Robert Rodriguez and Michelle Rodriguez Team for VR Series

Michelle Rodriguez Machete Kills

With the pair having previously worked together on the two Machete films, Robert Rodriguez and Michelle Rodriguez are re-teaming for a new project that should certainly grab the attention of many a genre fan.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the duo have just wrapped production on a new live-action virtual reality series called The Limit. Robert Rodriguez has written, produced, and directed the series, with Michelle Rodriguez starring as a genetically enhanced weapon of mass destruction hellbent on taking out the covert organisation that created her.

The Limit will be released by STX Entertainment through their Surreal VR application later this year, with the official word from STX pegging the series as “a blockbuster, lean-back cinematic experience that audiences can’t find anywhere else in the VR marketplace right now”.

Expect more on all of this as we get it.

Rhys Wakefield Lands ‘Series Regular’ Gig on TRUE DETECTIVE

Rhys Wakefield

With the third season of HBO’s True Detective continuing to flesh out its cast, a familiar genre face has been brought in as a series regular.

As per Deadline, Rhys Wakefield has joined the show as Freddy Burns, a character “whose ambitions are limited by the world around him”. Wakefield will be best known to genre fans for his memorable appearance in The Purge.

In addition to this, recurring roles have been landed by Justice League’s Ray Fisher, Fear the Walking Dead’s Michael Greyeyes, and The Closer’s Jon Tenney. The new additions join Mahershala Ali, Stephen Dorff, Scott McNairy, Carmen Ejogo, and Mamie Gummer in the third season of this hugely popular show.

The early blurb on True Detective’s return reads:

Season 3 tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.

Nic Pizzolatto is once more back to serve as showrunner and will also direct along with Green Room’s Jeremy Saulnier.

Thomas Haden Church Appearing in Upcoming Superhero Movie

Thomas Haden Church Sandman Spider-Man 3

Thomas Haden Church is no stranger to the superhero game, and now the hugely talented actor has revealed that he’s already filmed a role for an upcoming comic book effort.

Previously, Church played a sympathetic take on Sandman in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, and now he’s surprised us all by confirming his return to superhero affairs.

Speaking to JoBlo, the Sideways star explained, “I’m not supposed to talk about it, but I actually have returned, but not in the Marvel world, it’s another world, but it is in that genre of superheroes and supervillains. I’m not supposed to talk about it. It’s a movie I shot last year. I’m surprised it hasn’t already kinda been revealed.”

From that, it seems as if we can rule out any sort of Marvel Cinematic Universe appearance or a part in any other Marvel-based movies. Does that mean that Church will be appearing in an upcoming DC Extended Universe effort, though?

On that front, if the role has already been shot then the logical school of thought would have Thomas Haden Church pegged as appearing James Wan’s Aquaman. That’s pretty much the only non-Marvel movie that was shooting last year, with the Jason Momoa-starrer currently booked in for release this December.

Right now, we guess we’re just going to have to take a ‘wait and see’ approach on all of this.

STARBURST Writer Launches Short Film Crowdfunder

spectrum

STARBURST is proud to reveal that Kieron Moore, one of our lead writers and Outside the Box columnist, is producing and directing a number of segments for a short film anthology Spectrum. You can help the production by donating to the Indiegogo campaign.

One of Kieron’s shorts promises to have a vampire slant so will definitely appeal to our readers!

From the press release:

A diverse array of lives intersect over one night on and around Canal Street in short film anthology Spectrum. The first micro-short, featuring Shameless star Alice Barry, has now launched, alongside a crowdfunding campaign.   

From a group of Manchester-based LGBTQ filmmakers, Spectrum will be shot in the city over Spring/Summer 2018 and released via film festivals late 2018/throughout 2019. A web release will follow.  

