‘Black Hole’ Sucked Back to Big Screen

Disney is set to return to THE BLACK HOLE by remaking the 1979 film with the directing and producing team currently working on TRON: LEGACY, Joseph Kosinski and Sean Bailey, respectively. The script is being written by Travis Beacham.

The original BLACK HOLE was Disney’s first PG film and it’s most expensive at $26 million. In the film the crew USS Palomino finds the USS Cygnus where a scientist and his robot Maximilian plan to enter the black hole by which they are stationed. The film featured Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster and the voice of Slim Pickens. The plot of the remake is being kept quiet, but word is robot Maximilian will return.

THE BLACK HOLE was on the dark side of Disney’s films and big on the special effects. It was a movie of my childhood and has left quite a mark with it’s tone and style. It was the two smaller robots Bob (Slim Pickens) and V.I.N.CENT who gave it it’s fun touch, while Maximilian was the scary one.

I went to a midnight screening of THE BLACK HOLE a few years back and won a BLACK HOLE lunch box and a year after that got it signed by actor Maximilian Schell which is one of my favorite movie scores. I will be keeping a careful eye on the remake and only hope it can capture what Disney did right and add on some more.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

When things go bump in the night you can’t help but let your imagination take flights of fancy. Paranormal Activity takes full advantage of the fears of the dark that many people have delivering some fresh scares and big creepy moments. Actually there’s no better place than a packed theater to get swept away by the terrors that Paranormal offers.

Rating:

It begins with a simple set up; a couple, Micah and Katie, are dealing with supernatural activity in their home. Micah wants to document it all with his new video camera and it all seems like a game to him. Katie on the other hand is quite disturbed by the occurrences but offers to indulge his methods in hopes of explaining the things that are happening.

With the camera set up in the corner of their room as they sleep each night some strange things are caught on film, but no real answers as to why they’re being attacked. Right away the mood is set and everyone is left waiting and watching that dark room. It just escalates and you have no idea of what to expect. The tension is set at an all time high.

Katie tries turning to a psychic for help and feels that things are far worse then Micah realizes. Micah insists he knows what’s right and is more fascinated with getting things on film and trying to coerce the spirit for more action. That’s a no-no and everyone in the theater seems to know it! In fact that’s where watching this movie with a crowd really comes to play. The vibe in the theater is quite tense, you can feel and hear others getting more anxious making yourself even more scared and yet no one is looking away.

Now viewing the gimmick tactic trailer, which shows audience reactions of watching the movie, might ruin ones own viewing experience in the theater. The less known going in will allow one to get completely immersed and perhaps petrified by all the strange events.

A lot of comparisons have been made between Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch but Paranormal seems to have taken technique and fine-tuned it well. Sometimes less is more, centering the dynamic between Katie and Micah you connect with them depending on which side you’re on as the believer or skeptic there’s always some creepy and scary shit going on.

To delve into details of nightly attacks or why they’re attacked only ruins the surprises. Yes, it’s getting hyped as one of the scariest movies and with good word of mouth you’re bound to have some things ruined so just go watch it. Go, enjoy a very good horror movie. Sit back, settle into the darkness, further suspend some disbelief and let yourself be scared silly. You’ll probably have to sleep with a light on afterwards too, cause it will get under your skin.

DreamWorks Digs XOMBIE Pitch

DreamWorks is looking to acquire “Xombie,” based on James Farr’s online animated series and the Devil’s Due comic book about Dirge, a Zombie cop who’s keeping a young girl, Zoe, safe from evil zombies.

The “Xombie” pitch was made by writer Will Beall who is also a Homicide Detective with the LAPD. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are likely to produce the project.

“Xombie” premiered in 2003 online and the comic book series came out in 2007. I actually found “Xombie” when it first came out and became an instant fan. It could fit in rather well with the surge of Zombie stories that are coming out these days. The details of the pitch plots are being kept under wraps.

The Danish Girl Gets “Right One” Director

The director Tomas Alfredson of “Let the Right One In” has been tapped for the true life sex change story titled “The Danish Girl” starring Nicole Kidman.

Kidman will take on the role of the Danish painter Einar Wegener who was the first person to undergo a sex change to become a woman in 1931. Charlize Theron was previously attached to play Gerda the wife of Einar but has left the project.

