Hellblazer Movie Report
Comics2Film followed up on last week's Hollywood trade papers that said Lorenzo di Bonaventura would be involved with the Constantine (Hellblazer) movie. While both trades indicated di Bonaventura's first project as a producer would be a movie called Constantine (or Constantin) the reports conflicted as to what the nature of the project is.

A source close to the development effort of the Hellblazer adaptation told C2F that as far as he knows di Bonaventura is not coming on board the comic book movie.

The di Bonaventura project will be a historical epic concerning the Roman emperor, as was reported in Variety. At this point both projects have the same (or similar) titles. Their source also confirms that Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) whose name has been mentioned in a couple of recent articles is, in fact, attached to the project. However, he has not signed to appear in the movie at this point.

Plummer & Henriksen Cast for Mimic 3
MovieHole reports Mimic 3 has picked up Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction), John Kapelos (The Breakfast Club) and Lance Henriksen (Near Dark, Aliens) for its leads.

No Dolph for Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake
Looks like the rumors of Dolph Lundgren in the Texas Chainsaw do-over movie are just that. Fangoria's bulletin board moderator, Uncle Creepy, received official word from the production office that Lundgren is not playing Leatherface nor is he in the picture.

Corona's original scooper said they'd received word that it was somebody that has starred in Universal Soldier, so they figured it would be Dolph. This latest tip may still leave us with clues to the correct person and Corona says other two dudes big enough to be possibilities from that flick are Ralph Moeller (Gladiator) and Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. (The Fifth Element).

Renfro Cut from Freddy vs. Jason?
Creature Corner reports that with only three days before principal photography revs up, the highly anticipated Freddy Vs. Jason production has run into a bit of a snag.

Various sources amongst the Hollywood casting community tell CC lead Brad Renfro has been fired from the film. Like anything of this nature dealing with "young Hollywood actor," reasons for his mysterious departure were withheld. Renfro, star of Apt Pupil and the first 'name' actor to be cast in Freddy vs. Jason, was set to star alongside Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowlands.

With a start date of today, the production is now scrambling to fill the role.

Ghost Ship Trailer & Site
We've just run across the official site for the upcoming flick Ghost Ship and the trailer looks pretty damn nifty. Although whether critics will be able to stop themselves from writing "Ghost Ship Sinks" is a whole 'nother matter. In the meantime, check out the official site here. Nice Flash, trailer, bunch of photos, desktop wallpaper and other usual suspects. Plus Julianna Marguiles and Gabriel Byrne should not a bad movie make...hopefully.

New Additions to Re-Animator Cast
Fangoria reports Spanish star Santiago Segura (Day of the Beast, Blade II) has joined the cast of the now-filming Beyond Re-Animator. The long-awaited sequel's other leads include Spanish thespians Elsa Pataky and Simon Andreu, as well as Irish actor Jason Barry.

Despite previous reports, actor Danny Nucci is not in the film; Barry, not Nucci, is the Titanic veteran on board. Producer/director Brian Yuzna will be shooting the prison-set film in Barcelona and Valencia until the end of October.

Matheson's Kolchak Scripts Set for Publication
Gauntlet Press reports publisher Barry Hoffman has been working for two and a half years to secure all the rights and permissions to publish Richard Matheson's three Kolchak screenplays. Contracts have been signed and in the Fall of 2002 we should see the first release of "The Night Stalker," and "The Night Strangler"(two "Movies of the Week" which led to the Kolchak series), and "The Night Killers" (an unproduced script whose rights are still retained by Dan Curtis, and may one day become a feature film).

Acclaimed Kolchak chronicler Mark Dawidziak will edit the book, which will include interviews with Matheson, William Nolan (who co- wrote "The Night Killers"), Dan Curtis and Jeff Rice (creator of the Kolchak character). Their agreement with ABC-TV allows them to publish just a signed limited edition of 552 copies (numbered and lettered).

They will have information and begin taking orders in early 2003.

New Rocket from the Crypt Release
Rolling Stone reports Rocket from the Crypt have completed a new studio album, "Live From Camp X-Ray," due Oct. 22.

