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YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in Domestic (U.S. & Canada) Box Office: B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, the theater's 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
4. M3GAN 2.0, though low budget, entered the Domestic Box Office Top Ten at a dismal #4 on 3,112 screens and a ticket sales of just over $10 million. Even critics who like it saw the major switch from the original Science Fiction Horror movie M3GAN to 2.0 being humorously campy scifi. Many who enjoyed it for "what it is", note 2.0 has "sequelitis": a style that mocks the original (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2, EVIL DEAD II) instead of further exploring this world (DAWN OF THE DEAD, TERMINATOR 2).
5. 28 YEARS LATER falls from last weekend's #2 in its second weekend with a 68% drop in ticket sales. In the worldwide box office its approaching its break-even point. Its screen count of 3,344 screens remains unchanged.
11. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, in its 7th weekend, leaves the Top Ten with a healthy 49% dip in ticket sales despite a 600 screen cut. Despite leaving the Top Ten, this movie enjoyed a better per screen average than the movies above it at #9 and #10. Having made well over a quarter billion dollars against a $50 mill budget suggests 2025 won't be the final destination for this franchise.
YOU BURIED NOTHING THIS WEEKEND
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is 53
For those who just wanted to See the Apes, they got what they paid for. Those who hoped that this third sequel would live up to the first and third movie, well, this is what they got with CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.
Plus -
JUDGE DREDD is 30
Throughout the long history of the Comic this movie is based on, we never saw Dredd's face.
Okay, but this movie also stars Sylvester Stallone! How ya gonna pay the big bucks to an A-List actor and not show his face?
Unfortunately, once that happened, Dredd stopped being the Judge of mystery and became the face of Rocky and Rambo. Is that why the box office suffered over JUDGE DREDD?
Also -
SPIDER-MAN 2 is Old Enough to Legally Drink
When it comes to a director being up against the wall with his mega-budget picture, you can't get worse than being up against the evil act of the September 9, 2001 World Trade Center attack. And yet, in a new world where there are no superheroes to save the day, Director Sam Raimi pulled off the seemingly impossible.
No one could have blamed him if SPIDER-MAN flopped, but it was a box office slam-dunk! The sequel was quickly put into production, striking while the "iron is hot" as they used to say in Hollywood.
Could Sam Raimi pull off a miracle twice with SPIDER-MAN 2?
Wassmor -
FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is Old Enough to Vote
If you can't make your comedy actually funny, at least make it fun!
In 2007 Director and Co-Writer, Scott Thomas, did just that with FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (known in some countries as PLANE DEAD).
AsWell -
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is Only 15
There was no way I could be fair to this franchise. I just didn't connect with the story - at all.
I have been fortunate to have people in my life who also love to review movies. Such a person was Mark Worthen when he reviewed THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Horror Writer Giovanni Arduino aka Jonathan Arden aka Jonathon Snow (IL VIAGGIO, SEAL MY LIPS, NEVER LIKE YOU) is 64 or something.
Actor Marton Csokas (JACK BROWN: GENIUS, BEASTMASTER [TV], THE MONKEY'S MASK, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS [TV], THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], TIMELINE, EVILENKO, ASYLUM [2005], ÆON FLUX, ALICE IN WONDERLAND [2010], DREAM HOUSE, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR, VOICE FROM THE STONE, THE LUMINARIES [TV], CUCKOO, SLEEPING DOGS, SHADOW LAND, HOUSE OF SPOILS) is 59.
Look for Marton in the upcoming 2025 Horror Thriller, .
In 2012 something changed in the Sex Drama / Comedy career trajectory of this next birthday gal's life. She starred in a dreary bodice ripper movie with Horror element trappings (tweeny vampires in love), and suddenly switched tracks into our world.
Happy Birthday to
Actor Angela Sarafyan (THE TWILIGHT SAGA:
BREAKING DAWN 2, SPEED DEMONS, PARANOIA, VAMPIRE RIDERZ, WE ARE BOATS, CAGED, KING KNIGHT, REMINISCENCE, WHERE ARE YOU, A HOUSE ON THE BAYOU, RUN & GUN, WESTWORLD [TV], HAIL MARY) is 42.
Look for Angela in the upcoming 2023 Horror movie,
.
SUNDAY -
Actor Omar Doom (DEATH PROOF, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, DINO D-DAY [VG], HIGHER POWER) is 49.
Actor Will Kemp (THE CAR MAN, MINDHUNTERS, VAN HELSING, THE PRISONER [TV], NON-STOP, PETALS IN THE WIND, THE SCORPION KING 4, THE MIDNIGHT MAN, THE SECRETS OF EMILY BLAIR, SLUMBER, BARBARIANS) is 47.
Actor Aleks Paunovic (ROSWELL: THE ALIENS ATTACK, NOSTRADAMUS [2000], WISHMASTER 4, PAINKILLER JANE, KRAKEN: TENTACLES OF THE DEEP, BATTLESTAR GALATICA [TV - 2004], MANEATER [2007], FIREBALL, RIVERWORLD, BLOOD: A BUTCHER'S TALE, CHUPACABRA VS THE ALAMO, PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS, FEED THE GODS, THE 100 [TV], DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER, iZOMBIE [TV], BLACKWAY, NUMB, CONTINUUM [TV], SUPERNATURAL [TV], WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC AGENCY [TV], FREAKS [2018], VOLITION, PUPPET KILLER, THE SINNERS, SNOWPIERCER [TV], VAN HELSING [TV], HAWKEYE [TV], SNOWPIERCER [TV], ZERO CONTACT, SHELTERING SEASON, GENZEROES [TV]) is 56.
Look for Aleks in the upcoming 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Thriller, THE RESET. And in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 ZERO CONTACT: POLE TO POLE.
Actor Sarah Power (REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA, SAW V, THE GOOD WITCH'S FAMILY, THE GOOD WITCH [TV], THE HEXECUTIONERS, I LIVED, KILLJOYS [TV], AMERICAN GOTHIC [TV]) is 40.
20 Years of Steven Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS
"But wait!" You may say. "H.G. Wells wrote the novel. Shouldn't you call it H.G. Wells WAR OF THE WORLDS?"
Not if you saw what Steven Spielberg did to it. And We saw it on opening day! Steven Spielberg's THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.
SATURDAY -
Actor, Writer, Producer Felicia Day (DELUSIONAL, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], MYSTERY WOMAN, EUReKA [TV], DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG, RED: WEREWOLF HUNTER, ROCK JOCKS, SUPERNATURAL [TV], MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE RETURN, THE MAGICIANS [TV], SPOOKED [TV], MONSTER HIGH [TV], TIM TRAVERS AND THE TIME TRAVELERS PARADOX) is 46.
