These are archived news items, many of them outside of this website.
Eventually the links may not work. Everything's Eventual.

QUICK BITES
'Halloween' Footage Terrifies CinemaCon, Confirms New Details About Laurie Strode and Michael Myers' Showdown
By Zack Sharf
Universal Pictures debuted the first trailer for David Gordon Green's upcoming "Halloween" sequel at CinemaCon, and the footage did not disappoint when it comes to bloody horror. Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the franchise as Laurie Strode, the scream queen role that made her famous, and she was on hand at CinemaCon to debut the footage and tease the project.

Continued at IndieWire.

AND

'It: Chapter 2' Director Andy Muschietti Says 'Bring Your Adult Diapers'
By Dave McNary
"It: Chapter 2" will be even more scary than last year's horror blockbuster, director Andy Muschietti promised Tuesday.

"Bring your adult diapers," he told the audience at Caesar's Palace in a video clip on the second day of the CinemaCon convention of the nation's theater owners during the Warner Bros. presentation.

Continued at Variety.

VENOM
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Trailer is looking good, which is just as well because VENOM isn't a superhero and if there is one thing audiences are starting to burn on it's Vampires, Zombies, and Superheroes.

You can have too much of a good thing and most Vampire, Zombie, and Superhero movies are too much of mostly no good things.

Where I'm coming from here is Horror Thriller, of course. Throughout its comic book life, VENOM is among the darkest of anti-heroes. Eddie Brock is possessed by a monster who rarely takes his feelings into account (Bruce Banner, heh! YOU know what I'm talking about).

Unlike THE INCREDIBLE HULK, however, who can and does go skipping across the face of the earth without a passport, VENOM is more of a homebody to the city. A kind of urbane symbiot- about-town. More to the point, VENOM is absolutely a monster.

Venom doesn't need the flying, exploding, hyperbolic superhero histrinoics. He can be totally in the shadows the way THE CROW was meant to be, scaring the shit out of the unwary, lost, and villainous. An unstoppable THE TERMINATOR force that, once you wind up in his cross hairs, it's all over but the running.

... and the screaming.

... and the dying.

In fact, in 2017 Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane went on record stating, "if they gave me that character, I would scare the sh—t out of people with it."

Oh yeah! Oh Hells yeah! THAT'S the Venom I hope to see!

VENOM is Written by Kelly Marcel (TERRA NOVA [TV]), Will Beall, Scott Rosenberg (DISTURBING BEHAVIOR, IMPOSTOR, ZOO [TV]), and Jeff Pinker (ALIAS [TV], LOST [TV], FRINGE [TV], THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, THE 5th WAVE, THE DARK TOWER, ZOO [TV]), Directed by Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND), and stars, Tom Hardy (STAR TREK: NEMESIS, LD 50 LETHAL DOSE, MINOTAUR, A FOR ANDROMEDA, THE KILLING GENE, INCEPTION, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, LONDON ROAD), Michelle Williams (SPECIES, HALLOWEEN H2O, SHUTTER ISLAND), Woody Harrelson (NATURAL BORN KILLERS, A SCANNER DARKLY, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, TRANSSIBERIAN, DEFENDOR, ZOMBIELAND, THE HUNGER GAMES [all], WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES) and Riz Ahmed (SHIFTY, CENTURION, NIGHTCRAWLER).

UH OH!
Halloween 2018 Test Screening Goes Over Poorly with Horror Fans?
By Kevin Burwick
Blumhouse Productions recently conducted a test screening for David Gordon Green and Danny McBride's new Halloween movie, and it's left some old school horror hounds pretty angry. Fans have been skeptical about the movie since it was announced, but pictures from the set as well as the inclusion of Jaime Lee Curtis and John Carpenter scoring the soundtrack have gone a long way in fueling hope for the quasi-sequel. However, notes from the first test screening may reignite that initial skepticism.

Continued at MovieWeb.

FeoNote: Well there you have it. Why did it have to be a sequel to John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN? If Blumhouse had to make a misstep with a Horror franchise, why couldn't it have been THE PURGE or INSIDIOUS or SINISTER?

Oh wait... nevermind.

Anyway, Horror Freak News broke the story but, at the request of the studio, they removed it. Now the breaking story belongs to MovieWeb.

