Horror Gossip: 07.09.09

My Updates:
It has been a while since my last update. I went without the internet for what seems like forever but I am back in action now and will have a new column every week. (Pressure) I sent in a review for Lake Dead and will have many more on the way soon. I am still reporting the news Mondays, Tuesday, and Fridays. I just didn’t for only a week. I know you have missed me…that whole week. I had interviews that meant to go in this column. Ari Lehman and a couple of others but I am not finished with those as of now and I don’t want anyone to have a cow so I am just keeping this column for the news and you can read my interviews on the next column. Looking forward to The Gash? Go to the podcast page to read all about it. See you next week on time!

Sequels Shmequels, Remakes Shmemakes:
FINAL DESTINATION 4 comes out on AUGUST 28th, which pits it against, well, you know… It comes from director David R. Ellis (SNAKES ON A PLANE, FINAL DESTINATION 4). Today I stumbled upon a very gruesome picture and wanted to share it with you! See below…

Writer / director Robert Rodriguez recently sat down with the L.A. Times and chatted away about his upcoming produced-project PREDATORS, the long-awaited sequel to John McTiernan’s PREDATOR.

In the interview Rodriguez goes over a number things, including how he came to write the script back in the early 90s, why he’s no directing the film himself, what the new script will be about, and the reasoning behind why they’re making the whole film in Texas, rather than in Hollywood. While it’s going to be billed as a big studio picture, he stresses that it’s actually modestly budgeted and will be filmed on a smaller scale–which, apparently, 20th Century Fox is all about.

They actually like that. You’re making it less expensive then they could ever make it here. Its so much leaner. and they get a movie that they can sell as a big movie, they make money off of it, especially since it didn’t cost much at all. I get to keep it locked down creatively and, really, the studio is happy with that. It’s almost like they get protected from themselves. They know that when some things get taken through the machine they end up overspending and making the movie worse. The movie’s not allowed to breathe. That was the case with the ‘Predator’ movie. Just go make it down there in your system. We don’t know how you do it down there but somehow you make these movies very creatively and at a budget.

I have some cool shots for you from the Night of the Demons Remake. See below…

Well here’s a good little piece of news for those of you pissed about THE CROW being “remade” (read: all of you): A source apparently close to the production has told the website “Mania” that it will not be a remake after all. As a matter of fact it will be yet another reboot. So it will basically be telling the same story as the first one, but you know… different.

Of course, this won’t be the first time. Actually, it’ll be the fifth time, after THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS, THE CROW SALVATION, and THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER. That one stars Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, and Tara Reid. How the f*ck they hope to top that, I have no clue. (And let’s not forget about the epic t.v. series that aired during the 90s.)

Reboot director Stephen Norrington had this to say back when the flick was first announced: “Whereas [Alex] Proyas’ original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style.”

There is going to be “The Gate” 3-D remake. The film has just secured $1.9 million in financing and WILL begin production at the MMC Studios in Cologne, Germany in the late summer! The budget was allocated by Stuttgart-based MFG Baden-Württemberg and Frankfurt’s HessenInvestFilm. THE GATE will be the first 3D live-action film from Germany.

Got a little Blade news for you too. Way back in October Dorff had a little conversation with SundayMail.co.uk about this intriguing trilogy: “It will be a prequel to the Blade movies, Deacon’s story. It’s a new trilogy the director [Norrington] has created. It will cool….Frost is a character I have never been able to shake.” He also mentions that the hopes were to start filming this year… A Blade spin-off is in the works.

Most of you have probably already seen this, but it somehow managed to avoid my eyes until today (go figure). I believe it’s the teaser poster and not the theatrical poster, though, I could be wrong. It is what it is…so have a gander at the poster for The Descent 2.

Most Anticipated:
The film I would like to see the most is Jennifer’s Body. Synopsis: When a gorgeous cheerleader is possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town, her “plain Jane” best friend must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshiping rock band responsible for the horrible transformation. Sound corny? I think it sounds awesome! Fangoria scored an awesome photo or her demon ass in action. Meghan Fox is hot. Here is the new trailer….

I am also stoked about Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. I have some cool shots for you here…

A writer has finally been tapped to rewrite the Spider-Man 4 screenplay. With all these rewrites going on, I wonder how much the final draft will differ from that of the first. It’s my personal opinion that Venom should probably be left out of this one…but will they try to introduce Carnage into the franchise?

Gary Ross has been brought on board to do a rewrite on Columbia’s “Spider-Man 4.”

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively, as are series producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad.

Ross now joins James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac”) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire on the list of high-profile writers who have been working on the project.

The move also puts Ross back to work with Maguire, with whom he worked on his directorial vehicles “Pleasantville” and “Seabiscuit.” The two were also working on “Tokyo Suckerpunch,” a drama set up at Columbia; that project is now on hold as Ross tackles another writing project, Columbia’s Lance Armstrong biopic.