Actor Alice Krige (GHOST STORY, HAUNTED SUMMER, SLEEPWALKERS, STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, HABITAT, TWILIGHT OF THE ICE NYMPHS, THE COMMISSIONER, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE, THE CALLING, SUPERSTITION, REIGN OF FIRE, THE MYSTERY OF NATALIE WOOD, SHADOW OF FEAR, STAY ALIVE, SILENT HILL [2006], THE CONTRACT, THE BETRAYED, SOLOMON KANE, THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, MI-5 [TV], THOR: THE DARK WORLD, THE SYNDICATE [TV], THE LITTLE VAMPIRE 3D, THE OA, GRETEL AND HANSEL, BAY OF SILENCE, SHE WILL, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2022]) is 71.
Writer Tim Lebbon (Novels: FAITH IN THE FLESH, WHITE AND OTHER TALES OF RUIN, BERSERK, DUSK, DAWN, THE EVERLASTING, THE NATURE OF BALANCE, RELICS, THE EDGE, COLDBROOK, THE FOLDED LAND.
Movies: PAY THE GHOST, MY HAUNTED HOUSE, THE SILENCE) is 56.
BEGINNING OF THE END is 68
Big Horror is in! Quick! Let's make a giant dinosaur movie!
But everybody is making giant dinosaur movies! How can we compete on our budget?
Then let's make a giant insect movie!
You mean like that new movie, THEM?
Is it a hit?
Oh yeah!
Yeah! Let's make a movie just like THEM! But, y'know, cheaper. We'll call it, Beginning of the Them!
That's asking for a lawsuit.
Fine! Uh... how about BEGINNING OF THE END?
MEGAN 2.0 in Theaters Today
Did you see the original? I did and this is what I loved about MEGAN.
And -
THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT Turns 68!
DOCTOR WHO? Poo!
Before there was Doctor Who there was Nigel Kneale's mega-popular QUATERMASS: a fantastically brilliant boffin disguised by nature as a common as mud schlub, battling against the forces of evil aliens in order to save earth.
Take a trip back to 1956 and read about the movie franchise's first stumble, thanks to a BBC that sold the movie rights, paid the author nothing, and didn't care what happened next.
What happened next was that the American investor (and uncredited co-Producer) demanded that British scientist Quatermass be played by American actor Brian Donlevy - who didn't like the material, didn't like the very idea of the character, and didn't even attempt a British accent. Also, the investor wanted a plum role for his girlfriend and top billing, and got that too. That's Margia Dean on the poster.
But that's all trivia, read Kelly Park's review of THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT aka THE CREEPING UNKNOWN.
Plus -
28 DAYS LATER is 23
Wanting to be experimental, though not avant garde, Director Danny Boyle wanted to try his hand at Horror. He wanted that news video look without making a "lost footage" movie. To that end he shot this movie in Standard Definition, using Arriflex cameras as well as Super 8mm film and even recording to magnetic tape, using a Canon XL-1.
If they ever offer this movie in 4K it won't matter. You can't know the difference between the DVD and a Bluray. Danny got the look he wanted, and made the movie he wanted. The rest is the classic Horror cinema history of 28 DAYS LATER.
Also -
Snoop Dog's HOOD OF HORROR is 18
With a micro-budget look (though $5 million in actual budget) and an intentional greasy slickness, this movie captured the "So Bad It's Good" ethos that filmmakers from Roger Corman to Lloyd Kaufman have lived and live by.
With Snoop as the Crib Keeper, the Hood may already be the depths of Hell and the choice isn't whether or not you're going there, but if you'll be cursed to stay there. The only way out of the pit is up in the anthology movie, Snoop Dog's HOOD OF HORROR.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Writer, Director, Producer J.J. Abrams (JOY RIDE, ALIAS [TV], LOST [TV], FRINGE [TV], CLOVERFIELD [all], STAR TREK [2009], SUPER 8, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, ALMOST HUMAN [TV], REVOLUTION [TV], BELIEVE, DEAD PEOPLE, WESTWORLD [TV], OVERLORD, CASTLE ROCK [TV], LOVECRAFT COUNTRY [TV], LISEY'S STORY [TV], UFO [TV]) is 59.
Look for Abrams' upcoming 2024, 2025, 2026 Horror Thriller,
CONSTANTINE 2, which is still being Developed even while its Still In Production. And in 2025, 2026, yet another Untitled CLOVERFIELD sequel that's Also being Developed even while its In Production.
Actor Courtney Ford (ALIEN RAIDERS, FLING, DEXTER [TV], THE GOOD DOCTOR, TRUE BLOOD [TV], REVENGE [TV], KEPT WOMAN, FALLOUT 4 [VG], DC's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW [TV], SUPERNATURAL [TV]) is 47.
Actor Christian Kane (ANGEL [TV], KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, HIDE, THE DONNER PARTY, LEVERAGE [TV - all], UNIVERSAL SQUADRONS, GOOD DAY FOR IT, UNIVERSAL SQUADRONS, THE TERROR OF HALLOWS EVE, THE LIBRARIANS [TV], TINKER') is 45.
Look for Christian in the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 animated Dark Fantasy, ONLY A DREAM.
Actor Matthew Lewis (HARRY POTTER movies [all], THE SYNDICATE [TV], RIPPER STREET, TERMINAL) is 35.
Actor Damian Maffei (NIKOS THE IMPALER, GHOST LAKE, CLOSED FOR THE SEASON, CHRISTMAS WITH THE DEAD, I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE DOOMSDAY, THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT, MONSTERLAND 2, HAUNT, A NUN'S CURSE, WRONG TURN [2021], TERROR TRIPS, TIME'S UP, CABIN GIRL, MUTILATOR 2, STREAM) is 48.
Look for Damian in the 2023, 2024, 2025, THEY WATCH.
Writer David Whitman (SCARY REDNECKS AND OTHER INBRED HORRORS w/Weston Ochse, DEADFELLAS, HARLAN, BODY COUNTING, DELIGHTFUL AGONY) is 55.
Visit David at Pinterest.
After Over Two Years of Waiting: SWEET RELIEF
Technically, Writer, Producer, and Director, Nick Verdi's micro-budget Indie, SWEET RELIEF, was released in 2023 . . . to Film Festivals. Those wrapped up in 2024 and now it will be released to VOD via Eventive.
This type of Horror movie exists in the slow burn category and I mean really slow. When a movie promotes itself as Mumblegore, a reference to Mumblecore, we're talking embers of slow burn. I'm personally a fan of Mumblecore when its done well, and like all philosophies, movements, and everything else, most things, aren't done well.
While slow burn Mumblecore is not to be confused with Still Image Film: tepid slideshow-style movies where still photos largely take the place of movement/action, as seen in 1972's DEATH HOUSE (Silent Night, Bloody Night), 2022's SKINAMARINK, or pretty much all of the various flavors of Ancient Astronaut movies.
