STARBURST SUNDAYS Coming to Fab Cafe

sundays

STARBURST is pleased to announce a team-up with Manchester’s legendary film & TV themed bar FAB Café to present a regular new event – STARBURST SUNDAYS.

We’ll be providing a haven for like-minded people to meet, mingle and celebrate all things geeky, with different themes planned for each. But the first, which takes place on December 16th, will embrace our love of grassroots low-budget indie filmmaking by showcasing a selection of great new genre shorts!

Headlining will be the newly released half-hour thriller Ends Meat, directed by award-winning filmmaker Helen Lyons-Curran (Delicacy) and written by STARBURST’s Kris Heys. The twisted and often comedic tale has been extraordinarily well received by festival audiences over the past few months, and STARBURST is thrilled to be able to give you the chance to see it for yourself, alongside key cast and crew who will also be in attendance.

Sundays

Ends Meat – ‘Desperate to do right by his children, a debt-ridden taxi driver has just one night left to deliver on a lucrative, yet sinister promise.’

Accompanying Ends Meat in the line-up so far are:

The Moorman [8 mins]

This atmospheric zero budget horror short is the debut film of artist Rebecca Melvin Phillips.

Sundays

The Moorman – ‘Two campers have a terrifying encounter while travelling on the moors.’

+ Brand new teaser trailer for ‘BOX [2 mins] Rebecca’s next film.

Sundays

‘BOX – ‘For some it’s a hobby… for others, an obsession.’

Suck [4:30 mins]

Written and directed by another STARBURST scribe, Kieron Moore, and starring Brandon McCaffrey and Andy Green, Suck forms part of the upcoming LGBTQ anthology, Spectrum.

Sundays

Suck – ‘Joe meets a man on a dating app who wants to suck his… blood.’

Once Bitten [10 min]

Directed by Pete Tomkies, and written by Kevin T Rogers. ‘Martha Swales needs the toilet fixed in her hotel bathroom but there’s one problem: her plumber may be a vampire!‘ Once Bitten stars Lauren Ashley Carter, Garth Maunders and Sir Dickie Benson.

The Tainted [11 mins]

Written and directed by Jack Carlin. ‘Confined to their house amid mysterious circumstances, two daughters devise a plan to escape their abusive father.’

 
Plus we’ll have two horror-themed music videos:

Tentacles [4:31] Directed by Rebecca Melvin Phillips, starring Katie Mason. The official music video for ‘Tentacles [The Machine Rolls On]‘ by Dead Sea Apes + Adam Stone, from their latest album ‘Sixth Side of the Pentagon’. 

La mort de Naïve [3 mins] Written and directed by Anthony Cedric Vuagniaux

Many of the shorts have a very strong Mancunian connection and the filmmakers will be around to discuss them informally. Whether you’re a film fan seeking new indie treats or a filmmaker looking to network, everybody’s welcome to come along and join in the fun!

FAB Café will be open from 5pm on December 16th, with the shorts starting at 6pm – plus it’s free to get in, and there’s booze – what more could you want!

You can find FAB Café at 109 Portland Street in the heart of Manchester.

Horror Channel Serves Up Christmas Chills

chills

It’s getting closer to Christmas, and Horror Channel has lined up a whole host of creepy Xmas treats.

The channel premieres begin on Saturday December 8th with Emelie (2015), in which a babysitter terrorises her three wards while their parents are enjoying their wedding anniversary.

Classic giant snake action is the order of the day in Anaconda (1997) on December 15th, as Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Lopez and Jon Voight head into the jungle and try to survive the 40-foot monster.

Settle down for some Yuletide terror as the brilliant anthology film A Christmas Ghost Story (2015) receives its UKTV Premiere on December 22nd.

Keeping things fun, you can catch the very first Sharknado (2013) on Friday, December 28th, while it’s back to bleak apocalyptic horror as we reach Daylight’s End (2016) on December 29th.

You can find out more about what’s on offer on Horror Channel by heading over to their website. Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

8-bit MANDY Video Game in Development

Ready for the game you never realised you needed in your life? Good, for a Mandy video game is in the works.

