The Straw Men To Get Feature Film Treatment

Posted by dominie in Films, News on December 1st, 2008

/Film reveals, according to Variety, that Benderspink, the production company behind The Ruins, The Butterfly Effect 2, Red Eye, and the upcoming titles such as The Hole (2010), The Ring Three (2009), Butterfly Effect: Revelation (2009) has acquired the rights for the film adaptation of British author Michael Marshall Smith’s crime thriller, The Straw Men. Currently a comic adaptation is also being developed by Zenescope Comics. The studio is still looking for a screenwriter.

The Straw Men is the first in a trilogy that follows a detective brought out of retirement to solve a series of bizarre murders connected by dark conspiracy. The official back cover reads:

In Palmerston, Pennsylvania, two men in long coats walk calmly into a crowded fast food restaurant-then, slowly and methodically, gun down sixty-eight people. They take time to reload.
On the Promenade of Santa Monica, California, a teenaged girl gives sightseeing tips to a distinguished English tourist. She won’t be going home tonight.
In Dyersburg, Montana, a grief-stricken son tries to make sense of the accident that killed his parents-then finds a note stuffed in his father’s favorite chair. It says, “We’re not dead.”
Three seemingly unrelated events, these are the first signs of an unimaginable network of fear that will lead one unlikely hero to a chilling confrontation with The Straw Men. No one knows who they are-or why they kill. But they must be stopped. Michael Marshall’s electrifying debut novel is an instant masterpiece of modern suspense. An epic thriller for anyone who has feared that someone is watching us.

Moon Poster and Images

Posted by dominie in Films, News on November 24th, 2008

Another one-sheet of interest is the Sam Rockwell starrer Moon, from director Duncan Jones. Briefly, Moon is the feature directorial debut of Jones. The sci-fi thriller centers on Astronaut Sam Bell (Rockwell), a man who has spent the last three years on the moon base Selene, working for the company “Lunar”. Two weeks shy of his departure from Selene, Sam starts seeing things, hearing things and feeling strange. He soon discovers that Lunar has plans for replacing him and the new recruit is eerily familiar. Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Malcolm Stewart, Dominique McElligott, and Kevin Spacey also star.

Bloody Disgusting debuted several photos from the set of the sci-fi thriller as well. The movie arrives in theaters 2009, date is still to be announced.

Long Synopsis: Sam Bell is nearing the end of his contract with Lunar. He’s been a faithful employee for 3 long years. His home has been Selene, a moon base where he has spent his days alone, mining Helium 3. The pre

cious gas holds the key to reversing the Earth’s energy crisis. Isolated, determined and steadfast, Sam has followed the rulebook obediently and his time on the moon has been enlightening, but uneventful. The solitude has given him time to reflect on the mistakes of his past and work on his raging temper. He does his job mechanically, and spends most of his available time dreaming of his imminent return to Earth, to his wife, young daughter and an early retirement. But 2 weeks shy of his departure from Selene, Sam starts seeing things, hearing things and feeling strange. And when a routine extraction goes horribly wrong, he discovers that Lunar have their own plans for replacing him… and the new recruit is eerily familiar. Before he can return to Earth, Sam has to confront himself and the discovery that the life he has created, may not be his own. It’s more than his contract that is set to expire.

AFM 2008: Argento’s Giallo Promo Trailer

Posted by dominie in Films, News on November 12th, 2008

Hannibal Pictures has just released the official AFM trailer for Giallo, Dario Argento’s latest thriller among his giallo horror films. Starring Adrien Brody, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Elsa Pataky, the story follows Inspector Enzo (Brody) as he teams up with an American flight attendant to track down her sister who’s been apparently kidnapped by a serial killer named Yellow, which in Italian is “giallo.” The film is looking for a 2009 release. View the trailer for Giallo.

Creepy Casting

Posted by dominie in Films, News on October 26th, 2008

Casting is underway for actor turned director Ian Fitzgibbon’s (Prime Suspect) comedy thriller Perrier’s Bounty. Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight, Red Eye, Batman Begins), Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), and Brendan Gleeson (Beowulf, Harry Potter series) have just signed on to star.

