Director Jill Sixx Launches Kickstarter for Feature-Film Debut with THE STYLIST

In an update to our post from last week, the Kickstarter campaign for Jill Gevargizian’s feature-film directing debut is now live!

We reported last week that Jill was looking to launch a campaign to fund a feature version of her award-winning short The Stylist, and full details of the campaign are available here.

As of this writing, the Kickstarter has already raised over £4,000 in just one single day – which certainly bodes well for The Stylist!

Be sure to find our original article on The Stylist getting the full-feature treatment below…

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In some news that’s sure to put a sinister grin on the face of many a horror hound, the fantastic Jill Gevargizian is getting set to make her feature-film directing debut.

Having won a whole host of plaudits for her work helming short films and music videos, Jill is soon to launch the Kickstarter campaign for a feature-length version of her 2016 short The Stylist.

For those who attended the first edition of the STARBRUST International Film Festival, Gevargizian’s The Stylist went down brilliantly as it screened on the final night of that 2016 festival. And now, a Kickstarter campaign for a feature-film version of the tale will be launching on Thursday, August 22nd to coincide with the start of this year’s FrightFest – at which Jill’s latest short, One Last Meal, will be premiering on Monday, August 26th.

The Stylist

The official press release for the feature-length version of The Stylist reads:

Writer/Director Jill Gevargizian announces she will launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund her feature-film debut, THE SYLIST. It launches next week on Thursday, August 22nd, coinciding with the kick-off of FrightFest in London, where you can find Gevargizian and lead actress Najarra Townsend attending the entire festival. The campaign will run through September 26th.

You may remember Gevargizian’s short film, also titled THE STYLIST, from 2016 starring Townsend (who will reprise the role in the feature). “It was my intention from the inception of the story for it to be a feature-length, but I wanted more experience first.” It played countless film festivals across the globe and won 20 awards along the way, including Best Actress in a Short Film at Fantastic Fest, Monster Fest, Nightmares Film Festival, and Knoxville Horror Film Festival. The short also streamed on Shudder for two years. Now you can watch THE STYLIST below for free:

The lead character of the film, Claire, is “very inspired by Leatherface,” Gevargizian says. “Both characters wear the skin of their victims and envelope their personalities, in attempt to escape themselves.” In the feature we will get to learn a lot more about Claire and what makes her tick. 

Feature synopsis:

Everyone dreams of being someone else… but for Claire, that dream goes from an obsession to a living nightmare. Her job as a hairstylist allows her to move in and out of other people’s worlds, but when the right target sits in her chair, she does more than observe the client’s life – she ends it, and keeps a permanent souvenir. Her lonely life, meticulous method and shocking secrets are suddenly thrown into turmoil when her regular client, Olivia, asks her to style her hair for her wedding.

Gevargizian has directed and/or produced over a dozen short film and music videos over the past five years, including CALL GIRL, 42 COUNTS, BFF GIRLS, and her new short ONE LAST MEAL – premiering Monday, August 26th at FrightFest.

Keep up the with campaign by following @TheStylistFilm and @JillSixx on Twitter or by visiting www.sixxtape.com.

Expect more on The Stylist’s Kickstarter campaign once it launches on August 22nd.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas Joins Robert Rodriguez’s Superhero Project

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

As Robert Rodriguez’s secretive new superhero project continues to move forward, the film has signed Priyanka Chopra Jonas to lead its cast.

Courtesy of Deadline, the Quantico star will be heading up the hush-hush Netflix offering from Rodriguez. Chopra Jonas joins Mr. Robot‘s Christian Slater, Game of Thrones‘ Pedro Pascal, Narcos‘ Boyd Holbrook and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift‘s Sung Kang in the movie.

To be written, directed and produced by the From Dusk Till Dawn helmer, the only real information that we know about this to-be-titled film is that it will focus on a group of children who have to come together to save their superhero parents who have been kidnapped by aliens.

It’s believed that the movie will take a light-hearted approach akin to Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel and the Spy Kids series.

Expect more on this secretive project as we get it.

Director Jon Watts NOT Signed on for Future SPIDER-MAN Films

Jon Watts Spider-Man

After the surprise news that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is being pulled out of the shared realm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was reported that Holland and director Jon Watts are still signed on for a further two outings for ol’ Web-head. Well, apparently that is not the case.

Via Deadline, Watts – who directed Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home – is apparently not signed on for any further Spidey pictures.