With Panos Cosmatos’ Nicolas Cage-starring Mandy having become one of 2018’s most must-see genre efforts, now comes word that an 8-bit-esque video game is on the way for this instant cult favourite.

Game designer Abel Alves is developing the unofficial Mandy game, and Alves has given us all an early glimpse at this work-in-progress project:

Expect more on this Mandy video game as it continues to develop.

Sony Sets Release Dates for Two Marvel Movies

Michael Morbius Marvel

With Venom having taken quite the impressive box office haul earlier this year, it looks as if Sony may have now set a release date for a symbiote-centric sequel.

Per Variety, Sony Pictures has set release dates for two movies based around Marvel properties. The early rumour is that said movies will be the Jared Leto-headlined Morbius the Living Vampire and the to-be-titled Venom follow-up.

For those who checked out the Tom Hardy-starring Venom, you’ll be well aware that Reuben Fleischer’s picture leaves things open for a sequel that will seemingly see Woody Harrelson going up against Hardy’s Venom. But right now, the next movie in Sony’s shared Spider-Verse is to be said Morbius effort.

Elsewhere, this shared realm also has solo outings in development for Silk, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Jackpot, Nightwatch, and Kraven the Hunter. Of course, the future of Sony’s Spider-Verse hinged on Venom being a success. Despite some hugely mixed reviews, Venom managed to bring home nearly $800 million at the global box office. Not too shabby, eh?

Expect more on Sony’s Spider-Verse as it continues to develop.

Roald Dahl’s TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED Getting a TV Reboot

Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected

In some fantastic news for the fans of the legendary Roald Dahl (so that’s all of us then, right?), a new take on Tales of the Unexpected is on the way.

Via Deadline, The Ink Factory is developing a TV reboot of the series which first ran from 1979 until 1988 here in the UK. Wonderfully, each episode of Tales of the Unexpected was based on a short story from the iconic Dahl. By the time said episode had come to an end, audiences would’ve usually been treated to a nice twist, before Dahl would then make a brief appearance to address viewers.

At this moment, this new Tales of the Unexpected has a small group of writers on board, including The Little Drummer Girl’s Claire Wilson and The Wrong Mans’ Tom Basden. The Ink Factory is to work closely with the Roald Dahl Story Company to put the series together.

As ever, expect more on Tales of the Unexpected as it continues to develop.

Christopher Landon Developing MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM

My Best Friend’s Exorcism

With Happy Death Day 2U heading to cinemas this coming February, now comes word on another new project for writer/director Christopher Landon.

Landon has become a favourite of many a genre fan, with his directing credits including Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse and the two Happy Death Day pictures, and his writing credits including Disturbia and four of the Paranormal Activity movies. And now, The Hollywood Reporter brings news that Landon is to adapt My Best Friend’s Exorcism.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is the second novel from Grady Hendrix. Released in 2016, the tale is set in the late ‘80s and centres on high school friendship and sinister demonic possession. To be precise, the official blurb on the book reads:

The story is set in 1988 and follows the relationship of two best friends, Abby and Gretchen. After an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act more and more different, as Abby slowly comes to believe her friend has become demonically possessed. Both girls must soon face a tough question: is their friendship strong enough to beat the Devil?

Landon is currently on board to produce the adap alongside Gotham Group’s Ellen Godsmith-Vein and Quirk Books, although there’s a chance they he may well end up on directing duties too. Jenna Lamia is involved to pen the film’s screenplay.

Expect more on My Best Friend’s Exorcism as it continues to develop.

Official Title Revealed for the BIRDS OF PREY Movie

Harley Quinn

With Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey movie having begun to amass its core cast, now comes word on an official title for the team-up effort.

It was previously believed that the film was simply to be titled Birds of Prey, but that’s only part of the full title for the picture.

The WB Pictures Twitter account revealed the following:

There we have it then: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

The film itself was largely developed due to Margot Robbie wanting to showcase some of DC Comics’ greatest female characters, and it now appears that Warner Brothers is well and truly making sure this is another Harley Quinn showcase, after Robbie’s Harleen stole the show in Suicide Squad.

