Boston, MA – At this year's Quidditch World Cup, the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) officially re-launched the "Not In Harry's Name" campaign. This effort, which began in November 2010, asks Warner Bros. (WB) to make all Harry Potter chocolate products Fair Trade. The HPA is giving Warner Bros. until midnight on New Year's Eve to respond to the HPA's most recent letter. In previous months HPA Executive Director Andrew Slack has amicably discussed the matter with WB, including CEO Barry Meyer. However, WB has since stopped communication with the HPA on the issue and insists that the company it employs to make Harry Potter chocolate, Behr's Chocolates, meets ethical sourcing standards while a third party company, Free 2 Work, has given Warner Bros. practices an "F" rating. This grade indicates that it there is a reasonable chance that chocolate sold in Harry Potter's name has been made by children kidnapped from their homes and forced to work as slaves on the Ivory Coast.

Continued at TheHPAlliance.

AND

Centipede crawls out of Australian cinemas
A graphic horror movie has been banned by the Classification Review Board just three weeks after it made its Australian premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival.

Originally classified R 18+ by the Classification Board in May, Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence was refused classification by the Review Board on Monday with the review team decrying its "gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of violence", as well as its displays of cruelty.

Continued at Brisbane Times.

PLUS

Jesse Eisenberg Sues Claiming 'Camp Hell' DVD Cover Overplays His Tiny Role
Jesse Eisenberg (ZOMBIELAND) has filed a lawsuit against Lionsgate and Grindstone Entertainment for allegedly turning his less-than-five-minute cameo in the horror flick Camp Hell into an above-the-title star turn. The actor is using the Los Angeles Superior Court to make a point. According to the complaint, "Eisenberg is bringing this lawsuit in order to warn his fans and the public that, contrary to the manner in which Defendants are advertising the film, Eisenberg is not the star of and does not appear in a prominent role in Camp Hell."

Continued at Hollywood Reporter.

Continued at Feo Amante/ TMNT.

Continued at Comics Alliance.

But don't be too long about it—the extended deadline is December 1, 2011.

PRIZES
First Place: $3,000 and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference
Second Place: $1,500
Third Place: $500
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $100
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer's Digest Books

If you live in the Los Angeles area, you may want to know about this,
DARK DELICACIES
Join CHILLERAMA directors Adam Green (HATCHET, FROZEN), Joe Lynch (WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END), horror film legend Kane Hodder (HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY, 2001 MANIACS, HATCHET, ROOM 6, HACK!, FROZEN), stars Ray Wise (CAT PEOPLE, ROBOCOP, JEEPERS CREEPERS II), Lin Shaye (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Wes Craven's NEW NIGHTMARE, 2001 MANIACS, SNAKES ON A PLANE, Snoop Dogg's HOOD OF HORROR), Kristina "Eva Braun" Klebe (Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN), "Werebear" Anton Troy and composer Bear McCreary (WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, THE WALKING DEAD) as they sign CHILLERAMA Blu-rays and DVDs on Tuesday, November 29th at Burbank's legendary Dark Delicacies bookstore.

Tuesday, November 29th, 7:00pm
(That's right. You have to buy the movie there to get it signed. Don't be a jerk!)

Dark Delicacies Bookstore
3512 W. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505

Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose, his path of rampage crosses paths with Ofer and Tali, a brother and sister combo who have run away from home. But when Tali becomes ensnared in the killer's trap, it is up to Ofer to find help. Left alone, Tali soon becomes mixed up with an unlikely group of characters, ranging from a set of tennis players to a squad of policemen. All the while, they continue to be stalked by the murderer – and when this assassin's identity is finally revealed, it turns out to be the biggest shock of all!

1. The executives at Warner Brothers at the time wanted Ken to direct after
2. Original Director Arthur Penn (NIGHT MOVES, DEAD OF WINTER) got fed up with the shooting schedule and politics behind the scenes and quit in the middle of making the picture.

While Penn cannot hold a candle to Russell in terms of quantity of films directed, he more than makes up for that in the quality of films he has directed. At the time that Russell was drafted to finish directing ALTERED STATES, he was stumbling off of a very sporadic career that included way out celluloid LSD trips such as the musicals (or Rock Operas, if you prefer) Lisztomania and Tommy. The only noticable thing he did after ALTERED STATES was GOTHIC, a flawed masterpiece which raised his career up and THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM, an insipid and ridiculous piece that brought him back down. Fortunately for us all, Ken was brought in to direct the final scenes that involved the mind voyages. So Russell was a brilliant choice in that respect as he could take us from the staid and sterile old Boston centers of learning and smack into the extraordinary out of control excitement that knocks us out of our seats.

Continued at Feo Amante/ Movies/ Altered States.

A group of horror writers and artists have banded together to scare up some seasonal treats for less fortunate children this year. Seeking to provide joy to the hearts of children who might otherwise have a bleak holiday season, they are throwing down the gauntlet and issuing a challenge. If you are willing to provide a toy for a child, you will then in return be put into a drawing to receive an incredible library which includes magazines, books, even some signed first editions, and other rare and limited literary goodies.

Toys for Tots is a charitable foundation that provides toys for children whose parents are unable to do so during difficult times. By gifting a child with something as simple as a toy you give hope to them and their family and show them there are people out there who do indeed care.

The rules are simple; folks post 2 pictures of them donating. One shot of them holding the toy, one picture of the toy in the box. To show that the donation is valid they need to see that the toy is indeed in the box so that you can be entered into the draw for the ever growing pile of prizes. Pictures should be posted on the group's Facebook page. Only one entry per person is allowed. The final drawing will have all names thrown into a hat and one winner, chosen at random, will be the lucky recipient.

All of the artists involved in donating their creations to this cause are doing this purely to help those in need and felt giving back in this manner would be a great way to spur on the true generosity of the holiday season. They are not involved in any organization, or group, but wanted to show that those that thrill and chill your spines the rest of the year have warm hearts that enjoy seeing joy and laughter in the faces of those less fortunate.

Thank you to all of those who are able to donate and know that one simple act of kindness can inspire a lifetime of generosity in kindness from those that receive it.

For more information, visit Joe Pulver at This Yellow Madness.

Visit Bad Santa artist, Kerem Beyit.

When actor Max Shrek loomed into the monochrome theaters of the silent era, his Vampire - NOSFERATU (1922) - was a grotesquerie more in keeping with the visage Bram Stoker described in his book, Dracula.

Lon Chaney played a vampire as well, one that was just as hideous with an entire mouth filled with serrated teeth. These appearances came and went without setting a fashion among horror movies. But when Bela Lugosi, with his incredibly intense stare and Slavic good looks came across in the early talkies and finally gave voice to DRACULA (1931), he changed the way we thought of Vampires for the next 45 years. From then on vampires would be handsome or beautiful and above all, seductive.

First, put yourself in the place of an audience today. Except for grievous examples of poor computer animated graphics, like the re-worked Star Wars "Jabba the Hut", or the ILM end-boss in DEEP RISING, or the bug-eyed monkey thing in Lost In Space, or any number of other awful examples: audiences really like computer animated graphics. They love them in THE MATRIX and they love them in LORD OF THE RINGS. But the truth is, we are giving the movie makers slack because we want to enjoy the movie as a whole. We love the story like the first JURASSIC PARK, so we accept the limitations of the medium. At least it ain't some guy in a rubber suit!

Now put yourself in the theater seats of a 1954 Japanese audience, and two years later in the seats of an American audience.