Posts Tagged ‘Vampires’
Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 25th, 2008
No one is busier than Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy series, Pan’s Labyrinth). The writer, director, producer, and not to mention video game helmer is now heading for an epic release. According to The Associated Press, del Toro, best known for Pan’s Labyrinth (of which he won three Academy Awards for in this rendition of the Spanish Civil war) has been in collaboration with crime writer Chuck Hogan (The Blood Artists, The Killing Moon, Prince of Thieves) to release a new vampire trilogy titled The Strain.
“The idea is epic in scope,” he stated. “The trilogy advances in unexpected ways and each book contains unique and surprising revelations about the history, physiology and lore of the vampiric race, tracing its roots all the way back to its Old Testament origins.”
Guillermo has been working on The Strain for several years now. No word on whether he will be going for theatrical yet, but he assures us genre fans, it will be a horror. The Strain is due in stores next summer.
Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 16th, 2008
Director Catherine Hardwicke of Summit Entertainment’s Twilight talks details for the reshoots that went on in late August. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hardwicke cited weather problems and time conflicts with Kristen Stewart’s high school schedule that contributed to a delay in production.
Going back she explains, “We got to shoot some things I really wanted. It’s all just icing on the cake.” Entertainment Weekly listed a few reshot scenes. “One redone scene shows Edward playing Bella’s lullaby. And if that doesn’t whet your appetite, Hardwicke also reshot the bedroom kissing scene.” And according to MTV news, a “redo was also done for [the] meadow scene.”
A little redeeming fact, Hardwicke did shoot some new scenes: more of Jacob and more on the Cullens’ backstory.
Stars Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen) and Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen) reaffirmed the new scene shot that will help explain the Cullen’s backstory on MTV news. “The reshoots are basically flashbacks that can go [along with] big voiceovers,” reveals Pattinson. “We are actually showing the scenes from back in the day…what actually went on,” continues Lutz. The flashback he is referring to is the old peace treaty made by a family of vampires and the Quileute Indian tribe. (more…)
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!
Posted by dominie in Events, Films, News on September 9th, 2008
Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs) will be hosting a screening of Tom Holland’s Fright Night in Los Angeles at the Nuart Theatre Friday September 19th 11:59PM. Tom Holland along with key cast members (Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Stephen Geoffreys, and Jonathan Stark), composer Brad Fiedel, and Academy Award winning special effects master Randall Cook will be reunited for the first time since 1985 when the cult vampire film was released. A special Q&A session you won’t want to miss will follow the screening!
See the Press Release below for full details and a link to reserve your seats for this special event.
80s HORROR HIT “FRIGHT NIGHT” CAST AND CREW REUNITE FOR MIDNIGHT SCREENING
FIRST LOS ANGELES GROUP APPEARANCE SINCE 1985
September 8th, 2008- “Fright Night”, the quintessential 80’s horror-comedy, will have its first Los Angeles cast and crew reunion on Friday, September 19th, Midnight at the Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Los Angeles.
“Fright Night” writer-director Tom Holland (“Child’s Play”) will be joined by the film’s stars Chris Sarandon (“Dog Day Afternoon”), William Ragsdale (“Living Proof”), Stephen Geoffreys (“Heaven Help Us”), and Jonathan Stark (“According to Jim”). Composer Brad Fiedel (“Terminator” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”) and Academy Award winning special effects artist Randall Cook (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) will also reunite with the film’s cast and creator.
Released on August 2, 1985, “Fright Night” opened to strong theatrical business and has since achieved cult status, as evidenced by a recent revival screening presented by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) at L.A.’s New Beverly Cinema. The upcoming Midnight Screening at the Nuart will mark the first time that the film’s writer-director, cast and crew have reunited for a Los Angeles screening. Fans can expect a brief introduction, post-show Q&A, and the rare opportunity to personally meet and have mementos signed by the creative team behind this vampire classic.
Said Holland, “I’m delighted to be able to get together with all the great folks who made this picture with me almost twenty-four years ago here in Los Angeles. And it’s great for us to be able to meet for an actual screening of the movie, with the faithful audience who’s turned it into something of a cult movie, and all at a classic Los Angeles movie house — the Nuart. I’m looking forward to having our “Fright Night” family back together, getting to see the movie again with them, and meeting our extended fan family as well. I think there will be lots of laughs and maybe even a chill or two.”
