TV

John P. Ryan dead at 70

erisa — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:13:20 -0700

John P. Ryan, character actor, appeared in over 69 productions for film and television, mostly playing villians and tough guys. However, in 1974, and again in 1978, Ryan went against his tough guy type to portray Frank Davies/Davis, the father of the monster baby in It's Alive and It Lives Again.

Dettenmaier's Project Minxx turns into war zone

skyhawk — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:27:00 -0800

SIN-JIN SMYTH lands back in the US after having a successful presence at the Berlin Film Festival just in time to arrive in a hail of gunfire as another project from Ethan Dettenmaier's SNAPKICK PRODUCTIONS, PROJECT MINXXbecomes a war zone.

Early on Monday morning, the 18th just after the NBA had wrapped up their All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. Adam 'Pac-Man' Jones of the Tennessee Titans and posse were allegedly involved in a scuffle inside the MINXX GENTLEMAN'S CLUB that resulted in the crew getting expelled just in time for them to go to their vehicles, get their guns and start a shoot-out that landed three of the club's security team in critical condition. It's unclear just how involved Jones is but some sources place him next to the shooter while his attorney claims he was nothing but an unfortunate witness.

The club itself is subject of a 'reality' show produced by SnapKick Pictures. Ethan, (See our latest interview with the man here) who was not present at the event and appears to have little to do with the incident was unavailable for comment at the time of this article.

Kevin Smith to Direct for the CW

erisa — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Today I was looking around on the internet and I found this.

Kevin Smith is set to direct the CW pilot “Reaper,” a comedic drama about Sam Oliver, a 21-year-old slacker who learns that at birth his parents sold his soul to the devil and now has to pay the debt by becoming the Satan’s bounty hunter, retrieving souls escaped from hell. Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters wrote the project; that will film for two weeks in Vancouver, beginning March 12th.

The idea of this project is very exciting to me. I really do like Kevin's Smith's work, but as of yet, if you don't count the short lived Clerks cartoon, he has not really had the chance to try out his hand at Television. That and to date, Smith has never directed anything that he had not written. As for the project, how can you go wrong with a comedic Ghost Rider?

Blade: The Series in iTunes

skyhawk — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:32:31 -0700

I get a lot of crap from The Show about not having cable.  It appears we're getting closer to me not needing it.

I was checking iTunes, and today they posted the pilot of Blade: The Series from Spike TV.  We missed the airing last night b/c we were taping the podcast, and I was ready to put down my $1.99 to check out the new show.  But, guess what?  The pilot is free.  In the proud tradition of Crack Dealers/Krispy Kream you can get the pilot for NOTHING.

Grab your copy here.

New Horror Channel to be on TV

Goldenwarrior — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 02:33:41 -0700

New Channel looks to be not a all night and day thing...more of another pay per view type channel.from the really scary blog

Reuters reports Comcast Corp. and Sony Pictures Entertainment are scheduled to unveil a joint venture to launch a horror/thriller-themed cable brand at the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. convention on Monday.Scheduled to launch next Halloween, the untitled horror venture is the first offshoot of the Comcast-Sony linkage, with library titles including Hostel, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Panic Roomrest of article http://www.reallyscary.com/index.html

"The Butterfly Effect" Series

Reel Horror — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 22:51:21 -0800

With the big screen sequel underway, The Butterfly Effect is taking on series form at SCI FI Channel, reports Variety.

The cable channel has teamed with feature executive producers Anthony Rhulen, AJ Dix, Chris Bender and JC Spink on a series pilot based on the 2004 Ashton Kutcher starrer. NBC Universal TV Studio will produce.

The Butterfly Effect revolves around a man who discovers he has the ability to go back and forth in time to change the future of himself and others -- for better or worse.

SCI FI programming executive VP Mark Stern said he's been in the market for a "smart but accessible time travel series" for some time. " 'Butterfly Effect' really fits that bill."

The series, targeted for next year, would continue the story of Kutcher's character, Evan, who in the movie attempts to improve the present by trying to mend past events.

"Masters of Horror" Tv Series

Reel Horror — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 23:55:37 -0800

Showtime Networks has joined with IDT Entertainment's New Arc Entertainment, Industry Entertainment and Nice Guy Productions to present a shockingly entertaining new anthology series entitled Masters of Horror. For the first time, the most prominent directors of the horror film genre have joined forces to produce a series of new original horror films that promises to shock, terrify and captivate even the most discriminating horror film fans. Slated to direct are Dario Argento ("Suspiria," "Opera"), John Carpenter ("Halloween," "The Thing"), Larry Cohen ("It's Alive"), Roger Corman ("Little Shop of Horrors"), Don Coscarelli ("Phantasm" "Bubba Ho-tep"), Joe Dante ("The Howling," "Gremlins"), Mick Garris ("Riding the Bullet," "The Stand"), Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator"), John Landis ("An American Werewolf in London"), Tobe Hooper ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Poltergeist") and George Romero ("Night of the Living Dead") for a minimum of 13 one-hour films.

While some of the masters will be directing from their own screenplays, an equally impressive roster of writers will be contributing to the anthology, including Richard C. Matheson ("Tales from the Crypt"); celebrated horror comic book creator Steve Niles ("30 Days of Night," "Aleister Arcane"); noted horror writer David Schow ("A Nightmare on Elm Street 5"); Michael Brandt & Derek Haas ("2 Fast 2 Furious"); and renowned horror screenwriters Lawrence D. Cohen ("Carrie," Stephen King's "It") and Matt Greenberg ("1408").

Masters of Horror grew out of an informal bi-monthly dinner attended by many of the horror genre's most highly regarded directors. Mick Garris transformed their collective desire to work together into reality, and will serve as the series Showrunner.