The first Horror movie I saw that I considered Mumblecore Horror (though I'm perfectly fine with the latest neologism of Mumblegore) was 2008's awkwardly titled MAKE-OUT WITH VIOLENCE, directed by a person so shy he spent years billing/crediting himself as The Deagol Brothers.
So how about Nick Verdi's SWEET RELEASE? Will it be another Yawnfest or your new wondrous discovery?
We both know there's only one way to find out.
And -
ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY Turns 46
Back in 1979 there were Creepy and Eerie graphic Horror magazines, as well as the new kid, HEAVY METAL magazine. But no color comic was more bloodsoaked with graphic gore than Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson's graphic adaptation, ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY. And the result? HEAVY METAL's version was the first graphic novel to ever hit the New York Times Bestseller list.
Plus -
THE HURT LOCKER Turns 17
I saw it in theaters and from the big screen to my ears and eyes, the team that made it, under the leadership of Director Kathryn Bigelow (NEAR DARK), had me feeling as if I'd be hurt by the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the movie, THE HURT LOCKER.
THE GIANT GILA MONSTER is 66
Now lissen up all you Hep Cats and Swingin' Chicks! If there's ever a reason for a schlocky Science Fiction Double Feature, this is it. This movie was made to be shown as part of a cheap double feature!
This kind of SciFi schlock inspired the creation of the major minor movie company, Troma!
This is what created a reason for Mystery Science Theater 3000 to exist!
And yes, this is the kind of movie Double Feature that inspired Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino to make their own Double Feature, GRINDHOUSE!
This is THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, man!
As Well -
THE KILLER SHREWS is 66 too
Dig it, Daddy-O, this misbegotten half of the creature feature is the Mad Scientist committing Mad Science on a deserted island!
This is what the professor could have become on GIlligan's Island - if they had more liquor!
As such, this is THE KILLER SHREWS.
Also -
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is 63
One time A-List actor, Cary Grant, may have looked upon an aging Vincent Price and his late surge back to A-List. True, Vinny was acting for low budget mini-major studios like American International Pictures, but the money was great, the audience didn't care who released what, and Vince was treated like Hollywood royalty: Like Cary used to have and wanted back. Thinking that he too could benefit from Horror movies, he found that Vincent Price hadn't played the Phantom and he could own the classic role. And in Technicolor! He approached Hammer Studios and they were stoked to have a guaranteed draw like Cary Grant.
Of course, there had to be changes. Cary may be playing the villain but his brand is the "Good guy".
"I say, old shoe, your contemporary, Jimmy Stewart, has a career that's never suffered from him playing Good Guys or Bad Guys."
"Yes, but I'm the Good Guy."
"You want to play the Phantom as a Good Guy?"
"Yes, or I won't do the picture."
They really wanted Cary, so Hammer raised the budget Grant demanded, had their ace scribe, Jimmy Sangster, write in an evil henchman who would actually do all the nasty work, and the lavish set building began.
Script complete, Cary still didn't like it. His Phantom character, Eric, was sympathetic, but still a villain. Still too much Horror.
"Now see here, old twat, you came to us. We're a Horror movie studio and you asked for this classic Horror Revenge story. Horror is what fans and critics who love the book and author Gaston Leroux want."
"I've changed my mind," said Cary, and Poof! he was gone.
Hammer had already spent much of the budget on sets and promised Cary Grant. Now what were they going to do with THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA?
Plus -
THE OMEN is 49
The world of filmmaking stood up and took notice when Director William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, became such a monster smash hit. Movies of defeating the devil - without actually destroying him - were in high demand but few knew the formula. All manner of nitwit Devil movies from THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM to THE DEVIL'S RAIN and more, were released with high first weekend returns and a box office freefall the following week. A few, like THE CAR, were even decent despite themselves.
But there was a specific group of religious people who seemed to have a knack for bringing the box office in Christian musicals and movies - and they weren't Christians.
Jewish showbiz folks were creating Christian entertainment better than Christians could. From hits like Jesus Christ Superstar to Godsend? Christ all mighty there seemed no end to it (but there was: Leonard Bernstein's MASS. Great Cthulhu, what an insipid piece of crap! You could find more genuine emotion back then from a Coca Cola TV ad).
But all of these stopped dead when it came to Horror. Nobody seemed to understand the secret sauce that Friedkin pulled off (adapting a NYT bestseller written by a deeply devout Catholic author who believed it all with dead seriousness).
Then three Jewish men: Producer Harvey Bernard (THE BEAST WITHIN, THE GOONIES, THE LOST BOYS), Writer David Seltzer (THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE, PROPHECY, THE EIGHTEENTH ANGEL, REVELATIONS [TV] - plenty of Christian themes), and Director Richard Donner (SCROOGED - I know, right? Christian theme again!) were ready to give it a shot and, in 1976 they succeeded beyond reason with THE OMEN.
Another Thing-
John Carpenter's THE THING is 43
This is the theatrical flop that became a cult classic in home video, then moved so far beyond cult classic it became one of Universal Pictures hottest properties and a crown jewel of their intellectual properties.
This was more than a case of bad marketing or promotion by the studio. Test audiences were appalled by it. Critics reviled in its theatrical release,
"Your movie embraces everything a Horror movie should be! We hate it!"
yet this movie didn't gather dust, languishing in ye olde video rental booteeks. To the contrary, businesses had a hard time keeping the movie in stock. Folks would rent it - then steal it!
This wasn't limited to mere big city hits, either. Universal Studios suits, like all major studios of that era, were ever cautious of "How will it play in Poughkeepsi? How will it play in the midwest? The bible belt?", found itself embraced by every strata of audience tier.
A mere decade later and it was being praised for the cinematic achievement it always was and many a harsh critic, finding themselves impugned by their own readership, hurriedly gave it "another chance". A pretty, petty way that professional movie critics bow and scrape when the audience stops listening to them and turns against them.
New audiences come of age every year, so let's refresh for the uninitiated, why your grandfather's movie remains one of the best Horror movies ever and a must for any movie fan's library. John Carpenter's THE THING.
Wassmor -
BLADE RUNNER Is 43, too
When pointing out great movies that bomed in theaters, only to achieve mad success in home video, John Carpenter's THE THING is not a fluke.
This movie, released the same day, month, and year against it, is proof of that.
Just what the hell was going on, on June 25, 1982, anyway?
I'll tell you. Steven Speilberg's E.T. The Extraterrestrial was winning its third straight weekend at #1. It was the biggest Summer Spielberg ever had. In its 3rd weekend, E.T. experienced a 51.9% Rise in ticket sales: Unheard of!
Back to the point, in case you never knew, Ridley Scott went straight up against John Carpenter in the same year and weekend. Both movies are considered great, monumental achievements in cinema. Both crashed and burned against Steven Spielberg's One-Two punch of POLTERGIEST and E.T. (both of which aged horribly and fell while Carpenter and Scott's movies soared).