There is a wide array of sexualities and gender identities in the LGBTQ community, but you wouldn’t know that from the way we’re represented on screen. While recent years have seen several high profile film releases about gay men (such as Moonlight, Call Me By Your Name, and God’s Own Country), there is still a lack of representation for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters. Spectrum aims to address this by putting on screen the diversity of Manchester’s queer community. 

tea 2

Half-hour in total, the film will be comprised of six short stories (3 – 6 minutes each):  

  • Genesis by Christopher Bowles – an experimental opening to Spectrum with a poetic voiceover. A genderqueer character switches identities as ze catwalks down Canal Street, embodying various archetypes of the LGBTQ community.
  • Brett by Abigail Henry – Nell is preparing for her debut performance as drag king Brett Dream. But when she loses her outfit, she has to improvise a new one.
  • Treats by Tommy Cowell – an older gay man is lonely among the much younger gay scene. Coming into possession of a human pup changes this.
  • Chips by Kieron Moore – Martin goes to the chippy with his girlfriend, and bumps into his ex-boyfriend. The thing is, he’s forgotten to tell either of them he’s bisexual.
  • Red by Ellie Costanza – a trans girl goes on her first night out in her female identity. But her former friend is unable to accept that she wears dresses now.
  • Suck by Kieron Moore – Joe meets a man via Grindr who wants to suck his… blood.

These will be interspersed with 15 – 60 second shorts, exploring every facet of the LGBTQ community.

The first of these microshorts, Tea, has already been shot. It was filmed in Richmond Tea Rooms and features an appearance from Shameless and Clocking Off star Alice Barry. Tea launched this Wednesday 14th February, alongside an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign. As well as the perks on offer, any funders within the first week will be entered into a prize draw to win tea for two at Richmond Tea Rooms. 

View Tea now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyjR9PZ1xXY 

IndieGoGo campaign page for Spectrum: http://www.igg.me/at/film-spectrum

Running for a month, we hope that the crowdfunding campaign will highlight the quality and ambition of our project and that the community it reaches will help us raise £4000 in order to bring on board further talent, get some top quality equipment hire, and make Spectrum to a professional standard.

spectrum

The Twisted Twins Serve Up the Stunning TWINPOOL for WiHM

Twinpool

Damn it! Just when you think those Twisted Twins couldn’t get any cooler, they go and do this!

In order to continue with the ever-impressive blood drive that they spearhead each year alongside Women in Horror Month, Jen and Sylvia Soska have now teamed with Lauro Chartrand and Daniel K. Way to put together a frankly stunning, hilarious, brutal and gory 12-minute masterpiece dubbed Twinpool. Yep, as in this is the Soska Sisters putting their stamp on Deadpool in a glorious way and for a good cause. And double yep, that is indeed STARBURST fave Tristan Risk popping up in a cameo role.

Be sure to check out this ridiculously brilliant short below:

See? See?!?! Pretty darn amazing, right?

Directed by stunt performer-turned-director Lauro Chartrand and the Soskas, this mind-blowing effort saw Jen and Sylvia joined on writing duties by the equally great Daniel K. Way – someone known for his splendid work with the Merc with a Mouth in the comic book realm.

Of course, this is all part of a marvellous cause, with Women in Horror Month now firmly a main staple of many a genre fan’s calendar each and every February. As for this latest new video, this is one of many that are being put out on the Twisted Twins’ YouTube channel each and every day this February.

For more on Women in Horror Month, head on over to www.womeninhorrormonth.com.

Rita Ora Joins DETECTIVE PIKACHU

Rita Ora

As Detective Pikachu continues to amass its cast, Rita Ora has been brought in to join the action.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, with the singer-cum-actress having landed a mystery role in the upcoming effort. Ora joins the impressive ensemble of Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse, and Ryan Reynolds as the voice of the titular Pikachu.

Plot-wise, the early word is that Detective Pikachu will focus on Justice Smith’s character as he tries to locate his kidnapped father. Newton will be playing a journalist involved in helping Smith in his quest along with the famed Pokémon.

To be directed by Goosebumps’ Rob Letterman, Detective Pikachu is currently set for a May 10th, 2019 release.

BATMAN NINJA Gets a May Release Date

Batman Ninja Poster

One of the most hotly anticipated film of this year for many a genre fan is the stunning looking Batman Ninja. And now, that animated effort has finally been given a set release date.

In an announcement from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Batman Ninja will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD on May 8th, with a digital release available as early as April 3rd. That’s over in North America, of course. For UK fans, the digital release is available on April 24th, with the Blu-ray and DVD editions to follow on May 14th.

