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APRIL
These are archived news items, many of them outside
of this website, so overtime, the links may not work.
APRIL 30
DEATHLY HALLOWS UN EN DUEX
Back on March 13, ComingSoon.net announced that the final Harry Potter movie, the one with the Deathly Hallows, would be split by Warner Bros. into two movies. Problem was, they didn't know when. Now the word is out.
Part One of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS hits the screens on November 19, 2010. Part Two, according to the LA Times, will follow in May 2011, specific date as yet unspecified. So try not to die between now and then. Unless of course you couldn't care less about Harry Potter, in which case - follow yer bliss!
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HORROR THRILLER DEATH KNELL PREMATURE
Yet again. It's not dead, it's merely being surgically removed from Hollywood, where the self-proclaimed experts there still don't "get it". So if you bought into the freshly minted mantra that Horror Thriller is dead, know this: Cerenzie-Peters Productions is betting they aren't and Ghostrider Entertainment agrees, to the tune of producing a slate of no less than 10 feature films. These are not direct-to-video cheapies, but budgeted between $8 to $20 million each, and over the course of the next three years. 10 big budget Horror Thriller movies in just Three Years! And what about the major studios? Paramount Pictures (CLOVERFIELD, IRONMAN, INDIANA JONES) will get first choice on the larger budget films.
Now if only Paramount can get on the BLU-RAY bandwagon.
For more information, check out Hollywood Reporter.
And VFXWorld.com.
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NOT THE FURRY BUT THE FURY
Stephen King has a favorite author (apparently he has a few) and his name is John Farris. And John Farris had one of his novels, THE FURY, made into a crowd pleasin' SciFi Thriller back in 1978. Since then, Farris has penned a few sequels to THE FURY and Director Brian De Palma (CARRIE) has struggled through a spotty career that has seen more ups than downs.
Now Fox 2000 is about to bring Brian De Palma’s THE FURY back to theaters - only this time, remade and reimagined! (Not to be confused with an unimagined, that's what Hollywood studios do when they remake a Japanese Horror Thriller movie)
The Old movie was about a young man with telekinetic powers who is kidnapped by the government so they can control his powers. But the New movie will be about a young man with telekinetic powers who is abducted by the government so they can control his powers.
Fox hired Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman to pen the reimagining (that's reimagining???). McGreevy and Shipman are two total newbies who've had zip produced, but wrote one of the hottest spec scripts ever seen by Hollywood (Nobody really wants to make it, but everyone agrees that - hoo-boy that damn spec script is FINE!). After the duo wrote that script, folks at FOX said, "O!M!G! That's the best damn spec script we've ever seen! We bow before the awesome might that is your spec script! If there was an Oscar for unproduced spec scripts, Good Lord but yours would win! So... what else you got? You wanna write a remake? We got this government conspiracy movie. Government conspiracy? You like? We throw money at you, you go away and write government conspiracy movie? Everybody like government conspiracy movie! Take money! Go write now! We announce our genius! Ugh!"
More info at Variety.com.
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HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Make-up Artist Joe Blasco (GARDEN OF THE DEAD, THE TOUCH OF SATAN, SHIVERS, ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS, RABID, THE CLONUS, DEAN KOONTZ: WHISPERS) is 61.
Joe shares an April birthday with fellow RABID alumni, Marilyn Chambers.
Horror short story writer and feoamante alumni, Maurice Broaddus is 38 today. He says.
Visit him at MySpace.com/ MauriceBroaddus.
Writer Greg Fisher aka The Undead Rat (WITH INTENT TO COMMIT HORROR) is 44.
Visit him at MySpace.com/ UndeadRat.
Writer Colleen Gleason (THE REST FALLS AWAY, RISES THE NIGHT, THE BLEEDING DUSK) is 41. Her upcoming novel, WHEN TWILIGHT BURNS, has an expected 2008 release.
Visit her at MySpace.com/Colleen Gleason.
Writer and feoamante alumni Brian Knight (RANDOM ACTS OF WEIRDNESS, BLACK DAY, DRAGONFLY, HACKS, FERAL and more) is 35. Visit him at Brian-Knight.com. |
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APRIL 29
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Mistress of Horror Nanci Kalanta (HorrorWorld.org) is 47 today.
