Last month, Lionsgate released a special 30-second Halloween teaser trailer for Dominic Sena’s supernatural thriller Season of the Witch which had us scratching our heads. Sena is best known as the director of fun but disposable action films like Gone in Sixty Seconds, Swordfish and the recent comic book adaptation Whiteout, and I had heard great things about Brian Schut’s script… But the teaser looked like a direct-to-dvd Dark Castle production. The new trailer gives us a much better idea of what to expect, and somewhat raised expectations. Watch the trailer for yourself after the jump, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
The first feature film to be directed by Charles de Lauzirika is shooting right now, having successfully flown under the trade-announcement radar all the way to its Detroit location. It’s a psychological thriller called Crave and will star Josh Lawson, Emma Lung and Ron Perlman. What makes it particularly interesting, I think, is the director. De Lauzirika is previously the man responsible for producing the extra content on the lion’s share of my favourite DVD boxsets and special editions.
Not only did he produce the one-time world champion DVD SKU with the Alien Quadrilogy box (points off for the name, though), he’s also the guy behind the Blade Runner set that finally knocked it off it’s perch. And though I’m sworn to secrecy about it (ie. legally tied up in knots by a scary studio’s powerful legal people), I was recently lucky enough to see something very, very special he’s putting together on Blu-Ray. And I mean very very.
I’ve heard DVDs like de Lauzirika’s called “film school on a disc” before now. Hmmm. Okay… but does that mean he’s going to be uniquely well schooled, and that we can all expect Crave to kick off from the legacies of Ridley Scott, Sam Raimi, the Coens, James Cameron, Jean Pierre Jeunet and Mark Romanek? I mean, no pressure Charles.
Posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Lionsgate has released a special 30-second Halloween teaser trailer for Dominic Sena’s supernatural thriller Season of the Witch on IGN. The film stars Nicolas Cage as a 14th century Crusader who returns with his comrade (Ron Perlman) to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague.
“A beleaguered church, deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch (Claire Foy) to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence. A priest (Stephen Campbell Moore), a grieving knight (Ulrich Thomsen), an itinerant swindler (Stephen Graham) and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight (Robert Sheehan) join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl.When the embattled party arrives at the abbey, a horrific discovery jeopardizes the knight’s pledge to ensure the girl fair treatment, and pits them against an inexplicably powerful and destructive force.”
Sena is best known as the director of fun but disposable action films like Gone in Sixty Seconds, Swordfish and the recent comic book adaptation Whiteout. I’ve heard great things about Brian Schut’s script, but I’m not impressed by the tiny bits in the trailer. Watch it embedded after the jump.
Speaking to Fangoria Radio, Ron Perlman has given an update on the status of Bubba Nosferatu, the vampiretastic follow-on from Don Coscarelli’s Elvis vs. the Mummy gem, Bubba Ho-Tep. Apparently he will have a window into which the shoot may be squeezed, coming right up he wraps the current season of Sons of Anarchy in September. Having spoken to Coscarelli and co-star Paul Giamatti, Perlman seemed confident that they could all work it out in time and get cameras rolling.
Fangoria also let slip the casting of Angus Scrimm as “a Boris Karloff-like horror star who Elvis meets up with in Las Vegas on the set of a vampire movie.” This would be Claude Killgore, who we meet during the flashbacks to the 70s that make up half of the film and, knowing Coscarelli, I already pictured Scrimm in the role when I was reading the screenplay. It’s not a huge role, but it is a fun one and he will get to face off against Perlman as Elvis as ‘Clay Burton’ in the film-within-the-film.
Posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 by David Chen
It’s been an interesting ride for Simon Hunter’s The Mutant Chronicles. According to Hunter, the movie has had many directors and actors attached over the course of the past decade, and has spent a lot of time in development hell. Hugely ambitious on a relatively modest budget, Hunter’s version of the film has already been released and reviewed in Europe, and has made the rounds at some film festivals and conventions here in North America. It will premiere in the U.S. on Video-On-Demand on March 27, 2009, before getting a limited release on April 24, 2009. Read More »
I’m not a viking movie type of guy, but who is? The international movie trailer for Outlander has hit the interwebs and I can’t tell you how excited I suddenly am to see this flick. I mean, who doesn’t want to see a movie about “vikings teaming with a human alien to take on an alien creature”? Watch the trailer below, and tell me what you think! Am I insane, or could this be a lot of fun?
