Peggy Cummins 1925 – 2017

peggy cummins

Peggy Cummins, who starred as the crazed gun moll in Gun Crazy, the daughter of a skeptic in the classic horror film Night of the Demon and as Lucy in Hell Drivers, alongside a soon-to-be all-star cast, directed by Cy Endfield, passed away in London at the age of 92.

Miss Cummins was born Augusta Margaret Diane Fuller on December 18th, 1925 in Prestatyn, Debighshire, Wales. She turned to acting in radio plays and on stage in her early teens.

In 1947, Miss Cummins was spotted by an agent in a West End play was sent to Hollywood, where out of 200 hopefuls, she was cast in the lead role in Forever Amber, but due to script problems and re-writes, the producers thought she wasn’t that well known and re-cast her part with Linda Darnell.

Miss Cummins left the business in 1965 to focus on her husband and family.

In 2006, Miss Cummins attended a special screening of Night of the Demon as the guest of honour. She was gracious and answered many questions about the film and its stars, but told the audience that this was the first time she was going to see it. The audience gave her a rousing ovation at the film’s end.

Miss Cummins was a woman of class and charm. She will be missed.

STARBURST sends our good thoughts out to her family and friends.

Sci-Fi Scarborough 2018 Adds New R2-D2

jimmy vee

Sci-Fi Scarborough 2018, which takes place on the weekend of April 21st/22nd, has announced a new guest – actor Jimmy Vee, who just so happens to be the new R2-D2.

From the press release:

Jimmy Vee has been in the profession for over 20 years, and most recently stepped into the role of the iconic droid R2-D2 who appears in the latest blockbuster Star Wars films The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He has also featured in a number of high profile movies such as Harry Potter as a Gringotts goblin, Willow and Pan. Well known for his roles in Doctor Who, in particular for playing Skovox Blitzer, Bannakaffalatta and The Moxx of Balhoon.

Co-organiser Steve Dickinson “We are honoured to have Jimmy join us at SFS next April. He has played so many memorable characters in Doctor Who but the fact that he is the new R2-D2 and joining us for the whole weekend is utterly fantastic, to team him up with the R2 builders club would a dream come true, let’s hope we can make it happen.”

Back for the fifth year in the beautiful Victorian Spa Complex, it’s a full fun packed weekend of amazing guests, authors, movie & TV props, console, retro & table-top gaming, comic book artists, indie films, Cosplay competition, panels, software developers, geek pub quiz, live music, collectible traders & Saturday night party, it’s the unconventional convention, run by the fans, for the fans.

jimmy vee jimmy vee jimmy vee jimmy vee

Confirmed guests so far are

Dominic Keating – Star Trek: Enterprise Malcolm Reed

Josh Herdman – Gregory Goyle from Harry Potter

Sarah Louise Madison – Doctor Who Weeping Angel

Jamie Hill – Doctor Who The Foretold/The Mummy/The Monk/Mondasian Cyberman/The Silence

Ross Mullan – Game of Thrones White Walker & Doctor Who The Silence/The Teller

Jon Campling – Final Fantasy King Regis & Harry Potter Death Eater

Ken Colley – Star Wars: TESB & ROTJ Admiral Piett

Brian Muir – legendary movie prop sculptor responsible for Vader’s helmet & iconic movie/tv work

Comic Book Artists confirmed currently are Gary Erskine and John McCrea with more to announce shortly.

The event runs from Saturday, April 21st 10am-5pm with the geek pub quiz, party & live music from 6.30pm till late, and Sunday, April 22nd 10am-5pm.

Tickets on sale from www.scarboroughspa.co.uk, the venue box office or Mojo’s Music Café on Victoria Rd.

Day tickets are £15 (under 16s £5 Students £10) Weekend £25 and under 5s go free!

Check out Facebook and Twitter for up to date announcements.

Stephen Dorff Joins TRUE DETECTIVE

Stephen Dorff

We’ve known for a little while now that HBO was developing a third season of True Detective, and now comes word on another new addition for the fan favourite series.

As per Variety, Steven Dorff has joined the show as Roland West, an Arkansas State Investigator whose career and life has been dominated for more than three decades by a mysterious crime. Dorff is likely best known to genre fans for the likes of Blade and Immortals, not to mention having a key part to play in Leatherface – the latest installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise which is getting a direct-to-video release in the UK next week.

Already on board for True Detective’s third season are Carmen Ejogo and Mahershala Ali, with Nic Pizzolatto back as showrunner.

The early word on this new season 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.