"Showtime is thrilled to be working with this roster of filmmakers, all of whom have contributed significantly to the horror and suspense genre. The title is truly appropriate since Mick Garris and his fellow directors simply are the "masters of horror,'" said Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's President of Entertainment. "It's hard to really scare the audience these days, but I guarantee that these guys will really do just that."

"These are the stories the directors have always wanted to tell; but until now, the right venue had not existed. Showtime is the perfect partner given the filmmakers' belief that, in order to deliver something truly terrifying, they need as much creative freedom as possible and for their films to be free of commercial interruption," said Andrew Deane, Partner, Industry Entertainment. "We are thrilled that Showtime Networks will enable us to reach its important premium cable audience. Through IDT Entertainment, its Anchor Bay distribution, and IDT Entertainment Sales' licensing overseas, we can also look forward to a successful launch of MASTERS OF HORROR throughout the world."

"For its high profile directors, writers and producers, Masters of Horror is a labor of love which we hope will become a classic," said Morris Berger, CEO of IDT Entertainment. "We are delighted to work alongside Showtime Networks, Industry Entertainment and Mick Garris as we enter the production phase of this exciting project."

The Executive Producers of Masters of Horror are Mick Garris, Andrew Deane and Keith Addis. Reunion Pictures' Lisa Richardson and Tom Rowe are serving as Producers. Adam Goldworm and Ben Browning are Associate Producers on the series. Principal photography will begin in Vancouver in late April. The first six directors have been scheduled as follows:

John Landis will direct "Deer Woman," starring Brian Benben, which he co-wrote with his son Max Landis; Dario Argento will direct "Jenifer," based on the comic book by Bruce Jones and Bernie Wrightson which was adapted by and will star Steven Weber; Don Coscarelli will helm "Incident On and Off A Mountain Road," adapted by Coscarelli and Stephen Romano from Joe Lansdale's short story; Mick Garris is set to film "Chocolate," adapted from his own short story; Stuart Gordon will direct "Dreams in the Witch House," adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft classic; and John Carpenter will shoot "Cigarette Burns," an original teleplay by Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan.

IDT Entertainment Sales will provide worldwide distribution of the series and Anchor Bay Entertainment will handle all video releases.

New Arc Entertainment, IDT Entertainment Sales and Anchor Bay Entertainment are units of IDT Entertainment. A division of IDT Corporation, IDT Entertainment is a vertically integrated entertainment concern that develops, produces and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content, with a particular focus on high-quality animation.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIMEÂ®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIXÂ®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIMEÂ® TOO(TM), SHOWTIMEÂ® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREMEÂ®, SHOWTIME BEYONDÂ®, SHOWTIME NEXTÂ®, SHOWTIME WOMENÂ®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONEÂ® and TMC xtra. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HDÂ®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HDÂ®, SHOWTIME ON DEMANDÂ® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNELÂ®, which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIMEÂ® PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

"Tru Calling" Returns With 2 Hour Premiere

Reel Horror — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 19:44:58 -0800

Tru Calling will make its second season premiere with a special two-hour broadcast Thursday, March 31 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The series will then air Thursdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

In season one of Tru Calling, we were introduced to Tru, a smart, sexy, recent college graduate who - when her high-powered medical internship fell through - found herself working the midnight shift at a morgue. Tru was shocked to discover that dead bodies could speak to her and ask for help in preventing their deaths, and when they did, she would relive the day and have the chance to prevent their untimely demise. Tru also discovered that her mother, who was killed when Tru was only 12 years old, had the same ability. The audience learned that Tru's father was involved in her mother's murder, although Tru herself remains unaware.

Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210) joined the series as Jack Harper for the final seven episodes of season one. Tru came to learn that Jack is her opposite - his mission is to guarantee that the people who ask for Tru's help still die the second time around. In the season finale, Tru and Jack found themselves on a collision course with the stakes as high as they could be after the body of Tru's brother, Harrison (Shawn Reaves), asked for help. As an epic battle for life and death between Tru and Jack began, Tru's attempts to save Harrison led to the shocking death of her own on-again, off-again boyfriend.

Season two begins with the battle still raging. Tru's father moves to the city so that he can work with Jack and they can maintain their alliance without Tru's knowledge. Meanwhile, Davis (Zach Galifianakis), the quirky morgue staffer for whom Tru works, continues to support Tru on her missions to save lives.

MIDNIGHT MOVIES on Starz! Encore

FreakZilla — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 20:37:12 -0800

Variety reports that the Starz! Encore cable channel will air the original documentary MIDNIGHT MOVIES: FROM THE MARGIN TO THE MAINSTREAM this summer. Produced and directed by Stuart Samuels, based on his book, the special will explore how late-night features impacted popular culture and society, and feature interviews with cult-movie icons such as George Romero, David Lynch, John Waters, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW’s Richard O’Brien and Alejandro (SANTA SANGRE) Jodorowsky. During the month the documentary airs, Starz! Encore will also show several of the movies discussed, including NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, ROCKY HORROR and PINK FLAMINGOS.

The Wait For DESPERATION

FreakZilla — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:57:39 -0800

Despite what you may have read elsewhere, Mick Garris' ABC telemovie version of Stephen King’s DESPERATION won’t be airing during this May’s sweeps period. "We don’t deliver until June, and ABC has used up their promotional budget for the season, so it ain’t going to be pushed for May," Garris tells Fangoria. "It’s possibly going to be November. Or the following February…or May 2006."

Advance word on DESPERATION, which the author himself praised at www.stephenking.com, is running high. "Both King and the network got the finished cut, and both are extremely enthusiastic," adds Garris, who begins prepping his next dream project, the all-star MASTERS OF HORROR series, tomorrow in Vancouver.