In the case of John Carpenter, though the critics trached him and his movie, he never had to change a thing about THE THING. Ridley Scott, on the other hand and over the decades, was lavishly praised for a movie he thought was deeply flawed
"Your child's face is severely deformed, yet its so well dressed!"
Scott would eventually go to the editing bay 5 times before he was finally happy - or at least satisfied - with BLADE RUNNER.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Writer / Producer / Director Timur Bekmambetov (NIGHT WATCH, DAY WATCH, WANTED, 9, APOLLO 18, THE DARKEST HOUR, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, UNFRIENDED, HARDCORE HENRY, SEARCHING, PROFILE, UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB, RESURRECTED, BLOAT) is 64.
Look for Timur's upcoming 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller, WAR OF THE WORLDS. Also in 2025, SIX TILL MIDNIGHT. And in 2026, MERCY.
Timur's dream project for the past 19 years is bringing to the cinema author
Christian Gossett's THE RED STAR graphic novels. He's no longer attached to that project.
Actor Linda Cardellini (BONE CHILLERS [TV], STRANGELAND, DYING TO LIVE, THE UNSAID, SCOOBY-DOO [2002], SCOOBY-DOO 2, THE LAZARUS PROJECT [2008], SUPER, SCOOBY-DOO!: MYSTERY INCORPORATED [TV], OUT THERE [TV], GRAVITY FALLS [TV], AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, BLOODLINE [TV], HUNTER KILLER, THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, HAWKEYE [TV]) is 50.
Actor / Producer Devin DeVasquez (HOUSE II, SOCIETY, A BRILLIANT DISGUISE, HARD TIME, CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER IV, A PASSION, THE BAY [TV]) is 62.
Short story writer Daniel Robichaud II is 49 today.
LAND OF THE DEAD is 20
It never matters how many people are raving for your movie online. All that ever matters are the ticket sales. When your movie goes wide and lands high on the box office top ten, then drops like a stone, you've lost your hardcore fans. That's what happened when the much anticipated LAND OF THE DEAD fell off the Top Ten in only one week.
And -
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is 15
It was astounding how fast the TRANSFORMER franchise tanked. Out of all of the great stuff in the first Michael Bay movie, he publicly chose to double down on all of the worst of his first. Even fans of his TRANSFORMER movies point to this as where it all went wrong.
This is why TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN gets so much flak.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Nancy Allen (FORCED ENTRY, CARRIE [1976], DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT, STRANGE INVADERS [1983], THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT [1984], ROBOCOP, POLTERGEIST III, ROBOCOP 2, ROBOCOP 3, MEMORIES OF MURDER, ACTING ON IMPULSE, AGAINST THE LAW, THE PASS, CHILDREN OF THE CORN 666: ISAAC'S RETURN, KISS TOLEDO GOODBYE, MY APOCALYPSE) is 75.
Nancy shares her birthday with her ROBOCOP alumni, Peter Weller.
Actor Iain Glenn (THE WYVERN MYSTERY, PARANOID, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, IMPACT, DARKNESS, RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE, RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, HARRY BROWN, GAME OF THRONES [TV], KICK-ASS 2, EYE IN THE SKY, RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, CLEVERMAN [TV], THE COLONY, TITANS [TV], THE RIG, SILO [TV]) who is 64.
Actor Nicole Muñoz (FANTASTIC FOUR [2005], FETCHING CODY, THE TOOTH FAIRY [2006], IMAGINARY PLAYMATE, PATHFINDER, THE LAST MIMZY, A FAMILY LOST, PERFECT CHILD, DEFYING GRAVITY, HARDWIRED [2009], CHUPACABRA VS. THE ALAMO, DEFIANCE [TV], SORORITY MURDER, HOME, PYEWACKET, VAN HELSING [TV], GENZEROES [TV]) is 31.
Writer Scott Nicholson (THE FARM, THEY HUNGER, and more) is 63.
Actor Peter Weller (OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN, THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION, FIRSTBORN, A KILLING AFFAIR, APOLOGY, ROBOCOP, THE TUNNEL, LEVIATHAN, CAT CHASER, ROBOCOP 2, NAKED LUNCH, SUNSET GRILL, SCREAMERS, TOP OF THE WORLD, DIPLOMATIC SIEGE, SHADOW HOURS, FALLING THROUGH, CONTAMINATED MAN, DARK PRINCE: THE TRUE STORY OF DRACULA, ODYSSEY 5 [TV], THE ORDER, 24 [TV], PREY, DEXTER [TV], BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Part 1 and 2, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, YAMASONG: MARCH OF THE HOLLOWS, THE LAST SHIP [TV], RABBIT HOLE [TV]) is 78.
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in Domestic (U.S. & Canada) Box Office: B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theaters 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
2. 28 YEARS LATER, opens in second place against a powerful family film franchise remake. Astoundingly, it made its Production budget at the box office. Now to see if it has the legs to keep going. Traditionally, June and July tend to be bad opening months for Horror. That said, the per screen average of this movie outperformed every other flick on the Top Ten.
9. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES has a 54% drop in box office against a 796 screen cut, heading down from last weekend's #7. In its 6th weekend it's made over a quarter billion world-wide with over 5.5 times its Production budget, and well over twice its budget in the Domestic box office.
13. SINNERS leaves the Top Ten in its 10th weekend with a 46% drop in ticket sales against a 415 screen cut. That said, it still made more per screen than #8. More people still want to see it in the theaters, it just doesn't have enough showtimes.
YOU BURIED IT
12. THE LIFE OF CHUCK in only its 3rd weekend, is possibly the worst performing Stephen King theatrical release made after DOCTOR SLEEP (also directed by Mike Flanagan). Like DOCTOR SLEEP, also left the Top Ten in its 3rd weekend, audiences kicked this movie to the curb despite an impressive cast. In this case, Marvel movie mainstays Tom Hiddleston (KONG: SKULL ISLAND) and Karen Gillan (OCULUS). Plus Star Wars legend, Mark Hamill (SLIPSTREAM). Also like DOCTOR SLEEP, the movie garnered critical raves, rated a Fresh 82% at rottentomatoes and an even higher 88% rating among a 500+ audience. So what went wrong? What gives? Was the movie too "celebrity" heavy for Horror?
Wait! Did I just call THE LIFE OF CHUCK a "Horror Movie"?
I know its one of King's rare non-Horror tales, but when a movie is from the earth's best selling Horror writer alive, then your flick ain't coming out from that shadow any time soon.
That said, King's rare non-Horror movies from STAND BY ME to THE GREEN MILE were box office hits despite their non-Horror tales.
So I dunno.
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Musician Glenn Danzig (Bands: SAMHAIN, THE MISFITS. Solo: DANZIG) is 69.
