tub faucet keeps dripping, dripping.

Upon checking on the drip, the dead woman is there! In her apartment with the most horrid (dare I say, "sardonic", another great one!) face! Coming after her slow but sure! Maid runs back into her bedroom, closes the door, locks it! Waits a minute or so, then peeks underneath! What does she see!? Of course, the wretched face of the dead woman peeking right back at her!!!!!

Anyone help Andrea out with this one? Please e-mail us and let us know.

New Stephen King Short Story Online
Stephen King's got a new short story in the June 30 issue of The New Yorker. You can read it online here: Harvey's Dream.

Really Scary 28 Days Later Contest!
We've gotten our hands on a couple of super cool T-shirts promoting the flick 28 Days Later and of course we're giving 'em away! Check out the contest page to find out how to get one.

Cemetery Dance Offer for Really Scary-ites!
The fine folks at Cemetery Dance have offered up a fantastic deal for Really Scary readers. You can save up to $100 at CemeteryDance.com when you use the following Coupon Codes during the check out process:

ReallyScary5 --> $ 5 off a $ 40 order
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ReallyScary100 --> $100 off a $500 order

Just add the appropriate amount of merchandise to your shopping cart and enter the correct Coupon Code with your payment information. (There should be no spaces or other characters around the code.)

Offer expires July 10, 2003, so click here to pop over there and save with these great coupons.

6.26.03
Evil Drivers Ed Movies Get Documentary
"Think you're too old to cry? You'll cry like a baby when you're stetched out on the pavement with pain tearing at every inch of your body."

Pretty good quote huh? Maybe Pinhead said it? Or maybe Freddy Krueger? Nope, this was dialogue from a 1959 traffic safety film that used footage from real accidents and showed mangled, bloody, and even dead bodies in their efforts to get teens to drive safer. Faces of Death had nothin' on this stuff. In August 1999, Atlanta filmmaker Bret Wood traveled to Mansfield, Ohio to film interviews with Earle Deems and John Domer, two of the few surviving people who made films for the Highway Safety Foundation.

Wood's idea had been merely to document the story behind the shocking driver education films produced with the Ohio State Highway Patrol in the 1950s and '60s. Films such as Signal 30, Wheels of Tragedy and Mechanized Death had become cult items among film fans, but the story of their production remained cloaked in mystery. It became obvious more would be needed to tell the full story of the "death on the highway" driver's ed film phenomenon.

Wood has completed this flick and it's hitting a few theaters across the country. Click here to check out their site and find out where it's playing.

Identity DVD Packed with Extras
Dark Horizons has the details for the Identity DVD, the impressively twisted and subversive little thriller with John Cusack and Ray Liotta. It's set for a September release with a packed single disc set. Displayed in both Full Screen and Anamorphic Widescreen, the most interesting extra feature is an 'extended branching' version of film in which an additional scene and an alternate ending are inserted. Director James Mangold lends his voice to a commentary track, and also to several deleted scenes. A STARZ Special entitled "On the Set of Identity," storyboard comparisons, filmographies, and the trailer cap it off.

Filming Complete on Rosemary's Baby-esque Flick
DH reports filming is complete on the Rosemary's Baby-esque horror film Corn from Sundance short film award winner Dave Silver and starring Jena Malone and Don Harvey. No word yet on a release.

Constantine Plot Details & Casting
IGN Filmforce reports they've seen twenty pages from the screenplay for Constantine, Warner Brothers' upcoming feature film adaptation of the Vertigo comic book Hellblazer. Keanu Reeves has been cast in the lead role of occult investigator John Constantine. The script pages in question coincide with casting notices that were recently posted by FilmJerk. These notices revealed many details about Constantine's female lead, Angela Dodson, a "beautiful, intelligent and strong [LAPD] detective in her mid 20's to mid 30's."

The casting notices went on to say that Angela "is imbued with more than just instinct and seems to be in the right place at the right time where her perps are concerned. Angela meets Constantine in an effort to enlist his help in tracking down her twin sister's murderer, even though initially it seems like a suicide. She is deeply religious and becomes very concerned when it seems that supernatural forces are involved in her sister's death. Through this journey, she realizes just how strong she is without having to be so tough." Hispanic and African-American actresses are reportedly being considered for this role.