Still how can you NOT give the benefit of the doubt to a Writer, Producer, and Director like David Gordon Green? The man has a long filmmaking career, spanning over 20 years, that clearly shows he has absolutely no interest in making Horror movies.

So who better to walk onto a professional baseball diamond for the first time in their life and hit a homerun Horror classic the second he ever touches a bat? Right? There's no real difference between John Carpenter movies and Judd Apatow movies, right?

See, David's thing is making Danny McBride movie comedies like Pineapple Express, or making Danny McBride TV comedies like Eastbound & Down and Vice Principles. In fact, the same Danny McBride who starred as the comedy relief in ALIEN COVENANT also co-wrote HALLOWEEN (2018) with David.

So bear in mind this was just a test screening, and the audience response is all a part of what test screenings are for (No-o-o-o body was happy with the first cut of John Carpenter's THE FOG and Nobody is happy even now with ESCAPE FROM LA). Moreover, Comedians have a long history of making classic Horror movies. For example -

Moving right along,

SPOILER ALERT -
Lucky for you (God DAMN, but you're just so fucking lucky you have me!), I know the end that so aggravated the test audience. What's the problem? For what John Carpenter has called the last Halloween, Blumhouse just HAD to do the Happy Ending.

Yeah, that's it. A Happy Halloween ending!

In the new Halloween movie for 2018, which will be called, HALLOWEEN*, Laurie Strode has become a Research Therapist specializing in weening criminals away from their violent anti-social behavior and directing their vicious tendencies to something more socially productive.

HALLOWEEN (2018) ends with Michael's powerful aggression redirected to learning a trade in the residential building industry. HAMMERWEEN: The Night HE Built A Home!

*Because that's the kind of slack-jawed creativity that worked so well for the 2011 reboot version of John Carpenter's THE THING, when the producers decided to call it, THE THING.

QUICK BITES
Avengers: James Cameron SLAMS 'hypergonadal' superhero movies 'Enough, already'
By Stefan Kyriazis
The biggest box office film director of all time has blasted superhero franchises.

With Infinity War about to hit cinemas, it seems an extraordinary time for a major Hollywood voice to say he hoped audiences would soon move on and become tired of films like the upcoming Avengers blockbuster.

Continued at Express.

FeoNote: Well hang on now! I'm really looking forward to INCREDIBLES 2!

Speaking of which...

AND

See How a Shot from 'Incredibles 2' Evolves from Storyboard to Final Animation
by Ethan Anderton
Making an animated film is remarkably different than shooting a live-action movie. Everything is created from scratch, and the process is a much longer, arduous one. Sure, some live-action movies can take awhile to develop and get off the ground, but the amount of production time for an animated movie takes years.

Continued at SlashFilm.

PLUS

How ILM Animated the Avatars from Steven Spielberg's 'Ready Player One'
By Bill Desowitz
At first glance, there are way too many Easter Eggs to keep track of in Ready Player One. But, as Steven Spielberg emphasized at the Los Angeles premiere, "My philosophy from the very beginning was, the story is out the front windshield and the pop culture references are out the side mirror." As a result, animated performance was key for Industrial Light & Magic.

Continued at AWN.

YOU DUG IT - YOU BURIED IT
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
A QUIET PLACE
In a slow weekend, A QUIET PLACE knocked contender RAMPAGE off of #1 and resumed its place at the top honor.

Bear in mind that #1 this week scored a $22 million box office. More than enough to keep the studio happy with a $17 million budget movie that has brought in over $130 mill. in its 2 week, 3 weekend run.

A QUIET PLACE is by the writing/producing team of Bryan Woods and Scott Beck and stars John Krasinski (MONSTERS VS ALIENS), Emily Blunt (THE WOLFMAN, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Leon Russom.

Produced by Michael Bay and Andrew Form (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2003], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, TRANSFORMERS [2007], THE UNBORN [2009]).

RAMPAGE
Moved to #2 in its second weekend, but with only a 41% drop in ticket sales, you might still be digging it. However, with a $122 mill. budget, RAMPAGE is going to need a lot more love just to break even at the box office, to say nothing of being profitable. Dwayne Johnson is cool, but he's no miracle worker.

