Got a news scoop? Send it now! NEWS HUB July 2004 - ARCHIVED BACK TO CURRENT Alejandro Jodorowsky to appear at Toronto horror expo ... Toronto, CANADA – Rue Morgue Magazine, in conjunction with Daniloff Productions, is very proud to announce the addition of cult film icon ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY as a special guest for the 2004 RUE MORGUE FESTIVAL OF FEAR National Horror Expo (Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the weekend of August 27-29). “Obviously we are ecstatic,” commented Rod Gudino, Rue Morgue editor and Festival coordinator. “Jodorowsky’s presence at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear will be a milestone for genre conventions worldwide.” Added David Daniloff, president of Daniloff Productions; “On behalf of Daniloff Productions, we would like to extend and share our overwhelming excitement associated with bringing to Toronto the greatest cult filmmaker alive today: Alejandro Jodorowsky.” A highly influential filmmaker, graphic novel writer and Tarot card expert, ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY has attracted the interest of and influenced such notable film and music heavyweights as Joel & Ethan Coen, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, Andy Warhol, John Lennon, and Dennis Hopper; he is considered to be one of the most respected and admired surrealist cult, fantasy and horror directors walking the earth today. See www.rue-morgue.com & www.hotweird.com/jodorowsky Spidey kills the box office again: 1. "Spider-Man 2" $46.0m $257.3m 2. "Anchorman" $28.0m $28.0m 3. "King Arthur" $15.2m $23.6m 4. "Fahrenheit 9/11" $11.0m $80.1m 5. "The Notebook" $6.5m $43.1m 6. "White Chicks" $6.5m $57.2m 7. "Dodgeball" $5.4m $97.6m 8. "The Terminal" $5.0m $65.3m 9. "Shrek 2" $4.5m $418.6m 10. "Sleepover" $4.2m $4.2m Romero's Land of the Dead a GO! Diamond Dead on hold: Fango caught up with the man himself George Romero and after years of little activity, George A. Romero is suddenly busier than a flesh-eating ghoul in a shopping mall. Two film projects—the rock-and-roll horror film DIAMOND DEAD and his fourth official entry in his classic zombie series, LAND OF THE DEAD–are now closer to reality than ever before. In fact, after so many false starts and unrealized projects, Romero is now dealing with a different sort of issue. “I’m suddenly faced with a problem of both films having financing, and I believe LAND OF THE DEAD is going to go first, since that deal is basically complete. But I love DIAMOND DEAD, and I hope the money people will wait for me, instead of trying to find someone else to do it.” Both movies have independent financing, although Romero says that LAND OF THE DEAD (formerly DEAD RECKONING) has a big-name producer behind it. “I can’t say who it is yet, but it’s a major deal,” the filmmaker says. “I hope they leave us alone and don’t want to ‘Hollywood-ize’ it too much, or spend too much money, but those are battles yet to be fought.” Romero does acknowledge, however, that there’s a very good chance that the initial release version of LAND OF THE DEAD will not have the same freedoms as his original, unrated DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD. “The producers want major distribution, so I’m sure that the first release version, in this country anyway, will have to be R-rated. I don’t think they’ll want to go NC-17. But they’re gonna let me shoot the film the way I want to, and they’ll let me do the cutbacks for release. Hopefully the fans will still show up, and then see the [unrated] edition later on video.” The director hopes to begin production on LAND OF THE DEAD in October, with KNB already bidding on the FX work, and Romero says the project is “definitely moving full speed ahead.” He’d love to begin work on DIAMOND DEAD immediately afterward, possibly in the spring; the project’s website can be accessed here. A third film—Romero’s adaptation of Stephen King’s THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, is waiting in the wings and could also roll by mid-2005, and the director will executive-produce a Paramount remake of his 1973 film THE CRAZIES, being scripted by Scott (TEXAS CHAINSAW) Kosar. While juggling all these projects could be stressful to some, Romero is perfectly happy: “It’s nice to know that I might be working! I’ve been sitting on my ass for too long. But, yeah, things look really good right now.” First image from Seed of Chucky: Not much, but it's good to know Chuck is keeping his BOC look... dig it here. Seed of Chucky: The release date for "Seed of Chucky" has moved to Wednesday November 10th, three weeks later than originally planned. Meanwhile, a pretty cool standee is up at Bloody Disgusting. The Grudge: The IMDb reports that Sarah Michelle Gellar is heading back to Japan to shoot more scenes with her castmates for the upcoming thriller "The Grudge". From January onwards, the former "Buffy" beauty spent three months in Tokyo making the feature. No word on how long these reshoots will take. The Ring 2 gets bumped to 2005: Fangoria reports that Touchstone’s English-language DARK WATER remake, directed by Walter Salles and starring Jennifer Connelly, has shifted out of its October 15 berth and is now set to open in early 2005. Same goes for DreamWorks’ THE RING 2, directed by Nakata, which, as we predicted (item), has vacated its November 10 slot in favor of a debut next year. AvP, RE2, Blade 3 trailers: Head over to Dark Horizons to check out these trailers as well as some other non-horror flicks. Kane Hodder's new Slasher Hatchet Man: Fangoria writes that Ariescope Pictures has announced that Kane Hodder will play the lead killer character in its horror movie HATCHET. Written and directed by Adam Green (who was recently tapped by Lions Gate to write a script for the CABIN FEVER sequel), the project is described as “a hardcore slasher film laced with clever humor, set in the swamps near New