Upcoming Indie Slash/Horror Flick Update
We got an e-mail from independent filmmaker Eric Spudic catching up on a bunch of upcoming horror work:

"Howdy folks! Shameless plug time I have announcements for THREE upcoming horror features I've been involved with. First there is:

"MANIACAL, a gory stalk 'n slash horror flick centering around mentally ill Gilbert Gill, who's back to kill! After going on the blitz and offing his mama(and nearly his papa), Gilbert is sent to the mental home. A few years later when his reformed once-abusive father decides to visit his son, Gilbert escapes for a bloody death spree. Directed by Joe Castro(TERROR TOONS), produced by David S. Sterling(CAMP BLOOD), and written by Eric Spudic(that's me!). Stars Brennan Gould(SHRIEKER, ALIEN ARSENAL). I believe Brain Damage Home Video is releasing late this year.

"THE HAZING, it's TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE meets THE FUNHOUSE as partying college kids play pranks on newbies at the local(and thought abandoned) funhouse. The prank's on them when a 6'4", 200 lbs. woman with a machete starts offing them for invading her "home". An excellent tribute in the vein of the 80's slasher scene. Directed by Joe Castro(LEGEND OF THE CHUPACABRA), produced by David Sterling(THINGS) and Mark Gordon(ALIEN FORCE), and written by Eric Spudic(he's cool!). A rough cut is now finished.

"KILLERS BY NATURE, concerns two recent graduates, Jeffrey Mordrid and Cory Buckner, who plan to prank an old high school bully who relentlessly picked on them and beat them up. The prank goes awry (as usual) and they accidentally kill the bully. So they try hiding the body and in the meanwhile run into another bully from high school who pisses them off. Then they kill him and by this point, notice they get a kick out of murdering. Thus begins their journey to kill every bully whoever picked on them.

"KBN should be out on dvd/video sometime in 2003. Just wanted to take a moment to let you all know of a few upcoming gory horror flicks! And not JUST horror movies, but of the slasher genre as well."

For more information, check out www.ericspudic.com.

Cape Fear Director Dead at 88
DVD News reports legendary filmmaker J. Lee Thompson passed away this holiday weekend. At the age of 88 he left us with a legacy of over 50 films -- Cape Fear, two of the Planet of the Apes sequels, Happy Birthday to Me and Reincarnation of Peter Proud are only a small sample of this creator's contributions to the genre field.

God of the Razor Model!
This is a total beaut! Joe R. Lansdale's God of the Razor has gotten a statue/model jobbie done. Absolutely stunning in it's disgustingness...love it. Click'm.

Zombie Giving Voice to the Lizard
Comics Continuum reports (via Fango) Rob Zombie will be doing the voice of the Lizard and his human alter-ego, Dr. Curt Connors in the new Spider-Man animated series, this one being done for MTV.

Texas Chainsaw Redux Reports
Fangoria published its first report from the set of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. And Corona says what the boys at Fango saw might give horror fans some hope that the remake won't do a disservice to the original Massacre. Fango reports skepticism has turned to optimism as conversations with the cast and crew reveal a communal knowledge of and passion for Tobe HooperÕs original classic, and the fact that the crew includes cinematographer Daniel Pearl, who lensed the 1974 original.

Also learned was the names of additional cast members including R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) Eric Balfour (Fox's 24) and Erica Leerhsen (Blair Witch 2). But what about Leatherface? It's being kept a secret but is reportedly a well-known actor. Fango says, "The face behind that mask is not the role's originator Gunnar Hansen, but instead a musclebound and ponytailed veteran of the silver and small screens whose name is being kept from the public at this point. No matter; the important thing is that he filled that stitched mask with gusto, demonstrated perfectionism in his performance and looked terrifying doing so."

Corona reports that several hours before that Fangoria report hit, they'd received this scoop, which jibes to some extent with Fango's report. Corona's scooper said, "The secret actor who's playing Leatherface is...Dolph Lundgren."

And in other King DVD release news, The Shining miniseries is set to hit shelves Jan. 7, 2003, with a commentary by Stephen King, along with Steven Weber, Cynthia Garris (Mick's wife, who played the Ghost of Room 217), Mark Carliner, makeup artist Bill Corso, visual-effects supervisor Boyd Shermis, Patrick McMahon, Shelly Johnson and director Mick Garris.

