THE TALL MAN
What can I say that you haven't heard or read?

Rory Guy aka Angus Scrimm died this past Saturday, January 9. I first read about it on Sunday off my bud, David Hartman's Facebook page. Don Coscarelli, Creator of the PHANTASM movies and Angus Scrimm's legacy, passed word to Entertainment Weekly of the Tall Man's passing.

Phantasm star Angus Scrimm dies at 89
By Clark Collis
Angus Scrimm, the veteran character actor best known for playing the terrifying "Tall Man" in the Phantasm horror franchise, has died at the age of 89. His other credits included the 2008 film I Sell the Dead, the TV show Alias — on which he had a recurring role — and the spooky audio play series Tales From Beyond the Pale.

Continued at EW.

At first, I tried to be brave about it. I wanted to mark his passing that remembered him with joy, not sorrow. On Facebook I wrote,

"I knew this day would come of course. Angus was getting up there. Still, anything over 85 is gravy. Goodbye dude. You gave life a good go!"

Then I went over to Reggie and Gigi Bannister's Facebook page, noting - in that facebook way - my passing through it with a "Like".

Some FB posts are too deeply personal for an option as glib as a "Like".

I'm not the kind of person who is immediately hit by bad news. It takes awhile for it all to burrow in. But here I am at 10:00pm on a Monday night, and the Tall Man is gone for good.

I think this tribute video Don posted at his Twitter broke the dam for me.

Goodbye Rory Guy.

QUICK BITES
Half-Life Writer Marc Laidlaw Confirms Valve Retirement
by Rob Crossley
"My time working on the series is behind me," says author; Departure raises more questions over Half-Life 3 project.
Marc Laidlaw (THE ORCHID EATER, THE 37th MANDALA), the esteemed sci-fi writer who has worked at Half-Life developer Valve since 1997, has confirmed his retirement from the Bellevue, Washington studio.

He was the sole writer for both Half-Life 1 and 2, and had crafted each game's wider narrative. Later, he was assigned as lead writer on Half-Life 2 Episode 1 and 2.

Continued at GameSpot.

AND

Guillermo del Toro in Talks to Direct 'Fantastic Voyage' Remake
By Borys Kit
The 'Crimson Peak' filmmaker may be going small in a really big way.
With Pacific Rim 2 shelved, Guillermo del Toro is actively seeking his next project and could follow up his Gothic romance Crimson Peak by going small in a really big way.

Continued at THR.

QUICK BITES
HORROR 201: The Silver Scream
Dropped in paperback on January 1, 2016.
On January 6, in the Screenwriting section of Amazon, HORROR 201 hit the #1 Best Seller position, easily outpacing Blake Snyder's perennial, SAVE THE CAT.

Over 2 years in the making and edited by publisher Joe Mynhardt and Emma Audsley, HORROR 201: The Silver Scream is a film maker's guide by experienced film makers who tell you the gritty, hands-on knowledge that they don't teach you in most film schools.

Advice includes final interviews with the late Ray Bradbury (IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, MOBY DICK, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, FAHRENHEIT 451, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES) and Wes Craven (THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, DEADLY BLESSING, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN, SCREAM, RED EYE). Plus advice from Video Game Director and sound designer, Keith Arem (CALL OF DUTY, GHOST RECON ADVANCED WARRIOR, RAINBOW SIX: LOCKDOWN, CALL OF DUTY 2, CALL OF DUTY 3, PROTOTYPE, DARKSIDERS, METRO 2033, INFEX), John Carpenter (HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, THE THING, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THE MOUTH OF MADNESS), Tom Holland (THE BEAST WITHIN, CLASS OF 1984, CHILD'S PLAY, FRIGHT NIGHT, THINNER), Patrick Lussier (NEW NIGHTMARE, VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN, SCREAM, MIMIC, DRACULA 2000, RED EYE), E.C. McMullen Jr. (Feo Amante's Horror Thriller, UNIVERSAL DEAD, MINE GAMES), Ed Naha (TROLL, DOLLS, HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS), Jeffrey Reddick (FINAL DESTINATION), George A. Romero (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, CRAZIES), William Stout (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, HOUSE, THE HITCHER, PAN'S LABYRINTH), Stephen Volk (GOTHIC, THE GUARDIAN, THE KISS), and many more!

AND

The Short Stack
Today we welcome new We Are Indie Horror writer Maria Perry who will be covering short films in her new column THE SHORT SHACK! Check out the inaguaral article here featuring Kelly Park's UNIVERSAL DEAD.

Keep The Fear Alive

Continued at WeAreIndieHorror.

PLUS

FeoNote: There are exceptions to this rule (THE BIRDS), but overall, the music makes the movie.
The greatest cult horror movie soundtracks of all time
By Nick Chen
From the hissing industrial noise of 'Eraserhead' to the creepy choral lines in 'Candyman', these are the scores that scared us silly
When a horror movie really bites, it's often down to the soundtrack – that's what controls the mood, the atmosphere, and whether fellow cinemagoers will mock you for squealing at all the scary bits.

Continued at DazeDigital.

ALSO

FeoNote: Oh be still my fucking heart.
M. Night Shyamalan Revamps 'Tales from the Crypt' As Part of New TNT Horror Block
By Whitney Friedlander
M. Night Shyamalan is unlocking "Tales from the Crypt."

A new version of the HBO late-night anthology series will lead a new two-hour block of terror and suspense-themed programming for TNT, which will be curated by the Oscar-nominated writer-director. Plots for "Tales from the Crypt" will be based on William Gaines's original EC Comics along with new stories.

Continued at Variety.