The script pages reveal even more than the above, including the gist of the film's plot. That's your spoiler warning before you continue on to this link.

Discovery Filming 12 Days of Terror
The Discovery Channel is getting into the movie business. For the first time in its 18-year history, the cable network will air an original film. Scheduled for early 2004, 12 Days of Terror chronicles the series of the 1916 shark attacks that later inspired the Peter Benchley novel Jaws.

Shot in Cape Town, South Africa, the two-hour thriller completed its 25-day production this month. With a cast including John Rhys-Davies (the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and newcomers Colin Egglesfield and Jenna Harrison, was directed by Jack Sholder (The Hidden) and written by Jeffrey Reiner, J.T. Allen and Tommy Lee Wallace.

Originally set up as a potential movie at CBS, Terror is based on the book of the same name by Richard Fernicola. After CBS passed last fall, Discovery took a bite. NBC was also considering a movie on the subject based on a different book, but ultimately passed.

Punisher Cast Addition
THR reports Mulholland Dr. star Laura Harring has joined the cast of The Punisher, the comic-book actioner starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. The Artisan Entertainment/Marvel Studios project revolves around a vigilante hero who dispenses harsh justice to criminals after his wife and children are slain by the mob.

Harring will play Ivia Saint, the ruthless, vengeful wife of the film's evil Howard Saint. Saint is a man involved in the criminal underworld who manages to conceal his violent beginnings and become a paragon of society. When the Saints' son is brutally slain, a darker, vengeful side re-emerges in the man.

Writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh will start shooting the film next month in Florida. Harring was most recently in theaters in New Line Cinema's Willard.

Nominations for Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Announced
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, science fiction fandom's award recognizing works of special and positive interest to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, have announced the finalists for their 2003 Awards.Ê

Best Novel

• Dance for the Ivory Madonna, by Don Sakers (Speed-of-C)
• The Fall of the Kings, by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman (Bantam Spectra)
• Fire Logic, by Laurie Marks (Tor)
• Hominids, by Robert Sawyer (Tor)
• Lorimal's Chalice, by Jane Fletcher (Fortitude Press)
• Nightmare: A Novel of the Silent Empire, by Steven Harper (Roc)
• Solitaire, by Kelley Eskridge (Harper Eos)

Best Short Fiction

• Bugcrush, Scott Treleaven (Queer Fear 2)
• For the Mortals Among Us, Robert Knippenburg (Mind & Body)
• Night of the Werepuss, Michael Thomas Ford (Queer Fear 2)
• Polyphemus' Cave, David Nickle (Queer Fear 2)
• Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland, Sarah Monette (Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #11)
• Till Human Voices Wake Us, Stephen Dedman (Queer Fear 2)
• Unspeakable, MCA Hogarth (Strange Horizons)

Best Genre Comic Book/Graphic Novel

• The Authority (issues 28 & 29), various (Wildstorm/DC)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Willow and Tara: Wilderness, Amber Benson &
• Christopher Golden (Dark Horse)
• Green Lantern: Hate Crime (issues 154 & 155), Judd Winnick (DC)
• Murder Mysteries, Neil Gaiman & Craig Russell (Dark Horse)
• Uncanny X-Men (414), various (Marvel)
• X-Statix (1-5), various (Marvel)

Best Other Work

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Seeing Red", Joss Whedon et al (TV)
• Eyes of the God: The Weird Fiction and Poetry of R.H. Barlow, edited by S T Joshi, Douglas Anderson and David Schultz (Hippocampus Press)(academic work)
• Mind & Body, edited by Cecilia Tan (Circlet Press)(anthology)
• Queer Fear II, edited by Michael Rowe (Arsenal Pulp)(anthology)
• Wired Hard 3, edited by Cecilia Tan (Circlet Press)(anthology)

The 2003 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards will be presented at the World Science Fiction Convention in Toronto from August 28 - September 1.