Additional/deleted scenes with optional director's commentary will also be part of the package. There will be 11 deleted scenes, including one featuring King as the bandleader, melting at the stroke of midnight.

Fox Sets Airing for Delayed Rats
Variety reports The Rats, a Fox made-for-TV movie about rats invading the Big Apple, will make its debut next month -- a year late and minus two scenes of the World Trade Center, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The movie about an invasion of lab rats in the sewers of New York will finally see the light of day on Sept. 19, a year and two days after it was originally set to debut on the Fox television network.

Elvira’s returns in a new lusty, busty adventure that spoofs the classic Vincent Price/Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe gothic horror movies of the ’60s. Co-starring Richard (Riff Raff) O’Brien, Elvira's Haunted Hills mixes the self-styled Valley Girl Ghoul’s slapstick humour with classic horror and a touch of The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

To find out about upcoming Rue Morgue events, visit www.rue-morgue.com/events.htm.

Scream Fest LA Details
Tracy with Scream Fest LA just dropped us a line about their upcoming shindig. If'n you're in that area, this sounds like a definite dropby:

Hi there. We the publicists for THE Horror Film festival here in Los Angeles! In its second year Scream Fest has grown into a four day festival with highlights that include opening night screenings of the Exorcist and Evil Dead, an independent film, screenplay, short and documentary horror film competition and a panel discussion on censorship with guests such as Wes Craven. For more information on the fest check out the website www.screamfestla.com.

The plot follows a boy who was present shortly after Dan Cain got Dr. West hauled off to jail. West accidentally drops a vail of the re-agent, and the boy becomes obsessed with finding out what, exactly, it does.

Now it's years later, West is still in prison, and the boy has grown up and become a doctor.

Goyer Talks Blade III
David Goyer, writer of the upcoming Blade III sequel film, told Comics2Film that Marvel Comics likes the initial story concept.

"I'm working on a treatment as well," Goyer told the site. "If things work out as planned, we may see a couple of other somewhat obscure Marvel characters making an appearance in the film."

Goyer added that German director Oliver Hirschbiegel was being considered to helm the third installment of the vampire franchise. "I met with Oliver, liked his work, and we discussed the film a bit," Goyer said. "But it's no more than that at the moment."

August 2002 -- We are extremely disappointed to announce Moore Action Collectibles, Inc. will not be producing the anticipated line of X-Files action figures announced last year. Influenced by the television series cancellation, Moore Action does not believe the X-Files market remains strong enough to support the action figure line.

"Halting development of the X-Files action figures was a difficult decision for us" said Moore’s Director of Marketing, Wynne Hunkler.

Princess Mononke Creators Next Film
Here's a sneak look at Spirited Away. The winner of the prestigious Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival makes its North American debut with the upcoming Walt Disney release. This is the latest film from legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononke).

Spirited Away follows the story of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, who discovers a secret world when she and her family get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, Chihiro must fend for herself as she encounters strange spirits, assorted creatures and a sorceress who seeks to prevent her from returning to the human world. The most successful film in the history of Japanese cinema Spirited Away comes to domestic audiences in a newly dubbed version supervised by executive producer John Lasseter (Pixar's executive vice president).

Carpenter Taking Break, But Considering Next Flick
Fango reports in an interview for Knight-Ridder Newspapers, John Carpenter said he's taking a break from filmmaking for now ("I've been working on a nice long vacation"), but does have a comeback project in mind: a remake of the Jacques Tourneau Curse of the Demon. "It's a great story -- a very weird story," he says of "Casting the Runes," the M.R. James tale on which Curse was based.

Liam Neeson Out of Exorcist Prequel?
A big thank you to Fangoria for breaking out the Swedish dictionary for this news. Sweden's Expressen newspaper reports (via Fango) that Stellan Skarsgard (Deep Blue Sea) has replaced Liam Neeson in the upcoming Exorcist prequel. The movie is set to begin shooting this November in London with a schedule running through February.

