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Friday, August 30, 2002
Good evening, Mr. & Mrs. Fanboy and all the geeks at sea . . . let's go to press!
More reality TV horrors are on the way to you boob tube. As you may have already heard since it has been reported throughout the media, CBS is planning a reality show version of The Beverly Hillbillies . Yep, CBS no-talent scouts are currently scouring the backwoods looking for the perfect poorly educated, poverty stricken clan to pack up their bags and move to Beverly . . . Hills, that is! Clearly inspired by the success of The Osbournes, the antics of this rags-to-riches family will then be filmed in detail for us, the viewer, to watch on a weekly basis. Note to CBS: There is already a reality program about what happens when white trash falls into the lap of luxury, it's called The Anna Nicole Smith Show! Not to be outdone, Reuters is now reporting that Fox is planning the exact opposite with a reality version of Green Acres . Details on this one are very sketchy, but Fox wants to pack up a very well to do family, possibly that of a famous celebrity, and send them out to the country to find out if farm living is the life for them. Also, while nothing has been heard of the idea for about a year, ABC has been developing a reality version of Fantasy Island. I think I speak for everyone when I say, THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND NOW! ENOUGH ALREADY!
John Carpenter, fresh from making statements in interviews about possibly retiring from film, has told Fangoria that he just going to take a break from filmmaking and already has a comeback film in mind. Before I go any further, I have to ask one question? If you're already planning a "comeback" film, are you really going away? That's like saying that James Cameron's next movie will be a "comeback" film. Anyway, Carpenter has told Fangoria he wants to remake the Jacques Tourneau's 1957 cult classic CURSE OF THE DEMON. In even stranger Carpenter news, Creature Corner has posted a very odd story about the possibility of a remake of/sequel to THE FOG. Long story short, Universal Studios wanted to make a direct-to-video sequel much like the TREMORS sequels they've made. John Carpenter and Debra Hill, who co-own the rights to the film, have been pitching an idea for a $30 million theatrical remake. Hey, how long until someone decides to remake THE THING again?
I've been forgetting to mention this next story for over a week, but better late than never. Scott O'Grady, the U.S. Air Force pilot who became a national hero in 1995 after he survived being shot down behind enemy lines in Bosnia, is suing 20th Century Fox, the producers of last year's action flick BEHIND ENEMY LINES (Or as I called it – IRON EAGLE 5) which was a thinly veiled, highly dumbed down version of his real-life ordeal. O'Grady, who is a devout Christian, is suing for damages not only because the film so closely mirrored his own experiences that it has damaged the commercial value of his own true story, but also because he's upset that people will assume that he is like the profanity-spewing, gung-ho pilot portrayed by Owen Wilson who gets shot down due to his own reckless behavior. O'Grady's lawsuit charges invasion of privacy through the misappropriation of his name, likeness and identity, false representation and false advertising, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy and seeks all the movie and television show profits, triple damages, legal fees and "an additional amount the court considers just." 20th Century Fox, not surprisingly, has no comment.
Good news for those of you who have been waiting to see Rob Zombie's HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, Lion's Gate Films have picked up the rights to the film and plan to release it theatrically in early 2003. I've never seen so many people so hung up on seeing a movie that doesn't even have very good word of mouth from those who have actually seen it. Hopefully this one will prove to have been worth the wait.
–Scott Foy
posted by Christopher 8:59 PM | Comments
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
The DVD new release list has been updated.
posted by Christopher 12:13 PM | Comments
Well the Internet rumors are true, according to www.halloweenmovies.com, the producers of AMC's Backstory HAVE found some 15 minutes of behind the scenes production footage (including shots of Carpenter directing Donald Pleasance and interviews with both the now retired director and his late Cult Movie Icon star). The footage will be seen first on the AMC Backstory special running during Monsterfest, whether it makes into the 25th Anniversary disc Anchor Bay is doing for Halloween remains to be seen.