Director Russell Mulcahy (RAZORBACK, HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER II, BLUE ICE, THE SHADOW, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [TV], SILENT TRIGGER, RESURRECTION, THE HUNGER [TV], 1ST TO DIE, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB, WHERE THE CHILDREN SLEEP, RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, CRASH AND BURN, THE SCORPION KING 2, TEEN WOLF [TV]) is 71.
Did you know Russell Mulcahy's first directing job was in 1976 for the AC/DC performance of "Baby Please Don't Go"?
Yep. And he also directed MTV's first broadcast music video, The Buggles, "Video Killed The Radio Star". Russell directed most of Elton John's music videos since the 1980s and his name dominates the list of the most iconic music videos of all time, including The Vapors: "Turning Japanese", Kim Karnes: "Bette Davis Eyes", Duran Duran: "Hungry Like The Wolf", Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and way more.
Mulcahy's Quick-Cut cinema-style of hallucinatory, dreamy, often nightmarish visuals, coupled with a creative use of dutch-tilts and chiaroscuro, were so often copied by lesser directors that, in modern retrospect, his work is both lauded for being the best of what music videos had to offer, as well as being the worst. His style so over-imitated that, like a song played too often on the radio, people got sick of it. Yet it unquestionably defines the era.
Russell's stylistic imprint never left the music video industry however, and you can see the color of his influence in some of todays most favored music videos from The Weeknd's "I Can't Feel My Face" to Sia's "Unstoppable" and beyond.
Happy Birthday, dude!
Writer and Director Joss Whedon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ALIEN: RESURRECTION, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], FIREFLY [TV], ANGEL [TV], SERENITY, DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG, DOLLHOUSE [TV], THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE AVENGERS, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. [TV], IN YOUR EYES, THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, THE NEVERS [TV]) is 60.
Actor Duane Whitaker (HOBGOBLINS, DEADLY DREAMS, LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III, DARK RIDER, PULP FICTION, PUPPET MASTER 5: THE FINAL CHAPTER, TALES FROM THE HOOD, NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW, THE HAUNTED SEA [1997], SPOILER, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2, GROOM LAKE, THE LOW BUDGET TIME MACHINE, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, FEAST, URBAN DECAY, TRAILER PARK OF TERROR, THE BUTCHER, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN II, ALBINO FARM, DOZERS, CHILDREN OF THE CORN: GENESIS, TRAFFICKED, AMERICAN NIGHTMARES, 3 FROM HELL, A DARK FOE, NATASHA HALL, and more) is 65.
SFX Make-Up Artist Kevin Yagher (FRIDAY THE 13th: THE FINAL CHAPTER, RADIOACTIVE DREAMS, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2, TRICK OR TREAT, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3, THE HIDDEN, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4, 976-EVIL, FREDDY'S NIGHTMARES [TV], THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA [1989], MEET THE APPLEGATES, THE BORROWER, DEFENSELESS, MAN'S BEST FRIEND, CHILDREN OF THE CORN III, DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE, RUMPLESTILTSKIN, HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE, THE DENTIST, THE FAN [1996], BORDELLO OF BLOOD, FACE/OFF, CONSPIRACY THEORY, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II, LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, AEON FLUX, BONES [TV]) is 62.
SUNDAY -
Writer / Producer / Director Uwe Boll (BLACKWOODS, HOUSE OF THE DEAD, ALONE IN THE DARK [all], BLOODRAYNE [all], BLUBBERELLA, SEED [all], FINAL STORM, APOCALYPSE Z, LEGEND OF THE RED REAPER, THE PROFANE EXHIBIT, PRISONERS OF THE SUN, ZOMBIE MASSACRE 2, HOUSE OF EVIL) is 59.
Actor / Writer Bruce Campbell (Movies: THE EVIL DEAD, THE EVIL DEAD II, MANIAC COP, MOONTRAP, SUNDOWN, MANIAC COP 2, DARKMAN, MINDWARP, WAXWORK II, ARMY OF DARKNESS, CONGO, ESCAPE FROM L.A., MENNO'S MIND, SPIDER-MAN [Sam Raimi - all], BUBBA HO-TEP, ALIEN APOCALYPSE, MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN, EVIL DEAD: REGENERATION [VG], THE WOODS, MY NAME IS BRUCE, HELLBOY: THE SCIENCE OF EVIL [VG], CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE - EXO ZOMBIES [VG], DEAD BY DAYLIGHT [VG], ASH VS THE EVIL DEAD [TV], LODGE 49 [TV], BLACK FRIDAY!, 18 1/2, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS.
Books: IF CHINS COULD KILL, MAKE LOVE: The Bruce Campbell Way!, HAIL TO THE CHIN) is 65 but could easily pass for 67.
Actor Whitney Moore (BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR [all], A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE, THE THEATER BIZARRE, ROTGUT, ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE, BETAMAX, CONTRACTED: PHASE II, DRONE WARS, I HAD A BLOODY GOOD TIME AT HOUSE HARKER, BREAKDOWN LANE, THRASHTOPIA [TV], HOUSE OF DEMONS, SATANIC PANIC, VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE: L.A. BY NIGHT, EVIL BONG 888: INFINITY HIGH, SPIRIT RISER) is 35.
HOUSE OF USHER Turns 65
Writer, Director, and Producer, Roger Corman, was out to show the world that he was more than just the King of Schlock (back at a time in his youth when, for financial reasons, he preferred not to be stuck with that moniker and the budget ceiling that came with it).
To that end Roger hired popular TWILIGHT ZONE scribe, Richard Matheson (THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, I AM LEGEND, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE), to reset Edgar Allen Poe's short stories into feature film length and format, a score by mega-popular exotica musician, Les Baxter, and hired still popular though aging Vincent Price (who was eager for Edgar) into doing a series of Poe movies (for the Princely Price of 1/3rd the budget of the movie!). Every single movie was a hit, becoming part of the Corman-Poe Cycle, and still maintains the highest bar for Edgar Allen Poe movies after nearly a century. It's 2024 and despite many other movies based on this tale, none have ever reached the level achieved by 1960's HOUSE OF USHER.
ALIEN Remains One of the Most Influenced AND Influential Science Fiction Horror Movie After 46 Years!
Take the Deepest dig into our review and the once lost history of ALIEN.
SATURDAY -
Writer Christa Faust (HOOD TOWN, CONTROL FREAK, MONEY SHOT, SINS OF THE SIRENS [antho], BAD MOTHER, PEEPLAND, MONEY SHOT) is 57.
Writer Steve Niles (Comics: Clive Barker's SON OF CELLULOID, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND, CITY OF OTHERS, CRIMINAL MACABRE [Cal MacDonald Stories], GIANT MONSTER, 28 DAYS LATER: THE AFTERMATH, DEAD SHE SAID, THE GHOUL. Movies: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, STEVE NILES' REMAINS, WAKE THE DEAD) is 60.