Least Anticipated:
I don’t have anything I am not excited to see that I can think of right now except for the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, FORSHAME! Shame on any of you for watching it. They are not remaking The Crow now so I am happy about that.

Interesting New News:
STYD and ComingSoon recently sat down with horror maestro Eli Roth to chat about his acting role in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, which hits theaters next month. But since it’s all about Eli, talk switched gears to what some of his upcoming writing and directing projects will be.

For one, he won’t be involved in any of the HOSTEL sequels (if there are more to be made). I’m just not involved in anyway. There’s no negativity about it. I just said, ‘I put everything in my life for three years into these movies. I’ve said everything I have to say with it. I feel very lucky I got to make them and the fans responded the way they did, and if you guys want to continue it, great, go ahead.

Well it looks like the UK are ready to cash in on the 3-D horror craze sweeping the world! Well it’s not so much a craze… yet. Today Variety announced that Vertigo Films and Size 9 Productions will be bringing us the first UK 3-D horror flick!

The movie is called ELFIE HOPKINS AND THE GAMMONS and will follow a teen misfit and aspiring detective who lives in a rural village. Her suspicions are aroused when a mysterious family, the Gammons, move into her neighborhood.

We got word that Paul Andrew Williams, the director of the kick-ass horror flick THE COTTAGE, has another venture into horror hiding up his sleeve called CHERRY TREE LANE, and while a whole helluva lot isn’t known about it yet, it’s gearing up to start filming in the UK in the next couple of weeks!

The tagline is simple enough: A Couple is Terrorized in their Home by a Gang of Youths Hunting Their Son, but really… what does that mean?

Williams sheds some (not a lot, but some) light on the subject: CHERRY TREE LANE, for me, is a film that needs to be looked at on many levels. On the surface we are talking about an extremely horrific event that takes place, in real time, to an innocent family. It is tense, harrowing and even disturbing at times and how these elements are handled, dramatically and cinematically will determine the final style of the film. It is closer in style to London to Brighton creatively, but the social issues it brings to the fore and the currency of the subject matter will mean it has broad cinematic appeal.

THIS IS PERHAPS THE BEST F*CKING NEWS I HAVE HEARD!!!!
One of my cuilt favorites “Heathers” is not going to have a sequel yay! According to Moviehole, it seems that the supposed Heathers 2 isn’t happening after all.

Seems Winona Ryder is as trustworthy a retail customer as she is a source when it comes to a “Heathers” sequel.

Remember a few weeks back when Ms Ryder told Movieline that there’s bubbles boiling in the “Heathers 2” saucepan? According to the actress, whose got a long line of credits, but none that are valid at clothes stores, the long-awaited follow-up to the 80s classic was finally coming to fruition. She’d be back. Christian Slater would be back. You’d be back (ideally).

Thing is, “Heathers” director Michael Lehmann knows nothing about it. As far as he’s concerned, it’s merely wishful thinking on Ryder’s part.

“Winona’s been talking about this for years — she brings it up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far as I know there’s no script and no plans to do the sequel”, the filmmaker tells Movieline. ”A couple weeks ago everyone started talking about it and I guess Winona said the movie was gonna get made, and I thought, “I don’t know, maybe they did this without me?” But I got in touch with Dan Waters and he said he didn’t know anything about it. So I don’t think there’s any truth to it.”

News From Code Red:
CHOKE CANYON will now street on 9/1, and NIGHT OF THE DRIBBLER will now be out on 9/8. September will also see our much-anticipated release of MESSIAH OF EVIL: THE SECOND COMING which will street on 9/22. We hope you support us and buy these rare gems!

RIP:
Fred Travalena-One of TV’s most recognizable impressionists and entertainers, nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand Faces”, has died. Fred Travalena was only 66. CODE RED worked with Fred in late January of 2009 on the NIGHT OF THE DRIBBLER commentary. When we first called Fred, he was very excited that someone had actually seen the film, which has never been released and was his only lead performance in a motion picture. He gratefully showed up to participate in the commentary track and was in full-on 100% comedy mode. Fred gave us a superbly hilarious and unique commentary for the film as he sat down with lively moderators Marc Edward Heuck and EVIL DEAD writer Scott Spiegel. Fred had a lot of fun doing the commentary and we all enjoyed his jokes and impressions.

RIP Michael Jackson. You made Thriller. You rock. We lost Farrah Fawcette and many others as well. It has been a sad past couple of months. David Carradine too!

Horror Comics:
At SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2009, Radical is proud to announce Darren Bousman, the acclaimed director of Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV, at the Radical Publishing booth #3735 as he signs both a limited edition poster and copies of Radical’s San Diego Comic-Con 2009 Exclusive Preview Book which features Bousman’s chilling, supernatural upcoming release Abattoir.