RAMPAGE was written by Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, Adam Sztykiel. It's Directed by DJ's GoTo guy, Brad Peyton (INCARNATE) and stars Dwayne Johnson (THE MUMMY RETURNS, THE SCORPION KING, DOOM),
Naomie Harris (28 DAYS LATER, TRAUMA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, FRANKENSTEIN [2011]),
Malin Akerman (THE FRATERNITY, WATCHMEN),
Jeffrey Dean Morgan (WATCHMEN, THE RESIDENT, THE POSSESSION, THE WALKING DEAD [TV])

TRUTH OR DARE
Slipped from #3 to #5 in its second weekend. With a $3.5 million budget and 3,000 plus screens, Blumhouse' latest brings in theater ticket sales of just over $30 million in its first week, second weekend, so nobody is crying here.

TRUTH OR DARE was Written, Directed, and Executive Produced by Jeff Wadlow (BATES MOTEL [TV], NON-STOP, THE STRAIN [TV]), Co-Wrote and Co-Executive Produced with Christopher Roach (NON-STOP), additional writers are Jillian Jacobs and Michael Reisz (also story pitch). and stars,
Lucy Hale (SCREAM 4), Tyler Posey (SCARY MOVIE 5), Violett Beane (THE LEFTOVERS).

READY PLAYER ONE
In its fourth weekend, Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE, based on the NYT bestseller by Ernest Cline, moves from #4 to #6, bringing in $7.5 against an undisclosed budget. You are still digging READY PLAYER ONE, but not by much. Warner Bros. is already putting this one to bed, having hacked 453 screens from last weeks number. Despite that major screen loss, READY PLAYER ONE only suffered a 34.9% drop in ticket sales.

Co-wrote by Zak Penn (X-MEN 2, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), READY PLAYER ONE is directed by Steven Spielberg (JAWS, POLTERGIEST, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS) and stars Tye Sheridan (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE), Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS) and features fan favorites like Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, LAND OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK [2009]), Ben Mendelsohn (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) and T.J. Miller (CLOVERFIELD).

BLACK PANTHER
In its 10th week, BLACK PANTHER moves from #6 to #8 with a world-wide cume of over $1.330 billion dollars, making it one of the biggest grossing movies of all time. With a 250 screen cut, bringing its totals to 1,930 screens, BLACK PANTHER only suffered a mere 19.7% loss in ticket sales. It actually made more per screen than READY PLAYER ONE. However, online fans have made it clear that they want this on home video NOW!

BLACK PANTHER is Co-Wrote and Directed by Micheal B. Jordan's GoTo Guy, Ryan Coogler, with co-writing by Joe Robert Cole and Stars Chadwick Boseman (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR), Michael B. Jordan (FANTASTIC FOUR), Martin Freeman (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]), Angela Bassett (INNOCENT BLOOD, SUPERNOVA), Forest Whitaker (BODY SNATCHERS, SPECIES, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, PANIC ROOM, PHONE BOOTH, REPO MEN), and Andy Serkis (Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], KING KONG [2005], THE PRESTIGE, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [2011 - all], THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]).

References:
BoxOfficeMojo -
IMDb -
IMPAwards -

OLD BOYS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
We have a confirmed Anthony Hopkins sighting.

QUICK BITES
HALLOWEEN 2018
We have a confirmed John Carpenter sighting.

John Carpenter will provide the score for new Halloween movie
By Clark Collis
Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum has confirmed that director John Carpenter will provide the score for the new Halloween film, which Blumhouse is releasing Oct. 19. 

Continued at EW.

TRIVIA: Did you know that actor William Shatner has had an uncredited role in every HALLOWEEN movie made?

AND

Ash vs. Evil Dead' Canceled at Starz
by Lesley Goldberg
Starz has opted to cancel Ash vs. Evil Dead, its small-screen offshoot of the Evil Dead films. The Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert gore-filled comedy's April 29 season three finale will now serve as its series wrap-up.

Continued at THR.

PLUS

Universal Answers Call To Make A 'Tommyknockers' Movie, Wins Bidding For Stephen King Novel
by Patrick Hipes
Deadline has the EXCLUSIVE: Universal has stepped up to the plate to acquire Tommyknockers, a feature film package centered on Stephen King's 1987 sci-fi horror novel. This is the project that has James Wan producing under his Atomic Monster banner with an eye to direct.

Continued at Deadline.