Director Ted V. Mikels (THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES, THE CORPSE GRINDERS, BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS, OPERATION OVERKILL, CITY IN TERROR, THE CORPSE GRINDERS II, MARK OF THE ASTRO ZOMBIES, CAULDRON: BAPTISM OF BLOOD) is 79. |
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APRIL 28
FANGO RECAP
This was the Los Angeles Fangoria Weekend of Horrors first attempt at breaking out of Hotel mode and going for the actual convention auditorium scene. Creation set them up in the West Wing of the Los Angeles Convention center at the same time that the adult entertainment's AdultCon was going on, as well as a Born Again ChristianCon - so of course, there was a de riguer of sign wavers on the walk carrying placards warning passerby that they were going straight to hell and good riddance. Seems like ever since 9/11 certain Christian sects have watched Radical Islam with an envious eye and thought "Now why don't we do stuff like that anymore?"
Of the three cons, the Fango was the only one that seemed to have any "Oomph!" regarding visitors. Unlike past conventions in hotels however where the Fango seems to possess the entire place with its horrific atmosphere, the massive size of the LA Convention Center / Staples Center, dwarfed any noticable appearance
of an "event". Driving past, the place could have been empty for all anyone would know.
Some folks from the Fango wandered over to the AdultCon to see what was happening over there. It appeared, however, that far more people were wandering in from the AdultCon over to the Fango to see how we Horror folks were doing. The AdultCon was a total washout by all reports and I heard more than a few guys say that the best looking women between the two were at the Fango - and those were just the gal fans they were talking about!
The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors also faced huge competition, going up against the LA Times Festival of Books, which attracts hundreds of thousands of book readers. And of course, many of those writers that appear for signings are Horror Thriller writers, easily diluting the potential fan base for the Fango. As I'd said earlier on the subject, it didn't seem like a good idea setting up a genre fan convention to happen at the same time - but miles away - from another fan convention that covered the same genre. Granted, Fango tilts more toward the Horror Thriller movie fan than the book fan, but Horror Thriller fans multi-task quite nicely. That said, they can't be in two places at once. The Festival of Books had the upper hand here as most of the Horror Thriller writers were from out of town and not as easily accessible as the actors at the Fango - many of which can be seen in most grocery stores in this place (actors gotta eat too, you know?).
What's more, this was also the weekend of the Cochella International Music Festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of music fans world wide - and more than a few thousand young Los Angelos went to see the Goth bands.
Finally, just a few blocks up the street was the annual Fiesta Broadway, which attracts hundreds of thousands of Los Angelenos (about 150,000 this year alone). In short, there was an awful lot going on this weekend to distract Horror fans in this city. Now granted, there is always something going on in a city as large as Los Angeles, but this weekend was one of the busiest of the year.
Perhaps the biggest problem for the Fango this year was that not a single major studio showed up for the event. All of the Horror Thriller movies were represented by Independent film people - many of whom deal in Direct to DVD movies. This is quite odd because it was only last week that CLOVERFIELD, THE ORPHANAGE, and ONE MISSED CALL hit DVD. If ever there was a time to drum up some secondary marketing to sell these movies, you would have thought the Fango would be it.
What's more, the major studios aren't ignoring the magazine, so why did they ignore the convention on their home turf, and not bother to showcase the upcoming HELLBOY II, DARK KNIGHT, ROGUE, FRONTIER(S)*, INDIANA JONES, THE STRANGERS, THE HAPPENING, and X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE? What is Hollywood trying to say by ignoring Fangoria? Or did Fangoria drop the ball? Or is it the fault of Creation? Creation is mad for its super pricey Golden tickets ($249.00 for the Gold Weekend Package) and all of its other special tickets to get folks to pay ridiculous amounts of money when they really aren't getting much more than what the walk-ins paying $25 at the door get. What's more the San Diego ComicCon and the New York ComicCon give fans everything the Fango Golden Ticket buyers get for about $25 bucjks admission. I've been attending the Fangoria and Star Trek conventions for years, tried the Golden tickets once, and I've never heard anyone who tried it have anything nice to say about it. It's become a running joke that, by Saturday the poor chumps wearing that big plastic pocket with the giant "Golden Ticket" inside are really wearing a huge sign around their neck that reads SUCKER! The sad part is, by Saturday, they KNOW it! And they still have Sunday left to go!
