New Ghost Movies Guide to be Launched at Arrow Video FrightFest

Guide Ghost Movies

It’s not long to wait for this year’s Arrow Video FrightFest, and there’s another exciting reason to go – the official launch of The FrightFest Guide to Ghost Movies.

Over the past few years, FrightFest and Fab Press have gotten together and produced some fantastic film guide books – including one for Exploitation Movies and Monster Movies. Highly informative and entertaining, these are beautiful-looking coffee table books that should be in any horror fan’s home.

The new release, The FrightFest Guide to Ghost Movies, has been written by Axelle Carolyn (who directed the brilliant Soulmate) and included 200 of the most memorable spooky titles from around the world.

Axelle said of the book: “Ghosts have haunted me my whole life. Everything I’ve ever directed, from short films to Soulmate and Tales of Halloween, has featured ghosts — they’re simply my favourite supernatural creatures. Ghost stories have been told for as long as humans have gathered around campfires, and their evolution on screen, from comedies to horror, is fascinating to look at”.

The book also includes a foreword by FrightFest veteran Andy Nyman, who co-wrote and co-directed the recent hit Ghost Stories with Jeremy Dyson.

The book launch takes place at the event from August 23rd to August 27th at Cineworld, Leicester Square, London during the Arrow Video FrightFest. The event finishes on Monday, August 28th.

The FrightFest exclusive hardcover will be on sale for just £20. The book’s international street date is October 26th, 2018. Paperback price: £16.99 (UK) $24.95 (US).

Tim Heidecker Joins Jordan Peele’s US

Tim Heidecker

With Get Out’s Jordan Peele at work on Us, that film has added Tim Heidecker to its ranks.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the co-creator and star of Tim and Eric Awesome Show joins a cast that currently features Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Elisabeth Moss.

Plot-wise, all that we know about Us to date is that it will focus on two couples – one black, one white. Other than that, everything else is being kept extremely hush-hush right now.

Jordan Peele is again on writing and directing duties here, following nabbing an Oscar for his stunning debut, the aforementioned Get Out.

At present, Us is set for a March 15th, 2019 release.

Studio 8 Adapting Rob Liefeld’s PROPHET for the Big Screen

Prophet

With comic book adaptations coming thick and fast these days, now comes word that Rob Liefeld’s Prophet is being adapted for the big screen.

The official press release on this reads:

Studio 8 has secured the rights to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld’s Image Comics character, Prophet. 

Studio 8 plans to build a franchise around title character, John Prophet, a DNA enhanced super-soldier placed into a cryogenic freeze for a future mission only to awaken in the wrong time (current time) searching for a mission that does not exist. Pitched as very much the anti-Captain America across the board. He’s a ruthless berserker that must find his humanity. 

Liefeld, Adrian Askarieh (HITMAN, HITMAN: AGENT 47) and Brooklyn Weaver (RUN ALL NIGHT, OUT OF THE FURNACE) will produce. 

Prophet exploded out of the pages of another Liefeld best seller, Youngblood, catching fire with fans, John Prophet was awarded his own popular showcase, launching a series of his own in 1993! Prophet achieved critical acclaim as well as crossing over for an historic team up with Liefeld’s popular Marvel creation, Cable in a definitive storyline. 

Known for his irreverent and edgy style, Liefeld is one of the most iconic comic artists of all time, having created over 150 characters. His most notable characters Marvel’s Deadpool, Cable, Domino and X-Force are currently on the big screen played by Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin and Zazie Beetz in DEADPOOL 2. The DEADPOOL film franchise has made over 1.5 billion dollars in just 2 movies. Marvel’s X-FORCE, is also being developed into a film at FOX, written and to be directed by Drew Goddard. Liefeld signed a rights deal with Netflix in March 2018.  

John Hyde and Terissa Kelton will also be involved in the project.

John Graham & Guy Danella are overseeing for Studio 8.

Liefeld is represented by WME, Energy Entertainment and Attorney Greg Gellman. Adrian Askarieh is represented by attorney Peter Grossman. Brooklyn Weaver is represented by Jeff Frankel and Scott Whitehead.

Studio 8’s recent acquisitions include BLACK, CHAMPION, HYPNOTIC, and PLANET KILL. 

Studio 8 is a filmmaker driven company focused on prestige pictures and elevated genre films with a unique point of view. Studio 8 is funded in partnership with the Chinese investment management firm Fosun Group and with Sony Pictures Entertainment. The company’s first two international releases come this summer with ALPHA (August 17, 2018) and WHITE BOY RICK (September 14, 2018) with Yann Demange directing, and John Lesher and Scott Franklin producing. Next up for Studio 8 is Graham Moore’s NAKED IS THE BEST DISGUISE which has been fast-tracked for production later this year. 