ALSO

'The Hills Have Eyes' Director Alexandre Aja Goes VR With 'Campfire Creepers'
By Janko Roettgers
Longtime horror film director Alexandre Aja is getting ready to make his mark in virtual reality (VR) with "Campfire Creepers," a new mini series of scary campfire stories. The series is premiering at the Tribeca film festival this week, and will also come to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets this weekend.

Continued at Variety.

QUICK BITES
Bitter court battle over Mad Max: Fury Road blocks two new movies
By Gary Maddox
Is it the end of the road for Mad Max?
One of the country's most acclaimed filmmakers, George Miller, is locked in a bitter court battle with Hollywood studio Warner Bros that threatens plans to make two more movies in the celebrated action series.

Continued at The Sydney Morning Herald.

AND

'Maniac' First Look: Emma Stone and Jonah Hill Experience Cary Fukunaga's Psychological Experiment
By Zack Sharf
Netflix is already having an exceptional year when it comes to new original series thanks to titles like "Wild Wild Country," "On My Block," and "Lost In Space," but the greatest offering might still be yet to come. The streaming giant has debuted the first look at "Maniac," the upcoming limited series from "True Detective" and "Beasts of No Nation" director Cary Fukunaga. "Superbad" duo Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in the lead roles.

Continued at IndieWire.

PLUS

'Genius': Mary Shelley, 'Frankenstein' Creator, Set as Season 3 Subject
by THR Staff
The news comes days before season two — exploring Pablo Picasso — premieres on National Geographic.
Days ahead of the second season bow of National Geographic's scripted anthology Genius, the cable network has effectively renewed the series for a third season and selected its subject: Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley.

Continued at The Hollywood Reporter.

ALSO

HOUSTON MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER
For most politicians, this would be half-wit pandering. Something one of their advisors told them would be good "PR". Maybe something they had to rehearse. But not Houston, Texas Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The dude is always an enthusiastically unabashed fan of Horror, Science Fiction, and Comic Books. Which is just one reason why he's got my vote!

Mayor @SylvesterTurner's spidey-senses are tingling... 🕷

Why? Because @TomHolland1996 a.k.a. SPIDERMAN is coming to @Comicpalooza! [Tickets: https://t.co/nSCSK4usOZ] #MyHouston pic.twitter.com/A6oLFeBrnn

— Visit Houston Texas (@VisitHouston) April 18, 2018

YOU DUG IT - YOU BURIED IT
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
RAMPAGE
The arcade video game of the 1990s early 2000s becomes a movie and, because it stars Dwayne Johnson, it has some heat. That said, RAMPAGE grabbed the #1 spot by shear force of theater screens alone (4,101). Jury is out over whether or not you are Digging it, but it's still Number 1 at $35.7 million in its opening weekend.

RAMPAGE was written by Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, Adam Sztykiel. It's Directed by DJ's GoTo guy, Brad Peyton (INCARNATE) and stars Dwayne Johnson (THE MUMMY RETURNS, THE SCORPION KING, DOOM),
Naomie Harris (28 DAYS LATER, TRAUMA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, FRANKENSTEIN [2011]),
Malin Akerman (THE FRATERNITY, WATCHMEN),
Jeffrey Dean Morgan (WATCHMEN, THE RESIDENT, THE POSSESSION, THE WALKING DEAD [TV])

A QUIET PLACE
Slipped to #2 in its second weekend, but that's not because fans aren't digging it. With over 500 fewer screens than RAMPAGE, A QUIET PLACE at 3,589 screens still pulled in nearly $33 million. That means A QUIET PLACE made more ticket sales per screen than RAMPAGE. You are definitley Digging John Krasinski's Horror Thriller debut, which in only a single week has made more than 5 times its budget at the box office.

A QUIET PLACE is by the writing/producing team of Bryan Woods and Scott Beck and stars John Krasinski (MONSTERS VS ALIENS), Emily Blunt (THE WOLFMAN, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Leon Russom.

Produced by Michael Bay and Andrew Form (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2003], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, TRANSFORMERS [2007], THE UNBORN [2009]).

TRUTH OR DARE
Opened at #3 this weekend. With a $3.5 million budget and 3,000 plus screens, this latest Blumhouse entry's $18 million opening weekend is all good.