In addition to Robbie, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) also has Jurnee Smollett-Bell on board as Back Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, and then young Ella Jay Basco is reportedly in talks to play Cassandra Cain. Elsewhere, Ewan McGregor is to play the villain of the piece, the nefarious Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask.

At present, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is set for a February 2020 release.

DOCTOR WHO Adventure WARRIORS’ GATE Heading to Audiobook in Full

warriors

Doctor Who serial Warriors’ Gate was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1981, the four-part adventure was part of Tom Baker’s final season as the Fourth Doctor. Notable at the time for its high-concept story and its cinematic visual style, it has subsequently become highly regarded as a unique slice of Doctor Who.

Writer Stephen Gallagher (Chimera) novelised his scripts for the Target Books range, under the pen name John Lydecker. Before publication, however, the book was substantially reworked and reduced in length. Ever since, Doctor Who fans have speculated about what the original manuscript might have contained.

Now, for the first time, Stephen Gallagher has reassembled that original manuscript from his original paperwork, enabling listeners to experience the novelisation as he originally intended it, substantially longer and with significant structural changes. This version also now better reflects the author’s original vision for the TV episodes.

Actor, comedian, and impressionist Jon Culshaw reads this adaptation in his inimitable way while John Leeson provides the authentic Voice of K9.

Stephen Gallagher says: “I couldn’t be more delighted with the way it’s all worked out. Performed by Jon Culshaw, with John Leeson reprising the voice of K9, it’s feeling more like a resurrection than a reconstruction.”

Synopsis:

The Doctor and his companions are trapped in E-Space, struggling to find their way back into their own universe. Arriving at an intersection, the TARDIS is invaded by a refugee of the enslaved Tharil race.

With K9 damaged by the Time Winds, the Doctor, Romana and Adric explore the strange white eternity of the Gateway, where past, present and future cross over.

They also meet the crew of the Privateer, led by the embattled Rorvic. As all parties strive to find a way out, the Doctor realises that Rorvic’s ship holds the terrible secret of the Tharils’ history, and the means of their liberation.

The audiobook will be released on April 4th, 2019 on both CD and digital download from BBC Audio.

Third MACHETE Movie Still in Development

Machete Kills Again in Space

Remember when a third Machete movie was on the cards? That was way back in 2013, but now it looks as if plans are still afoot for Machete to return to the big screen.

The titular star himself, Danny Trejo, has indicated that Machete Kills Again… in Space is still on the table. Speaking to I Could Never Be, Trejo enthused, “Robert’s working on it, it’s gonna be unbelievably crazy.”

Robert, of course, is writer/director Robert Rodriguez. When Trejo was then asked on when we may see Machete once again doing what he does best, he explained, “Robert has his own timetable for doing stuff. I know he’s working on a big movie right now.”

Up next for Rodriguez is his Alita: Battle Angel adaptation, which heads to screens in February. If and when the Machete franchise returns, we’ll have to wait and see, but these latest words from Trejo certainly seem positive if you’re a fan of the two movies to date.

As ever, expect more on Machete and possibly Machete Kills Again… in Space if and when we hear anything more.

MR. MERCEDES Renewed for a Third Season

Mr. Mercedes

It seems like only yesterday that the second season was getting the green light, and now AT&T Audience Network has moved to renew Mr. Mercedes for a third season.

Via Variety, David E. Kelley will be returning to head-up the writers room, with Jack Bender on directing duties. Again, said third year will be a ten-episode affair.

A take on Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy, it was always hoped that that the series would get at least a three-season run, and now we know that that will indeed be the case.

The early blurb on this third season reads:

The second season of “Mr. Mercedes” took place a year after Brady Hartsfield’s (Harry Treadaway) thwarted attempt to perpetrate a second mass murder in the community of Bridgton, Ohio. Since the incident, Hartsfield had been hospitalized in a vegetative state. Retired Detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) did his best to move on from his Brady obsession, teaming up with Holly Gibney (Justine Lupe) to open Finders Keepers, a private investigative agency. But when unexplainable occurrences began to affect hospital staff members attending to Brady, Hodges was haunted by the feeling that Brady was somehow responsible.

Production on Mr. Mercedes’ third season will begin in January.