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Coming Soon from Jordan Peele – The Horror Bits

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From the latest feature on Variety, many directors in Hollywood have all too great a challenge coming up with something new that audiences will pay to see. For Jordan Peele, director of 2017’s Get Out, he hit a home run with his directorial debut achieving critical acclaim and commercial success that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Now, Peele has his eyes on all new projects with his production company, Monkeypaw Productions, that includes Lovecraft Country at HBO and The Twilight Zone to be streamed on CBS All Access. read more

Tim Heidecker Cast in Jordan Peele’s Upcoming Horror Film, ‘Us’

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Us, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his award winning smash hit Get Out– already sports an incredible cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, and Winston Duke… and today’s announcement makes it even more interesting!

Variety reports that Tim Heidecker has been cast in Us in an unspecified role. Mainstream moviegoers may recognize Heidecker from his appearances in big budget films like Ant-Man and the Wasp and Bridesmaids; but legions of die-hard fans love him for his writing, directing, and acting in cult classics such as Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, and Decker. His works are often known for their dark and disturbing themes and a sense of humor which can only be described as “an acquired taste.” Heidecker and longtime collaborator Eric Wareheim recently ventured into the world of horror with their ongoing series, Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories, which explores everything from slapstick hijinks in a haunted house to the terrors of automated exercise equipment in the digitized world. In addition, Heidecker co-hosts a satirical movie review show with Gregg Turkington called On Cinema At the Cinema, which just completed its tenth season. Surely upon its release, Us will deserve the prestigious rating of “5  bags of popcorn” and several additional ceremonial trinkets, which Peele could display with his Best Original Screenplay Academy Award for Get Out! read more

Jordan Peele Bringing ‘Gargoyles’ Back to Life?

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Perhaps Jordan Peele is serious about not acting anymore?  Following the sketch comedy veteran’s wildly successful directorial debut (2017’s box office smash Get Out), Peele apparently now has his sights set on tackling a cult 90’s cartoon.  According to a recent edition of The Ankler newsletter, industry writer Richard Rushfield reveals that Peele is reportedly considering a run at the movie version of the 1990s cult animated series Gargoyles.  This would appear to be an odd choice for a director who is fresh off an Oscar win, but not altogether surprising based on his track record. read more

‘Get Out’ Screenplay Wins Ray Bradbury Nebula Award

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The traditional Hollywood awards season may be over, but Get Out isn’t done scoring prestigious awards yet! The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization announced the winners of this years prestigious Nebula Awards this weekend at their conference in Pittsburgh, and it turns out that Get Out is winner of the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation.

Jordan Peele’s script won over such nominees as the screenplays for The Shape of Water, Logan, and Wonder Woman. Peele previously earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in March, and today’s Nebula Award further reinforces the power and impact that his strong script had on his great motion picture. read more

‘A Quiet Place’ Makes Some Noise at the Box Office with $50 Million Opening

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When it comes to box office returns for horror films this year, the releases have been relatively “quiet” at the box office, until Paramount’s A Quiet Place was released this weekend.  According to preliminary reports, A Quiet Place will win this weekend’s box office with $50.4 million, making it the second highest opening so far this year, behind only Black Panther.

Unlike last year, which saw Split and Get Out dominate the winter box office frame, no horror film has been able to capture the attention of audiences in a similar fashion.  Although profitable, many of the horror films (most notably Winchester, Strangers: Prey at Night, and Unsane with $25, $24, and $8 million respectively) under performed, with the exception of Insidious: The Last Key surprising everyone with a $67 million dollar take and an additional $100 million overseas.  A Quite Place is poised to do much better however, taking in almost 75% of Insidious’ domestic gross in its first weekend alone. read more

‘Infidel’ #1: The Horror News Network Review

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Image’s new horror series Infidel is one that will appeal to fans of atmospheric horror stories as well as though who enjoy smart, socially conscious writing about the real fears that are created through prejudice and ignorance.  Former DC editor Pornsak Pichetshote makes his impressive writing debut in this series and artist Aaron Campbell compliments Pichetshote’s nightmarish script perfectly.

Infidel throws the reader into the deep end of the pool immediately, as our main character Aisha experiences a horrific nightmare that includes insects and a pale ghoul that wants to gently chomp on her throat.  This opening scene begins the uncomfortable atmosphere of tension and claustrophobia that permeates the story, both inside and outside of Aisha’s apartment.  There are certainly breaks in the tension (such as the baking of a Return of the Jedi inspired cake), but the underlying feeling of dread is ever present, even in scenes which seem mundane or day-to-day in comparison to the opening scare. read more

Horror and Genre Favorites Pull Big Wins at 2018 Academy Awards

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The 2018 Academy Awards have come and gone and fans of horror and genre film have something to smile about this morning as there were big wins, and nominations, for genre films.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out was the winner in the Best Original Screenplay category and had nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya) and Best Director (Peele).

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water was the biggest winner though with wins for Best Picture, Best Director (del Toro), Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat) and Best Production Design (Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau). Shape also had nominations in Best Actress (Sally Hawkins), Best Cinematography (Dan Laustsen), Original Screenplay (del Toro and Vanessa Taylor), Best Film Editing (Sidney Wolinsky), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), Best Sound Mixing (Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern), Best Sound Editing (Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira), Best Costume Design (Luis Sequeira) and Best Supporting Actor (Richard Jenkins). read more

‘Get Out’ Wins Best Feature Film and Best Director at Independent Spirit Awards

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As the last awards show before the Academy Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards have been a pretty good predictor of winners at the Oscars in the last few years, with Moonlight, Spotlight, Birdman and 12 Years a Slave each taking home the best picture award at both celebrations.  Does this mean Jordan Peele’s Get Out is next up for this prestigious double feature?

At this year’s edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, Peele’s Get Out walked away with awards for Best Feature and Best Director.  During his acceptance speech, Peele praised the independent film community, saying that “It’s clear we are in the beginning of a renaissance right now where stories from the outsider, stories from the people in this room, the same stories that independent filmmakers have been telling for years are being honored and recognized and celebrated.” read more

Jordan Peele’s Next Horror Film to Begin Shooting Later This Year

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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Peele revealed that he is currently working on another genre flick as a follow up to his wildly successful debut, Get Out.

Released nationwide on February 24, 2017, Get Out was made on a budget of only $4.5 million dollars and went on to rake in a whopping $245 million dollars at the box office. The film was a hit and received high praise in a review from Horror News Network staff member Nick Banks as he noted that “Peele’s “monsters” in this horror film are not Deliverance-style back woods types that we are used to seeing on screen; they are instead well-dressed and manicured neo-liberals with a rather sinister agenda.  These are wealthy aristocrats with not only an admiration for African-Americans, but a deep-seated envy and desire to become them, without giving up their own elitist ways.” read more

‘Horror Noire’ Author Robin R. Means Coleman: The Horror News Network WiHM Interview

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Professor Robin R. Means Coleman, the author of Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, grew up in the right time and place to become a horror fan, namely Pittsburgh in the 1970s.  It would have been almost impossible to avoid being bitten by “the zombie-bug” in this era in Pittsburgh, when some of the greatest and most influential horror films were being created in and around the city by the legendary George Romero.

Luckily, Means became a horror fan due to this influence, because if she didn’t, none of us would be able to read her critical dissection and history of the role of Black actors, writers, and directors in horror films.  Horror News Network had the pleasure of interviewing Means Coleman about her book and recent developments in the genre, most significantly, Jordan Peele’s smash success of 2017, Get Out. read more