Expect more on True Detective’s return as it continues to develop.

Netflix Confirms BRIGHT Sequel

bright

What’s that rattling through our inbox? No, no, it’s not the offer of Viagra, investment from a kind soul who just so happens to have a spare few million dollars to hand over, or the offer of a Russian bride. Instead, it’s an announcement from Netflix that they’ve given the okay for a sequel to Bright.

Starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, the David Ayer-helmed effort centred on an unlikely cop pairing; Smith playing a human, Edgerton playing an orc. Bright has only been on Netflix for a matter of weeks, debuting on the on-demand streaming service on December 22nd, but it’s proved hugely popular across the globe. To say that reviews have been mixed, though, is an understatement, with some throwing plenty of praise on the movie while others labelled it as one of the biggest stinkers in recent memory. Still, Bright had people talking regardless, and now a sequel is on the way.

Netflix broke the news with the below tongue-in-cheek video:

For the follow-up, Ayer will be back to write and direct, while it’s expected that Smith and Edgerton will also be returning.

As ever, expect more on the Bright sequel as we get it. In the meantime, you can find our thoughts on the first film here.

Christian Bale Had Talks for SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY

Christian Bale

Well this has come a little out of nowhere, but it appears that Christian Bale was at one point up for a role in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The former Batman discussed the matter during an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, explaining, “Yes, very tempting. I not only love the films going back to my childhood, but also have a very long relationship with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall because they did Empire of the Sun many years back. There was discussion, I hope there will be future discussions.”

Empire of the Sun, of course, was a huge breakout movie for Bale, with the then-13-year-old taking centre-stage in the 1987 effort.

Ever since bringing his time as the World’s Greatest Detective to a close with The Dark Knight Rises, Bale has often done his best to stay away from heavy-hitting blockbuster efforts. Any involvement in a Star Wars picture would obviously go against that, for they don’t get much more ‘blockbuster’ than a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

Bale didn’t go in to specifics on just what sort of role he was in talks for in Solo, but it certainly seems as if he’d be more than open to joining this most iconic of cinematic sagas at some point down the line. Whether anything more comes of this, we’ll have to wait and see. If and when it does, though, we’ll bring you the details as soon as we get it. In the meantime, Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story hits cinemas this May.

Denis Villeneuve Keen to Direct a BOND Movie

Denis Villeneuve

Right now, Denis Villeneuve is one of the hottest directors in the game. With Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049 on his impressive resume, there was talk of the hugely talented Canadian tackling 007 for the upcoming Bond 25. Sadly, Villeneuve would have to turn down that gig, but he’s now talked about how he’d love to tackle Bond, James Bond at some point down the line.

If you remember back, the past few years had seen Villeneuve regularly talking about how his dream project would be a new take on Frank Herbert’s Dune – itself, of course, previously brought to big-screen life by David Lynch in 1984. So, when the chance to helm a Dune reboot came along, Villeneuve was eager to tackle the project, which meant he had to turn down an offer to direct Bond 25.

Speaking to ScreenCrush about the possibility of one day overseeing a Bond movie, Villeneuve enthused, “Listen, I would love to do a Bond movie. I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor and I would like to, but several months ago I came in to do Dune and I engaged myself. I committed myself and I’m someone that doesn’t step back. I remember I committed to do Enemy, they came with Prisoners, I said, ‘I need to do Enemy first,’ and I had to break to bend the schedule. I did the same with Arrival and Blade Runner. I did Blade Runner, one of my conditions was that I would have time to do Arrival first. Once I commit, I commit. When Legendary offered me to do Dune, on a silver plate, which was like my dream project that I’m dreaming to do for 30 years? I said yes right away. I want to honour that. It doesn’t mean the movie will happen, maybe in six months the movie will. Bond is an old fantasy of mine, but I can’t be in two places at the same time. It’s a strange year because I would love to do a James Bond. I need to focus.”

Of course, whether anything further develops on the Bond front for Villeneuve over the next few years remains to be seen, but right now this is a director who can seemingly do no wrong. The prospect of him tackling this iconic character is one that certainly intrigues us, so let’s hope something more comes of it once Villeneuve’s schedule clears up.

Chris Carter Discusses THE X-FILES Without Gillian Anderson

The X-Files Season 11 Mulder Scully

With Gillian Anderson recently confirming that the upcoming eleventh season is definitely, definitely, definitely it for her where The X-Files is concerned, show creator Chris Carter has now addressed the prospect of moving forward without one half of the iconic Mulder and Scully duo.