TRUTH OR DARE was Written, Directed, and Executive Produced by Jeff Wadlow (CRY WOLF, PREY, KICK-ASS 2, BATES MOTEL [TV], NON-STOP, THE STRAIN [TV]), Co-Wrote and Co-Executive Produced with Christopher Roach (NON-STOP), additional writers are Jillian Jacobs and Michael Reisz (also story pitch). and stars,
Lucy Hale (FEAR ISLAND, SCREAM 4), Tyler Posey (INSIDE OUT, SCARY MOVIE 5, TEEN WOLF [TV], SCREAM: THE TV SERIES [TV]), Violett Beane (THE LEFTOVERS, FLAY).

READY PLAYER ONE
In its third weekend, Steven Spielberg's latest, based on the NYT bestseller by Ernest Cline, slips to #4 bringing in an $11.5. You are digging READY PLAYER ONE, but not by much.

Co-wrote by Zak Penn (X-MEN 2, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), READY PLAYER ONE is directed by Steven Spielberg (JAWS, POLTERGIEST, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS) and stars Tye Sheridan (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE), Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS) and features fan favorites like Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, LAND OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK [2009]), Ben Mendelsohn (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) and T.J. Miller (CLOVERFIELD).

BLACK PANTHER
In its 9th week, BLACK PANTHER steps from #4 to #6 with a world-wide cume of $1.315 billion dollars, making it one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.

BLACK PANTHER is Co-Wrote and Directed by Micheal B. Jordan's GoTo Guy, Ryan Coogler, with co-writing by Joe Robert Cole and Stars Chadwick Boseman (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR), Michael B. Jordan (FANTASTIC FOUR), Martin Freeman (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]), Angela Bassett (INNOCENT BLOOD, SUPERNOVA), Forest Whitaker (BODY SNATCHERS, SPECIES, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, PANIC ROOM, PHONE BOOTH, REPO MEN), and Andy Serkis (Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], KING KONG [2005], THE PRESTIGE, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [2011 - all], THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]).

YOU BURIED IT

PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING
In its 4th week of freefall since its release, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING drops from #9 to #14.

Written by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin.
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and
Produced by John Boyega, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Femi Oguns, Mary Parent, and Thomas Tull,
PCU stars John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK).

TOMB RAIDER (2018)
This week, TOMB RAIDER (2018) went into freefall at the box office, falling from #7 to #14 right off the Top Ten. Warner Bros. posted the budget for TOMB RAIDER at $94 million, so it went into profit and sequels may follow depending on home video performance.

Stars Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA). Dominic West (THE FORGOTTEN, 300, CENTURION, JOHN CARTER), Daniel Wu (2000 AD, EUROPA REPORT, GEOSTORM), Derek Jacobi (UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION). Directed by Roar Uthaug (COLD PREY, THE WAVE).

DIG IT UP
THE ENDLESS
added 2 extra screens for a total of 3 screens this weekend. This brought it up from its opening at 65 to 63. It has a long hard climb ahead of it, but its per screen average remains quite high. WHerever it's playing, the people are Digging it.

References:
BoxOfficeMojo -
IMDb -
IMPAwards -

TOMORROW, FRIDAY THE 13th.
Are you ready for TRUTH OR DARE?

APRIL 9
YOU DUG IT - YOU BURIED IT
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
A QUIET PLACE
Knocked Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE to second place this week with an even bigger three day opening weekend ($50 mill to RPO's $41 mill). All the more amazing when you consider that A QUIET PLACE opened on nearly 1,000 fewer screens in the U.S.

Director and co-writer John Krasinski, better known to audiences for his comedy and his character Jim Halpert on the old TV show, The Office, is busy reinventing himself as an action hero and now as a successful director of Horror Thriller movies?

With a budget of $17 million, A QUIET PLACE has blown into studio profit for Paramount Pictures in a single weekend. Paramount obviously felt pretty damn confident with A QUIET PLACE in the first place to risk putting it up in wide release against a megabudget Steven Spielberg anything.

A QUIET PLACE is by the writing/producing team of Bryan Woods and Scott Beck (HER SUMMER, SPREAD, NIGHTLIGHT) and stars John Krasinski (MONSTERS VS ALIENS), Emily Blunt (IRRESISTIBLE, WIND CHILL, THE WOLFMAN, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, LOOPER, EDGE OF TOMORROW), Millicent Simmonds (WONDERSTRUCK), and Noah Jupe (THE TITAN - TV), Leon Russom (SILVER BULLET, FUZZ TRACK CITY, THE BINDING, BETHANY).

