A good chunk of the news from the week of November 8-14, 2008, came from AFM, where more genre projects than you can shake a stick at were bought and sold. Andrew tells us his opinion of a dozen features he managed to squeeze in at the event here. Several, like The Children, Pontypool, and Blood River sound very promising indeed!
Despite our hunger for more fresh indies like those coming out of AFM, the studio remake machine keeps chugging along, and one that I plan to keep tabs on is David Ondaatje’s redux of Hitchcock’s The Lodger. It’s Ondaatje’s feature debut, but considering that he previously helmed a documentary called Undressing Hitchcock, I have a feeling we — and The Lodger — are in good hands. Besides, the cast is a dream: Shane West, Simon Baker, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alfred Molina, Donal Logue … AND Hope Davis … AND Rebecca Pidgeon … AND Philip Baker Hall. Are you fucking kidding me?
The gamer in my house hasn’t played much else since downloading the demo for Left 4 Dead, but if you aren’t sure whether or not it’s for you, check out the first 15 minutes of the game. And then, after you put your eyes back in your head, watch another 5 minutes, this time from the second campaign. It’s gooey good stuff!
No one made a peep about the new promo trailer for Dario Argento’s Giallo. Now I know Mother of Tears was a big disappointment, but Argento still has his fans. Will their loyalty be rewarded by his latest?
One production that rewards its fans week in and week out is “Supernatural“, and this season is shaping up to be the best yet. I won’t belabor the point, but if you appreciate the show as much as I do, be sure to cast your vote for it in the People’s Choice Awards.
The latest lawsuit to rock the industry is Fox vs. The Asylum. I guess Fox doesn’t agree that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If they prevail, we’re gonna have to find something to keep Foy busy. His work load will be cut in half!
Someone who is always in demand is Dave Foley, so, just like Butane, I couldn’t have been more glad to see that he was added to the cast of Suck. Foley plus Alice Cooper, Moby, and Henry Rollins plus vampires?!? What’s not to love?
On the other hand, I’m not sure how I feel about Resident Evil: Degeneration. Pulling off a successful animated horror/action movie is tough. Take a look at the first eight minutes, and let us know how you think it’ll turn out.
Was there ever any doubt how the discussions about a sixth chapter in the Saw franchise were going to wind up? I suppose if they didn’t churn them out year after year, we might miss them. Wouldn’t it be nice to find out? Lionsgate, please … no more after this. We are so done with Mandylore. Mandylore. Costas Mandylore!
Which is what makes the Woman’s Story of the Week — Adam Green & A Bigger Boat Get Frozen! — more than a little ironic. Peter Block was the president of acquisitions and co-productions at Lionsgate during its horror heyday, and A Bigger Boat is his new company. I’m happy for Adam, but I’m even more pleased to see Block back in business and off to an encouraging start. Plus the premise for Frozen, A Bigger Boat’s flagship production, sounds genuinely creepy and full of promise. Uncle Creepy grabbed a quick chat with Green about both Frozen and “Fairy Tale Police”, his upcoming short for Xbox Live. Anyone who’s ever been on a ski lift, or even a rinky-dink skylift ride at an amusement park, has surely felt their heart skip a beat at the thought of being stuck up there. I can only imagine some of the “awful, awful things” Green’s sick and twisted mind has come up with for his characters to endure. Fortunately, with Block “on the same page” we’ll be seeing them for ourselves soon enough.