6.24.03
Massive Movie Round-Up
More movements are underway on various projects and The Early Report (via Dark Horizons) has details on each of the changes that have happened in the last few weeks:

• The remake of Elmore Leonard's The Big Bounce has been pushed back from Fall '03 to February '04
• The remake of zombie classic Dawn Of The Dead is slated for theaters March 26
• The long-awaited Ray Bradbury time travel dinosaur actioneer A Sound of Thunder roars April 16
• The Angelina Jolie serial killer thriller Taking Lives stalks April 30
• Van Helsing is set for May 7
• Vin Diesel's return as "Riddick" (which has lost its 'The Chronicles of' title) hits theaters June 11
• The adaptation of Michael Connelly's thriller Void Moon is aiming for October
• Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, Oliver Stone's Alexander and Joel Schumacher's The Phantom Of The Opera are all slated for sometime in December, going against George Clooney who will lead the Ocean's Twelve December 10
• Finally, the Peter Jackson King Kong remake is officially set for a December 14, 2005 release date

Halloween 9: It Was Only a Matter of Time
According to DH, Producer Moustapha Akkad reported on the "Halloween" official site today that a storyline has been chosen and the screenplay is being written right now for Halloween 9. Last year's "Halloween: Resurrection" was budgeted at $15 million but earned twice that much domestically in its theatrical run prompting the likelihood of a sequel. Discussions are already taking place with actors and the film is aiming for a summer 2004 release with shooting not too far off. However the last film was famous for several delays which pushed it back almost a full year from its original intended release, so don't lock in mid-2004 as a concrete date yet. No word if Bianca Kajich or Busta Rhymes are involved.

6.20.03
Punisher Trailer & Web Site Live
Kristin over at Drill Team Media passed along that http://www.punisherthemovie.com/ went live last night. The site includes a teaser trailer.

6.19.03
Tempe Splits from Charles Band's Shadow Entertainment
Tempe Entertainment has parted ways with Charles Band's Shadow Entertainment (formerly Full Moon). At the conclusion of last fall's Deadly Stingers (their last production together which debuts from Fox Home Video later this year), Tempe president J.R. Bookwalter cut ties with the creators of the Puppet Master series after eleven feature films.

Tempe has signed a five-year exclusive deal with Ventura Distribution and first out of the gate are re-releases of their Special Editions for the dark comedy Townies (May 27, $19.99 SRP) as well as Witchouse 3: Demon Fire and 1989's Skinned Alive (June 10, both reduced to $14.99 SRP).

Also, Tempe will only release the films on DVD, declaring VHS to be "dead." Tempe's Bookwalter says his company plans to release remastered editions of their most popular (and infamous) features over the next several months, while production begins on a new slate of features set for release in 2004.

6.18.03
The Hills Have Eyes Headed for DVD Release
DVD File reports (via Bloody Disgusting) The Hills Have Eyes, which has been unavailable on home video for over a decade, finally makes its DVD debut Sept. 23. This two-disc set features a newly remastered anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS remixes, and extras are set to include audio commentaries with Craven and others, all-new cast & crew interviews, stills, trailers and more. Suggested retail is $29.95.

Reality Weirder Than Fiction Examples
Reuters reports a man was found dead in his seat at a cinema in the Indian capital after the late-night screening of a horror film which the director has warned could pose a health risk to those of a nervous disposition. A police official told Reuters that the theater's cleaning staff found the man -- aged around 50 -- slumped in his seat early on Tuesday morning after the end of the showing of an Indian horror movie, "Bhoot," or "Ghost."

Police said they had found no identification papers on the man or external injuries on his body. "Nobody has come forward to claim his body. Maybe he got frightened, I don't know," said the police official.

Bhoot is a spooky thriller about a possessed housewife and is set in a high-rise Bombay apartment. It is running to packed houses in many parts of the country. Before the movie starts, a message from the director appears on the screen warning people with heart problems or pregnant women that they view the film at their own risk.

And in other odd news that involves our favorite genre, German police were investigating the discovery of a headless body near castle Frankenstein in Germany, a ruin many see as the inspiration for Mary Shelley's novel.