The producers who pushed this for Paramount are none other than Hollywood's Kings of the Remakes, Michael Bay and Andrew Form (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2003], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, THE HITCHER [2007], TRANSFORMERS [2007], THE UNBORN [2009], FRIDAY THE 13th [2009], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2009], I AM NUMBER FOUR, THE PURGE, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES [2014], OUIJA).

READY PLAYER ONE
Stepped down to #2 in its second weekend, but that step was sizable, bringing in less than half the gross of A QUIET PLACE in the #1 spot.

READY PLAYER ONE is doing far better in the foreign market and though Warner Bros. hasn't released the budget, at a world-wide cume of nearly $400 million in a single week, it might have passed its cost after theater cut (about half). READY PLAYER ONE is based on the bestselling 2012 novel by Ernest Cline.

Co-wrote by Zak Penn (X-MEN 2, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), READY PLAYER ONE is directed by Steven Spielberg (JAWS, POLTERGIEST, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS) and stars Tye Sheridan (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE), Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS) and features fan favorites like Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, LAND OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK [2009]), Ben Mendelsohn (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) and T.J. Miller (CLOVERFIELD).

BLACK PANTHER
In its 8th week, BLACK PANTHER slides to #4 with a world-wide cume of $1.3 billion dollars, making it not only one of the biggest grossing Marvel movies, but one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.

BLACK PANTHER Stars Chadwick Boseman (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR), Michael B. Jordan (FANTASTIC FOUR), Martin Freeman (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]), Angela Bassett (INNOCENT BLOOD, SUPERNOVA), Forest Whitaker (BODY SNATCHERS, SPECIES, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, PANIC ROOM, PHONE BOOTH, REPO MEN), and Andy Serkis (Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], KING KONG [2005], THE PRESTIGE, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [2011 - all], THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]).

YOU BURIED IT

PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING
In its second week of freefall since its release, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING drops from #5 to #9.

Written by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin.
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and
Produced by John Boyega, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Femi Oguns, Mary Parent, and Thomas Tull,
PCU stars John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK).

TOMB RAIDER (2018)
This week, TOMB RAIDER (2018) went into freefall at the box office, falling from #7 to #14 right off the Top Ten. Warner Bros. posted the budget for TOMB RAIDER at $94 million, so it went into profit and sequels may follow depending on home video performance.

Stars Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA). Dominic West (THE FORGOTTEN, 300, CENTURION, JOHN CARTER), Daniel Wu (2000 AD, EUROPA REPORT, GEOSTORM), Derek Jacobi (UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION). Directed by Roar Uthaug (COLD PREY, THE WAVE).

DIG IT UP
GEMINI
In its second weekend, GEMINI makes the slow climb from #45 up to #33 by adding 52 more screens to its roster for a total of 56 screens. It might be playing somewhere near you.

THE ENDLESS and BLOODFEAST both made their weekend debut this week on a single screen. THE ENDLESS had a better per screen average in ticket sales than READY PLAYER ONE. BLOODFEAST nearly matched RPO in per screen ticket sales. Further evidence of the hardcore fanbase for Horror Thrillers.

References:
BoxOfficeMojo -
IMDb -
IMPAwards -

Continued at /Film.

AND

Jaw fossil from English beach belongs to monstrous marine reptile
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A jawbone fossil found on a rocky English beach belongs to one of the biggest marine animals on record, a type of seagoing reptile called an ichthyosaur that scientists estimated at up to 85 feet (26 meters) long - approaching the size of a blue whale.

Continued at Reuters.

So please consider the Shonisaurus for all your future Big Horror novels and movies. - Feo

PLUS

Marvel Comics Artist Steven Butler & Coffin Comics Team Up
Steven Butler to bring his outstanding style to Brian Pulido's Coffin Comics

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA (Press Release) – Coffin Comics announced today that Steven Butler (ODDS BODS, THE NOTHING TO SEE HERE HOTEL, WRONG PONG, VENOM: SEPARATION ANXIETY) has signed a 2018 agreement to produce an undisclosed amount of new re-imagined 70's monster comic homage covers with Lady Death as the star attraction.