WASSMOR

Former 'Walking Dead' Producer Blasts AMC
By Dave Itzkoff
The original show runner for the hit AMC series "The Walking Dead" has painted an unflattering depiction of that network's executives, accusing them of slashing the budgets for the horror drama just as the show was finding success and of failing to adequately appreciate the often grueling work of its cast and crew.

Continued at NYTimes.

FINALLY

David Goyer: I never spoke to Wesley Snipes again after nightmarish 'Blade 3' shoot
By Chris Eggertsen
Is there a fourth Blade movie in the works? Wesley Snipes told IGN at last year's San Diego Comic Con that he and Marvel are indeed developing another film in the cult vampire-action franchise, but don't ask Blade I-III writer (and Blade: Trinity director) David S. Goyer about it -- he's not even in on the discussions.

Continued at HitFix.

AUX!
John Ryhs-Davies is one of those character actors everybody loves. You don't love John? What's wrong with you?

Anyway, my Facebook friend, Ross Boyask (Facebook), has a big announcement on his page. Actor John Rhys-Davies (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE LORD OF THE RINGS) comes aboard Ross's latest Horror movie, AUX, as actor and producer.

Evolutionary Films CEO John Adams, will direct from a script he co-wrote with his father, Peter Adams.

Ross adds,
"We're very excited to announce that Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings star John Rhys-Davies is starring in our horror feature AUX, which starts shooting next week! Please follow us on Twitter for updates"
@auxthemovie @evofilmsuk @rossboyask

For more, check out Variety.

QUICK BITES
Quentin Tarantino wants to make a 'really, really scary horror film'
Something like The Exorcist is on his to-do list so expect a lot of blood

And hey, I really, really want him to do it! No seriously, I want Quentin to knock that damn really, really scary movie out!

I mean, Really scary, not "goofy homage to the age of half-assed drive-in cornball monster D-movies", but Genuinely Scary.

Check out the article by Jess Denham,

Story at Independent.co.uk.

AND

New Guillermo del Toro show headed to Netflix
DreamWorks Animation and Netflix are teaming up for a ton of new content.
Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced today that they were expanding their partnership, giving the streaming service full access to the studio's entire catalogue of feature films.

As part of the deal, Netflix also announced that it would be launching a couple of new series in partnership with DreamWorks Animation, including a show called Trollhunters from director Guillermo del Toro and a remake of Voltron.

Continued at Polygon.

PLUS

Ex Machina's Alex Garland Eyes A Tremendous Cast For His Next Sci-Fi Thriller
With the release of Ex Machina, Alex Garland suddenly found himself propelled from not only being one of the most sought after writers in Hollywood, but to one of the most pined for directors too. Garland has been quick to take advantage of his popularity though, and plans are already in motion for his next film, Annihilation. In fact, he's assembled quite a sensational cast for his sophomore directorial effort.

Continued at CinemaBlend.

2016's REAL-LIFE INSPIRATIONAL WRITING LAUNCHPADS
aka Enough With The Vampires, Zombies, and Haunted Crap Already

15 ways the world will be terrifying in 2050
By Christina Sterbenz and Erin Brodwin
By mid-century, we'll likely have self-driving cars, more widespread internet access, and semi-smart robots.

But despite our technological advances, humanity has failed to solve many of its problems. The world hasn't weaned itself off fossil fuels or antibiotics, protected the rain forest, or reduced the stigma surrounding mental illness. We haven't flood-proofed our cities or protected our energy grids from natural disasters.

With 2050 just a few decades away, major issues await the world.

Continued at Business Insider.

AND

'Human Computation' Could Save the World Without the Risks of AI
by Victoria Turk
Forget artificial intelligence: The key to solving the world's most complex problems could be human-machine collaboration.

That's the rallying cry of researchers who penned an editorial in the journal Science championing "human computation"—systems that combine the talents of computers and humans. The authors claim these systems could ultimately tackle issues such as climate change and geopolitical conflict, all without the existential risks posed by true AI and the technological singularity.

Continued at Motherboard.Vice.

SO MUCH FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

PLUS

A New Year's list: Five great sci-fi novels to make you forget 'Star Wars'
By Michael Hiltzik
With "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" taking the movie box office by storm, the debate is on about whether the picture is good, middling, or bad; serves its fans or takes them for granted; is it cinematic craftsmanship at its finest or merely a commercial front?

One thing is inarguable: Star Wars taken as a whole is an assiduous reworking of adventure stories and classic science fiction. But does it do justice to the paths blazed--and still being blazed--by the greatest writers of speculative fiction of the past and present?

Continued at LATimes.

FeoNote: Amazingly enough, all five novels are Science Fiction Horror Thrillers.

ALSO

16 Sci-Fi Things To Look Forward To in 2016
From comics to movies to TV to books, here's what lies ahead in the next year for science fiction and fantasy.
By John Wenz
2015 wasn't too shabby when it came to sci-fi, but there are great things ahead in 2016. Here are just a few of the things you have to look forward to in 2016 (and there's plenty more we missed.)

Continued at Popular Mechanics.

WASSMOR

Does this "humanlike" robot receptionist make you feel welcome or creeped out?
By Mike Murphy
From a distance, Nadine looks like a very normal middle-aged woman, with a sensible haircut and dress style, and who's probably all caught up on Downton Abbey. But then you hear Nadine talk and move, and you notice something's a bit off. Nadine is actually the construct of Nadia Thalmann, the director of the Institute for Media Innovation at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She's a robot that's meant to serve as a receptionist for the university.

Continued at QZ.

FINALLY

11 unsolved mysteries that still need answers in 2016
By Brian Ries, Amanda Wills, & Megan Specia
From the drug lord who pulled off an impossible escape to an extraterrestrial ocean containing clues to alien life, here are the baffling mysteries the world will try to solve this year.

Continued at Mashable.