A number of the celebrities spent very little time at their booths. Gris Grimly was largely unnoticed at his kiosk (I never saw him at all). Director David Slade (HARD CANDY, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT) was only scheduled for Saturday and ducked out early (that's what the busy folks do). Clive Barker (HELLRAISER, NIGHTBREED, THE THIEF OF ALWAYS, COLDHEART CANYON, ABARAT) came, announced the release of a new feature film based on one of his Books of Blood stories, and ducked. A few others did the same. On the other hand, David Naughton stayed at his booth signing lots of autographs for the fans and promoting his upcoming film, BRUTAL MASSACRE. Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FROM BEYOND, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS), who was there for all three days, couldn't have been more accessible. He was also supporting his latest movie, BRUTAL MASSACRE. Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM) stayed, likewise Sid Haig (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, KILL BILL 2, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS). was there and so was Horror artists extraordinaire, Mike Sosnowski and Eric Pigors. Robert S. Rhine (SATAN'S 3-RING CIRCUS OF HELL) of Girls and Corpses fame dutifully manned his post and had live entertainment as well.
Producer Sean Fernald was there along with most of his actors, supporting RED VELVET. They had a late showing of the full movie in a hot cramped little room where it was standing room only. Sean tells me that William Malone (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL [1999]) came by with a trailer for his latest movie, PARASOMNIA. Sean says that the trailer just "blew me away!"
Darren Ramage of Brain Damage Films was there supporting and promoting his HUGE catalog of ultra low budget Gorilla Guerrilla Horror films. Darren passed me a copy of Sean Tretta's The Great American SNUFF FILM, demanding (as a fellow Horror film fanatic would) that I "See This Film!"
Film maker and Feo Fan, Roger A. Scheck was there, promoting the release of his indie movie, NOBODY LOVES ALICE. Also on hand
were Elske (POULTREYGIEST), Kurly Tlapoyawa (THE STINK OF FLESH), and Kenneth J. Hall (PUPPETMASTER) promoting Scott Phillips GIMMIE SKELTER. Another Feo Fan, Jace (whose zombie horror short can be seen at my MySpace page).
Director Jason Mathern was there, with crew in tow, for his movie GOREGASM, and so was Director Jonathon Lewis for BLACK DEVIL DOLL (a trailer and extra was shown late Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd).
Speaking of foul-mouthed puppets, a group of us, representing Creature-Corner (Brian King), Dread Central (John Condit), and more began congregating in a loose circle. Film maker Jacob Hair (2001 MANIACS, Snoop Dogg's HOOD OF HORROR) was there as well as my sweet self. We all began making the rounds, introducing each other: Uncle Creepy (Dread Central) aggressively, yet cordially, invited all of us to have sex with him. Then another guy showed up who appeared to know Creepy, ignored the rest of us, and disrupted the conversation with a loud voice, foul-language, and a high school clique-y demeanor so that all attention was drawn to him. Well now that he had my attention, I wanted to know who it was that I was observing, so I said aloud, "Who is this fuckstick?" Said fuckstick was abruptly taken aback by my curiosity and took both exception and umbrage to my tone. Which just goes to show that you can't please everybody. Give it a few days and you'll probably be able to google Fango, Feo, Fuck Stick, and discover who it was. He'll likely be saying something along the lines of "And this son of a bitch, who turned out to be Feo Amante, called me a Fuck Stick! The asshole!"
Anyway, I'm glad I went there and spent a day at the Fango in LA. It was cool hanging out with Jace and his friends and all of the other Horror fans at the Holiday Inn later that night. And of course, it's always cool to meet people who are as happy to see you as you are to see them. I didn't go on Sunday though, there were other things to do.
To be generous, I'm going to figure that, since a convention center the massive size of the Los Angeles one is so extraordinarily huge, Creation Entertainment has to basically start over from zero in growing the fanbase again. Also, people don't like driving into downtown LA. Unless someone specifically plopped some festival or convention there, there is nothing to do in downtown LA. Downtown LA is a joke.