Set for a 2010 debut, Abattoir chronicles real estate agent Richard Ashwalt, assigned the impossible task of cleaning up after a brutal massacre takes place at a mansion. As he cleans the blood-soaked grounds, a twisted old man journeys to the house with a sinister and terrifying purpose, and Richard is drawn into a web of shadows, murders and massacres that will shatter him to his very core…and make him run for his life.

The Stand: American Nightmares #4 will arrive in stores on July 9 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art and cover by Mike Perkins. Here’s how Marvel describes the issue:

“The penultimate chapter of the second volume based on Stephen King’s horror epic! The survivors of the Captain Trips plague have started to team-up. Stu Redman and Glen Bateman trade origin stories — and horror stories about their mutual nightmares — while Randall Flagg sets out to recruit his first soldier in the ultimate battle between Good and Evil: Lloyd Henreid. But will the starving madman accept the dark man’s offer? And either way, will he or his soul survive?” The Stand: American Nightmares #4 will be 32 pages and will cost $3.99.

Vampirella returns this September in Vampirella: The Second Coming #1, the first issue of a game changing, four issue miniseries. Each issue is priced at $1.99 and can be ordered now in this month’s Previews catalogue. The miniseries serves as the keystone event of the 40th Anniversary of Vampirella, a year long celebration of this icon of horror.

Army of Darkness News! After the events of Ash’s whirlwind trip overseas, the life of the Chose One is about to take yet another unexpected turn! All thanks to writer Mike Raicht and artist Scott Cohn! Here is a preview:

Escape From Wonderland as Zenescope would have it, seems to be the final chapter in its hit Grimm Fairy Tale spin-off Wonderland series, that started with Return To Wonderland followed by Beyond Wonderland. Storyline heroine Calie Liddle returns home for the first time since escaping the realm of madness that is Wonderland and is haunted by the horrific memories trapped within the walls. She bravely prepares to enter Wonderland one last time on a desperate mission to rescue her daughter. The book is only a few pages long, serving as it does as a prologue to the planned six-issue limited series. As a must-read, however, it is filled with fun extras such as a hospital report on the blood bath that took place in issue 6 of Beyond Wonderland and character bios on everyone from the Red Queen to the Jabberwock complete with each character’s special abilities and powers.

Anticipated by comic book fans since it was first teased in 2007 within the pages of Green Lantern, Blackest Night kicks off this month with the release of Blackest Night #1 by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis. The eight-issue mini-series promises to bring back a slew of dead DC heroes, reviving them as zombie-like Black Lanterns as part of an epic battle between the power rings of the Green Lantern universe.

Dynamite Entertainment has provided CBR with confirmation that “Dead Irons,” the acclaimed miniseries by James Kuhoric (“Freddy vs. Ash vs. Jason”) and Jason Shawn Alexander (“Marvel Zombies: Wolverine”) and Jae Lee (“Dark Tower”), will return this fall with a second series. Check out the first cover by Jae Lee!

Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse – Necromancer #3 will arrive in stores on July 9 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Laurell K. Hamilton and Jessica Ruffner, with art and cover by Ron Lim. Here’s how Marvel describes the issue:

“Who is Wheelchair Wanda? What dirt does she have on not-so-innocent billionaire Harold Gaynor? That’s what Anita Blake wants to know. And if she’s going to find out, Anita will have to journey to the Tenderloin, St. Louis’ red light district. So it¹s a good thing master vampire Jean-Claude’s got her back…right?” Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse – Necromancer will be 32 pages and will cost $3.99.

Carnival Comics announces the first exclusive digital publication of a graphic book on the smartphones. The first chapter of Atomic Dreams: The Lost Journal Of J. Robert Oppenheimer will be released on July 4th through Blackberry, iPhone and Google Android’s respective App distribution. This will be the first comic book to be released on Nokia.

Atomic Dreams is a graphic book about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the race to build the atomic bomb. There is a very Charles Dickensesque feel to the telling of this epic tale of a man torn between patriotism to his country, and his conscience as a human being. “This is a story that needs to be told.” states the writer, Wild. “With the current tension with Iran and North Korea, we need to remember the lessons of our past, as to not make them our future. When writing this story I did not want to make a judgement on character, but rather show that there are consequences for our actions. I feel this man of clear genius was put in a position that I do not envy. Ultimately Oppenheimer graced the covers of Time Life Magazine, had his security clearance stripped from him in a very public trial, only to be brought back and given a Presidential Medal by the same country that years earlier had declared him a threat. This is an amazing life.”

Horror Games:
People’s reactions to Dante’s Inferno–EA’s attempt to turn The Divine Comedy into a God of War clone–have been mixed. I’m still on the side of “interested” and this new trailer isn’t going to change that.

Sure, the game looks to borrow liberally from God of War–but if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. Have a look at it for yourself and see what you think.

The game is scheduled for a 2010 release.