Police said on Tuesday the naked male corpse was found by a couple in a car park in the southwestern town of Darmstadt some two miles from the castle, but added it had probably been moved. The medieval castle was the birthplace in 1673 of Johann Konrad Dippel von Frankenstein, a controversial alchemist famous for his avid interest in the creation of artificial life. He was also rumored to have experimented with human body parts.

Many say he inspired the character of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, itself later the source of countless spin-offs and horror films. Dippel died mysteriously in 1734.

Hellboy Set Reports
Dark Horizons has condensed a report on the Hellboy shooting from a bunch of other outlets that have just returned form covering the film on location in Prague. Here 'tis:

The production is running on time and on budget so far, with things progressing so well in fact that del Toro expects to have the film complete and ready to screen for preview audiences (ie. exhibitors, media, etc.) around February/March.

Marco Beltrami is expected to start his scoring duties this week, the music being described as 'epic' in nature. A video game tie-in is in the works but a long way off, they're not rushing it. Hellboy will have markings on his shoulders and back but not his chest as they didn't photograph well. The makeup takes four hours to apply and is put on usually from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. right before filming (which runs 2 p.m. - 2 a.m. each day).

Abe Sapien's gills 'flutter' during his underwater swimming sequences, and actor Doug Jones has finished filming all his scenes for the movie. One big sequence is Hellboy chasing the grey tentacled demon Sammael through a winter time NYC subway. Sammaels eyes and tentacles are robotic and moved by remote control, as is Hellboy's tail. Don't expect the robotic gorillas or the floating head-jar creations from the comics to appear until the sequel. The DVD is currently planning to be a three-disc set. We'll see Hellboy in his baby, teen and with horns incarnations. Completed footage from the film should be hitting the official site next month.

Aliens vs. Predator Getting Underway?
Filmjerk reports (via DH) filming is scheduled to begin on Aliens vs. Predator this October in Prague under the helm of Paul W. Anderson (Resident Evil). The story follows "human scientists going on an expedition to Antarctica to lure Predator hunters, using Alien eggs as bait. Of course, these plans quickly goes awry and the humans find themselves in the crossfire between two warring alien species."

Casting agents are seeking seven major human characters (None from the previous films in either franchise are returning), including a female environmental researcher, her Egyptologist ex-beau, a gruff Han Solo-esque American archeologist, the billionaire industrialist financier who hides his terminal disease, the English-accented Afro-Caribbean team leader, a muscle bound beefheaded Texan, and a geeky but smart scientist. With the exception of the female lead, the other six roles are to be filled by European actors. No word on how this moving ahead will affect filming plans on Resident Evil 2.

Showtime Picks Up James Ellroy Documentary
THR reports Showtime has acquired "James Ellroy's Feast of Death," a documentary about the crime novelist's fascination with unsolved murders. Scheduled to air in November, the noir-style documentary follows Ellroy as he researches grisly cases. Written, directed and produced by Vikram Jayanti with partial funding from the BBC, "Death" made the rounds at various film festivals this year.

Shocklines & Richard Wright Offering Free E-Serial
Really Scary favorite genre bookstore Shocklines and author Richard Wright are offering Wright's new novel Thy Fearful Symmetry free in weekly installments via e-mail. Wright, acclaimed author of Cuckoo, has slated to kick things off with the first installment sometime around June 23. Each week you'll get one (or sometimes two) email(s) featuring a chapter of approximately 3,000 words. The e-serial is scheduled to run approximately four months, and should end up somewhere in the 50,000 - 60,000 word range. Click here for more information.

Tarantino Guest Programming on Cable Station
According to THR, cable's Trio network has enlisted director Quentin Tarantino for a new weeklong programming stunt called "My Trio," which allows guest programmers to schedule the primetime lineup for seven days. Tarantino will get his shot in October, but "My Trio" will kick off in July with Entertainment Weekly columnist Joel Stein as guest commentator.

Hertzan Chimera splits with Eraserhead Press
Hertzan Chimera, author of SZMONHFU and UNITED STATES, has split with U.S. trade-paperback publisher Eraserhead Press. Citing a lack of confidence in the publisher to properly represent its authors in the competitive print market place. "Despite repeated written requests, a publishing and marketing schedule has never surfaced for the United States," Chimera said.