Alfredson plans to shoot “The Danish Girl” before his adaptation of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”. He told Variety that; “We have been in talks for close to a year, and we are soon going into production,”

“The Danish Girl” script is written by Lucinda Coxon and based on David Ebershoff’s novel.

Is this a good follow up to “Let the Right One In”? It’s sure to be quite a roll for Kidman but I admit it sounds rather curious. I hope to hear more details soon.

New Zombie Flick GATEKEEPER Gets Cast Together

An upcoming zombie film called Gatekeeper is coming from the production company Circle of Confusion and is set for feature the actors Matthew O’Leary, Lea Thompson, Judge Reinhold, Ron Perlman and Jana Kramer. Isaac Meisenheimer is set to direct and this film will be his debut which he also wrote. It’s about three friends who are left to defend themselves in a town during a zombie outbreak.

Stephen Emery who is an executive at Circle of Confusion and producing the film had this to say about the project:

“We intend to make a film in the vein of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ for American audiences”.

Production is expected to begin this September.

Danny Huston in Robin Hood

According to the Hollywood Reporter, actor Danny Huston has been cast in Ridley Scott’s upcoming film Robin Hood which is being made in England. Huston is filling the role of King Richard, the Lionheart while Russell Crowe has already been cast as Robin Hood himself.

What do you think of a new take on Robin Hood? More men in tights?

The Limey 2

The story that came out this weekend is that Steven Soderbergh has interest in making a sequel to his film The Limey which starred Terrance Stamp. Soderbergh’s wife, Jules Asner, was recently on Adam Carolla’s podcast where she revealed this tidbit of news.

He wants to do a sequel to The Limey, and Terence Stamp wants to do it. Terence and Michael Keaton.

The Limey featured Terrance Stamp, an Englishman who came to Los Angeles to find the ones responsible for his daughters death. It was one of Stamp’s best performances, in my opinion. I’d like to see more of this character without a doubt. Hopefully this week Soderbergh will comment on the story and reveal how far things actually are.

Predator Director Picked by Rodriguez

Robert Rodriguez has chosen the director for the next Predator film. Nimrod Antal, who directed KONTROLL and VACANCY. Rodriguez is on the projects as producer.

Rodriguez has this comment on the project’s story:

“It involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors.”

Predator is a beloved character, so reboot and remakes remain tricky and final judgment should be made once the film is out. But Rodriguez’s involvement is be a good thing as he’s just a fanboy at heart like many of us. Here’s hoping his directors choice turns out well. Yup.

Resident Evil 4 to Hit 2010

It’s been confirmed by ShockTillYouDrop.com that the next Resident Evil film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, has been given a release date, late 2010.

The last film did leave things open for a continuation but it is not yet confirmed that W.S. Anderson will be back as director. Sony though plans to deliver the goods September 17, 2010. Stay tuned!

Remake of “American Werewolf”

The latest in remake news is that John Landis’ 1981 film AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON has been acquired by Dimension Films. It was Bloody-Disgusting.com that broke the big scoop this weekend and now it’s being confirmed. Landis has also been attached as executive producer on the project and is likely to be a consultant too.

Bloody did have a Landis quote, he explains the project is in negotiations.

“Brad – Yes, Dimension is now in negotiation for the ‘An American Werewolf in London’ remake rights. Perhaps someone will make a brilliant movie out of it,”

Keeping Landis involved in the remake would calm my doubts some, but AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON still holds up good in my book. As always, only time will tell.

Daybreaker – Trailer

The trailer for the Spierig Brothers’ latest film DAYBREAKER is out. The Spierig Brothers’ made their debut with the film UNDEAD. Now they are back delivering their own vampire tale with Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. DAYBREAKER is set in 2019 in a world that is made up of mostly Vampires and humans are close to extinction and are being farmed for their blood. Can the vampires find a blood substitute before it’s too late?. Check it out:

Daybreaker Trailer is here

Thor Finds Odin?

Brian Blessed has been cast in the role of Odin for the THOR film according to the new blog Bleeding Cool. Odin is the God All-Father of Valhalla, and father to Thor and Loki.

