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‘Black Christmas’ Trailer Arrives From Blumhouse and Universal

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Today Universal Pictures revealed a two-and-a-half minutes trailer for their upcoming Christmas-themed slasher flick Black Christmas. Directed by Sophia Takal, the film stars Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes and Simon Mead.

 The movie is described as:

Just in time for the holidays comes a timely take on a cult horror classic as a campus killer comes to face a formidable group of friends in sisterhood.

 Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. But as Riley Stone (Imogen Poots, Green Room) and her Mu Kappa Epsilon sisters-athlete Marty (Lily Donoghue, The CW’s Jane the Virgin), rebel Kris (Aleyse Shannon, The CW’s Charmed), and foodie Jesse (Brittany O’Grady, Fox’s Star)-prepare to deck the halls with a series of seasonal parties, a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority women one by one. read more

Director Craig Zobel Responds to the Cancellation of ‘The Hunt’

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Universal’s abrupt cancellation of their upcoming Blumhouse production, The Hunt, surprised many in the film industry, none more so than its director Craig Zobel

A week after the decision to cancel the film’s release, Zobel told Variety that “If I believed this film could incite violence, I wouldn’t have made it.  Our ambition was to poke at both sides of the aisle equally.  We seek to entertain and unify, not enrage and divide.  It is up to the viewers to decide what their takeaway will be.” read more

Universal Confirms Two More ‘Halloween’ Films

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In a huge announcement for film fans the world over, Universal Studios has confirmed that we will be getting at least two more movies full of Michael Myers. Deadline has reported today that October 16th, 2020 is the official release date for Halloween Kills and October 15th, 2021 will be the date for Halloween Ends.

Jamie Lee Curtis will be back in the role of Laurie Strode while Danny McBride and David Gordon Green will be working on the script. Both films will be directed by Green and produced by Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block. While John Carpenter is listed as an executive producer, there is no work yet on what other roles he will have in the next installments. read more

Oliver Jackson-Cohen Nabs Title Role in ‘Invisible Man’

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According to a report on Deadline, The Haunting of Hill House actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen has landed the lead role in Universale/Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man. Jackson-Cohen joins an already impressive cast which consists of Elisabeth Moss, Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, Sam Smith and Harriet Dyer.

Even though The Invisible Man will be distributed through Universal it will not be a part of their Dark Universe. Universal had hoped to shape a cinematic universe based on the beloved classic monsters but its initial entry The Mummy, which starred Tom Cruise stumbled out of the gate and crashed hard enough to wipe out the entire Dark Universe idea. Despite the film being the biggest global opening for Tom Cruise, Deadline estimated that the film lost the studio $95 million. read more

Cary Elwes Set to Join Cast of Blumhouse ‘Black Christmas’ Remake

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It looks like it will be a Black Christmas this year for horror fans.  Blumhouse Productions announced today (and Deadline broke the news) that veteran thespian Cary Elwes will star in the remake of the 1974 seasonal horror classic.  He will join a cast that already boasts Imogen Poots (Green Room, 28 Weeks Later) and Eleyse Shannon (TV’s Charmed) among a slew of young actors and actresses.  Black Christmas is currently in pre-production but is expected to be released in time for the 2019 holiday season. read more

The Next ‘Halloween’ Installment Inches Closer

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No official word yet from the folks over at Blumhouse or Universal, but Collider is reporting today that multiple sources are saying that Halloween 2 is set to begin shooting after Labor Day and looking at an October 2020 release. It should come as no surprise to anyone that a film that grossed upwards of 250 million on a budget of 10 million is getting a sequel; especially with the recent rise in popularity of horror films; particularly “remakes” and “re-imaginings”.

Word is that Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greeg and Andi Matichak are all expected to return in the roles they played in the 2018 blockbuster surrounded by a new cast of victims. Again, no formal announcements have been made but supposedly the new script was penned by David Gordon Green (Halloween 2018) who is also expected to direct again. Once the announcements are made, I’m sure we’ll also see funnyman Danny McBride back to produce alongside Malek Akkad (son of long-time Halloween franchise producer Moustapha Akkad). read more

‘The Craft’ Reboot in the Works From Blumhouse

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Straight off of the massive success of Us this weekend, genre powerhouse Blumhouse has announced the studio will be rebooting the 1996 fan favorite, The Craft. Zoe Lister-Jones has been confirmed as the writer and director on the project, which will be developed in conjunction with Columbia Pictures.

The original film, directed by Andrew Fleming, centers around a teenage coven of witches discovering their powers. To say that Lister-Jones has big shoes to fill is an understatement. Besides earning millions at the box office, the movie starring Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True, and Robin Tunney has become somewhat of a cult classic. In 1996, the quartet of blossoming witches inspired and empowered a generation of young women within the horror realm and dark arts community.  As with any remake, die hard fans will remain skeptical to see if this update to their beloved coven lives up to the original. read more

Universal In Talks With Elisabeth Moss for ‘The Invisible Man’

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While there may no longer be hope for the Dark Universe, the standalone movies continue on full-steam ahead.  In an exclusive update, Variety is reporting that Elisabeth Moss will star in the re-imagining of the Universal Studios classic monster story The Invisible Man (with an assist from Blumhouse Productions.)  Man (based on the 1897 H.G. Wells novel) was initially slated to be part of Universal’s “Dark Universe”, a series of interconnected films that would reunite all of the original “Universal Monster” characters into a single cinematic universe.  However, the box office failure of the Tom Cruise-led reboot of The Mummy in 2017 forced the studio to rethink its plans altogether and to seek a different route to bring back Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, and all of the beloved horror icons. read more

‘Happy Death Day 2U’ Finishes Fifth at Weekend Box Office

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While many predicted a better showing for Happy Death Day 2U, the film ended up in fifth place at the weekend box office with roughly $10 million in ticket sales ($13.5 since it was released on Wednesday).  This total is $16 million less than the original film made in its opening 3-day weekend frame back in 2017.

Every movie studio ended up being disappointed this weekend, as it was the worst three-day President’s Day weekend for ticket sales since 2004.  Chief among the underachievers was Alita: Battle Angel, whose lofty expectations never materialized (in first place with $36.5 million since Thursday), falling victim to the same inflated tracking numbers that sank The Lego Movie 2 last week (which finished second at the box office with $21.2 million).  While the turnout for all films this weekend was low, there may need to be less emphasis put on tracking and social media awareness for upcoming films, as both measures have proven to be wildly inaccurate in 2019 and have so far created unrealistic expectations for new releases this year. read more

‘Halloween 2’ Gets a Writer

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For those of you left wondering about the fate of Michael Myers following David Gordon Green’s 2018 film Halloween, you can wonder no more…maybe. Collider has announced that their sources are reporting that Blumhouse has given Scott Teems a crack at writing the script for the follow-up to last years farce film which saw the old Mr. Myers seemingly trapped in a burning basement while the three generations of Strode girls escaped the home.

According to Collider, ” Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer and Andi Matichak are all expected to return along with producer Jason Blum, whose production company will produce the sequel alongside Miramax and Trancas International Films — with Universal expected to once again handle distribution.” read more