After the death of director John Frankenheimer (the prequel's original helmer), Liam Neeson (at the K-19 junkets) continued to voice his support for the project and said that he was still on board despite rumors to the contrary.

Now this report suggests that Skarsgard will be replacing Neeson in the film as the young Father Merrin, who, soon after World War II, finds himself in Africa facing off against the devil for the first time. Fango says the article also includes a short three-question interview with Skarsgard asking him about stuff like special FX and whether he's nervous about taking on such a big, storied role, so this news might be legit.

Buffy & Angel Gotta Have Faith
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Faith (Eliza Dushku) will return to both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel in the coming season. They say she'll appear in three episodes of Angel and the final five eps of Buffy.

The Fog, Adrienne Barbeau, Really Scary & Coincidences
Wow, two Adrienne Barbeau updates in one week! The Fog hit the DVD release shelves Tuesday and if you haven't picked it up, get it -- great documentaries and outtakes (some taken from the original laserdisc release years ago). We'll have a review up soon. Anyhoo, Fangoria's got a quick interview with Barbeau over here. A lot of the ground covered is stuff she talks about in the documentaries, but there's also some great bits about how they found the location for The Fog and how she and John Carpenter bought a house there shortly after filming.

And in a weird bit of coincidence, one of the Really Scary staff is working on a web site for the National Marine Sanctuaries (yea, amazingly enough the Really Scary gig won't pay the bills, go figure) and ran across a photo of the Antonio Bay lighthouse -- it's actually the Point Reyes lighthouse and is located in the vicinity of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Here's the shot, now picture Barbeau at the top trying to kick the crap out of a decaying zombie pirate -- cool huh?

Woohoo! Lions Gate has the Guts for House of 1000 Corpses
It's been a long time coming but it looks like someone may have the guts to distribute Rob Zombie's film foray. Variety reports Lions Gate Films has picked up distribution rights to House of 1000 Corpses, and will release it in the first quarter of 2003.

The film was originally slated for release in summer 2001 via Universal, but studio executives freaked after viewing a rough cut and said they wouldn't release it.

MGM was at one time in line to pick up title after cuts, removing some of the blood and murder, had given the previously unrated picture an R rating. Zombie let slip that negotiations were under way with MGM while interviewing Ben Affleck for MTV's "Movie House" show and made some joking comments about the film. A few days later, MGM backed away from the deal.

"With 'House of 1000 Corpses,' Rob Zombie has created an in-your-face, unrelenting horror film experience," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films Releasing. "We are really looking forward to working with Rob and having a lot of fun with this campaign."

Canadian-based Lions Gate purchased both the R and unrated versions. The domestic theatrical release will be rated R. The unrated version will go out for homevideo/DVD. Internationally, both versions will be released theatrically.

New Line's Lord of the Rings: Special Extended Edition is officially set for Nov. 12. Pioneer's Silent Mobius: DVD Collection #3 is due Oct. 22, with Armitage III following Nov. 5.

And finally, Warner will release dual full frame and widescreen versions of Eight Legged Freaks Oct. 29.

Really Scary Resident Evil Contest!
We've got a brand new contest lined up. The fine folks from Capcom, Roadrunner Records and Columbia Tristar have loaded us up with Resident Evil gamecube games, Resident Evil soundtracks, posters and Ghost's of Mars DVDs -- if you'd like one of everything -- just click here for details and sign up. If you're already a member of the Really Scary newsletter list, then you're already signed up! It's just that doggone easy.

Buy the Shirt Off Our Back!
We just built a cool little store over at Cafe Press and now offer a couple of T-shirts, mugs, etc. Cafe Press' base prices are pretty standard prices anyhoo, so we only tacked on a buck or two to each item. It won't make us rich, but it definitely helps pay the server bills.

More importantly though is how incredibly jazzed we'll be if we ever run into someone wearing our little togs! We're also going to put together a Really Scary contest calling for all you kickass artists out there. We'll pile up some great prizes and get back to you as soon as we've got it ready. Sharpen those pencils...and don't poke out your eye.

In the meantime, give a look to our schtuff here. The T you see with the cool black & white wagon reminded us of Phantasm, so we absolutely had to use it.

