Really Scary: Horror Movie News, Video Games, Comics, Books, Music, Art and TV

Summit Picks Up Rights to The Conjuring

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Variety reports Summit Entertainment paid mid- against high-six figures for The Conjuring, a thriller pitch from the writer brothers Chad and Carey Hayes.

Deal comes with life rights to the Perron family, whose experiences in their Rhode Island home informs the film, and Ed and Lorraine Warren, experts in paranormal activities who investigated and battled the activities occurring in the Perron household and did the same in the cases that inspired The Amityville Horror and The Haunting in Connecticut.

The bidding was reportedly aggressive, with New Line and Screen Gems also in the mix.

Ving Rhames Joins Richard Dreyfuss in Piranha 3D!

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:43:00 +0000

EurNews reports Ving Rhames returns to the big screen in Dimension Films' upcoming Piranha 3D, a remake of the 1978 film that followed the accidental release of a genetically-altered species of piranha into lakes, rivers and even swimming pools.

Rhames joins Richard Dreyfuss, Elisabeth Shue and Adam Scott in the film. Director Alexandre Aja starts shooting next month in Arizona for release next March.

Nightmare on Elm Street in Chicago 'Burbs

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Students at two Chicago suburban high schools will have the chance be in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, according to the Daily Herald.

New Line Cinema wants to use Elk Grove High School and Hersey High School in Arlington Heights for an upcoming remake of the classic horror movie, said Elk Grove High Principal Nancy Holman.

"They contacted, I think, schools all over the nation," she said, adding that New Line was looking for a site that had a pool. In addition to the pool, the film will show the exterior of the building, she said. Filming will include students swimming in the pool, with students auditioning for the chance.

For those looking for a few more filming bits of info, apparently 200 students would be needed for an outdoor scene and only boys would be needed for the pool scene.

Universal Remaking Videodrome - Worst Idea Ever?

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Universal Pictures will remake the 1983 David Cronenberg-directed Videodrome, with Ehren Kruger set to write the script and produce with partner Daniel Bobker.

According to Variety, the producers tracked down the rights to Canadian distribution vet Rene Malo, who will be exec producer. Universal distributed the original and had first refusal on a remake, and the studio snapped up the opportunity.

The original starred James Woods as the head of Civic TV Channel 83, who makes his station relevant by programming "Videodrome," a series that depicts torture and murder that transfixes viewers.

The new picture will modernize the concept with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller. Cronenberg has no role in the film as yet.

We're not crazy about this idea. The original is classic horror noir. If a movie has been made into a DVD by Criterion, then you should probably leave it alone.

Just Because We Like Typing Alien Mother & Rednecks

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Variety reports David R. Ellis has been tapped to direct Humpty Dumpty, a 3-D sci-fi horror pic is about a half-human, half-alien creature who embarks on a murderous rampage after his alien mother is abused by two rednecks in the Deep South.

Dimension Films Picks Up Rights to Audrey's Door

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Variety reports Dimension Films has bought feature rights to Sarah Langan's yet-to-be published horror novel "Audrey's Door" in a preemptive purchase.

Story centers on a young architect who, after breaking off her engagement, finds the perfect Manhattan apartment. She begins to lose her grip on reality and finds herself battling the building's ghosts as well as the cultish tenants, forcing her to build a door that will connect to a nightmarish netherworld. HarperCollins will publish "Audrey's Door" in September.

Handful of Horror Movies Hitting Cannes Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:03:00 +0000

A handful of horror flicks look to be making debuts at the upcoming Cannes film festival. Variety reports an almost certain midnight attraction will be Sam Raimi's horror-thriller "Drag Me to Hell," starring Justin Long and Alison Lohman. This was reportedly very well received in incomplete form at the recent SXSW Film Festival.

Cannes regular Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" will also hit screens. Antichrist stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple who retreat to a secluded forest cabin after the death of their son.

South Korea will be heavily represented this year. "The Host" director Bong's "Mother," a thriller about a woman's attempt to determine who framed her antisocial son for a ghastly murder, and "Oldboy" helmer Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" a vampire tale about a small-town priest transformed into a neck-biter by a medical experiment gone wrong.

Gaiman Wins Newberry Medal for Graveyard Book

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Variety reports comicbook legend and author Neil Gaiman received the John Newberry Medal for his contribution to children's literature for his tome "The Graveyard Book." The story of an orphan raised by ghosts was singled out by the American Library Assn. for its "delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing."

Gaiman's recent screen credits include the upcoming "Caroline" and the screenplay for "Beowulf," which he also produced. He also wrote the novel "Stardust," which was adapted for the screen in 2007 at Paramount starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes and Robert DeNiro.

Gaiman is best known for this work on DC/Vertigo's "Sandman" series, which has sparked interest in Hollywood since the late '90s. He's currently working on a bigscreen makeover of Vertigo Comic's "Death: The High Cost of Living."

First Look at Rob Zombie's Michael from His Next Halloween Flick

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Rob Zombie has popped up a few preliminary shots at the Michael Myers look being created for his Halloween sequel coming up later this year. Check them out at Rob's My Space page.