Actor Chris Pratt (WANTED, JENNIFER'S BODY, ZERO DARK THIRTY, HER, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [all], JURASSIC WORLD [all], PASSENGERS, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS: END GAME, THE TOMORROW WAR, THE ELECTRIC STATE) is 46.
Chris shares a birthday week with his GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and AVENGERS alumni, Zoe Saldana.
Look for Chris in the upcoming 2024, 2025, 2026, MERCY.
Writer, Producer, Director Lana Wachowski (BOUND, THE MATRIX [all], V FOR VENDETTA, CLOUD ATLAS, JUPITER ASCENDING, SENSE8 [TV], THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS) is 60.
It's One Year After This Movie's Exact Date When THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR Happens
Find out why Producer Roland Emmerich's best movie ever, may be 1999's THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR.
GHOST BREAKERS is 85
Dan O'Bannon and John Carpenter were inspired by old Horror movies like IT: THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, and Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. In fact, both Dan's ALIEN and John's THE THING have a chestburster scene a la, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES.
Stanley Kubrick found inspiration for THE SHINING in the movie ERASERHEAD.
And Comic, Writer, and Actor, Dan Aykroyd? His inspiration for GHOSTBUSTERS was this movie, THE GHOST BREAKERS.
LIFEFORCE is 40
Based on Colin Wilson's novel THE SPACE VAMPIRES, his energy vampires used intimacy and sex to drain their human food of energy. Because they were beautiful to human eyes, they were irresistible. Because they were aliens, they were naked all of the time.
There was no point in making the movie unless the aliens were going to be naked. Which meant the "queen" had to be naked and so had to be beautiful from head to toe.
Many actors refused to be in the movie for this specific point. In fact, a group of young German women who appeared for casting all agreed to refuse to undress for full nudity as required.
Then they discovered that the young woman who led them into their "revolt" did it so that she could get the part.
That's just one of the crazy things that happened during the full production of LIFEFORCE.
MINORITY REPORT Is 23
Now that we're actually living in this movie's future, how well has MINORITY REPORT held up?
DAHMER is also 23
If you've ever read the Thomas Harris novel, RED DRAGON, or have seen the movie, MANHUNTER, then you are aware that real life investigators, who are best at their job, will find themselves unable to stop thinking about their subjects and like their subjects (like the Thomas Harris fictional character of Special Agent Will Graham, or the real life FBI Agents, John Douglas and Rober K. Ressler, who one on one interviewed convicted serial killers, digging deep into their psyches.)
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Jenseits von Gut und Böse aka Beyond Good and Evil - 1886
When such people reach a horrific point where they find themselves starting to think like their subjects, it tends to make them great at their job. They have a feel for what the killer thinks, how they think, why they would think this and not that, and what their next likely move will be.
This is a heavy cost. The agents can't stop visualizing the murders as described to them, thinking of the emotional release the killers experienced when doing it, and they often require significantly long down time away from the job or therapy to cope and "bring them back", or an early retirement.
This is what actor Jeremy Renner experienced after he chose to embody the real life of serial killer Jeffrey DAHMER.
Enki Bilal's IMMORTAL AD VITAM is 20
A flop upon release, this movie spent the last 20 years slowly building a huge following. The indifferent DVD release in the U.S. sold out so strong that it was re-released as a Steelbook edition with extras. Then Bluray with extras. How does a foreign market flop get this much belated attention? Read my review of Enki Bilal's IMMORTAL, based on his long running Heavy Metal magazine comic, NIKOPOL.
JAWS is 50
50 years ago today, Steven Spielberg's JAWS hit the theaters and the crowd's jaws hit the floor.
My Pop was a surfboarder and later, a body surfer: It was just his thing.
To my knowledge he never tried out for competition, he did it for personal enjoyment. This is why I was born in Florida and spent part of my childhood growing up near the coast. Of course, I'm talking about Florida so all of it is near the coast.
Before JAWS, Pop never lived anywhere that wasn't within walking distance to a natural body of water.
Then in 1975 he saw this movie and he discovered (to his astonishment) that he couldn't do it anymore.
He couldn't float in the Atlantic ocean, waiting to catch a wave, while the anxiety of growing paranoia pestered, wondering what he couldn't see beneath the surface, that could see him.
Lakes were no better. He always knew there were Alligators and Crocodiles in Florida's fresh water, but that was abstract knowledge until he saw this movie.
It preyed on his mind so much that two years later, in 1977, he moved his family to Arizona.
That, for better or worse, is the life-changing effect that a story or movie can have on people, and this remains the power of Steven Spielberg's JAWS.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Nicole Kidman (DEAD CALM, MALICE, TO DIE FOR, PRACTICAL MAGIC, EYES WIDE SHUT, THE OTHERS, BIRTHDAY GIRL, PANIC ROOM, DOGVILLE, THE HUMAN STAIN, THE STEPFORD WIVES, INVASION, TRESPASS, THE PAPERBOY, STOKER, BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, STRANGERLAND, THE FAMILY FANG, SECRET IN THEIR EYES, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, TOP OF THE LAKE, THE BEGUILED, DESTROYER, BIG LITTLE LIES [TV], THE UNDOING [TV], NINE PERECT STRANGERS [TV], THE NORTHMAN, ROAR [TV]) who is 57.
Look for Nicole in the upcoming 2023, 2024 Thriller, HOLLAND MICHIGAN. Also expected in 2024, BABYGIRL and SPELLBOUND.
Actor Candy Clark (THE BIG SLEEP, Q, BLUE THUNDER, AMITYVILLE 3D, CAT'S EYE, AT CLOSE RANGE, THE BLOB [1988], BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, CHERRY FALLS, ZODIAC, COLD MOON) is 78.
Writer, Director, Producer, Robert Rodriguez (EL MARIACHI, DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TIL DAWN [all], THE FACULTY, SPY KIDS, SPY KIDS 2, SPY KIDS 3-D, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR, PREDATORS, MACHETE [all], FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES [TV], ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, RED 11, UGLY DOLLS, HYPNOTIC) is 57.
THEM is 70 Years Old
In the early 1950s concern over what the A-Bomb could do was all the uncertainty by the scientists themselves. "What could it do? What Couldn't It Do? Radiation could create disturbing mutations!"
Though true, it was a mistake to leave something like this hanging in the air, surrounded by question marks, because Hollywood could only see tiny creatures turned into giants. The 1950s were filled with Big Horror craziness in the West and Kaiju Koo Koo in the east. Humans were shrinking, growing, and all manner of insects and wotnot were turning into giants and one of the most perennial popular, over 70 Years Later, was the one that didn't turn the lead woman character into a Damsel in Distress, but a take-charge Scientist capable of getting things done and leading the charge! Who could have made such a movie in 1954? THEM!
And -
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is 45
Or 40 if we're going by the U.S. release, which I do.