More News of Jackson as Poe
We've heard tale of this before but we were hoping it would just go away, but apparently a friend of Michael Jackson's tells Access Hollywood that the pale one-gloved singer will portray Edgar Allan Poe in a new movie and will be coached for the role by Marlon Brando.

Gary Pudney, reportedly a longtime pal of Jackson, said Jackson is moving full speed ahead with the movie, called The Nightmare of Edgar Allan Poe, it's the story of the writer's final days.

Toronto Film Festival Lineup
Variety reports the Toronto Film Festival (running from Sept. 5-14) presented its offbeat Midnight Madness slate of pictures. The eight films from six countries include world premieres of SF flick Alive, based on the Tsutomu Takahashi comic book of the same title, from Japan's Ryuhei Kitamura; and Eli Roth's comedy horror picture Cabin Fever.

Other films include the Canadian premiere of Bubba Ho-Tep, from Don Coscarelli (Phantasm), in which Elvis and JFK take on an Egyptian mummy plaguing the residents of their seniors' home. Ho-Tep is based on a Joe R. Lansdale story.

And another is Spun, the first feature from Jonas Akerlund, the Swede who directed Madonna's "Ray of Light," is based on screenwriter Will De Los Santos' drug-fueled life. It includes appearances from Mickey Rourke, Mena Suvari and Deborah Harry.

"[Creator] Joss [Whedon] and I have been talking, talking a lot," Dushku said in an interview. "I'm doing Letterman on Tuesday night, and Tuesday is the day of the decision-making. So I'll have an announcement to make that evening."

Dushku added, "I really love the character, and it's beyond me what Joss could write for her to do, because he's so creative. I can't even imagine. But I trust him so much that I'd be able to jump in [and do] whatever he can spin for me. The whole crossover thing is pretty cool. The shows have gone off in such different directions, but also stayed true, on Angel, to the original concept. It's fun to play on both shows. Angel is a little bit darker. It's on an hour later. It's a little bit more gritty. But they're both really excellent shows."

"We're going to make Midnight Meat Train as a movie," Barker says. "It's one of the films we've got set up for next year. So, hopefully Midnight Meat train will come rolling down a track near you soon. That's one of the exciting things. We're also doing Down, Satan! and a few other fun things. The next three or four years will see shitloads of Barker out there!"

Adrienne Barbeau Update
It's been too long since we had an Adrienne Barbeau update -- according to her official site, she is currently filming The Reckoning with Gary Busey and Michael Worth. It is set in Arizona in the year 1882. This past summer she played Golde in Fiddler on the Roof at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and she recently completed a one hour dramatic pilot for HBO entitled Carnivale.

About Carnivale she says, "I play a snake charmer in a carnival in the dustbowl during the depression. It's a star wars epic set in the thirties with the forces of good and evil represented by carny workers and satanic evangelists."

The site also says the show was picked up as a series and Adrienne begins filming in September.

In case you're new to Really Scary and wonder why the occasional udpates on Ms. Barbeau, here's why: The Fog, Escape From New York, Creepshow, Swamp Thing, Cannibal Women and The Avocado Jungle of Death, Two Evil Eyes, Bram Stoker's Burial of the Rats, The Convent...we can go on, but why? If you haven't seen The Convent yet, go get it!

Really Scary Crew Hit By Horrorfind Weekend
We just got back from the Horrorfind weekend and we are very, very tired. Awesome weekend and as soon as we can see through our bleary eyes again, we'll get right on that weekend report. Damn, and we gotta get our film developed, ok, so it might not be right away but it'll be soon. A ripper snortin' great time, even though we're in a lot of pain...well, maybe it was a great time because we're in a lot of pain.

Destiny's Child Singer Joins Freddy vs. Jason Cast
THR reports Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland has joined the cast of New Line Cinema's Freddy vs. Jason. Rowland will play one of a group of friends who team up to spark a battle between the legendary evildoers Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees. Rowland joins previously announced cast members Brad Renfro and Robert Englund in the film, which is being directed by Ronny Yu and will start shooting Sept. 9 in Vancouver.

No more word on Jason casting since the news that long-time Jason actor Kane Hodder was not being considered.