Murphy will play the lead fugitive. Broadbent will play his long-lost father. And Gleeson will play Perrier.

Written by Mark O’Rowe, the film is set in contemporary Dublin and tells the story of three unlikely fugitives on the run from a gangster kingpin. Filming begins in early November in Ireland.

Star Talks Pulido’s The Graves

Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 24th, 2008

Brian Pulido’s (Lady Death, Evil Ernie) The Graves has wrapped principle photography and gone into post.  Shock Till You Drop caught up with star Bill Moseley to chat about the upcoming release.

Moseley plays the character Caleb Atwood, one of the many threats actresses Clare Grant and Jillian Murray, the titular Graves sisters, come across when they roll into a remote mining town.  As for the experience, I get to play a character that’s got some feelings of Chop-Top [from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2] and Quinn from Crash and Burn,” Moseley says.  “It was just fun to run around and snort desert dust.  And I get to chase hot girls, you can’t beat that.”

Moseley continues, “[Brian] knew what he wanted and obviously has a visual eye for things so that made it fun. Having that active imagination he has kept him open to different ideas.  When it becomes a collaboration like that, your imagination is encouraged.”

Written and directed by Brian Pulido The Graves, starring Clare Grant, Jillian Murray, Bill Moseley, Tony Todd, Amanda Wyss, Patti Tindall, and Dean Matthew Ronalds is a story about two inseparable sisters [who] visit a remote mining town.  Their stay turns into a mind-bending fight for survival against menaces both human and supernatural.  A release date is yet to be set for 2009.

Review: Breathing Room

Posted by bob in Films, Reviews on September 21st, 2008

You have to admire a movie that tries to sustain suspense on a shoestring budget.

Essentially shot on one set for a mere $20,000, Breathing Room does what the Saws and Hostels of the world fail to do: engage you in the characters.  The premise is a pretty straight-forward one: a naked young girl is tossed into a large, barren room. She’s told she’s the last of 14 prisoners, none of whom can recall how they arrived in this situation.  Each has a number and is told they will be tested and only one will see freedom.

For the next 85 minutes, you’re left to wonder who is behind this and why and which one will survive.  While you’re led to believe the pretty young thing (Alisa Marshall) will be your hero, along the way you’re left to wonder.

There’s some violence, but nothing overt.  It’s all left up to the imagination which is where the best terror tends to be found.

The assorted characters, most of whom have something to hide, are a little too much the same age range but are different enough for you to be left wondering throughout the entire film why them, and which one will be a hero, coward or killer.  The acting varies in quality as does the writing for the characters so there’s an uneven feel to the entire production.

The film, released on DVD from Anchor Bay today, is shot in a less-than-smooth style without leaving you seasick and heightening the tension the spare lighting and set provides. You lose track of the days, as do the characters, and you watch the body count mount and keep wondering why.  The final twist at the end is jarring but not unsatisfying and overall, given its sparseness, does its job quite well.

Breathing Room was written by John Suits and Gabriel Cowan when they were just students at CalArts. It has a refreshing rawness to it and speaks well for their careers which have taken off since this was shot in 2006. That is has earned over $500,000 is the kind of return on investment people notice and it has led to additional work. We can look forward to more from them as a result.

Creepy Casting

Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 15th, 2008

The latest signed to feature in the indie psychothriller Dark Woods, is genre vet James Russo (The Ninth Gate, Trauma, Blackwater Valley Exorcism, Satanic) who will play Sheriff Demming in the movie.

From director Mike Escobedo and a script by John Muscamero, Dark Woods stars Tracy Coogan (Zombie Honeymoon) as Susan, a terminally ill woman whose husband (played by Muscamero) brings her to a remote cabin in the woods.  Things take a turn for the “demented worse” when her husband entertains a relationship with a local teenage girl.