Talking about an X-Files without Anderson’s Scully – via an AMA session – Carter said, “For me, the show has always been Mulder & Scully. So the idea of doing the show without her isn’t something I’ve ever had to consider. Was her character given a proper goodbye? I think you will want to sit down and watch the series finale very carefully.”

Anderson recently said that the plan, at least from her viewpoint, was that the upcoming Season 11 was always going to be her swansong. For Carter, he’s previously said how he still has a lot more X-Files stories to tell, so it remains to be seen just what lies ahead for this most beloved of genre shows.

The X-Files returns to FOX in the US tonight. For UK fans, the eleventh season will premiere at a to-be-confirmed date later this year on Channel 5.

Mike Flanagan Interested in Adapting Two Stephen King Tales

Doctor Sleep

With seemingly at least one Stephen King adaptation spinning its wheels at any particular time these days, now comes word on two further pieces of the iconic author’s famed work that could be getting set for the adap treatment.

Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself with impressive genre efforts such as Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil and Gerald’s Game and he’s now expressed an interest in adapting two of King’s works should the opportunity arise.

Speaking to Lilja’s Library about which King novels he’d love to adapt, Flanagan enthused, “There are so many. But the ones I’d want to do the most are Doctor Sleep and Lisey’s Story. In both cases, it’s because I identify with the protagonists so much. Lisey’s Story is a stunning piece of work, a beautiful exploration of marriage. And who wouldn’t want to venture back into the world of Danny Torrance?”

Now while King himself has recently talked up the idea of seeing Lisey’s Story adapted, it’s Doctor Sleep that will likely grab the attention of most genre fans. After all, that 2013 tale is a sequel to King’s legendary The Shining.

The synopsis for Doctor Sleep reads:

Doctor Sleep takes place years after the events at the Overlook Hotel and focuses on the now middle-aged Danny who is still traumatized. He’s followed in his father’s footsteps and has problems with anger management and alcoholism. He soon gives up drinking and settles in a small town in New Hampshire. While there, his psychic abilities start to resurface and he develops a psychic link with a 12-year-old girl named Abra Stone who he must save after he discovers her life is being threatened by a tribe of paranormals led by a man named Rose the Hat.

Of course, just because Mike Flanagan wants to adapt these two tales doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll get the chance. Still, given his output over the past few years, Flanagan would be an excellent choice to oversee such adaptations should they happen.

As ever, expect more on Lisey’s Story and Doctor Sleep if and when things develop further.

KRYPTON Gets March Premiere Date

Krypton Poster

Remember Krypton? Y’know, the upcoming new show based around Superman’s grandad? Yeah, we know, we know – we’re not exactly sure there’s any demand for it either. Anyway, in this lull between Christmas and New Year, now comes a confirmed premiere date for the series.

In a swanky social media post, SyFy has revealed a March 21st debut for the show.

The official blurb on Krypton reads:

Set two generations before the destruction of the legendary Man of Steel’s home planet, Krypton follows Superman’s grandfather – whose House of El was ostracized and shamed – as he fights to redeem his family’s honour and save his beloved world from chaos.

Cameron Cuffe is playing Supes’ grandpops, Seg-El, as he becomes tied up in a Romeo & Juliet-esque forbidden love situation with Georgina Campbell’s Lyta Zod. Also on board are Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, Aaron Pierre and Ian McElhinney.

Genre fave David S. Goyer has developed the show as executive producer, with Ash vs Evil Dead’s Cameron Welsh serving as showrunner.

Jack Black to Return for SLAPPY’S REVENGE

Slappy's Revenge

While the Goosebumps sequel had previously been pegged for a September 21st, 2018 release date, there was some uncertainty on whether Jack Black would be back or not. Well, that uncertainty has been put to bed with the news that Black will indeed be returning as R.L. Stine.

Previously, Sony Pictures were said to have two scripts in development; one seeing Black’s Stine returning to the fold, one that moved forward without the Stine character involved. Now, as per, Deadline, it’s been agreed that Black will be back as Stine.

Additionally, the release date for the follow-up has been rejigged to October 12th, 2018, and it looks as if the story could actually be based around Slappy’s Revenge. In 2015, Jason Heller penned the Slappy’s Revenge book that was tied to the first Goosebumps movie. That book saw the creepy ventriloquist dummy giving his guide on getting revenge on certain people, including R.L. Stine.

For the script, Alexander the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’s Rob Liber is on writing duties, with The Duff’s Ari Sandel to direct.