The official blurb on this adventure reads:

Batman Ninja takes a journey across the ages as Gorilla Grodd’s time displacement machine transports many of Batman’s worst enemies to feudal Japan – along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies – including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family – to restore order to the land and return to present-day Gotham City.

To be included on this upcoming release are the follow special features:

“East / West Batman” (Featurette) – Batman meets the anime medium, as this documentary looks into some of the Western tropes and archetypes, meshed into the world of feudal Japan.  East meets West, swords, samurai and giant robots, all playing into the clash between Batman and his Rogues gallery.

“Batman: Made in Japan” (Featurette) – To make a special film about Batman requires just the right artist to bring the mix of style and energy that is unmistakably anime.  The filmmakers discuss the Japanese character models, influences and design that create a fusion experience into this hyper real world.

“New York Comic Con Presents Batman Ninja" – Meet the talented filmmakers behind Batman Ninja as they discuss their inspirations and challenges in bringing an anime version of Batman to life during a panel discussion unveiling Batman Ninja during New York Comic Con 2017.

SILVER AND BLACK Brings in Writing Pair

Silver Sable Black Cat

With all eyes currently on this October’s Tom Hardy-headlined Venom, we’ve now got some news on the next film in Sony Pictures’ shared Spider-Verse of pictures.

If you remember, Venom is the launching point for a shared realm of characters associated with Spider-Man. Whether ol’ Web-head himself turns up in this universe, that’s currently all speculation and rumour for now. What we do know, however, is that Sony are developing a Silver Sable and Black Cat team-up picture, a solo movie for the vampiric Michael Morbius, and then individual outings for both Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio.

Where said Silver Sable and Black Cat team-up effort – titled Silver and Black – is concerned, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Chaos Walking’s Lindsey Beer and Captain Marvel’s Geneva Robertson-Dworet have been brought in to write its screenplay.

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.

To be directed by Love and Basketball’s Gina Prince-Bythewood, Silver and Black is currently set for a February 2019 release.

THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO Brings in Three More Names

George Wendt, Zenobia Shroff, Gia Sandhu, The Greatest American Hero

With this past weekend having seen Hannah Simone brought in to headline ABC’s new take on The Greatest American Hero, now comes some news on who’ll be joining Simone in the show.

As per Deadline, Cheers’ George Wendt, The Big Sick’s Zenobia Shroff, and The Indian Detective’s Gia Sandhu have joined the show. In a fun piece of trivia for you, Wendt actually appeared in horror-comedy fave House along with William Katt, the star of the original The Greatest American Hero.

In addition to this news, Speechless’ Christine Gernon has also been brought in to direct the pilot episode.

The early word on this half-hour comedy series is for it to put a new spin on a old favourite by having a female take the headline role. This time out, the action will centre on a 30-year-old Indian-American pegged as a Cleveland native “whose talents include tequila drinking and karaoke and not much else. Then some aliens entrust her with a super suit to protect the planet, and the world has never been in more unreliable hands.”

Fresh Off the Boat’s Rachna Fruchbom is developing the series with Nahnatchka Khan’s Fierce Baby, and she’s also penning the script for the reboot.

In the original The Greatest American Hero, Carrie‘s William Katt played a teacher who winds up somehow becoming a superhero after he’s given a special suit by some extraterrestrial sorts. And as it happens, this isn’t the first time a reboot of the property has been mooted, with The LEGO Movie’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller looking to turn the series in to a big-screen movie back in 2014.

As ever, expect more on this as it.

PADDINGTON’s Paul King in Talks for WILLY WONKA

Willy Wonka

The two Paddington movies of recent years have proved to be hugely successful with a whole plethora of different generations, and now director Paul King has his eyes on another famed favourite of many a childhood.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, King is currently in talks to direct Warner Brothers’ Willy Wonka. That film has been in development since back in 2016, with Simon Rich having penned the script and Paddington’s David Heyman on board to produce.

Back in 2016, it was reported that this new Wonka effort was to look at the early days of this iconic Roald Dahl character, telling a new story not seen in either of Willy’s appearances in Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator books.

Of course, this won’t be the first time that Willy Wonka has been brought to the silver screen, with Gene Wilder taking on the role for 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Fast forward to 2005, and Tim Burton teamed with longtime collaborator Johnny Deep for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Expect more on this as we get it.