Writer-director Tim Sullivan (“2001 Maniacs”) will host the event in conjunction with horror website IconsofFright.com. Seizing the historic occasion of the reunion, Sullivan will record an exclusive audio commentary track for the film with the cast and filmmakers before the screening, which will be made available as a free download via Sullivan’s “Shock N Roll” web column at www.IconsOfFright.com.
Said Sullivan, “Fright Night” is a definitive horror film from the 1980s, a true time capsule of its era that’s also a valentine to the vampire movies of the 50s and 60s, and the TV horror hosts of the 70s who kept them alive for little monsters like Tom Holland and me to discover on late night television. As a die-hard fan long disappointed with the film’s “bare bones” DVD release, I’m thrilled to help preserve the film’s history by offering fans this exclusive audio commentary. Much like the iconic bloodsuckers in the film, Tom Holland’s “Fright Night” will simply not die.”
WHAT: FRIGHT NIGHT screening with writer/director Tom Holland in person with the film’s stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Stephen Geoffreys, and Jonathan Stark; plus composer Brad Fiedel and special effects artist Randall Cook
WHEN: Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12 midnight (one show only)
WHERE: Nuart Theatre 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of the 405 Freeway, West Los Angeles, (310) 281-8223
TICKETS: $10.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and children; tickets are available at the theatre box office and online at
http://www.landmarktheaters.com/market/LosAngeles/NuartTheatre.htm
Posted by dominie in Films, News on September 8th, 2008
It looks like monsters are making their way up. Production for the upcoming vampire horror, Bat Out of Hell, is planned for lensing later this year and Bloody Disgusting was on hand that the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend for the details. Official Synopsis: As a red eye flight from Los Angeles to New York takes off, everything seems to be normal. That is until the co-pilot kills the pilot and a rouge group of coach passengers head into first class armed and ready to kill. Their claim - there are 9 passengers in the front of the plane who must die tonight. They are vampires, and our “heroes” will crash the plane if they have to in order to ensure what must be done is done. Not willing to die without fighting, the vampires unleash their fury in a battle of strength and wits six miles high, and all before the sun rises on an unknowing New York City.
Joe Dante (Gremlins, Piranha, The Howling) is helming this horror penned by Masters of Horror duo Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan. The project is co-produced Warren Zide, producer of the American Pie and Final Destination franchises, who partnered up with Parallel Media in a $70 million production financing deal. Under the agreement, Parallel Zide will cover eight films, at least two of which per year will be genre movies in the $4-$15 million range.
Posted by dominie in Films on September 5th, 2008
We’ve been raging about Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, Magnet Releasing’s inaugural piece to their Six Shooter Series, for some time now. We were very excited today when we came across the official poster for US release on Bloody Disgusting. Thank you MrDisgusting!
Mark you calendars. Let The Right One In comes to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on October 24th. Trust me, you’ll love it. I’ll see you all in line.
Synopsis: “Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire feasting on his neighbours. Based on the Best Selling Book from Sweden, this multiple award-winning film is a unique blend of drama, suspense, vampirism, and a love story, all set against the atmospheric backdrop of a snow-filled winter.”
Winner, Best Picture - Tribeca Film Festival.
Posted by dominie in Films, News, Reviews on August 28th, 2008
In July 2007, Variety announced Universal’s new origins tale about Vlad the Impaler titled Dracula: Year Zero with Alex Proyas (Dark City, I, Robot, The Crow) to direct and Michael De Luca producing. The film will be a new take on the legend of Dracula, showing Vlad when he was still vital. Scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless are hoping to downplay the monster depicted in the classic Bram Stoker novel, and instead play on sympathy for Vlade’s character, who was actually considered a hero in Romania when he sold his soul to the Devil to save his kingdom and family. In this story of tragedy and love, can Dracula really be considered the hero?
Production is taking place at Universal Studios, rightfully, as it is the home of the monsters and MTV caught up with Proyas for the details. We now bring you the highlights:
Without revealing too much, Proyas tells MTV that the new take on Dracula: Year Zero is “a sort of the origin tale that mixes [the historical] Prince Vlad of Transylvania with sort of [fictionalized] Bram Stoker [take].”