Warriors, Come Out and Plaa-aay!

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Comics distributor Diamond reports Mezco Toyz gets one of your favorite gangs ready to "come out to play" with their deluxe 9" figure format. These are due out in March with a suggested retail price of $40.

The lineup includes Baseball Fury (pictured here), a soldier from a bizarre gang whose turf is the Upper West Side, who comes with a baseball bat; Cyrus, the leader of the the Gramercy Riffs, most powerful gang in New York; Ajax, the cocky, loud-mouthed thug up for a fight, that comes with handcuffs; and Swan, the Warchief and second-in-command of the Warriors, who comes with a switchblade and Molotov Cocktail.

Jonah Hex New Director Named

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:39:00 +0000

The Hollywood Reporter says Jimmy Hayward, who directed the animated Horton Hears a Who! will make his live-action debut with Jonah Hex, the Warner Bros. weird western based on the DC Comics character.

Josh Brolin is attached to star in the film, which previously had Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor ("Crank") on board as directors. The duo, who also wrote the script, bowed out over creative differences in November. The studio, which hopes to put the movie into production in March or April, went on a fast-track search, putting together a short list that included such names as Andy Fickman and McG before narrowing it down to Hayward.

The character of Hex, known for having the right side of his face disfigured and wearing a Confederate army uniform, was a rough-and-tumble gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter whose adventures always ended in blood. One incarnation of his comic book series saw the Western genre combined with supernatural elements, and it's this aspect that was featured in Neveldine and Taylor's script. The studio will likely keep the script, though it's expected that Hayward will put his stamp on it.

The Night Projectionist Going from Comic to Film

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Variety reports Myriad Pictures is reteaming with comicbook publisher Studio 407 to bring the horror series The Night Projectionist to the bigscreen.

"Projectionist" marks the second title produced under Studio 407's first-look deal with Myriad -- the first being the comicbook Hybrid, which is tentatively scheduled to begin production later this year.

Projectionist's story takes place on Halloween Eve in a small-town movie theater, where an all-night Draculathon draws throngs of moviegoers who suddenly find themselves locked inside the theater, which is slowly filling with vampires.

Myriad's horror credits include Jeepers Creepers 2. The first issue of The Night Projectionist miniseries will hit shelves in February.

Laurie Strode In Rob Zombie's Halloween Sequel H2?

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:44:00 +0000

Bloody-Disgusting reports Rob Zombie added a little tease on his official MySpace page that confirms Laurie Strode's return in H2, his sequel to his remake of Halloween. "What is Laurie Strode doing this year for Halloween?," the shock-rocker director writes. No official word on whether or not Strode will once again be played by Scout Taylor-Compton, but we're told by a source that she'll be back. Being written and directed by Zombie, the new film picks up right as the first remake ended, following the aftermath of Michael Myers' murderous rampage through the eyes of the sister he hunted.

Castlevania Movie Update from Paul W.S. Anderson

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Speaking with IGN (via SFLuxe), director Paul W.S. Anderson (Death Race, Resident Evil) gave an update on the status of Castlevania, the upcoming action-horror flick based on the popular Konami video game series.

Anderson, who is writing and producing the movie, says he still plans on making it, but last year's Writers Guild strike and a potential Screen Actors Guild strike have put the project on hold.

"It's a project that everybody likes. I love the videogame. I think the script is really strong. Everyone is really enthusiastic about it, but we’re still in the process of deciding when the movie gets shot," Anderson explained.

Sylvain White, who helmed Stomp the Yard and the direct-to-disc sequel I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, is still attached to direct Castlevania.

Anderson also says a fourth Resident Evil is definitely in the cards. He is currently writing the script.

Horror Movies 2009: Drag Me to Hell, My Bloody Valentine, Wolfman, Piranha & more.

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Film.com wrote up a list of their most anticipated horror movies of 2009. The list includes a lot sequel and remakes. Unfortunately looks like next year in horror might not be much better than this year was in horror. A couple that we've pinned our hopes to though include Sam Raimi's return to horror with Drag Me to Hell. Won't be the tiny Evil Dead type budget to be sure but this is Raimi and we're still optimistic.

3-D is making a comeback of a sort with My Bloody Valentine remake (in 3-D), Final Destination 4 (in 3-D) and Piranha 3-D. That's a lot of funny-lookin' glasses wearing. My Bloody Valentine and Piranha are '80s remakes, although with Alexandra Aja on Piranha, that could be campy goodness. The Joe Dante original was camp and hopefully this one will be too.

But Really Scary's most anticipated horror flick of 2009 has to be The Wolfman, starring Benecio Del Toro. He is the wolfman. That said, Nicholson's turn at it in Wolf was god awful and we thought he was born for the part. We'll see how it goes.

Check out Film.com's list here.

Guillermo del Toro Signs Vampire Book Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:18:00 +0000

Variety reports Guillermo del Toro has signed a publishing deal with HarperCollins imprint William Morrow to pen a trilogy of vampire thrillers with Chuck Hogan. First book, "The Strain," hits bookstores next summer. Story will revolve around an invasion of New York City by a vampiric virus. Series will trace the roots of the vampiric race back to its Old Testament origins.