Sony still wants Jon Watts for the two more Spider-Man films that they have tentative plans for, the director – who also helmed the brilliant Cop Car – is being courted for various other projects.

If case you missed it earlier this week, Sony Pictures and Disney have butted heads over renegotiating a deal to use Spider-Man in the MCU. For decades now, Sony has owned the cinematic rights to the character and that’s why it took so long for Spidey to finally arrive in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War.

A deal was finally made where Sony would essentially loan Spider-Man to Marvel Studios and Disney to feature in their shared realm. With that deal now up, talks to continue this arrangement have broken down – largely down to Disney now wanting a 50% cut of profits generated by the Spider-Man pictures.

The House of Mouse did want to co-finance those films as part of this new deal, but Sony has said now. And to be fair, Sony Pictures is the one who holds all of the cards here. For Disney, they already get a huge amount of money from merchandising from the cinematic Spidey, and so many are deeming this as yet another money-grab by Disney as they look to again control everything in the history of cinema ever – continuing on from their purchase of Fox that saw them pick up the likes of the Alien franchise, Planet of the Apes franchise, Avatar franchise, and a bunch of other Marvel characters.

On the other side of this, of course, some fans are outraged at the thought of seeing Spider-Man no longer a part of the MCU. Given Kevin Feige’s involvement in the creative side of every outing for Tom Holland’s Web-head so far, many are worried that without the vision of Feige and his Marvel Studios the cinematic Spidey will end up heading down the dire path of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Spider-Man 3.

As ever, expect more this ever-developing situation as we get it.

Reeves, Moss and Wachowski Returning for New MATRIX Movie

Trinity Neo

We’d previously heard how a new Matrix movie was in development, although it was expected to only have loose ties to the original Matrix trilogy. Well now, there’s the awesome news that this new movie will indeed be a straight-up Matrix 4.

Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed that this new Matrix film will see Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back as Neo and Trinity, and Lana Wachowski will be on writing and directing duties.

The WB’s Toby Emmerich enthused, “We could not be more excited to be re-entering the Matrix with Lana. Lana is a true visionary – a singular and original creative filmmaker – and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe.”

Production on the film will begin early next year, with plot details being kept under wraps at this early stage.

Expect more on this new Matrix picture as we get it.

Sony Pulling Spider-Man Out of the MCU?

Tom Holland Spider-Man

Oh dear…

In some shocking news, it looks as if Spider-Man’s time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have come to an end.

Courtesy of Deadline, talks between Sony Pictures and Disney have hit a stumbling block when it comes to the future of Tom Holland’s Wall-crawler.

If you remember, Sony own the cinematic rights to Spidey and ol’ Web-head has appeared in the MCU as part of an arrangement between Sony and Disney. Now, talks have been ongoing to extend this arrangement – but said talks have fallen apart.

According to this Deadline report, the biggest roadblock in these talks was that Disney wanted to co-finance any future Spider-Man movies while receiving 50% of the profits obtained by such pictures. From Sony’s part, they simply didn’t want to give up such a large share of profit.

In addition to that, Marvel Studios and Disney had shown interest in striking up a deal to include Tom Hardy’s Venom, Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius and several other of the Sony-owned Marvel characters in the MCU.

Where that leaves things right now is that director Jon Watts and star Tom Holland are still tied to two more Spider-Man movies, but Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige will have zero to do with these films.

Sony may choose to carry the narrative on from what audiences saw in this year’s stunning Spider-Man: Far From Home, or they could now even bring Holland’s Spidey into their Spider-Verse of features that began with Venom and will continue with Morbius the Living Vampire.

As it stands, Sony has walked away from negotiations with Disney and Marvel Studios – and it is they who hold all of the cards in this.

Expect more on all of this as it continues to develop.

BOND 25 is Now Officially Titled NO TIME TO DIE

No Time To Die

No longer will we have to refer to next year’s James Bond outing as Bond 25, for the film’s title has been officially revealed.

As per the official 007 Twitter account, the last Bond outing for Daniel Craig will be titled No Time To Die.

Joining Craig and the usual familiar faces in No Time To Die will be new additions in the shape of Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Dali Banssalah, Billy Magnussen, Ana De Armas and David Dencik.

The last we’d heard, Malek was due to play the movie’s tech-driven ‘big bad’, while Captain Marvel’s Lynch was rumoured to be playing the new 007.