As ever, expect more on Prophet as it continues to develop.

FX’s Y: THE LAST MAN Series Assembles its Cast

Y: The Last Man

With FX Networks having been developing a Y: The Last Man TV series over the past several months, the show has now assembled its core cast.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Dunkirk’s Barry Keoghan will headline as Yorick Brown, Man of Steel’s Diane Lane is Yorick’s mother Senator Jennifer Brown, Green Room’s Imogen Poots is Yorick’s sister Hero brown, Captain Marvel’s Lashana Lynch is Agent 355, Sneaky Pete’s Marin Ireland as Nora, Succession’s Juliana Canfield is Yorick’s love interest Beth.

In addition to this, FX has confirmed that the series will officially be titled simply Y. Master of None’s Melina Matsoukas will direct the pilot episode, with American Gods’ Michael Green and Marvel’s Luke Cage’s Aida Mashaka Croal serving as showrunners.

The early blurb on the show reads:

All of the men are dead. But one. Based on the DC comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, Y traverses a world of women – exploring gender, race, class and survival.

For those not familiar with Y: The Last Man, the 60-issue comic book series ran from 2002 to 2008 and focussed on Yorick Brown, the titular “last man”. When the world suffers a tragic event that kills off every creature with a Y chromosome, Yorick only has his monkey, Ampersand, for company until he finds himself teaming up with a government operative to make sense of what’s happened and why he’s somehow managed to stay alive.

Previously, several attempts have been made to get an adaptation of the property off the ground, most notably with ultimately-doomed live-action movies in 2007 and 2013. Now though, it seems as if we’re finally going to see this fan favourite comic series brought to life, albeit in the medium of TV – which, if we’re being honest, is likely the best format to tell such an engaging story.

Neill Blomkamp to Direct New ROBOCOP Movie for MGM

RoboCop

Well, this is a little out of left field, right? Yes, as the headline suggests, a new RoboCop movie is on the way.

Courtesy of Deadline, MGM is at work on a new picture titled RoboCop Returns. Added to that, they’ve brought in District 9 director Neill Blomkamp to direct.

Interestingly, the film will serve as a direct sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s original 1987 RoboCop. The film will be based on an unused RoboCop 2 screenplay from Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, with Justin Rhodes reworking that script.

The early, brief word on RoboCop Returns reads:

Anarchy reigns and the fate of Detroit hangs in the balance as RoboCop makes his triumphant return to fight crime and corruption.

On this news, Blomkamp himself has gone on record, saying, “The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid. I loved it then and it remains a classic in the end of 20th Century sci-fi catalog, with real meaning under the surface. Hopefully that is something we can get closer to in making of a sequel. That is my goal here. What I connected to as a kid has evolved over time. At first, the consumerism, materialism and Reaganomics, that ’80s theme of America on steroids, came through most strongly. But As I’ve gotten older, the part that really resonated with me is identity, and the search for identity. As long as the human component is there, a good story can work in any time period, it’s not locked into a specific place in history. What’s so cool about ‘RoboCop’ is that like good westerns, sci-fi films and dramas, the human connection is really important to a story well told. What draws me now is someone searching for their lost identity, taken away at the hands of people who are benefiting from it, and seeing his memory jogged by events. That is most captivating. The other thing I am excited by is the chance to work again with Justin Rhodes. He has added elements that are pretty awesome, to a sequel that was set in the world of Verhoeven. This is a movie I would love to watch.”

As ever, expect more on RoboCop Returns as we get it.

‘First Look’ at Zachary Levi as SHAZAM!

Shazam!

Courtesy of EW, we’ve now got our first ‘proper’ official look at Zachary Levi as Shazam!’s titular hero.

Previously, we’ve seen a shot of Levi next to a Shazam! poster, not to mention several leaked on-set shots of the actor suited ‘n’ booted. Now though, this is the very shiny, swanky official look at one of DC Comics’ longest-standing heroes – with Jack Dylan Grazer’s Freddy Freeman also featured in the still.

Shazam

For those not familiar with Shazam lore, the more recent iterations of the hero’s story feature The Wizard – at times referred to by the Shazam moniker himself, not to mention known as Marmaragan – giving young Billy Batson the mystical powers of Shazam. The Wizard is depicted as the last surviving member of an ancient council, and he has to find a new champion to battle the nefarious Black Adam. In his infinite wisdom, he’d bestow these all-powerful abilities upon Billy.

