Fango's Tony Timpone spent the last week and a half at LA's American Film Market, and just called in with a bunch of distribution news from the event:
• First Look has picked up the DAY OF THE DEAD remake and plans to open it on 500 screens. The update of George A. Romero's 1985 classic stars Ving Rhames, Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon and 2001 MANIACS' Christa Campbell (pictured), and was directed by Steve (HALLOWEEN: H20) Miner from a script by Jeffrey (FINAL DESTINATION) Reddick. You can see Reddick's production diaries here and here.
• MGM acquired David R. (SNAKES ON A PLANE) Ellis' new chiller ASYLUM and will give it a theatrical release in 2008. Written by Ethan Lawrence and starring Sarah (THE GRUDGE 2) Roemer, Mark (ALIENS) Rolston and Jake (BORDERLAND) Muxworthy, it's set at a college dorm that previously served as a mental hospital and is haunted by the spirit of an evil doctor. FX artist Jamie Kelman discussed the gory shocker here.
• LIVING HELL, the first of the three DarkLot Entertainment genre films to be lensed (followed by UNDEAD OR ALIVE and BURIED ALIVE), has been purchased by the Sci Fi Channel for broadcast as one of its Original Movies. Richard (THE VAGRANT) Jefferies wrote and directed this story of a bio-warfare experiment run amok in the form of a carnivorous organism; Johnathon (THE WASHINGTONIANS) Schaech and Erica (WRONG TURN 2) Leerhsen star. You can see our last item on the movie here.
• Grindstone Entertainment, the new home entertainment company we first told you about here, will release a pair of Canadian fright films: Brett (GINGER SNAPS: UNLEASHED) Sullivan's THE CHAIR and Damon Vignale's THE ENTRANCE. THE CHAIR, which we last covered here, is about a student trying to convince her sister that she's being haunted by a long-deceased child killer, while ENTRANCE follows a female detective into an underworld where the morally corrupt are forced to play games for their souls.
• The Weinstein Company and Genius Entertainment will team for the DVD release of Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates' ZOMBIE DIARIES. This British production, which just played Spain's Sitges festival, takes a vérité approach to the undead-plague scenario, telling its story from the points of view of different characters through interconnected storylines.
We'll bring you specific release-date info as we find it out; look for coverage on these films, including set visits to ASYLUM, LIVING HELL and THE CHAIR, in Fango's pages next year! —Michael Gingold
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NEWS
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November 8: Actress unleashes her animal side in HYENAS
Fango caught up with 2001 MANIACS actress/Playboy babe Christa Campbell (pictured at right) to chat about her upcoming horror movie HYENAS, directed by Eric Weston, returning to the helm of horror for the first time since 1982's EVILSPEAK. "I didn't know Eric's previous work," Campbell tells Fango, "but I loved working with him. My character Wilda is the queen hyena of the movie; I got the chance to play the villain, so when I read the script, I knew that I had to do it [laughs].
"The opening scene of the film features a pack of hyenas—which are really me and my two brothers—trapping and killing this woman in her car," she continues. "Her husband, played by Costas [SAW IV] Mandylor, is then on the hunt for us, and it becomes a whole killing frenzy as he tries to protect this other girl from being attacked by us. There's a great end battle, and they've really put a lot of money into the production. It's looking fantastic, with great special effects." The cast also includes Joshua (UNREST) Alba and Meshach (DESIGNING WOMEN) Taylor, with FX created by John (HATCHET) Buechler; you can see the movie's official website here and MySpace page here.
Also forthcoming for Campbell is Steve Miner's DAY OF THE DEAD remake, which Fango revealed yesterday will hit big screens next year from First Look. The actress admits she anticipates some backlash. "I'm sure there will be fans who don't want to see this remade—there always are—but I don't think you can hate it if it's good," she says. "This is different people and a different director, and Steve has such an enthusiasm for the genre. I believe our movie is similar to [the redux of] DAWN OF THE DEAD in a lot of ways. It's pretty crazy and scary, and I was soaked in blood a lot." —Calum Waddell
If you're reading this, God bless you, because you are the real deal- a tried and true, to the bone MANIAC! Now we've been talking about this 2001 MANIACS comic book for months now, many of you showed up at the various promo events to get your "Preview Edition" signed, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now as fate would have it, we've had some delays at the printer and it seems like it's taken an eternity, but I am here to tell you: There is no more waiting to be had.
THE BOOK IS DONE AND IN COMIC STORES THIS WEDNESDAY!
And wait till you see it. I know fans of MANIACS will be thrilled. Trust me, it blew me away. The artwork is that stunning. It's exactly how I envisioned it- a combination of the old EC horror comic TALES FROM THE CRYPT crossed with their politically charged war themed TWO FISTED TALES.
The story is the origin of just how these fine folks of Pleasant Valley came to be vengeance-starved, Northerner-hunting maniacs. You'll see just how Mayor Buckman got that patch eye of his, and you'll also meet three brand new maniacs (Scarlet Red, Jim Crow and Doc Tickles) that will be featured prominently in the upcoming sequel, BEVERLY HELLBILLYS.
It's called CURSE OF THE CONFEDERACY and it's only FOUR MEASLY BUCKS, so how the hell can you go wrong?
There are four different collector covers, and for a few dollars more you can get a special edition signed by me and Robert Englund, who, by the way, worked with me on making sure Buckman is depicted and drawn EXACTLY how Robert would play him if this comic were an actual movie. Fact is- I kinda feel like this book is a movie- think of it as a screenplay with storyboards for a future maniac movie yet to be!
If you're reading this, God bless you, because you are the real deal- a tried and true, to the bone MANIAC! Now we've been talking about this 2001 MANIACS comic book for months now, many of you showed up at the various promo events to get your "Preview Edition" signed, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now as fate would have it, we've had some delays at the printer and it seems like it's taken an eternity, but I am here to tell you: There is no more waiting to be had.
THE BOOK IS DONE AND IN COMIC STORES THIS WEDNESDAY!
And wait till you see it. I know fans of MANIACS will be thrilled. Trust me, it blew me away. The artwork is that stunning. It's exactly how I envisioned it- a combination of the old EC horror comic TALES FROM THE CRYPT crossed with their politically charged war themed TWO FISTED TALES.
The story is the origin of just how these fine folks of Pleasant Valley came to be vengeance-starved, Northerner-hunting maniacs. You'll see just how Mayor Buckman got that patch eye of his, and you'll also meet three brand new maniacs (Scarlet Red, Jim Crow and Doc Tickles) that will be featured prominently in the upcoming sequel, BEVERLY HELLBILLYS.
It's called CURSE OF THE CONFEDERACY and it's only FOUR MEASLY BUCKS, so how the hell can you go wrong?
There are four different collector covers, and for a few dollars more you can get a special edition signed by me and Robert Englund, who, by the way, worked with me on making sure Buckman is depicted and drawn EXACTLY how Robert would play him if this comic were an actual movie. Fact is- I kinda feel like this book is a movie- think of it as a screenplay with storyboards for a future maniac movie yet to be!