Orleans.” The film reunites Hodder with makeup FX creator John Carl Buechler, who directed and made him up for his first go-round as Jason in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII; also starring is Kyle (DAYS OF OUR LIVES) Brandt. Shooting is scheduled to begin this fall; in the meantime, click on the link above for samples of Ariescope’s previous work, including a satirical slasher short called COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND. The Fantastic Four: "Fox has nearly found its "Fantastic Four." Studio has signed Michael Chiklis to play Ben Grimm/the Thing, Iaon Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch. And Jessica Alba, currently shooting Dimension's "Sin City," has emerged as most likely to play Sue Richards/the Invisible Woman, though Rachel MacAdams and Keri Russell are also candidates. Thanks to Dark Horizons for the news bite. Spider-Man 2: "Imax Corp. and Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures said Wednesday that the recently released Spider-Man 2 movie will be distributed globally to Imax theaters on Jul. 23. The film is being digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality associated with Imax viewing. Indiana Jones 4: Not horror, however a while back it was announced that a fourth "Indiana Jones" project was dead. Frank Darabont who had been working on the script for ages got approval from most - bar George Lucas, and that non-commital officially seemed to sink the project (unofficially there was more than that but can't be disclosed). Well, now Darabont is fanning the flames again. In an interview with IGN Filmforce during a press event for "The Bourne Supremacy", Marshall says that the project is still very much alive, despite continual delays and rumors that the parties involved have given up - "Indiana Jones IV is still in the writing stages; it's still a live project and Mr. Lucas is working on the script at this time". So is Lucas writing it himself? "No. There is a writer on the project... I won't go there". It's been revealed that the reason Lucas rejected Darabont's draft was that "the character-driven story needed a faster pace". No comment was made on Net rumours that "Pirates of the Caribbean" scribe Stuart Beattie is working on a draft. Thus the big question now is when can we expect more movement on the project? "Well I think that, obviously, we don't want to do this movie unless it's going to be great. There's only the downside of it if we perceive it as something we all don't feel is worthy. Now we're working on that last third. We'll all get our schedules together again but it's not gonna be for another year or so" Thanks to Dark Horizons for the scoop. Ted Raimi talks about the Man with the Screaming Brain: According to Fangoria.com THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN, the long-awaited Bruce Campbell-directed and co-written (with David H. Goodman) movie, is now shooting in Bulgaria for the Sci Fi Channel. Ted Raimi, who co-stars in this off-the-wall mad-science opus, took a few minutes to give Fango the scoop about the movie. “We’re shooting in Sofia, Bulgaria, and it stars me, Bruce and Steven Bauer,” Raimi says. Working with that cast is a real treat for the actor, who had his first significant feature role in big brother Sam’s EVIL DEAD II and claims to be “one of the few guys working in the genre who actually likes it.” He’s been a fan of Bauer’s for years, too. “I’ve been looking forward to acting with Steven since I saw him in THE BEAST, that Kevin Reynolds movie with the tank [co-starring Jason Patric]. It’s a great war movie.” Raimi doesn’t hesitate to describe SCREAMING BRAIN as a throwback to the old sci-fi films of the ’50s and ’60s. “It’s about a doctor who’s experimenting with brain tissue and successfully puts two people’s brains into just one body. It’s a really cool plot. Steven plays the evil Bulgarian guy, Bruce is the good guy and I play the doctor’s assistant. It’s made for TV, but it’ll eventually be released on video in the U.S. and other countries.” Working with Campbell is always a pleasure for Raimi (they also co-starred in several of Sam’s other films as well as LUNATICS: A LOVE STORY), because they met ages ago. “I’ve known Bruce since I was 8 or 9 years old. I know exactly what he wants, and it’s great to work together. It’s a lot like band members who’ve been together for years. It’s a great sense that if you fall, you’ll get picked right up.” While SCREAMING BRAIN has yet to be given an airdate by Sci Fi, you can look for Raimi in THE GRUDGE, coming October 22 from Columbia. Ginger Snaps 3 DVD art: Check out the new cover art to Ginger Snaps Back (a.k.a. GS 3)... click here to check it out at Bloody Disgusting. Anacondas poster revealed: Not that you should give a shit, but here it is: POSTER, it does look rather nasty. The Thing Collectors DVD (again): B-D reports spec's for the new DVD release of The Thing. Check it out: DVD Answers has some information on the new Thing DVD from Universal Home Entertainment: "Universal has announced plans to release The Thing in anamorphic widescreen this October. This popular John Carpenter film will arrive as part of a Dawn of the Dead (2004) promotion this October 19th. The retail price will be set at around $19.98. As well as the new 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, the disc will include an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track, an audio commentary with director John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, a John Carpenter's The Thing: Terror Takes Shape featurette, Production Background Archives, Cast Production Photographs, Production Art and Storyboards, a feature on Location Design, Production Archives, The Saucer feature, The Blairmonster feature, outtakes, a feature on the post production and the films theatrical trailer." Follow the link for an image of the cover art. Got a news scoop? Send it now!