Danny (HorrorVision) Draven's recent team up with Full Moon (and Stuart Gordon), entitled Deathbed (an 'intimate haunting of a young couple'), seems to be his last. The low budget filmmaker and his company, Darkworld Productions, are moving on, just like David DeCoteau and J.R. Brookwalter did not too long ago. I hope that deal Full Moon has with William Shatner doesn't go south, he looks to be all they have left. Draven's first solo production is CYBERVAMPS. The DVD release of Deathbed will be double-billed with the first-time-on-DVD release of the Director's Cut of Gordon's Castle Freak.
Draven and Stuart Gordon will be appearing at the Friday the 13th Frightfest on Friday (duh), September 13th at the Historic (and haunted!) Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, 630 S. Broadway. Admission is $8.00 (proceeds benefiting both the filmmakers AND Columbia College Chicago's alumni). Two other features, the serial killer flick Dahmer and the short subject The Music of Erich Zann, will be screened as well.
While I'm speaking of Full Moon alumni, David DeCoteau's Rapid Heart Pictures is currently lensing their first nature run amok movie, titled Leeches! Leeches also features the company's largest budget to date, for what that's worth. There's a heap o' beefcake shots in Rapid Heart's galleries (www.rapidheart.com) and some token head shots of the female lead and a shot or two of the leeches themselves. After Leeches the pre-sold at MIFED Voodoo Academy 2 will get rolling, look for a 2003 release.
That's all well and fine, but what does Rapid Heart have for us NOW? Well the company just wrapped Wolves of Wall Street, the story of sexy young stockbrokers by day/seductive werewolves by night (typing descriptions like THAT make me love doing these reports). The thriller stars Eric Roberts, William Gregory Lee, Elisa Donovan, Michael Bergin, Jason Shane Scott, and Bradley Stryker (any relation to Jeff?). Louise Lasser makes a cameo (I thought she was dead) and Harry Manfredini is composing the score. The Brotherhood 3: Young Demons, which is described as Night of the Demons meets Lord of the Rings (ouch!), debuts from RH on September 3rd and a letterboxed edition of Final Stab (which is just what I was holding out for) hits shelves late in November.
On the mainstream side of the river, Cinescape reports that Brett (Rush Hour 1 and 2) Ratner is now looking at the 'red hot' Superman: Man of Steel script by J.J. Abrams as a possible follow-up to the good-buzz-getting Red Dragon. Many will breathe easier knowing that McG has seemingly left the project building, frankly I never understood what the fuss was all about anyway.
More news as I find it,
–Chad H. "Chadzilla" Saxelid
posted by Christopher 8:18 AM | Comments
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Good evening, Mr. & Mrs Fanboy and all the geeks at sea, let's go to press . . .
We begin in the world of television where the FOX Network seems hellbent on finding someway to top the wretchedness of such horrors as Celebrity Boxing and Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire? This time, it comes in the form of Celebrity Boot Camp. Remember that Survivor rip-off where contestants competed to survive military training? Well, Ain't It Cool News reports that it is coming back with an all-star line-up:
• Traci Bingham (Ex-Baywatch Babe & Playboy Playmate)
• Coolio (Remember when he was the hottest musical act in the country for all of 5 minutes?)
• David Faustino (Married With Children's very own Bud Bundy)
• Kato Kaelin (Professional houseguest and America's favorite perjuror)
• Lorenzo Lamas (A man who needs no introduction!)
• Fabrice Morvan (The still living member of Milli Vanilli)
• Tiffany (I guess Playboy didn't jump start that stalled music career like she hoped)
• Vitamin C (Maybe she should consider doing a Playboy spread?)
• Barry Williams (Of Brady Bunch and "I got my ass kicked by Danny Bonaduce" fame!)
• Nikki Schieler Ziering (Playboy Playmate & Price Is Right Beauty)
This not a joke! Do any of these people even qualify as celebrities? How many people out there actually have a clue who the hell Nikki Schieler Ziering is? FOX is going to spend big bucks on this show and, sadly, it will probably do big ratings.