The thing is, Italian Director Ruggero Deodato made a Lost Footage cannibal Horror movie so realistic that he was tried and convicted in an Italian court and sent to prison. In the days of practical make-up effects, the effects were practically too damn realistical!
The court was convinced that people were actually murdered for his movie. Deodato wanted some of the actors in question to come to Italy and testify on his behalf, but there was this one sticky problem... a possible prison sentence as Ruggero's accomplice.
Well, more than one problem. See, Ruggero decided to include actual cannibals in his movie for the sake of realism. He followed them around, film running, as they went about their daily lives of doing blood thirsty cruel, atrocious things to each other and especially animals and human outsiders.
Oh, you saw SALO? THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE? A SERBIAN FILM? BONE TOMAHAWK? TERRIFIER? Damn good movies all, but no, they come nowhere close to preparing you for CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. This is why.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Chelah Horsdal (PAYCHECK, HUMAN CARGO [TV], 5IVE DAYS TO MIDNIGHT [TV], PURSUED, MARKER, THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, Masters of Horror: DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, HOLLOW MAN II, NIGHTMARE, PERFECT CHILD, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM, POSSESSION, PASSENGERS, ALIEN TRESPASS, THE TORTURED, ALTITUDE, IRON INVADER, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, DONOVAN'S ECHO, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, KILL FOR ME, HUNTING SEASON, SOLE CUSTODY, THE GRIM SLEEPER, THE RETURNED [TV - 2015], EVEN LAMBS HAVE TEETH, CANDILAND, THE SHOW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE [TV], SPONTANEOUS) is 52.
Actor Mia Sara (LEGENDS, SHADOWS IN THE STORM, APPRENTICE TO MURDER, DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS, CAROLINE AT MIDNIGHT, THE MADDENING, UNDERTOW, BIRDS OF PREY [TV], NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES [TV], THE WITCHES OF OZ [TV], DOROTHY AND THE WITCHES OF OZ, THE LIFE OF CHUCK) is 58.
Actor Zoe Saldana (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, THE SKEPTIC, STAR TREK [2009 - 2016], AVATAR, BURNING PALMS, THE WORDS, ROSEMARY'S BABY [TV], GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [all], THE BOOK OF LIFE, I KILL GIANTS, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, VAMPIRES VS. THE BRONX, AVATAR 2) is 47.
Already in post (but it will be a lo-ong post time) Look for Zoe in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025, AVATAR 3.
YOU'VE AWOKEN HER Slithers into Bookstores today
YOU'VE AWOKEN HER, by Ann Dávila Cardinal, is now available at all major outlets.
"Gabi should be thrilled to be visiting his best friend for the summer. But with its mansions, country clubs, and Ruth's terrible new boyfriend, Frost Thurston, the Hamptons is the last place he wants to be. And then Gabi witnesses a woman being dragged under the ocean by what looks like a tentacle . . ."
"Fans of You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight and Your Lonely Nights Are Over will love this thrilling YA horror about a string of disappearances and "accidental" drownings in the Hamptons, the changing relationship between two best friends, and their desperate attempt to not be the next victims of a Lovecraftian monster terrorizing the coastline."
"Quick, funny, with relatable teens and unknowable cosmic horrors."
— Adam Cesare, author of the Clown in a Cornfield series
"Will wrap you in its powerful tentacles and drag you into a roiling sea where vicious monsters—human and Lovecraftian alike—await."
— Vanessa Montalban, author of These Vengeful Wishes
And -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Jacob Anderson (THE THINGS I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU, GUNRUSH, CHATROOM, 4.3.2.1., DEMONS NEVER DIE, COMEDOWN, GAME OF THRONES [TV], OVERLORD, DR. WHO [TV - 2021 - 2022], INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE [TV], TIMESTALKER) is 35.
Look for Jacob in the upcoming 2025 Thriller, BAD APPLES.
Actor Kim Dickens (VOICES FROM THE GRAVE [TV], "TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M.", ZERO EFFECT, MERCURY RISING, THE HOLLOW MAN, THE GIFT, LOST [TV], RED, AT ANY PRICE, SECOND SIGHT, GONE GIRL, MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN, LIZZIE, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD [TV], HALF-LIFE: ALYX [VG], BRIARPATCH [TV], THE IN BETWEEN, THE GOOD NURSE, THE BETTER SISTER [TV]) is 60.
Actor Kristina Klebe (Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, ZONE OF THE DEAD, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 8 [MC], BREADCRUMBS, CHILLERAMA, RISE OF NIGHTMARES [VG], THE KISS OF A KILLER, THE ADVOCATE, NYMPH, DER BAU, FREE FALL, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, DEMENTIA [2015], THE LAST HEIST, DON'T KILL IT, HER DARK PAST, POLICE STATE, FRIDAY THE 13th: THE GAME [VG], WOLFENSTEIN II [VG], DAS JOSHUA-PROFIL, SLAY BELLES, HELLBOY [2019], SINISTER SEDUCTION, BLOW OUT THE CANDLE PART 1, I AM FEAR, LUCKY, NOT ALONE, TWO WITCHES, BROOKLYN 45, ISLA MONSTRO) is 46.
Look for Kristina in the 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller, THE PLANTATION. Also in 2025, NYX.
Producer Steve Miner (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III, WARLOCK, HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER, LAKE PLACID, DAY OF THE DEAD [2008], THE GATES [TV], STITCHERS [TV]) is 74.
Look for Steve's upcoming 2025 Horror movie
THE EXORCISM AT LINCOLN HIGH.
THE STRANGER IN MY HOME hits June 26
And -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Marie Avgeropoulos (PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF, HUNT TO KILL, FUGITIVE AT 17, CULT [TV], THE 100 [TV], NUMB, ISOLATION, DEAD RISING: ENDGAME, JUI JITSU, THE PAINTER) is 38.
Look for Marie in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025 Thriller SUPER DICKS.
Actor Jason Patric (THE LOST BOYS, AFTER DARK MY SWEET, ROGER CORMAN'S FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND, SLEEPERS, INCOGNITO, NARC, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, DOWNLOADING NANCY, KEYHOLE, THE OUTSIDER [2014], THE PRINCE [2014], THE ABANDONED [2015], HOME INVASION, WAYWARD PINES, THE VANISHED [2020], RUNT, BECOMING [2020], NIGHTSHADE, MK ULTRA, SHRAPNEL, TILL DEATH DO US PART, STRANGE DARLING, TERRIFIER 3) is 58.
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in Domestic (U.S. & Canada) Box Office: B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theaters 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
7. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES is still performing within expectations in its fifth weekend as it falls from last weekend's #5 with a box office drop of 38% against a massive 729 screen cut. To date its made well over 5 times its production budget.
9. LIFE OF CHUCK leaps ten spaces up from last weekend's opening at #19 with a 931% boost in box office while adding 1,056 more screens.
