THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN Have a Record of SPECIAL STUFF For You…

gentlemen

After the triumphant TV return last Christmas of The League of Gentlemen, not to mention the troupe’s return to the stage this month, Demon Records has announced the release of Special Stuff, a vinyl box set that includes every episode of both the BBC radio series and the TV show.

The mammoth set includes 4 3xLP gatefold albums encased in a unique box that pays homage to master butcher Hilary Briss’ own ‘Special Stuff’ container. There’s original artwork throughout by the legendary Graham Humphreys (poster artist on so many great films and events), with 12 heavyweight coloured vinyl records.

The set comprises of:

On the Town with The League of Gentlemen – The original BBC radio series
The League of Gentlemen: Series One – A Local Shop For Local People – The Complete BBC TV Series  The League of Gentlemen: Series Two – You’re My Wife Now – The Complete BBC TV Series
The League of Gentlemen: Series Three – Do You Want A Bag With That? – The Complete BBC TV Series
Exclusive one sided pressing of Creme Brulee’s ‘Voodoo Lady’ with etched Side B
Exclusive sleeve notes my Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson
Exclusive photo print signed by the League
Four unique 12” x 12” frame-ready prints

In true League fashion, co-creator Jeremy Dyson said of the release: “What is this bastard child you hold in your hand? This strange hybrid format – a vinyl LP of a television comedy series which is available on DVD and digital download. Why would you want to own such a thing, the sound without the pictures? What’s the matter with you?”

The highly desirable limited edition set is available exclusively from www.alocalshop.co.uk and is released on November 2nd.

FrightFest Presents Announced with Signature Ent

presents

FrightFest and Signature Entertainment has announced a new venture – FrightFest Presents – to give a host of great terror movies on general release.

Among the titles in the first phase are: The Dark, directed by Justin P. Lange and Klemens Hufnagl, Secret Santa, directed by Adam Marcus (Texas Chainsaw 3D), Boar, directed by Chris Sun (Daddy’s Little Girl) and starring genre legends Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) and John Jarratt (Wolf Creek), David Baker’s Pimped starring Benedict Samuel (The Walking Dead), Lifechanger, directed by Justin McConnell and Ante Novakovic’s appropriately named Fright Fest.

Alan Jones, journalist and co-director of the FrightFest event (which takes place in London’s Leicester Square every August) said: “FrightFest is thrilled to announce the premiere roster of titles on the FrightFest Presents label in partnership with Signature. We’ve got the right – and fright – mix together and are delighted by our exciting acquisitions with the UK’s brightest, best and most versatile distributor. We’ve known from our 19 years as the UK’s top genre festival that there has always been an appetite for the scream of the crop, carefully handpicked by the veteran FrightFest crew. Now, with the genre at an all-time prolific high, FrightFest together with Signature can supply the building demand for quality horror, sci-fi, thriller and fantasy.”

Claire Loewenthal, Head of Marketing at Signature Entertainment says “FrightFest Presents will be bringing the very best in genre cinema to UK homes. Our slate promises to be an exciting and eclectic roster of high-end, acclaimed and – above all – gore-filled entertaining movies that film goers will revel in for years to come. Working with the most talented and anticipated filmmakers in the game and the incredible exposure and pedigree that comes with having a FrightFest stamp of approval, along with the incredible expertise from the Signature team, means these wonderful films will be given the very best platform in the UK.”

The director of Secret Santa, Adam Marcus, says, “We searched for close to a year to find a distributor that was the right fit for our film. Someone with the same mad sense of humour and Grand Guignol vision to fit our brand of horror. Then along came Alan Jones and the lunatics at FrightFest. A gang so ready for straight-jackets that they were able to recognise just what we were up to. Soon after came Liz and Claire and the rest of the maniacs at Signature, who like the FrightFest lunatics, were ready to set our ship of fools afloat… while on fire! This became the right team to introduce our terrifying Christmas baby, Secret Santa, to the world. I feel so blessed to have found a distribution family as dysfunctional and twisted as my own. God bless us, everyone.”

Find out more about the releases and join the FrightFest Presents community at FrightFest-Presents.co.uk and on Twitter @FrightFestFilms and Facebook and Instagram.

THE FLASH Adds Kiana Madeira as Spin

The Flash Spin

As genre fave The Flash gears up for its firth season, the Grant Gustin-starrer has moved to add a new recurring character to its ranks.

Courtesy of Deadline, Sacred Lies’ Kiana Madeira has been brought in to play Spencer Young, aka the villainous Spin. Officially pegged as “a social media influencer who seizes the opportunity to make her dreams of becoming a famous reality when she discovers that there is a new hero in Central City,” the character will debut in the fourth episode of the new season, going on to be a semi-regular part of the season.

Comic book-wise, Spin debuted in 2008’s Flash Vol 2 #238. There, he was a male media mogul called Mr Auerbach. For The Flash, the character is being rejigged as a female social media star.