Wait, it gets worse! MCGYVER: THE MOVIE?!?! Yep, as has been reported on various news sites online, New Line Cinema is currently developing a big screen feature about the '80s TV action-adventure show. The question remains, who will play the title role and will The Simpsons' Patty & Selma approve?
So I'm channel surfing the other day and stumble upon a story about 9-11 movies that are currently in the works on FOX News. Mostly documentaries and such, but just as I was about to change the channel, the anchor uttered the name I revile more than any other in this world – Dean Devlin. According to this reporter, Devlin is currently penning the sequel to INDEPENDENCE DAY and he quotes Devlin as saying that the sequel will be "based on the events of September 11th." Unfortunately, they did not elaborate on that any further as I would sure as hell loved to know just what exactly that means. In the sequel, are the aliens going return and simply crash their gigantic spaceships into major cities? Will there be surviving aliens hiding out on Earth committing terrorist acts against humanity? Has Dean Devlin seen SIGNS and, if so, does he realize just what an utterly insipid film ID4 really was? Dean Devlin trying to write anything is bad enough, but trying to employ 9-11 into a sequel to a movie that was a moronic popcorn film at best . . . well . . . nothing good will come from this. Remember, this is the same Dean Devlin who was hired by Disney to pen a screenplay for a live action movie version of their TV cartoon Gargoyles and when they finally got his screenplay several months later, it got tossed in the garbage immediately because not only did it have nothing to do with the cartoon, it only had one gargoyle in it! But enough of this rant.
Coming out on DVD today is WOLFHOUND, which is brought to us by the fine folks at Roger Corman's New Concorde, the same movie production company that has given us the CARNOSAUR trilogy and numerous Maria Ford film fare. "After returning to his family's ancestral Irish home, a young man discovers a village populated by humans with the ability to change into animals. When he finds that he has passionate feelings for a woman who is able to assume the form of a wolf, he suddenly must choose between his family and a lifestyle far different than any he thought he would lead." If you think it's a horror movie or a monster movie, well, guess again! There are two different versions of this movie, R-rated and unrated. The unrated version is 6 minutes longer and it ain't for gore! Yep, this is an "erotic thriller." The only name star is the lead's love interest played by Playboy Playmate of the Year for 1995, Julie Lynn Cialini. 1995? Talk about not striking while the iron is hot! Still, something tells me you're going to see plenty of her AND I MEAN PLENTY OF HER in this movie, especially in those extra 6 minutes. Personally, I want to see what kind of werewolf effects the same people who designed the Carnosaur came up with. Naked were-Playmate or not, the make-up effects alone may be worth the rental price.
Finally today we have something a little more on the lighter side, assuming you don't live in Central Florida. Remember the 1957 Bert I. Gordon giant mutant grasshopper movie BEGINNING OF THE END? Well, they may not be super-sized and they may not be a threat to civilization as we know it, but there are mutant grasshoppers on the rampage in Central Florida! Read about it yourself. Where's Peter Graves when you need him?
–Scott Foy
posted by Christopher 10:19 AM | Comments
Monday, August 26, 2002
Doris Wishman's final film to be completed
According to the obituary at Ms. Wishman's official web site:
"[Wishman] had only finished principal photography on what was to be her magnum opus, Each Time I Kill. Sources close to the production say that that film will be completed at Wishman’s request and should begin appearing at festivals within the next several months."
posted by Christopher 4:30 PM | Comments
Despite a so-so performance at the box office (which was a surprise, given the generally positive response from critics), Eight-Legged Freaks has been scheduled for an October 29 DVD release, less than four months after its theatrical run. Obviously, Warner Bros. is hoping that the film will get its (ahem) legs on DVD. The disc will contain commentary by star David Arquette and Director/Co-Writer Ellory Elkayem, as well as an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and Elkayem's short film Larger Than Life, which inspired the feature film.
posted by Christopher 12:51 PM | Comments
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