With the new arena comes a new identity crises and a period of adjustment. I hope they work it out, because the 2007 Fangoria Con kicked ass!
*Actually, FRONTIER(S) was represented by After Dark Films, who also repped their lackluster slate of movies from the After Dark Film Festival of 2007 that took a noise dive and fell flat on its face.
After Dark President, Courtney, announced that they had aquired the French Film, THE BROKEN starring Lena Headley (300) and directed by Sean Ellis. Normally, that would be a fine pedigree, but THE BROKEN received a drubbing both from critics and fans when it crashed and burned in Euro theaters. Worse, they tried to pawn it off to distributors at the American Film Market in November and there were too few takers. Now that nobody else wants it, After Dark will take it? That's really shoring up an already bad precedent that After Dark created with movies like SKIN WALKERS and CAPTIVITY. People who don't like Horror, don't "get" Horror, and are unable to give Horror fans what they want. There is a vast gulf between what Horror fans SAY, and what non-horror fans HEAR! For the large body of non-horror fans in positions of leadership over at After Dark, its equivalent to a virgin thinking they can fake being a great lover. I don't think any of them understand that the alarm clock is about to go off on their jobs. Which is too bad: The After Dark Film Festival was a great concept.
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TOMORROW'S DVDS TODAY!
These are the movies and shows coming out tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29, 2008, on DVD.
TELEVISION -
DARK SHADOWS: THE BEGINNINGS COLLECTION 4
ROSWELL: SEASONS 1-3
BOX SETS
THE COMPLETE TOXIC AVENGER - Welcome the re-release of the box set!
BLU-RAY -
Nada
These are the movies -
ALL MONSTERS ATTACK - This is the same movie that was released in the GODZILLA COLLECTION. So if you got that, therre is nothing extra to collect with this one.
APOCALYPSE II: REVELATION - As if the first Apocalypse wasn't bad enough, now we get a second one plus an epiphany!
THE BEAST IN SPACE - From 1980, this is the unrated version from back when that meant something. And BOY, lemme tell ya, when that Beast gets in space? That's a whole 'nother beast! This is an adult film for sex, not for violence. But don't get all carried away and think its hardcore. Still, it is pretty beastly. You should google actress, Sirpa Lane, and check out the images even with the moderate safe search on! Whoa!
BOARDING HOUSE - From 1982 comes this tale of a man named Jim. Jim is a man with telekinetic powers who inherits a house with a few problems of its own. The con is that the house is inhabited by an evil force. The pro is, that evil attracts amazingly beautiful women who want to live in the house with Jim. So he starts a boarding house. The bad news is that the evil kills the beautiful women. The good news is, that just makes room for another hot cutie to move in. It's times like these when men start negotiating with houses. "Hey evil, how about instead of killing these women you do something else really evil like ... um... making me irresistible to them? That's pretty evil. Oh! And free cable TV and Internet! Yeah, stealing cable is pretty evil! While you're at it, why not rip off the utility companies too? That should keep you busy. As for those occasional Jehovah Witnesses? They're all yours! Whaddya say? Pal!"
DELIRIUM - Straight actor Mickey Hargitay (father of actor Mariska Hargitay) started getting into some sick psychosexual Horror films back in the 1960s and this one, from 1972, was about as twisted as they came for that period.
DON'T GO IN THE WOODS ALONE - From 1981, this is the 25th Anniversary Edition. And the truth is, they DIDN'T go in the woods alone. There were four of them! Not that it helped any. Still, this movie serves as a reminder that, when Machetes are outlawed, only raving homicidal maniacs will have machetes.
THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE - It's not exactly Horror (well, there's that one moment), Thriller (but sometimes it is), Mystery (well, kind of) or Suspense (in a way I guess); its just weird, man. Weird! But feoamante.com is a home for weird and this is one of the better ones. Lost, meandering, wandering, but better than average weird.
HARM'S WAY - When yer in Harm's way, get out of it! Stars Kathleen Quinlan (NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, EVENT HORIZON, THE HILLS HAVE EYES [2006]).
HEADLESS HORSEMAN: THE FINAL CUT - Pfff! Heeee! The Final cut! HA! Director Anthony C. Ferrante, you kill me! Stars Richard Moll (HOUSE).