Season 5 of The Flash is set for an October 9th premiere on The CW in the US, with the series to return shortly after that here in the UK.

STRONTIUM DOG Exclusive Sneak Peek

Strontium Dog

The classic 2000AD hero Strontium Dog has finally arrived to the world of tabletop gaming, and Starburst are the first to get their hands on pictures of a much anticipated release, thanks to our friends at Warlord Games.  

Fans of the famous comic strip will be familiar with Carlos Ezquerra’s amazing and eye-catching art. One of the things Carlos loves to do is put the two badass main characters on a variety of weird and wonderful mounts. Below are Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer riding the utterly bizarre desert creatures known as Morks.

The models are designed to be a part of a skirmish game called Strontium Dog: The Good the Bad and the Mutie, written by industry legends Gav Thorpe and Andy Chambers.

Click on the below images for a closer look:

Strontium Dog Strontium Dog

SILVER & BLACK Cancelled; Solo Films Instead in Development

Silver Sable Black Cat

The last we’d heard on Sony Pictures’ Silver Sable & Black Cat team-up – Silver and Black – the film had been put on indefinite hold a month or two ago. Now though, it looks as if it’s all systems go… even if the picture has now been completely canned.

To let us elaborate a little, Variety is reporting that Silver & Black has now been totally scrapped by Sony. But while that team-up won’t be happening, the studio has changed plans to instead explore solo movies for each of these characters. Silver & Black director Gina Prince-Bythewood is likely to get a producer credit on both of these efforts, and she could still yet end up directing one of them.

Key to all of this, of course, is Venom proving a success. That Tom Hardy-headlined effort hits cinemas this October, with it to serve as the launching point for Sony’s Spider-Verse. In addition to Venom, Jared Leto has recently signed on to take the titular role in Morbius the Living Vampire, and there are films planned for the likes of Silk, Nightwatch, Jackpot, and Kraven the Hunter. And now, there’s plans afoot for individual efforts for both Silver Sable and Black Cat.

Right now, this shared Spider-Verse is still sans its Wall-crawler, but there are loose plans to eventually incorporate Tom Holland’s Spider-Man into this realm at some point down the line. Before that, we’ll see the shared universe fleshed out with some key characters ahead of ol’ Web-head’s arrival.

For those not familiar with Black Cat and Silver Sable, both characters have existed in the Marvel comic book world for over 30 years now. Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, debuted in 1979 and is essentially Marvel’s spin on Catwoman. A cat burglar who can bring bad luck to people, this villain-cum-antihero has also been romantically involved with Peter Parker at times over the years. Where Silver Sable is concerned, she made her bow back in 1985 and is a badass mercenary who’s behind the Silver Sable International firm. As the leader of the Wild Pack, she has come into the crosshairs of Spidey and the greater Marvel world at times, and is another who just about verges on the right side of the game when it comes to heroes and villains.

As ever, expect more on Sony’s Spider-Verse as it continues to develop.

Joivan Wade is DOOM PATROL’s Cyborg

Joivan Wade Cyborg

With a live-action Doom Patrol series confirmed as part of the hugely anticipated DC Universe streaming service, now comes word on who’ll be playing Cyborg in the show.

Courtesy of DC Entertainment, Doctor Who and The First Purge’s Joivan Wade has landed the role of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. Vic has of course been recently seen on the big screen as played by Ray Fisher in the DC Extended Universe.

The official description of Doom Patrol’s Cyborg has him pegged as charming and sarcastic, struggling to maintain the connections that make him human, despite being able to connect to any and every single computer in the world. In the series, he’ll be a key part of proceedings as he keeps the titular team up to date on new threats and missions.

In terms of early synopsis for the show, that reads:

Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s most beloved group of outcast superheroes: Robotoman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr Niles Caulder (The Chief). The Doom Patrol’s members each suffered horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities – but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence – and to protect Earth from what they find.

As for the team themselves, Bruno Bichir is The Chief, April Bowlby is Elasti-Girl, and Diane Guerrero is Crazy Jane, with roles for Jack Michaels and Dwain Murphy. The Doom Patrol team will debut in the fifth episode of DC Universe’s Titans, before then spinning off to get their own thirteen-episode series.

More Rumblings of Idris Elba as the Next BOND

Idris Elba

It seems that one conversation that every single person on the street has an opinion on, is the topic of who should replace Daniel Craig as the iconic James Bond. And now, that subject has again reared its head, as new reports suggest that Idris Elba could finally land the 007 gig.

This latest update comes courtesy of a conversation between longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and director Antoine Fuqua. The Daily Star (we know, we know…) reports that a conversation between the pair saw Broccoli state that “it is time” for a non-white actor to be given this legendary role, with her adding that it “will happen eventually.”

