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Friday, April 25, 2003
Chadzilla's News Roundup for April 25, 2003
Well Resident Evil 2 is a go (I guess since Star Trek: Nemesis was a no-go at the box office, they felt that title Resident Evil: Nemesis would be bad for the dollars as well). Second Unit Director Alexander Witt has signed on to direct the script by Paul W.S. Anderson. The plot picks up where the first film ended, with Alice (Milla Jovovich) leading a rag tag group of survivors out of zombie-infested Raccoon City. Shooting is scheduled to begin this August in Toronto.
Character Actor-turned-Director William Butler is currently in Romania lensing his thriller MADHOUSE with star Lance Henriksen (who just finished up starring in Mimic: Sentinel, also shot in Romania). An entertaining blurb at the Fangoria website had Butler claiming that paranormal activity on the set is so bad that an exorcism is being performed. Uh, yeah....
The Fangoria site also has the official press release plot description of Gothika, the upcoming Halloween release from Dark Castle Productions (Ghost Ship, 13 Ghosts, and The House on Haunted Hill). Halle Berry awakens to find herself an inmate in her own insane asylum, accused of killing her husband (Charles S. Dutton). As she struggles to find out what really happened, she must do battle with a vengeful spirit and her own weakening sanity. Sounds like a DTV thriller that lucked into nabbing some bankable stars.
Misty Mundae's website announced the release of her latest thriller, Dr. Jekyll and Mistress Hyde. I can't really type the plot description without laughing, but you can read it here. Evidently there is a limited, numbered 2 disc Collector's Edition with a behind the scenes documentary and other goodies (besides Misty, that is). WHERE IS THAT TAX RETURN!?!
Mundae's website is also offering up fresh 8X10 photos for sale, at a reasonable price.
A recent Yahoo report offers up some stuff to look forward to, especially the August 5th Halloween 25th Anniversary Edition. Anchor Bay has secured rights to the Criterion commentary, an expanded AMC Backstory on the movie, and more to be announced. Oh, yeah...and Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 1 and 2 are coming out in a two-for-one disc.
–Chad H. "Chadzilla" Saxelid
posted by Christopher 1:45 PM | Comments
FoyWonder's News Roundup for April 25, 2003
What do werewolf-hunting thug rappers, British tabloid rumors, and two separate studios making virtually the exact same film with the exact same title have in common? Nothing other than that they are all part of today’s update.
It’s BLADE with werewolves…and rap music! Or would that be blues music? According to The Hollywood Reporter, rapper turned wannabe action star DMX has signed on to star in a movie where he would play a mysterious blues musician out to rid the world of werewolves. As it turns out, the last of whom are living it up amongst the rich and famous and drug addicted in the Hollywood Hills. And what is the catchy title of this movie? Why its called WEREWOLF. That’s it, just WEREWOLF. That’s the best they could come up with. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with that old Fox series with the same generic name. If you need further proof that this movie may suck, it will be the American directorial debut of Dario Piano, an Italian commercial director known mostly for directing flashy Ferrari spots. Joy.
Marvel Comics’ vice president told Fangoria the following in regards to the upcoming MAN-THING movie, which will soon begin filming in Australia. I don’t know why exactly but reading those remarks caused an alarm to go off in my head that told me this movie might bypass theaters and end up going straight to video.
To cover five tidbits quickly: Patrick Stewart has gone on the record stating he thinks The Next Generation crew is done making STAR TREK movies. Talk about not going out on a high note. Jennifer Lopez is rumored to be the next AUSTIN POWERS girl when the fourth movie in the series shoots. I think it would be funnier if they got Cartman’s hand instead. Alicia Silverstone has signed on to bring her special brand of non-acting to the cast of the SCOOBY DOO sequel by playing a reporter. That should sell an extra, what, four or five tickets? Warner Brothers reportedly plans to once again try and coax Josh Hartnett into playing the Man of Steel if and when they get the SUPERMAN production back up and running. Just let it die already. Guillermo Del Toro has told Ain’t It Cool News that he will not be remaking CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON after all. Quoting Harry Knowles, “For him, the black & white CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is the Creature he wants to see for the rest of his life.” Wow! At least one person in Hollywood has a brain cell.
I don’t know just who this Holly Valance girl is but either the British tabloids are desperate to make her a star or she has a publicist with one hell of an imagination. So now not only will she not be co-starring in that STREET FIGHTER sequel, she will not be replacing Sarah Michelle Geller as the new Buffy, which had been reported earlier this week in a British tabloid. At this rate, I expect to hear her name mentioned to play SUPERMAN any day now.