Plot Synopsis: As an age old battle rages amongst the stars, Kainan’s ship burns brightly as it crashes into the Nordic coast. As his space craft comes to rest in the fjords of ancient Norway, it’s with dismay that Kainan realizes that he wasn’t the only survivor. A second passenger, a Moorwen also emerges from the wreckage. A Fierce and animal-like creature, the Moorwen is intent on causing harm to those it perceives have wronged it. As the Moorwen kills everything in its path, Kainan must work together with the Vikings to destroy the beast before it destroys them all. Starring James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt, and Ron Perlman.
The Weinstein Co have yet to announce a U.S. release date for Outlander.
Earlier today, executive producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro answered questions from fans in an online chat about The Hobbit and its announced sequel. We have the entire transcript available after the jump, but have compiled cliff notes for those who don’t have the time to read the full transcript:
Guillermo has already begun sketching design ideas in his notebook. The plan is to write and start early conceptual designs for the rest of the year. 2009 will be dedicated to pre-production on both movies and 2010 will be the year the films are shot back to back “with a small break to breathe and to reconstruct certain sets and have time to reassess”
No casting has commenced and won’t until the scripts are written. Guillermo insists thay “Unequivocally, every single actor that originated a role in the Trilogy will be asked to participate and reprise it. If Health, availability or willigness become obstacles – and only in that case recasting would be considered.” Ian Holm will be utilized “in some fashion for sure but the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after” the screenplays are completed. del Toro revealed that he also has plans for Ron Perlman in the film, but not as the voice of Smog.
Both movies will be PG-13, shot 2:35:1 aspect ration (as was the Trilogy) on film. There are no current plans to release the movies in 3D. Howard Shore is in talks to return to compose the score. Much of the original production team will be brought back supplemented by choices from del Toro.
Middle-earth will be shot on location in New Zealand with real set construction preferred over green screen. They plan on rebuilding Hobbiton “bigger and even better” in the same location.
As for the special effects, del Toro plans “to mix CGI and PHYSICAL in such a way that your eye wonders which is which- keep you mind busy but NEVER allowing for the weaknesses of either tool to take over. … Imagine a physical creature with a radio controlled muscle / facial system but with partial CGI replacement on the head or mouth, etc and you’ll start to get the idea…”
Guillermo del Toro describes his vision: “The book, I believe, in echoing the “loss of innocence” England experienced after WWI, is a passage form innocence to a darker, more somber state- The visual / thematic progression should reflect that in the camera style, color palette, textural choices, etc.” “I hope that Mirkwood can be pretty scary but not graphic, I hope Riddles in the dark has an element of fear and suspense and to be deeply atmospheric but still allow the ingenious, engaging contest to take place. And Smaug should be all shock and awe when he unleashes his anger so, it will be pretty intense but not gorey.” “The world must feel like the same world [as the one showed in Jackson's films]. The aspect ratio, music, essential established costume and production design trademarks but I would love to bring a lot of new flavours to the table. THE HOBBIT is, in essence, an overture to a massive Symphonic work so main themes are reprised but new modulations and new colors are introduced, thematically and texturally.” “I am all for trying to preserve every idiosyncrasy the novel has- the very things that seem “unfilmable” and that – in my mind- will make it thrilling as a film.”
The second film doesn’t have a title yet, and won’t until the script is written. del Toro says “The idea is to find a compelling way to join THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP and enhance the 5 films both visually an in their Cosmology. There’s omissions and material enough in the available, licensed material to attempt this. The agreement is, however, that the second film must be relevant and emotionally strong enough to be brought to life but that we must try and contain the HOBBIT in a single film.” Jackson says “If we wished to write one of the LOTR characters into the narrative of Film Two, we would only do that with that actors blessing, and willingness to take part. Otherwise we’d take the writing in another direction.”
A Blu-ray release of Lord of The Rings is being worked on, but won’t be released this year.
Hellboy writer/director Guillermo del Toro has revealed the full cast line-up for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Let’s take a look:
Ron Perlman and Selma Blair return to star.
John Hurt (V For Vendetta, Alien) returns for a cameo.
Rupert Evans (who played John Myers in the original) will not be returning.
The script includes a brief cameo/epilogue for Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (played in the original by Ladislav Beran), but it has not yet been approved by Universal.
John Alexander (body) and Thomas Kretschmann (voice) will play Johann Kraus, a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic abilities who maintains a tangible form via a containment suit.
Doug Jones (Hellboy, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) will play 4 characters.
Brian Steele (Hellboy, Doom) will play 4 characters.
Anna Walton (The Mutant Chronicles) will play Princess Nuala.
Luke Goss (Blade II) plays Prince Nuada.
Roy Dotrice (Swimming With Sharks, Amadeus) plays King Balor
The movie starts filming this Friday (June 8th) in Budapest. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army hits theaters on August 1st 2008.