Kenneth Branagh is at the helm for THOR and Brian Blessed the British actor is well known to many as the Hawkman, Prince Vultan, in FLASH GORDON.

This is a good bit of casting news that I hope is well beyond the rumor stage. With Branagh directing I think it will be a serious adaptation and I’m looking forward to THOR on the big screen.

Fright Night Remake Starts Up

The 1985 horror film directed by Tom Holland is on the remake track thanks to DreamWorks who’s diving into more horror fare lately. There are currently no writers attached but they are planning to keep the horror-comedy elements of the film and “modernize” the effects.

In Fright Night, Charlie Brewster (Peter Ragsdale) believes his new neighbor (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. Brewster gets the help of his friends and TV personality Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) to help him out with the creature of the night.

Having recently seen Fright Night (on the big screen too) I am not excited about this remake, no one can replace McDowall or Sarandon but I know how the studios will try. And saying they want to “modernize” the effects is just CGI talk which will probably fake the blood splatter too.

By the Power of “Grayskull”

A writer has been attached to the latest He-Man adaptation to be titled “GRAYSKULL”. Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures have hired up and coming writer Evan Daugherty and it will be directed by John Stevenson (”Kung Fu Panda”).

The Hollywood Reporter describes Warner Bros. take on this latest adaptation:

A gritty fantasy and reimagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia. There, Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic.

Now it sounds like this is going to be a big budget action spin through the world of Eternia for Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe” line. Prince Adam, a.k.a. He-Man better be shouting the line; “By the power of Grayskull — I have the power.” The last film adaptation featured Dolph Lundgren in the role of “He-Man”. Do you think they will stay more true to the He-Man storyline this time out?

GAMER Trailer – The Game of the Future

A trailer for the film GAMER has hit the web. GAMER stars Gerard Butler and is coming to us from the CRANK team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Set in a sci-fi future death row inmates are used in a real life video game for the viewing pleasure of the millions tuning in to watch! Check out the big bangs set for the big screen.

Read more

Dr. Loomis Halloween 2 Photo

Rob Zombie’s sequel to Halloween, H2, has been leaking out a few pictures lately and the latest includes Dr. Loomis, as played by Malcom McDowell on a talk show with the likes of Weird Al Yankovic. What do you think? How is Rob Zombie doing?

Over at Shock Till You Drop they’ve quoted Zombie and his comment on the photo where Dr. Loomis is on a talk show to plug the book he’s written called “The Devil Walks Among Us.”

“Dr. Loomis is clearly out of his comfort zone as he takes on Weird Al during his appearance on The Newman Hour. It’s tough hawking those books.” – Rob Zombie

DRAG ME TO HELL Poster

The guys over at ShockTillYouDrop.com got the exclusive to the new poster for Sam Raimi’s new movie “Drag Me To Hell”! Being the Sam Raimi fan that I am I cannot wait for the chance to see this film. You can bet I’ll be first in line at some theatre the day it is out!
Check out STYD for a look the poster in high res right HERE!

I Walked With A Zombie Remake

The 1934 classic horror film from RKO and produced by Val Lewton, “I Walked With A Zombie”, is getting the remake treatment according to Variety. There’s already a director attached, Adam Marcus (”Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday,”) who has also written the script with his partner Debra Sullivan.

RKO’s Ted Hartley calls “I Walked With A Zombie” one of the companies most valuable films in the RKO library. The film centers on a young woman who comes to a New Orleans plantation and uncovers a terrifying evil plot.

Producer Andy Fickman made this comment on the script:

“Adam and Deborah have created a chilling screenplay that along with Adam’s vision would make Lewton proud,”.

“The Gate” Remake Gets A New Director in 3D

“The Gate” remake is now going to be directed by Alex Winter (”Freaked”) and be done in 3D. This is the latest developement for the the film which was previously going to be handled by Randall Cook.

Based on the 1987 film from Tibor Takács which starred Stephen Dorff, “The Gate” follows some kids who open a hell portal in their own backyard.

Alex Winter has made the shift to director since his “Bill & Ted” days having healmed “Freaked” and “Fever” and now on to horror he goes.