HITCH-HIKE - Hardcore Horror from 1977 starring Franco nero and David Hess. David Hess is now attending Horror conventions and he greets the fans with tales of his time on the set of Wes Craven's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. But if you really want to see David get all animated, start talking knowledgeably about HITCH-HIKE. Also wax enthusiastic about his music. He wrote and performed most of the songs for CABIN FEVER. You'll make a friend for life, or at least until your beer money dries up.
IN THE BLOOD - Cassidy, the popular college jock, dabbles in homosexuality as an experiment. The sexual experiment gives him visions. The visions are of a serial killer who has been stalking the campus killing girls who look like ... like Cassidy's sister! When a family ghost tells him that he can see the future, but only when having wild sex, Cassidy realizes that he must be gay. Now the only way he can solve the mystery of the serial killer is to totally swallow, take it as hard as possible up the ass, bukake like mad dog, and toss a few mean salads. And the more passionately he does these things, the better his visions! He's doing it to save his sister, man! Believe it or not, this isn't meant to be satire. This is played in all seriousness.
KARAOKE TERROR: THE COMPLETE SHOWA SONGBOOK - It's Horror! It's Thriller! It's comedy! It's action! It's more Japanese off the wall madness! And yer not gonna get yer three freaking acts no matter how you try to dilute it for American audiences, who don't want to see another lame-ass Hollywood Japanese Horror flick remade with an anesthetized script and white actors!
THE KILLING CAR - From 1983, though actually, this isn't some possessed car like THE CAR or CHRISTINE. There is this hot Asian chick who gets in the car and tears off on an unexplained killing spree. From French director Jean Rollin, who made his mark in Horror with nudie vampire movies from the 60s and 70s.
KNOCK, KNOCK - A direct to video title, so why bother paying for a movie rating? Now you can call your low-budgie UNRATED! A film by Joe Ariola.
THE NEW YORK RIPPER - Lucio Fulci's 1982 giallo! Like Jack the Ripper only without the dignity.
NIGHTMARE CITY - From 1980 and Umberto Lenzi comes this Radioactive mutant movie. I know that the guys over at Sex Gore Mutants call it a zombie movie. I know that feoamante alumni Ryan Harding and Mike Bracken both call it a zombie movie. But Umberto Lenzi directed this and he specifically said they were deadly, dying radioactive mutants, not zombies! This argument goes on all of the time. Check out my BLAAG at MySpace to see what I mean. I'm sticking with Lenzi!
SCHIZO - Check out this slice of Schizo my Nizzo, from 1976! Among all of the brutal slayings and gore, it helps to remember as you watch this movie, that the writers and director didn't understand that Schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder. That's Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Schizophrenia is where you become unnaturally paranoid and start hearing voices telling you to kill. Of course, you COULD make a movie called MPD and Takashi Miike finally did.
SEE NO EVIL: THE STORY OF THE MOORS MURDERS - From 2006 and the UK comes this retelling of the mystery and the hunt for a serial killer in England. Or Great Britain. One of the two.
TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA - This is the same movie that was released in the GODZILLA COLLECTION. So if you got that, there is nothing extra to collect with this one.
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HAPPY HORROR THRILLER MYSTERY BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Jessica Alba (IDLE HANDS, PARANOID, DARK ANGEL [TV], SIN CITY, INTO THE BLUE, AWAKE, THE EYE) who is 27. Jessica's upcoming Thriller SIN CITY 2 is scheduled for a 2008 release.
Actor Kari Wuhrer (THINNER, ANACONDA, KATE'S ADDICTION, FATAL CONFLICT, KILLER LOVE, EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, FINAL EXAMINATION, KING OF THE ANTS, THE HITCHER II, THE PROHECY: UPRISING, HELLRAISER: DEADER, THE PROPHECY: FORSAKEN) who is 41.
And On Sunday -
Off again, on again, lead guitarist for KISS,
Musician Ace Frehley (Albums: HOTTER THAN HELL, DESTROYER, LOVE GUN, PSYCHO CIRCUS and way more. Movies: KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK [TV], REMEDY) is 56.
