Posts

Federal Judge Dismisses ‘The Shape of Water’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit; Fox Searchlight Entitled to Legal Fees

/0 Comments/in , /by

In January, we learned that writer Paul Zindel’s son, David Zindel, had accused The Shape of Water of being “obviously derived from” his father’s play, Let Me Hear You Whisper. In February, Zindel officially sued Fox Searchlight, Twentieth Century Fox, writer/director Guillermo del Toro, and associate producer Daniel Kraus for copyright infringement during the same week where Academy Awards voters were casting their votes. The controversy did not stop the film from winning four Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Music Score, Best Production Design), and now Zindel’s case has been settled for once and for all. read more

Netflix, del Toro to Collaborate on Horror Anthology Series ’10 After Midnight’

/0 Comments/in , /by

With Netflix leading the charge, the online streaming services continue to conquer the new entertainment landscape.  According to the folks over at Deadline, Guillermo del Toro, already the creator of the Emmy-winning Netflix animated series DreamWorks Trollhunters, will venture into the live-action world with the network as well.  The network has given the green-light to Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, which represents their first stab at an original horror anthology series.

Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight is described as series of del Toro’s original stories, which tows the line between the divine and the devilish.  The show follows a long lineage of similarly-themed projects, which include Ray Bradbury Theatre and The Outer Limits among others.  Del Toro is slated to both write and direct certain episodes, but his hand-prints will be on the entire show.  He will personally select the writers and directors that will work on each episode, which bodes well for many up-and-coming horror collaborators. read more

Guillermo del Toro Wants to Assist and Encourage Young Filmmakers From Around the World

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Fans of Guillermo del Toro were ecstatic last Sunday night when the long-time filmmaker was awarded the Best Director and Best Picture honors for The Shape of Water.

del Toro has always been known as a “super fan” of monsters, horror, sci-fi, and even Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction (and he is still reportedly working on a suitable film adaptation) and he is also a staunch supporter of young filmmakers.

In an interview with Variety after his Oscar wins, del Toro again emphasized how important it is to encourage the next generation of artists from around the world, stating that “The first thing we’ve got to keep doing is to have visibility and help others have visibility.  When you check the cast of The Strain all four seasons have [actors] Joaquín Cosio, Miguel Gomez. There’s Adriana Barraza and Mía Maestro.  Two of the three Oscars Pan’s Labyrinth won were for Eugenio Caballero [production design] and Guillermo Navarro [cinematography].  And Eugenio, that was his first big movie. I had produced a movie with Alfonso for a second-time filmmaker, Sebastián Cordero, called ‘Cronicas.’   Eugenio had done the [production design] and this was a very small movie, but I said let’s go do Pan’s Labyrinth. And you blink and the next thing, he’s winning the Oscar.” read more

Horror and Genre Favorites Pull Big Wins at 2018 Academy Awards

/0 Comments/in , , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , , /by

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

Paul Zindel’s Son Files Lawsuit Against ‘The Shape of Water’ Creators for Alleged Plagiarism

/0 Comments/in , /by

We first reported in late January that David Zindel, the son of playwright Paul Zindel, is accusing The Shape of Water of plagiarism. Now, the accusations have escalated in the form of a 53-page lawsuit against Fox Searchlight, Twentieth Century Fox, writer/director Guillermo del Toro, and associate producer Daniel Kraus.

NPR reports that Zindel’s suit was filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California. The suit alleges that The Shape of Water, “brazenly copies the story, elements, characters, and themes” of Paul Zindel’s 1969 work entitled Let Me Hear You Whisper. Zindel’s play, which was first adapted for television during the same year, tells the story of a female custodian who forms a special bond with a dolphin in a lab, and she hatches a plan to escape with the creature once she learns that scientists plan to dissect its brain. read more

‘The Shape of Water’ and ‘Get Out’ Lead Academy Awards Contenders with Multiple Oscar Nominations

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Oscar nominations are out… and the horror genre will finally be recognized on the main stage! The most morbid of genres, which has historically been treated as critically insignificant in comparison to other more mainstream genres, is being honored in a big way this year in the form of multiple Academy Awards nominations of Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water and Jordan Peele’s Get Out.

The Shape of Water received the highest number of nominations of any film up for awards this year, accumulating a total of 13 nominations across a wide array of categories. The record number of nominations for a single film stands a 14, and that’s only ever been achieved by All About Eve, Titanic, and last year’s La La Land. The Shape of Water joins just nine other films to ever receive 13 nominations, including Gone With the Wind, Forrest Gump, Chicago, Marry Poppins, and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The film is up for Academy Awards in the following categories: read more

David Harbour Promises Action and Practical Effects in ‘Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen’

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It appears that the new Hellboy reboot (Rise of the Blood Queen) will follow in the footsteps of the previous two Guillermo del Toro films when it comes to excitement and practical effects.

The Stranger Things star spoke to MTV on the red carpet at the recent Golden Globe Awards and said that “It was the hardest job I’ve ever done.  The action that I’m doing in the movie, the rolling around on the ground and punching — things that a 40-year-old man should not be doing — and on top of that, the tremendous amount of prosthetics and makeup, but at the end of the day we would shoot some pretty beautiful stuff. And pretty unique stuff for this type of universe.” read more

Horror News Network’s Winter 2018 Movie Preview

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The winter of 2017 was a banner season for horror films, with Split and Get Out dominating the box office, beginning one of the most profitable years for horror films of all time.  While there might not be a film that reaches the box office heights of either of the aforementioned films, there are a number of intriguing new films, time-tested sequels, and the inevitable stinkers that traditionally appear in this coldest of seasons.

Insidious: the Last Key (January 5): The Insidious franchise returns for a fourth time this January with a slight twist.  The film will chronologically take place before Insidious Chapter 2, focusing on the Lorraine Warren-esque psychic investigator Elise Rainier (portrayed by Lin Shaye) from the original film.  It seems like some “hitchhiking ghosts” have followed the investigator home to get even after the events that took place in the Lambert Household. read more

Guillermo del Toro Says He Once Saw a ‘Horribly Designed’ UFO in Guadalajara

/0 Comments/in , /by

This Christmas, writer/director Guillermo del Toro reminds us that it may not just be Santa flying up there in the winter skies! While promoting his excellent new film, The Shape of Water, del Toro revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that his experiences with creepy crawlies aren’t contained to his work on famous horror and science fiction movies.

When he was a younger man, del Toro says that he and a friend of his encountered a real-life UFO. Unfortunately, the spacecraft wasn’t as impressive as the mechs of Pacific Rim. Here’s how Guillermo tells it: read more