Fuqua the offered up the idea of Idris Elba, explaining, “Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with [a] physically strong presence. Idris has that.”

Of course, Idris Elba has long been a frontrunner to replace Craig when he calls it a day after the Danny Boyle-directed to-be-titled 25th Bond picture. It’s also worth noting that Antoine Fuqua – who is currently working on the new Scarface remake – has yet to have any official involvement in the Bond franchise, so it could well be that he may be in the frame to tackle 007 at some point in the future.

For Elba, next up for him is his reinvention of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a to-be-revealed Netflix movie. Could Bond, James Bond finally be on his horizon? We guess only time will tell.

Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne in Talks for THE GOOD NURSE

The Good Nurse Jessica Chastain Eddie Redmayne

In some news that should pique the interest of you horror hounds out there, the upcoming adaptation of The Good Nurse is close to landing two huge names.

Via Deadline, Crimson Peak’s Jessica Chastain and Fantastic Beasts’ Eddie Redmayne are in talks to join the big-screen take on Charles Graeber’s The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder. Black Swan and mother!’s Darren Aronofsky was previously set to direct, although he is now involved as a producer. A War’s Tobias Lindholm is instead now in the director’s chair, with Krysty Wilson-Cairns on screenplay duties.

The official word on the source material itself reads:

After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed ‘The Angel of Death’ by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favourite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Cullen’s murderous career in the world’s most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Investigative journalist Charles Graeber’s portrait of Cullen depicts a surprisingly intelligent and complicated young man whose promising career was overwhelmed by his compulsion to kill, and whose shy demeanor masked a twisted interior life hidden even to his family and friends. Were it not for the hardboiled, unrelenting work of two former Newark homicide detectives racing to put together the pieces of Cullen’s professional past, and a fellow nurse willing to put everything at risk, including her job and the safety of her children, there’s no telling how many more lives could have been lost.

In the tradition of In Cold Blood, The Good Nurse does more than chronicle Cullen’s deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship and betrayal.

Expect more on The Good Nurse as it continues to develop.

Guy Pearce in Talks for Sony’s BLOODSHOT

Guy Pearce

With Sony currently developing a big-screen take on Valiant’s Bloodshot, now comes word on a rejig for the picture.

Previously, Michael Sheen was on board for a key role in the Vin Diesel-headlined effort, although scheduling conflicts have seen the TRON: Legacy and The Damned United depart the project. As per Variety, it’s being reported that genre fave Guy Pearce is in talks to replace Sheen in the film. Pearce, of course, is best known for the likes of L.A. Confidential, Memento, The Proposition, Prometheus, and Iron Man 3.

In addition to Diesel in the titular role, Pearce would join a cast that features Toby Kebbell as the villain of the piece and roles for Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan, Talulah Riley, Alex Hernandez, Michael Sheen, and Johannes Haukur Johannesson. Dave Wilson – who has a background in video games such as Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock Infinite – is on directing duties.

For those not familiar with the Bloodshot character, he’s a comic book act created by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton. A former soldier who was killed and brought back to life with a whole bunch of snazzy technological upgrades, he’s essentially the perfect soldier complete with a healing factor, the power to shapeshift, and the ability to interact with pretty much any and all piece of technology.

Sony previously picked up the cinematic rights to Valiant Entertainment’s Bloodshot and Harbinger characters, with the initial plan being to give each character two solo outings before bringing the pair together in a huge crossover event.

Currently, Bloodshot is booked in for a February 2020 release.

Nick Fury and Maria Hill to Appear in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

Maria Hill Nick Fury Cobie Smulders Samuel L. Jackson

With Spider-Man: From From Home continuing to assemble its key cast, now comes word that a pair of MCU veterans will be making an appearance in the Homecoming sequel.

Courtesy of Vulture, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill will be joining Tom Holland’s Wall-crawler in Far From Home. This is a pair, of course, who have a long and lengthy history with the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Jackson’s Fury debuting in an Iron Man post-credits scene back in 2008; Smulder’s Agent Hill first appearing in 2012’s Avengers Assemble.

Given Spidey, Fury, and Hill were all snapped out of existence by Thanos by the time Avengers: Infinity War came to a close, obviously a few things will have to be addressed before Spider-Man: Far From Home swings to the silver screen.

In terms of what we know about the sequel, it will largely take place in London and will see Jake Gyllenhaal playing the nefarious Mysterio as the film’s ‘big bad’. Michael Keaton will be back in some capacity as Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, and it looks as if Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan will also be returning.

To be once again directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home is set for a July 2019 release. Before that, Jackson’s Fury will have a key part to play in next March’s Captain Marvel. In that ‘90s-set picture, we’ll be treated to a de-aged, two-eyed take on Fury. Similarly, it appears that Smulders’ Hill will be another to be a part of Captain Marvel in some capacity.