Del Toro is currently readying to direct New Line and MGM's "The Hobbit," to which he has committed the next five years. He's essentially booked through 2017, attached to helm a remake of "Frankenstein," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and "Slaughterhouse-Five" at Universal, as well as "Drood," based on Dan Simmons' novel.

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noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:09:00 +0000

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Kirsten Dunst's A Jealous Ghost Taps Director

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:11:00 +0000

Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego is attached to direct the Paramount Vantage project "A Jealous Ghost," which Kirsten Dunst is starring in and producing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Screenwriter Megan Holley, who adapted the A.N. Wilson novel, is doing another short pass on the script before it goes into production.

Wilson's 2005 novel describes a young American woman who travels to London to write a dissertation on Henry James' classic ghost tale, "The Turn of the Screw," only to find that her own circumstances begin to reflect the strange happenings of the story.

The Dead Matter Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:46:00 +0000

From the team that brought us some of our favorite horror music, Midnight Syndicate now brings us The Dead Matter, a new movie starring Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster), Jason Carter (Angel) and Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Grindhouse). Check out the just released trailer here: http://www.t3nth1rtyone.com/

Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train to Debut on FearNet

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:18:00 +0000

Midnight Meat Train, based on the Clive Barker story, will debut on the FearNet On Demand channel. FearNet debuted Catacombs last year. Barker will host the showing, premiering Oct. 1 on VOD and online Oct. 30, the second anniversary of the network. "Meat Train," which stars Brooke Shields, Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones and Roger Bart, is a psychological thriller about a New York photographer who attempts to track down a serial killer.

Children of the Corn Remake Finishes Casting

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:50:00 +0000

THR reports Sci Fi Channel is finishing up the cast of its Children of the Corn remake, with David Anders, Kandyse McClure, Preston Bailey and Daniel Newman coming aboard the two-hour telefilm.

The movie, based on the Stephen King novel, features Anders (NBC's "Heroes") and McClure (Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica") as Burt and Vicky, a couple with marital problems whose attempt at a second-honeymoon driving trip ends up taking them into a seemingly deserted rural community that conceals a grim secret among its rows of tall corn. Bailey (Showtime's "Dexter") plays boy preacher Isaac, while Newman (NBC's "Surface") plays his rebellious right-hand man Malachai. The movie, set to air next year, is shooting in and around Davenport, Iowa. Donald P. Borchers is directing from his own script.

Director On for Poltergeist Remake?

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:46:00 +0000

THR says Vadim Perelman is in negotiations to develop MGM's Poltergeist remake as a potential directing gig. The deal would bring the helmer together with writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, who were hired last week to revamp the 1982 classic.

The original, a haunted-house movie full of literalized children's nightmares, was directed by Tobe Hooper from a script co-written by Steven Spielberg. The film's exploration of an ordinary family's reaction to an extraordinarily intense situation likely appealed to Perelman, who delved into similar dynamics in his debut, 2003's "House of Sand and Fog," and last year's "The Life Before Her Eyes."

The Ukraine-born Perelman, who is repped by CAA and Rumble Media, once was attached to Spielberg's endlessly developing "Talisman" project, adapted from the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel. Bloody-Disgusting.com first reported this possibility last week.

Warners Push Back Harry Potter Release

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:30:00 +0000

THR reports in a surprise move, Warner Bros. has moved the release date of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from Nov. 21 to July 17. Warners president Alan Horn blamed last winter's 100-day WGA strike in large part for the shift.

"We are still feeling the repercussions of the writers strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films -- changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of," Horn said. "We agreed the best strategy was to move 'Half-Blood Prince' to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tentpole release for midsummer."

Warners had hoped to have a franchise-launching movie based on the "Justice League of America" comic book ready for next summer, but the project was shelved indefinitely during the WGA strike.

The studio said it will release a two-movie adaptation of the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," as planned. "Deathly Hallows: Part I" is set to hit Nov. 19, 2010.

Maneater Heads Into Preproduction

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:39:00 +0000

THR reports actor-producer Michael Emanuel is in preproduction on the thriller "Maneater." Emanuel, a film and TV actor who has appeared on "ER" and "The Nine," co-wrote the script with John K. Anderson and will make the film his directorial debut. Eric Lewald ("Trollz") is executive producing.

"Maneater" tells the story of an FBI profiler-turned-small-town sheriff who begins investigating a series of mysterious murders only to discover that the monster he's profiling might be himself.

"It's a story that was told to me by an old Native American back in the late '70s," Emanuel said. "It's based on the Western Ojibwa (Chippewa) legend of the Windigo."

The Dark Knight Breaks Box Office Records

noreply@blogger.com (Really Scary) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:36:00 +0000

A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" has taken in $155.34 million to top "Spider-Man 3" for best opening weekend ever at the box office. Heath Ledger as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman are breaking box office records with "The Dark Knight."

The figures released Sunday show "The Dark Knight" more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for "Spider-Man 3" in May 2007. Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says "The Dark Knight" also broke the "Spider-Man 3" record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. "Spider-Man 3" opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.