"When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of monster comics – ESPECIALLY the Marvel Monster comics of the early 70's," says Butler. "So, it's an absolute blast to be able to revisit those old comics that played such a pivotal role in my childhood with this series of Lady Death covers – better lock your doors - The Monsters are coming!!"

As a freelance comic book artist, Butler has worked for Disney, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, just to name a few. Some of his most well-known work was with Web of Spider-Man during the "Clone Saga" in the early 90's. Steven's versatility allows him to adapt anything into his very distinct style.

"Steven Butler is the perfect artist to bring these beloved horror cover images to life," says Coffin Comics publisher Brian Pulido. "And it turns out Lady Death fits perfectly into his vibe. This is my childhood all over again."

The first of Butler's 70's monster homage covers will be Tomb of Lady Drac #1. Coffin Comics will present the Tomb of Lady Drac #1 in two editions: "Pristine" and "Damaged." Many more homage covers will follow.
For more information and to sign up for the Coffin Comics mailing list visit Lady Death Universe.

YOU DUG IT - YOU BURIED IT
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
READY PLAYER ONE
Steven Spielberg came out to play for READY PLAYER ONE, and by "play" I mean Direct. Steven's money is largely in Producing not directing and the fact is, Steven hasn't had a hit movie in ten years. Not since he directed a sequel to an old franchise he shares with George Lucas back in 2008.

But this weekend, READY PLAYER ONE took the #1 spot at the U/S/ theatrical box office.

Counting a four day Easter Weekend instead of the usual three day, READY PLAYER ONE brought in $53 million in U.S. Box Office (counting only Fri - Sun, $41 million).

Based on the bestselling 2012 novel by Ernest Cline, Steven wisely returned to proven genre track record of unknowns as stars, fan favorites as co-stars.

Co-wrote by Zak Penn (X-MEN 2, INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS, SUSPECT ZERO, ELEKTRA, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE AVENGERS, ALPHAS [TV]), READY PLAYER ONE stars Tye Sheridan (THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT, SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, DETOUR [2016], X-MEN: APOCALYPSE), Olivia Cooke (THE SIGNAL [2014], THE QUIET ONES, OUIJA, THOROUGHBREDS) and features fan favorites like Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, LAND OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK [2009[, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-GHOST PROTOCOL, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, THE WORLD'S END, STAR TREK BEYOND), Ben Mendelsohn (NEEDLE, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) and T.J. Miller (CLOVERFIELD, UNSTOPPABLE, TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION, DEADPOOL).

BLACK PANTHER
In its 7th week, BLACK PANTHER slides to #3.

BLACK PANTHER Stars Chadwick Boseman (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR), Michael B. Jordan (FANTASTIC FOUR), Martin Freeman (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]), Angela Bassett (INNOCENT BLOOD, SUPERNOVA), Forest Whitaker (BODY SNATCHERS, SPECIES, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, PANIC ROOM, PHONE BOOTH, REPO MEN), and Andy Serkis (Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], KING KONG [2005], THE PRESTIGE, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [2011 - all], THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]).

YOU BURIED IT

PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING
After last weekend's decent opening at #1 despite lackluster ticket sales, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING was unable to build on that, dropping instead into freefall from #1 to #5. The change in ticket sales was a whopping 67% cut of the previous weekend's gross. At this stage, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING will come nowhere close to a box office break even, let alone a break even for the studio. However, PCU is holding up much better oversease, which accounts for 80% of its world-wide ticket sales.

Written by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin.
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and
Produced by John Boyega, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Femi Oguns, Mary Parent, and Thomas Tull,
PCU stars John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK).

TOMB RAIDER (2018)
As TOMB RAIDER (2018) drops from #5 to #8 this week, it follows PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING in making about 80% of its box office in the foriegn market, saving it from certain disaster by the U.S. box office alone. That said, TOMB RAIDER brought in only $33 million this weekend from the entire planet.

Stars Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA). Dominic West (THE FORGOTTEN, 300, CENTURION, JOHN CARTER), Daniel Wu (2000 AD, EUROPA REPORT, GEOSTORM), Derek Jacobi (UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION). Directed by Roar Uthaug (COLD PREY, THE WAVE).

DIG IT UP
GEMINI
Is an independent Thriller that opened this weekend on 4 screens. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes give it an 85%. Will it rise or stayed buried?

References:
BoxOfficeMojo -
IMDb -
IMPAwards -