Dueling FIRST DAUGHTERs? Filmjerk reports that Katie Holmes, who is probably still smarting from getting passed over for Charlotte Church in the big screen musical version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, will star in the romantic drama FIRST DAUGHTER. The film is about the President’s 18-year old daughter who goes away to college and demands that she not be tailed by the Secret Service. Her father agrees but secretly puts in place a young agent to go undercover at the school to keep an eye on her. Guess what? Yep, they fall in love. Yawn. The movie will be directed by a slumming Forest Whitaker and the screenplay was written by (Are you sitting down?) Jerry O’Connell! Jerry O’Connell is writing screenplays now? These truly are the end times! If that wasn’t bad enough, another studio is prepping a romantic drama also called FIRST DAUGHTER, in which pop tart Mandy Moore plays the President’s 18-year old daughter who ditches the Secret Service to go on a romantic road trip in Europe with her boyfriend. Okay, so did Jerry O’Connell steal somebody else’s idea or did somebody else actually lower himself or herself to plagiarizing Jerry O’Connell? Doesn’t matter because they both sound equally lame.
According to Creature Corner, Warner Brothers did some sort of chat regarding future DVD releases and announced some titles the studio is planning DVDs for that are sure to delight b-movie fans. The titles slated for DVD releases from WB include THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, THE BLACK SCORPION, VALLEY OF GWANGI, Tod Browning’s FREAKS, THE LOST BOYS, DEMON SEED, and the IT’S ALIVE trilogy. There was also a mention of more Hammer films being released but no specific titles were mentioned. No timetable for release was announced either as all of these DVDs are still in the very early stages of development.
Speaking of Creature Corner, I have yet another review up this week of a new monster movie called DEADLY SPECIES that you should pretty much go out of your way to avoid. Find out why here.
–Scott Foy
posted by Christopher 12:00 PM | Comments
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Chadzilla's News Roundup for April 24, 2003
David DeCoteau's Rapid Heart productions is tickled to announce that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will be releasing FINAL STAB in the sell-through market nationwide. Also their Fast and The Furious clone SPEED DEMON will be released (widescreen format) in November. The best news on their website is that LEECHES will hit Blockbuster and other video outlets on August 26! Their WOLVES OF WALL STREET will hit shelves "just in time for Halloween." Retromedia will be releasing DeCoteau's NIGHTMARE SISTERS (the 1987 release is supposed to be a cult classic, of sorts) with all the DVD extras - commentary, bloopers, trailers, and more! For those who are more interested in DeCoteau's gay films, www.tlavideo.com is releasing his festival hit LEATHER JACKET LOVE STORY with, you guessed it, commentary and some additional sexier footage. On the business end, Rapid Heart has opened offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba to utilize Canadian crews for movies and TV programming for the "international marketplace". They are also planning Rapid Heart Extreme, promising extra sexy and twisted shockers in R rated and Unrated variations.
Danny Draven is pleased to announce that his newest thriller, DARKWALKER, will be hitting shelves on May 20th. Draven's website store is offering the film's poster and an original motion picture soundtrack at its store. Check it out! Buy something and you'll get a free DARKWORLD PICTURES pen, too! Coolness!
KINGDOM HOSPITAL, the Stephen King scripted adaptation of Lars Von Trier's cult classic The Kingdom mini-series, has been delayed until January 2004. The reasons? King wants to finish all 13 scripts prior to filming and director Craig (Rose Red) Baxley is currently finishing up the Red prequel, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer.
Fangoria is also posting up a guest list for its L.A. convention. Stuart Gordon will be hyping his thriller KING OF THE ANTS. Screaming Mad George (man, that name seemed so cool in the 80s) will be showing off his contributions to BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR. The thriller THE LAST PATIENT will be previewed. William Lustig will unveil Blue Underground's upcoming releases. The best news is that legendary character actor MAKO will be hanging around as well. Convention vet Reggie (Phantasm) Bannister, director David (I Drink Your Blood) Durston, Kathleen (BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR) Kinmont, and b-movie legend Lynn (IDYB, The Crazies, Shivers) Lowry are also promising to be on hand. You can find ticket info here.
As a last tidbit, Fangoria reports that Man-Thing is rolling this summer, down in Australia.
–Chad H. "Chadzilla" Saxelid
posted by Christopher 7:45 AM | Comments
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
New stuff for b-movie fans
Over the weekend, Stomp Tokyo (with which badmovies.net is affiliated) announced two new projects which should give b-movie fans a bit of a tingle:
Giant Monster Movies is a site devoted to the gargantuan creatures we know and love -- all types, not just the Japanese kaiju or atomic monsters of the '50s, although those are certainly included. The first features to go live are:
- a news section on the front page, which will feature the latest news about giant monster movies coming down the pike
- a growing database of giant monster movies which will eventually include every film of this type ever made (110 entries and growing!), including filmographic information, a synopsis, and links to help you find the movies on video
- a new forum on the B-Movie Message Board devoted to researching the more obscure examples of the art form
The second project is a move out of the web sphere and into the more traditional world of print. B-Movies Quarterly is a magazine whose subject matter should be obvious, but the contents will be substantially different from the usual let's-review-a-movie web site format. Among the articles in the first issue:
- The animal actors of Willard (both versions)
- Reel Science in the Real World
- A new installment of everyone's favorite advice column, Ask Maggot!