The official word on Shazam! reads:

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.

As well as Zachary Levi on board as the titular hero, Shazam! also features Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Mark Strong as the ‘big bad’ of the picture, Doctor Sivana, Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews as Billy’s foster parents, and then roles for Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen and Jovan Armand as pals of Billy’s. And only this morning, we heard that Djimon Hounsou has replaced Ron Cephas Jones in the role of The Wizard.

To be directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! is set for an April 5th, 2019 release.

The Russo Brothers Developing QUANTUM AND WOODY TV Series

Quantum and Woody

While Anthony and Joe Russo have wowed many of us with their work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the brothers have now got another comic book-driven property lined up.

As per Deadline, the Russos are developing a TV adaptation of Valiant Entertainment’s Quantum and Woody for TBS.

For those not familiar with Quantum and Woody, the Christopher Priest and Mark Bright-created series began back in 1997. The two titular characters were inspired by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson’s turns in the brilliant White Men Can’t Jump – only here they’re adoptive brothers who are brought together after the mysterious death of their father. As they investigate this death, the pair end up gaining their own special powers. More recently, 2013 saw James Asmus and Tom Fowler reimagine the characters.

Where the Russo Brothers are concerned, they’re best known to genre fans for directing stunning MCU efforts in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Expect more on Quantum and Woody as it continues to develop.

INDIANA JONES 5 Pushed Back to 2021

Indiana Jones

Eagerly awaiting the return of Harrison Ford’s Dr Henry Walton Jones, Jr.? Well, we’re afraid you’re going to have to wait a little longer.

As per JoBlo, Indiana Jones 5 has now been pushed back by a year. Initially booked in for a July 10th, 2020 release, the picture has now been moved to July 9th, 2021. It appears that scheduling conflicts and some possible scripting issues are at the centre of this move, and this news comes at the same time that Disney has pushed Dwayne Johnson’s Jungle Cruise to October 11th, 2019, booked in Maleficent 2 for May 29th, 2020, and brought forward the Emily Blunt-headlined Mary Poppins Returns from Christmas Day to December 19th.

It was only a fortnight ago that Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Jonathan Kasdan was brought in by director Steven Spielberg to refresh the script for Indy 5 – and we said then how that July 2020 release seemed a stretch by this point. Seemingly that has indeed proved to be the case.

Right now, current speculation from Birth.Movies.Death has the Fountain of Youth as the centre-piece of this latest Indy picture. Given how we’ve been regularly told how this will definitely, definitely, definitely be Harrison Ford’s latest outing in this most iconic of cinematic roles, the Fountain of Youth could certainly be a convenient plot device – particularly with Disney’s Bob Iger publicly stating that the franchise will carry on past Indiana Jones 5.

As ever, expect more on all things Indiana Jones as we get it.

QT’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Expands its Cast

Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino had already assembled quite the ridiculously impressive ensemble for his next picture, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and now QT has gone and fleshed out his cast even further.

As per Deadline, the film has now added James Remar, Spencer Garrett, Mike Moh, Brenda Vaccaro, Martin Kove, Nichole Galicia, Craig Stark, Marco Rodriguez, Raul Cardona, and Ramon Franco to its ranks.

These new additions join a ‘60s-set movie that already features Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds, Kurt Russell, Margot Robbie, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry, James Marsden, Clifton Collins Jr., Scoot McNairy, Keith Jefferson, and former Spider-Man, Nicholas Hammond.

Set in the summer of 1969, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will be set in and around the landscape of the infamous Manson Family murders.

To be distributed by Sony Pictures, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is currently set for an August 2019 release.

MALEFICENT 2 Set for May 2020

Maleficent 2

With Robert Stromberg’s Maleficent impressing many back in 2014 (yes, it shockingly really was that long ago!), now comes confirmation on when we can expect to see the long-awaited sequel.

The House of Mouse has now set a May 29th, 2020 release date for what’s currently titled simply Maleficent 2. This time out, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Joachim Ronning is on directing duties, with production having now recently commenced.

Both Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning will be returning for this follow-up, and Deadpool’s Ed Skrein is joining the action as the film’s big bad and Michelle Pfeiffer is playing Queen Ingrith. Other notable cast members include Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, and Juno Temple.

The early word on Maleficent 2 says that the sequel “picks up several years after Maleficent, in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney’s most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora. Maleficent 2 continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen, as they form new alliances and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the magical creatures that reside within.”

As ever, expect more on Maleficent 2 as it continues to develop ahead of that May 2020 release date.