“ANGUISH” Remake

The 1987 horror film “Anguish” from director Bigas Luna is going to be remade by Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures. Screenwriter Jake Wade Wall is set to write the script. According to Variety this is the plot for the film:

“Anguish” follows two girls who, while watching a scary movie, find themselves in a horror film of their own when their life starts to mirror the pic’s plot.

The original “Anguish” starred Zelda Rubinstein and Michael Lerner and it’s movie within a movie plot was quite sureal and experimental. It’s a bit of the “WTF” realm. I actually saw this film at the New Beverly on one of their Grindhouse nights and liked it, as weird as it was.

Will the writer and Ghosthouse try and update it with good looking teens in a modern cineplex? Will they try and keep the exprimental edge? Only time will tell.

Walter Hill, Mickey Rourke, “St. Vincent”

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) is reuniting with director Walter Hill for the upcoming feature, “St. Vincent”. The two previously worked together on “Johnny Handsome” and it’s been seven years since Hill has made a feature film.

“St. Vincent” is about an assassin who is ordered to take out a “high level informant” and to do so he goes undercover as a priest. When the assassin takes his targets confession he has a “crisis of conscience”.

It’s great news of the reunion between Hill and Rourke. Hill is one of my favorite directors and I’m glad that he’s returning to the big screen. If you haven’t seen “Johnny Handsome” I suggest you do.

S. Darko – Going Straight to DVD

The sequel to “Donnie Darko”, “S. Darko” is now going to be headed straight to DVD. There’s a teaser trailer that really doesn’t reaveal anything new, but a presentation of the film is going to be happening this weekend at the New York Comic Con. Richard Kelly is still not involved at all with the film which is coming out on DVD on April 28, 2009. Maybe after the convention we’ll hear just how good or bad this movie really is.

Here’s the offical movie synopisis:

Samantha Darko (Daveigh Chase) and her rebellious best friend, Corey Richardson (Briana Evigan), leave on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles in an attempt to “make it big.” Their dreams are cut short when their water pump blows outside of a tiny Utah town, where they are stranded with the locals until their car’s fixed. Sam and Corey are less than thrilled at the delay, and when an unexplained meteorite crash-lands in town that night, it soon becomes clear that there is much more in play than just a chance breakdown. Plagued by bizarre hallucinatory dreams warning her of the universe’s imminent end, as well as grief over her own loss of family, Sam must face the demons back home that she had fled. Aided by the unlikely town locals, Sam learns the true meaning of family and friendship, and in doing so saves only herself.

The Vampire Diaries Pilot For The CW

Looks like vampires could make a return to the CW as they’ve ordered a pilot based on the L.J. Smith young adult series, The Vampire Diaries. The pilot is to be written by Kevin Williamson who gave the world “Dawson’s Creek”, “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, to name a few. It’s been five years since the CW had Vampries on their network when it was the WB with Angel.

“The Vampire Diaries” follows a young girl, Elena Gilbert who become entranced with a vampire in high school. There’s been four novel so far with a new instalment coming out this month.

I read this series back in my young adult days, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull it off. But knowing it’s on the CW and probably taking a “Dawson’s Creek” route makes me very weary.

John Carpenter Directing “The Ward”

The psychological thriller, “The Ward” is going to be directed by John Carpenter and feature actress Amber Heard (”Pineapple Express”) .

According to the Hollywood Reporter, coming from Echo Lake Entertainment, “The Ward” was written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen and follows a young woman who’s being terroized by a ghost while in an institution. The film is to begin shooting in May.

” ‘The Ward’ is the kind of script that I’ve been looking for: a complex, visceral story, full of suspense and scares,” Carpenter said.

It’s been a while since Carpenter has been behind the camera and being the Carpenter fan I am, I will be keeping an eye on this film and post more news here as it comes on out.

Hellboy 3 Update

Recently Guillermo Del Toro admited that “Hellboy 3″ is likley a few years off as he’s deeply immersted in the Hobbit world, but the good news is he will be coming back to it. While he’s away he has offered up some encouragment for a spin off with the B.P.R.D. where someone else could take the helm.

Talking wtih MTV News Del Toro revealed:

“We’re three, four years away from anything happening—so I don’t think anyone is, you know, in a big hurry.”

The Hobbit films are underway and getting all of Del Toro’s attention right now.

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