Okay, the fact is that I have many adult friends who think that the old Scooby-Doo cartoons were nothing more than product marketed unmitigated crap. At the same time, and with a hint of shame, they'll also admit that, as kids, the damn cartoon babysat them for a up to a good hour or so every Saturday morning. No doubt, in another 20 years, there will be a world famous paleontologist who'll fess up to being influenced by Barney the Purple Dinosaur, as a baby. So with so many contemporary Horror and Mystery fans and writers acknowledging early inspiration from the cartoon, I'd be remiss to leave it out of the loop.
One other, particularly important thing about Scooby-Doo and that is: The entire show was based upon the idea that there really weren't any ghosts, monsters, or other supernatural entities. If you used your head, were reasonable, rational, and looked deep enough, you'd find an unsavory character behind the mystery; looking to take criminal advantage of frightened or gullible people ("Yeah, and I would have gotten away with it too: If it wasn't for you rotten kids!"). A solid life lesson well taught to the young masses.
So if you were a childhood fan of Scooby-Doo, maybe you really shouldn't feel that bad about it. And while we're on the subject, here is a Happy Birthday to the voice of Scooby's best pal, the perpetually frightened Shaggy.
Voice actor Casey Kasem (Norville "Shaggy" Rogers of various SCOOBY DOO cartoons since the beginning in 1969) is 75. |
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APRIL 25
From MarketWire
GUILLERMO DEL TORO TO DIRECT "THE HOBBIT"
"Hobbit" Executive Producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh Tap "Pan's Labyrinth" Director to Helm Latest Installments of "The Lord of the Rings" Saga
LOS ANGELES, CA - Guillermo del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH, HELLBOY, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, BLADE 2, MIMIC) will direct THE HOBBIT and its sequel*, it was jointly announced today by "The Hobbit" Executive Producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, New Line Cinema's President and COO Toby Emmerich, and Mary Parent, Chairperson, Worldwide Motion Picture Group, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM).
"Guillermo is a filmmaker of outstanding ability; he is a genuine storyteller who brings a tremendous amount of passion, energy and imagination to his work. A true original, Guillermo is a cinematic magician who has never lost his child-like sense of wonder. He understands that the fantastic must be grounded in the real and that all stories are only ever a reflection of ourselves," say Jackson and Walsh. "We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired filmmaker to take the journey back to Middle-earth. We are delighted 'The Hobbit' is in such trustworthy hands."
Del Toro says, "This is a great honor, and I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand. I want to thank them, Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne, Toby Emmerich and Mark Ordesky for entrusting me with such an incredible project. Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute dream come true."^
Comments Emmerich, "Guillermo has a proven ability to bring fantasy worlds to life in a compelling and emotional way. He is the ideal filmmaker to work with Peter and Fran to bring Tolkien's beloved Middle-earth back to the screen."
Parent adds: "As the international distributors for 'The Hobbit' films, we couldn't agree more with Peter, Fran and our partners at New Line, Guillermo is the perfect choice to direct. Audiences across the globe enjoy his unique cinematic viewpoint, imaginative direction and provocative storytelling talents. His vision, in collaboration with Peter and Fran, will ensure 'The Hobbit' as a very special film experience for audiences worldwide."
Del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Jackson and his Wingnut and WETA production teams. He will helm the two films back to back - telling the story of "The Hobbit," and its sequel, which will deal with the 60-year period between "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
New Line is overseeing development and will manage the production. "The Hobbit" and its sequel are being co-produced and co-financed by New Line Cinema and MGM, with Warner Brothers distributing domestically and MGM distributing internationally. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are executive producing the films.
The Oscar®-winning, critically acclaimed THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The Return of the King swept the Academy Awards®, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture - the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time.
For more information about "The Hobbit" films, please visit TheHobbitBlog.com.
Del Toro most recently helmed the critically acclaimed PAN'S LABYRINTH, which was released through New Line's Picturehouse label and became the highest grossing Spanish language film in US box office history, and among the top five grossing foreign language films of all time. It won three Academy Awards® (Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup) and earned six nominations, including a writing nomination for del Toro for the film's original screenplay. Del Toro also executive produced another Picturehouse release, the Spanish supernatural thriller THE ORPHANAGE, which, having scored critical success and broken box office records in Spain, has been critically acclaimed and is currently playing in theaters nationwide. Del Toro also previously co-wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Spanish fantasy thriller THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, and first worked with New Line in 2002 when he directed "Blade II." His current feature, which he directs and has adapted from the graphic novel series, HELLBOY II: The Golden Army, is scheduled for a July 11 release.