By new 007, of course, we mean just that. When film opens, it’s believed that James Bond has finally retired to the Bahamas to leave the 007 title behind him. As such, the 007 codename gets passed on. We’re sure we don’t have to tell you that said retirement won’t be lasting all that long…

To be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time To Die is set for an April 3rd, 2020 release.

TITANS Casts Michael Mosley as Doctor Light

Michael Mosley Doctor Light Titans

Ahead of premiering next month, Season 2 of Titans has added yet another famed DC character to its ranks.

Via ComicBook, Ozark’s Michael Mosley has joined the series as Doctor Light.

For those not familiar with the character, Doctor Light debuted back in 1962’s Justice League of America #12. What makes this figure unique is that he’s a bipartite character – which means he houses both a villain and a hero within him. That villainous side is Arthur Light, while the heroic sort is the spirit of Jacob Finlay. In terms of powers, Doctor Light can manipulate light and is one of the smartest brains in DC Comics.

In Titans’ second year, Mosley joins fellow new additions Esai Morales as Deathstroke, Chella Man as Jericho, Chelsea T. Zhang as Ravager, Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Drew Van Acker as Aqualad, and Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne.

Season 2 of Titans is set for a September 6th premiere on DC Universe.

Stephen Amell to Headline Wrestling Drama, HEELS

Stephen Amell

With Arrow sadly coming to an end later this year, Emerald Archer star Stephen Amell has found his next project.

Via Deadline, Amell has signed on to headline Starz’s wrestling drama Heels. Given a series order of an eight-episode first season, Heels will centre on a family-owned independent wrestling promotion in Georgia.

Amell will play one of two brothers battling to save the legacy of their deceased father, and his character of Jack is the nefarious in-ring villain of the company. This won’t be the first time that the Canadian has sampled the world of professional wrestling, of course – Amell having competed for both WWE and AEW.

Community’s Michael Waldron is on writing duties for Heels, with Survivor’s Remorse’s Mike O’Malley serving as showrunner.

As alluded to, Arrow will come to an end later this year with a ten-episode eighth season. Considering the landscape-changing Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover that’s on the way for the Arrowverse, many are expecting Amell’s Oliver Queen to be sacrificed as part of this hotly anticipated event.

Flula Borg Joins THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Flula Borg

With James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad continuing to amass its ensemble cast ahead of a 2021 release, now comes word on another name joining the picture.

Courtesy of Deadline, Flula Borg has joined The Suicide Squad in a role that’s described as a love interest to one of the titular Task Force X.

Borg is a YouTube star who has acting experience from the likes of Pitch Perfect 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.

This latest addition joins a cast that currently features the likes of Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Idris Elba, Storm Reid, David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchior – although Margot Robbie and Will Smith will not be back for the sequel-cum-reboot.

To be written and directed by Gunn, The Suicide Squad – yes, the title for the Suicide Squad follow-up is The Suicide Squad – is currently set for an August 6th, 2021 release.

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT adds another LICENSED franchise

Dead by Daylight is a horror game that keeps on giving.

Since its initial release in June 2016 on PC, the game has gone from strength to strength – expanding its initial roster of 3 killers (Trapper, Wraith & Hillbilly) and 4 survivors (Dwight, Meg, Claudette & Jake) to a now impressive 16 killers and 17 survivors with a mixture of original characters and some huge horror favourite licensed characters such as Michael Myers, Freddie Kreuger and, most recently, Ghost Face.

Now, over three years since it first terrorised players in 2016, developers Behaviour Interactive have unveiled their next licensed franchise that will be crossing over with game next month – Netflix’s hugely popular show and Starburst favourite; Stranger Things! (After Netflix posted three images a few days ago hinting at the crossover)

Hitting the roster in September will be a brand new killer; The Demogorgon, and TWO, yes two, new survivors in Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler (with series regulars Joe Keery and Natalia Dyer lending their likeness to the characters in the game) along with a new map to explore – Hawkins National Laboratory.

Fans of the game have some truly unique confrontations to look forward to as we will now be able to see Steve go head-to-head with Amanda (aka Pig Face) from SAW, Nancy play the Final Girl role against Leatherface and Laurie Strode tackle the Demogorgon.

Are you a player of Dead by Daylight? Or has this news piqued your interest in picking up the game? What franchises would you like to see join the game? Let us know…