Other newly announced actors include Mary Kate Wiles, Yvonne Huff, and Rob Simpson.  Mark Shady (who will also co-star) and Peter Nee are producing the psychothriller.

“Dark Woods is more of a psychological thriller than a horror film in the classical sense,” Coogan revealed to Fangoria in an interview over the summer.  “This time, there are no zombies! Monsters come in many shapes and sizes. Susan’s health is deteriorating rapidly, and she’s spiraling into dementia. She starts to hallucinate, and believes demons are coming to take her away. She struggles between consciousness and dementia, getting glimmers of her life, her love, her husband and her ultimate demise.”

Paramount Confirms Revamped Uncut Friday the 13th DVD

Posted by dominie in News on September 15th, 2008

Friday the 13th fans can rejoice in news that Paramount has confirmed they are working on a brand new, revamped Friday the 13th box set.  According to Dread Central, a reporter from Friday the 13th Films caught the news from a Paramount rep during a panel at The Scare Fest in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Paramount rep unveiled a few details you may be interested in.  The new DVD box set is currently in development that will include a fully restored uncut format and be laden with infamous missing and extended scenes.  Sources say a lot of planning is going into this development to offer fans a proper tribute to one of the most iconic killers ever put on film.

The goal is for the new set to hit stands in time for the remake’s release on February 13, 2009.

Click here for other related Friday the 13th news.

Director Chan-Wook Park’s Thirst Receives US Funding and Distribution

Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 12th, 2008

Oldboy director Chan-Wook Park returns!!  If you haven’t seen Oldboy you will regret not running to your nearest video store now to rent the psycho mystery thriller.  Oldboy comes alive in Park’s wholly original story about a man who is locked up in a cell for 15 years and then suddenly released only to find himself still trapped in a web of conspiracies.

This morning Variety received news that Universal Pictures and Focus Features sealed a deal Thursday to jump on board as co-producers to director Chan-Wook Park’s new vampire film Thirst.  The film is currently in production under Korean major CJ Entertainment who’s been the film’s sole financier up until now.  This collaboration marks the first time a Korean film has ever received US studio coin and a US distribution deal (through Focus) before its local release.  Local sales in South Korea along with international sales rights will remain the responsibility of CJ Entertainment.

Thirst will star Song Kang-ho (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host, The Good the Bad and the Weird) and Shin Ha-kyun (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), with Kim Ok-bi (Dasepo Naughty Girls) as leading lady in a story about a well respected priest Sang-hyun, who falls in love with his childhood friend’s wife and who, after a failed medical experiment is turned into a vampire.  The priest’s faith can only hold for so long as his humanity withers away in this unique thriller and horror impassioned by an illicit love story.

With Focus Features to distribute, Thirst will likely be guaranteed a theatrical release!  Sources say we can expect Thirst sometime in mid 2009!

Warner Bros. Funds Rocker’s Coalition

Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 11th, 2008

According to The Hollywood Reporter, while working on their third album, lead singer Shawn Christensen of the indie rock band Stellastarr penned a script Warner Bros. couldn’t resist.  The studio is fast-tracking the rocker’s sci-fi thriller titled The Karma Coalition, dropping $750,000 against the $1.5 million budget.

Dan Lin of Warner-based Lin Pictures will simultaneously produce the project along with his current endeavors, Sherlock Homes and Terminator Salvation.  Studio native Stephen Gilchrist who brought the project to Lin Pictures will co-produce the film.

Joe Russo is attached to direct with Jim Sturgess to star in the story about a game of cat and mouse that ensues when a corrupt detective tells a falsely accused (now) fugitive his dead wife of five years may still be alive.  He embarks on a quest to uncover the truth, but he will have to pay for exposing the existence of an underground organization responsible for faking her death.

Christensen’s previous work includes co-writing Sidney Hall with partner Jason Dolan.  Additionally Stellastarr is well known within the indie rock world and has toured with such bands as The Killers and Jane’s Addiction.  It will be exciting to see how this movie plays out.  Stay tuned for more to come!