*Actually, there was no sequel to THE HOBBIT in J. R. Tolkien's books, other than THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy itself. So it will be interesting to see what this sequel will be about.
^We've reviewed, for better or worse, every Guillermo del Toro movie here at feoamante.com, except for CRONOS. And by Cthulhu, we're going to do that too before HELLBOY II opens this year. We also have two interviews with del Toro Here and Here. I've also sat in on tons of talks and Q&A's featuring del Toro at various fan conventions. What's more, he's also had nice things to say about me, which isn't easy for most people. In essence: I Know How The Guy Talks! So I'm thinking that the real Del Toro, as excited as he is about this project - in fact, BECAUSE he's so excited about this project, probably didn't wax enthusiastic in the nice and sanitary way that this New Line approved Market Wire press release would have us believe. It was likely more along the lines of -
Del Toro says, "This is a great F*cking honor, and I am indeed F*cking blessed to become a part of the F*cking filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary F*cking team of collaborators have created in New Zealand! I want to thank them, Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne, Toby Emmerich and Mark Ordesky for entrusting me with such an incredible F*cking project! Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute F*cking dream come true!"
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APRIL 24
DARK IN LOST ANGELES
FeoNote: If you plan to be in the Los Angeles area this weekend, you may want to know about the following -
Friday, April 25th at 7:00pm, at Dark Delicacies bookstore - the nation's only Horror Thriller bookstore - Feo Amante alumni, Harry Shannon, kicks off the weekend with a signing for his latest trade paperback novel, DAEMON.
Joining Harry is author Mario Acevedo, who will be signing his novel, THE UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA.
This signing kicks off a fantastic Horror Thriller weekend in Los Angeles that includes the largest Horror Thriller fan convention in the U.S. (more on that below) and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. So if you plan to be in the Los Angeles area this weekend, Start at
Dark Delicacies
4213 W. Burbank
Burbank, CA
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THE BOOKFAIR LIKE NO OTHAIR!
This weekend is a good weekend to be in Los Angeles. Lots of stuff for the fans this time around including the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Over 140,000 attendees with over 450 authors are expected to attend. Do not expect library and bookstore quiet here. The Festival is just that with a Carnival atmosphere that brings out the pastiest book worms from their
dank lairs! Running April
25 through 28, don't miss this if you can possibly help it. Worth the drive, the train ride, and even the flight. Not worth the cruise though, you'll never make it in time. For more info, check out
Festival Of Books.
I'll see you there!
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FANGOMANIA
With a monster event like The LA Times Festival of Books going on, Creation couldn't have picked a worse time to host their latest Fangoria convention. But what the hell? They've been doing this for over 30 years so maybe they know something I don't. It's possible!
2006 and 2007 proved beyond doubt that the annual Fango convention had outgrew any and all hotel venues, so this year they go full blast at the Los Angeles Convention Center!
Over 100 guests are expected including,
Writer / Director Clive Barker (HELLRAISER, NIGHTBREED, THE THIEF OF ALWAYS, COLDHEART CANYON, ABARAT)
A rare appearance by actor Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM, INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD)
Writer Steve Niles (30 DAYS OF NIGHT)
Actor Ray Wise (ROBOCOP, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2)
Comic Artist Bernie Wrightson
The cast and crew of BRUTAL MASSACRE (including Gunnar Hansen, Ken Foree, and two of the Ladies of the EVIL DEAD)
Writer / Director Tom Holland (CHILD'S PLAY, PSYCHO II)
Jeanette Goldstein (ALIENS, NEAR DARK, TERMINATOR 2)
Writer / Director Eric Red (THE HITCHER, NEAR DARK)
John Gulager (THE FEAST)
Actor Marc Senter (THE LOST)
Tiffany Shepis (ABOMINABLE)
Plus the usual suspects including
The NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 40th Anniversary cast and crew
Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM)
Joe Dante (THE HOWLING, GREMLINS, HOMECOMING)
Mick Garris (Masters of Horror)
Sid Haig (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, KILL BILL 2, THE DEVILS REJECTS, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN)
Shawnee Smith (SAW)
Tony Todd (CANDYMAN, FINAL DESTINATION, VALERIE ON THE STAIRS)
The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors promises to be the biggest Horror Convention ever and runs from April 23 to 27.