Check out the web site for BMQ at www.b-movies.org, where you'll be able to pre-order the first issue for a paltry $2. Issue #1 of B-Movies Quarterly is due out at the end of May.
posted by Christopher 7:48 AM | Comments
Dawn of the Dead redux, Starship Troopers 2
Dark Horizons reports that the remake of Dawn of the Dead will commence filming in Canada in June. Proposed malls to be used will either be Eaton Centre (Eaton, get it?) or the Warden Woods Mall.
Special effects artist Phil Tippet will start shooting up Starship Troopers 2 (which has DTV written into its budget) on May 15.
–Chad H. "Chadzilla" Saxelid
posted by Christopher 6:59 AM | Comments
Monday, April 21, 2003
FoyWonder's News Roundup for April 21, 2003
Hope you had a Happy Easter or Passover. Here are some rotten eggs the Easter Bunny left behind.
To correct two things reported last week that have since proven to be false, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRODINARY GENTLEMEN’s title will be staying as is and has not been shortened to just simply THE LEAGUE. Thank God. Also, it turns out a SCARY MOVIE 4 will not be rushed into production after all. In fact, a fourth installment in the franchise isn’t even in the works at this time. Seems a lot of internet movie sites got duped on that one. However, Variety has confirmed that Leslie Nielsen has joined the cast of SCARY MOVIE 3. Considering Nielsen’s past experience with horror movie spoofage, REPOSSESSED and DRACULA: DEAD & LOVING IT, I think SCARY MOVIE 3 will complete the trifecta of bad horror spoofs for him.
If Britney Spears can be a movie star than why not Christina Aguilera? Well, the pop princess-turned-trashbag-ho will be making her movie debut in something called THE MAGIC ISLES. According to Ananova, it’s from the producers of BILLY ELLIOT and is about a young Scottish boy who wants to get into drama school. I’m assuming that Aguilera won’t be playing the young Scottish boy. Sean Connery is also supposed to have a small role in the film. I’m guessing he doesn’t play the young Scottish boy either.
HOUSE OF THE DEAD director Uwe Boll is already in pre-production on his movie adaptation of the video game ALONE IN THE DARK. Even though his movie version of the video game HOUSE OF THE DEAD has yet to even find a distributor in the United States, apparently it sold well enough internationally at the American Film Market that he was able to get funding for this one. If it ends up being anything like what word of mouth on HOUSE OF THE DEAD says that one is like, then we should expect ALONE IN THE DARK to have virtually nothing in common with the game, look very cheap, have astonishingly bad actors, utterly inept writing, and just be downright awful in every sense of the word. Oh, don’t forget it will also have scenes from the video game awkwardly inserted into the movie itself. Filming begins in Vancouver this July.
Kung Fu Cinema has an interview with Jean Claude Van Damme in which he mentions the forthcoming STREETFIGHTER 2. Regarding the original movie, he actually says the following. “It is one of the finest movies of my career.” The sad thing is I think he may very well be the only person alive who feels that way.
Is the world ready for the first all-gay slasher film? According to Fangoria, one is one the way. The film currently is without a title but we do know the plot. "On Halloween morning in a West Hollywood park, two guys’ makeout session is interrupted by a serial killer with a fondness for severed heads. Later that night, a group of gay kids celebrate the holiday with a visit to the site of the murders. Unfortunately for the boys, the killer never left the murder scene. After a close encounter with the slasher in the woods, the friends escape to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival. There, the guys search for the simple pleasures of youth—drugs, booze and boyfriends—unaware that the shadowy killer stalks them through the street party crowds. The boys have to fight to keep their lives and their heads."Other than the homosexual theme of the movie it just sounds like a run-of-the-mill slasher pic. The only thing really shocking here is that David DeCoteau isn’t directing.
Fangoria also talks of a new sci-fi horror/comedy called DECOYS. It’s being described as AMERICAN PIE meets SPECIES. The premise is simple. Gorgeous alien babes needing to repopulate their species arrive on Earth and head straight for a college campus loaded with horny, young men. The only catch is that the guys are the ones who have to carry the babies. The $5 million production is made up mostly of unknowns with the exception of Nicole Eggert, who plays a police detective. Geez, she’s not even getting the hot babe roles anymore. Says a lot about how far down her career has gone. Then again, it never really went that far up unless you count THE DEMOLITIONIST as a career-making movie.
Finally today, I’ve got two new reviews up today. The first one is at Creature Corner and, believe it or not, it’s actually a relatively positive review for a nifty little direct-to-video flick called DESPISER. You can check it out here. The other is over at Ain’t It Cool News and it’s for the dreadful BULLETPROOF MONK. That wasn’t just a bad movie but a bad experience all around. You can check that one out here.
–Scott Foy
posted by Christopher 2:38 PM | Comments
First "Viva Knievel," now this
Former professional daredevil Evel Knievel has signed over exclusive rights to allow the production of "Evel Knievel: the Rock Opera."
Read the AP News report.
posted by Christopher 8:07 AM | Comments
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