Regarding vampire mythos, he ensures us there will be stakes, teeth, and blood. “Oh, you’ve got to have teeth… I mean, the teeth are really important. I think Frank Langella in the Dracula movie that was made in the 70s, I think he didn’t want to have teeth in the movie. But, no, I like the teeth. I want to see girls with a lot of teeth.” Regarding garlic, he said “I think the garlic thing is kind of weird,” but would not disclose on any transformations into a bat.
Posted by bob in Comics, Films, News on August 22nd, 2008
Director John Moore told MTV that “The world’s pretty serious right now, and there’s an ironic lightness in Virulents,” the Virgin Comics one-shot he will adapt next for the big screen. John Cox (Boot Camp) is working on the screenplay as announced by Variety.
“There’s a touch of macabre ridiculousness to it. I think we’ve seen a lot of attempts to make serious movies about serious things, and it strikes me that we might be a little more artful about how we make a point [these days].”
He said Mark Wahlberg, who stars in his next release, the video game come to life Max Payne, as an ideal candidate to star in the film. “I think he’s an actor of unlimited potential and I’d just love to go around with him again.”
The Virulents is your typical soldiers vs. vampire zombies tale. Virgin describes it this way: “A small platoon of American soldiers in search of their missing comrades comes across Indian commandoes looking for a group of terrorists suspected of hiding a most heinous weapon in the craggy breast of the Hindukush. It’s a night of revelation as the Americans discover the fate of their lost brothers, and the Indians discover the fate of their terrorists. But the terror is not in the form of flesh and blood, or bullets or gunpowder”
Posted by dominie in Films, Reviews on August 21st, 2008
We have been doing some rather extensive coverage on Magnet Releasing’s Let the Right One In over the past several months. The vampire tale has won numerous awards and accolades since its debut in Sweden last year. And its no wonder. The screenplay, based on an international best seller of the same title by Swedish author John Avjide Lindqvist, was written by Lindqvist himself, and directed by an acclaimed fellow countryman, Tomas Alfredson (Four Shades of Brown). Only lighted scripted, the film brings the audience’s focus to the character performances and production design, leaving the horror to our imagination. Read on to see what all the fuss is about.
LTROI is nothing like we have ever seen before. It is most definitely an organic rendition of all tales of the nosferatu that has come out of Hollywood. It ensues horror as a series of chilling murders are not reprimanded and evocative school scenes are marginalized as simply everyday terror. It is also incredibly heartwarming as we follow the development of a friendship between two twelve year old outcasts who ultimately become soulmates. And lets not forget to mention the CGI and special FX; there was just the right amount for the intended affect!
Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a lonely boy who lives with his un-present mom, longs for his alcoholic dad, and is the target of the stronger kids at school to bully. He becomes drawn to Eli (Lina Leandersson), a new resident to the suburban town who only appears at night, looks and smells strange, and is unaffected by the cold. She lives with an older man, Hakan (Per Ragnar), whom the locals assume is her father. As the story progresses, their relation becomes equivocal and not so simple—one of the many surprises the director has in store for us.
The film starts off in a slow, controlled pace that is easily forgivable since the audience becomes immediately absorbed in trying to decipher meaning from the opening scenes. Alfredson opts out of fangs and CGI vampires, and instead relies on the great performances from the cast to create the tone and build momentum for the unprecedented horror that will unravel. He makes a mockery of the insensibility and terror that humans inflict on each other in contrast to Hakan’s attempted sloppy murders, an indication that killing is not his sport. The result is extremely compelling; Alfredson humanizes the characters and offers a more relatable appeal. The tragic character of Eli is therefore so unforgettable that we can almost dismiss her crimes.
You don’t want to miss this. Let The Right One In has already received astounding reviews as a “future classic” and “one of the best films of the year—period.” It has received numerous awards including Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival, Best Director and Citizen’s Choice Award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, and Critics Award at the NatFilm Festival. The film debuts October 24 in New York and Los Angeles.
No one is busier than Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy series, Pan’s Labyrinth). The writer, director, producer, and not to mention video game helmer is now heading for an epic release. According to The Associated Press, del Toro, best known for Pan’s Labyrinth (of which he won three Academy Awards for in this rendition of the Spanish Civil war) has been in collaboration with crime writer Chuck Hogan (The Blood Artists, The Killing Moon, Prince of Thieves) to release a new vampire trilogy titled The Strain.