Get more information at
Fangoria Weekend of Horrors.
I'll see you there!
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HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Whether by luck or intent, this actress is making a name for herself in Horror Thriller movies. Happy birthday to
Actor Melinda Clarke (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3, MULHOLLAND FALLS, THE KILLER TONGUE, SPAWN, DYNAMITE, .COM FOR MURDER, THE ANIMATRIX) is 39.
Back in the 1970s, this veteran producer and director must have got bitten by the Horror Thriller bug when, in the same year, he directed episodes of two Horror Thriller TV series. He's had a long career in Horror Thrillers ever since.
Director/Producer Richard Donner (THE TWILIGHT ZONE [TV - original series, six episodes], THE SIXTH SENSE [TV], GHOST STORY [TV], THE OMEN, THE GOONIES, SCROOGED, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [TV], DEMON KNIGHT, CONSPIRACY THEORY, BORDELLO OF BLOOD, X-MEN, RITUAL, MATTHEW BLACKHEART: MONSTER SMASHER [TV]) is 78.
Horror Thriller Writer John Edward Lawson (Books: SIN CONDUCTOR, THE TROUBLING AMPUTEE, DISCOURAGING AT BEST. Movies: RAGE: INTERNAL DEMONS) is 34.
Visit him at MySpace.com/Hellmonger. |
RETURN TO TOP
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Contributors to Feo Amante are going places! Check it out below!
Starring Adrian Paul
(THE HIGHLANDER),
Bokeem Woodbine, and Ling Bai (THE CROW), This Alternate History
movie is part Horror, Part crime, part S.F. and all Vampires.
From the screenplay by alumni
Christos N. Gage
and
Ruth Fletcher Gage.
Brian Keene was one of the first reviewers at feoamante.com and has gone on to become one of the fastest growing Horror writers in publishing.
Harry Shannon began writing for us in the new millennium and has gone on to write mass market novels and pen the motion picture,
DEAD AND GONE
Scott Nicholson had a career before us, but he wanted to contribute anyway! |
Haunted
Links:
| The
Chancery House |
Dancing Skeletons
Sure, why not? |
Evil
On A
Budget
Every Evil Overlord has to start somewhere. |
Evil Overlord,
Inc.
Valuable advice for setting up your own world dominating empire. |
GoreLets
Once this site buries its hook in you, you won't want to pull
it out.
Flash Enabled. |
Halloween
Midis - Music - and Wavs |
| The
Haunted Graveyard |
| The
Haunted Playhouse |
Hell2U
Hell, Michigan. It's a beautiful little place that's a helluva lot of fun to visit. |
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
I've never met a soul who remembers this whacked out show, yet Canadians
Bill Strutt and Ben Kane have created this excellent tribute site. |
The
Monster Dance
Sigh... for those of you who really crave kitsch. |
The
Monster Mash
More dancing monsters. This time with lyrics. |
The
Moonlit
Road |
MustDie
A Russian site. I don't know what they are saying, but it looks so COOL! |
Necropsy
A fledgling Horror site hosted on the Louisiana State University
servers. Not much there so far, but the roster of reviewers, including
S.T. Joshi, is impressive. |
Rather Good
Not Haunted or Horror but being this twisted, where else would he
have a link? |
The
Ossuary In Sedlac
A massive and ornate building made of human bones. |
Screams From The Abyss
Few images, mostly text. It's a 24 hour, 7 day a week Geoff Cooper
Bitch-Fest! |
Spectrum
Of Fantasy
Is back online! A Russian site, with pages in English and/or Russian.
Uses Shockwave! |
Link to us!
If you would like to use the graphic above, just save the icon image
to your server and link it back to feoamante.com!
Also Visit
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