10. SINNERS continues to slip in its ninth weekend as its screens are cut, stepping down from last weekend's #9 spot with a box office loss of 46% against a 567 screen cut. Still, Sinners made 4 times its Production budget.
12. THUNDERBOLTS, in its seventh weekend, drops off the Top Ten, barely breaking even after all this time.
YOU BURIED IT
11. BRING HER BACK, despite a major marketing campaign (for A24), free falls from last weekend's #7 with a 60% loss in ticket sales and a 1,175 screen cut in only its 3rd weekend.
13. DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE falls from its opening weekend at #8 with a hemorrhaging loss of 80% in ticket sales against a 256 screen cut.
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
Paramount's ALMA AND THE WOLF On June 20
Plus -
GHOSTBUSTERS II is 37
If you can believe it, back in the Horror movie glory days of the 1980s, studios would have a surprise hit movie so huge they could not wait to destroy it with a sequel.
Yes you read that right. Studios went out of their way to intentionally destroy any hope a franchise could have by rushing through a shitty sequel. If the rights belonged to the studio itself, it often involved a cheaper budget, with cheap writers, a cheap director, and rehashing the story and jokes of the first one: Like a stand-up comic explaining every joke after telling the punchline.
20th Fox, renown for its corporate culture of burn the profits of the first movie, was as surprised as anyone that Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, was actually a better movie. Then they released ALIENS and OMG! The damn movie was at least the equal of the first ALIEN.
Columbia Pictures saw the profitable catastrophe 20th Century Fox was going through and wanted no part of it, which is why they waited nearly five years before releasing a guaranteed franchise killer to GHOSTBUSTERS.
The horrifying result to the Columbia studio heads was, the damn movie came too close to being good. This is the tale of doing everything wrong and nearly being right: GHOSTBUSTERS II.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Writer Joyce Carol Oates is known for her novels, which are mostly dramas, and her short stories, which are mostly Horror! Happy 87th!
Actor John Franklin (CHILDREN OF THE CORN [1984], CHILD'S PLAY, THE ADDAMS FAMILY [1991], ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES [1993], TOWER OF TERROR, KILLING GROUNDS, CHILDREN OF THE CORN 666: ISAAC'S RETURN, PYTHON, HELL'S KITTY) is 65.
Actor Arnold Vosloo (GOR, STEEL DAWN, BURIED ALIVE, REASON TO DIE, LIVING TO DIE, THE FINISHING TOUCH, DARKMAN II, DARKMAN III, ROUGH DRAFT, PROGENY, THE MUMMY [1999], STRANGE WORLD [TV], THE MUMMY RETURNS, ENDANGERED SPECIES, GLOBAL EFFECT, MELTDOWN [2004], 24 [TV], G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, ODD THOMAS, SHARK KILLER, CAPE TOWN [TV], THE HARROWING) is 63.
SUNDAY -
Comic Artist Martin Blanco (THE LEGEND OF JOE MOON, NIGHT JUNKIES, JOHNNIE GRUESOME) is 51.
Visit him at MartinBlancoArt.
Actor Jake Busey (HIDER IN THE HOUSE, WINDRUNNER, THE FRIGHTENERS, CONTACT, STARSHIP TROOPERS, ENEMY OF THE STATE, LOST JUNCTION, IDENTITY, THE HITCHER II, DEATH ROW, BROKEN, TIME BOMB, THE KILLING JAR, REAPER, FRACTURED, MOST LIKELY TO DIE, DESERTED, ARBOR DEMON, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES [TV], XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN [VG], DEAD AGAIN IN TOMBSTONE, DEAD ANT, FREAKISH [TV], THE PREDATOR, GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD, STRANGER THINGS: Season 3 [TV], IN FROM THE OUTSIDE, PIG KILLER, CHAOS ON THE FARM, IT WANTS BLOOD 2, SCALPER, BLACK ZONE, ) is 54.
Look for Jake in the upcoming 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller, THE DELANO FILES. And in 2024, 2025, BIKERS VS WEREWOLVES and BAD HAIRCUT.
Actor Alice Englert (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, IN FEAR, JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL [TV], THEM THAT FOLLOW, RATCHED [TV], THE SERPENT [TV], BODY BROKERS, YOU WON'T BE ALONE, BAD BEHAVIOR) is 31.
How does a Paleontologist make the birthday list on a Horror Thriller website? He routinely uses his brain. In this case, our next Birthday boy has worked as consultant on Monster movies. So a big Happy Birthday to
Paleontologist / Science Consultant Jack Horner (JURASSIC
PARK [all], TERRA NOVA [TV], JURASSIC WORLD [all]) who is 79.
Actor Sterling Jerens (WORLD WAR Z, THE CONJURING [all], DARK PLACES, NO ESCAPE, BOARDING SCHOOL) is 21.
Writer, Director Lawrence Pearce (Novel: THE HAUNTED HIKKOMORI. Comics: NIGHT JUNKIES, CAIN'S AWAKENING. Movie: NIGHT JUNKIES) is 42.
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE Turns 52
Richard Matheson's novel, HELL HOUSE, was loaded with sex and perversions as befitted the ghastly former owner, reputed to haunt the mansion. His novel was practically porn, one of its selling points in fact: Debauchery and Devilments! As Richard also wrote the script, he toned it down, trading all the sex for more scares and horror. That said, planted throughout the movie are the seeds of the novel in every scene of THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE.
Released on the Same Day, Same Year, in Direct Competition, and both by 20th Century Fox, was
BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is 52
By the fourth movie the franchise was getting more political with every sequel so it wasn't attracting the audience it once had. Watching the movies today and seeing the 1960s - 1970s Woke ethos of using the movies to address racial subtext is cringey.
Why? Because 20th Century Fox used the concept of oppressed and enslaved APES for America's racial subtext!
E-Freaking-GAD!
Still, there remained a core audience that, as Primate is my witness, was going to flock to the theaters to the bitter end!
That bitter end would be BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES.
PROPHECY Turns 46
It often seems as if the more Political filmmakers want their movie to be, the less realistic it becomes. The science is supernatural (Atomic / Lab Animal / Pollution / Genetic Experiments made these giant varmints!), the motivations are witless (Lets split up and find the monster!), and its all unnecessary to the core of the plot, which invariably isn't preachy at all, but is about a seemingly unstoppable monster that is kicking everyone's butt (and any monster from ancient myth to the present will do, and without all the supremacist sanctimony)!
Buried beneath the embarrassing Folksy "Woke" of the 1970s is a great monster movie in PROPHECY.
GREMLINS 2 is 35
1990 was a great year!
Thanks to U.S.A. President Ronald Reagan super-charging the arms race,
Yugoslavian Communists, no longer supported by the Soviet Union, ended their 45-year monopoly of power on Jan. 22.
The USSR, which suffered under the typical economic depression that follows Socialism / Communism (Communist Party took over in 1922), fully collapsed, being unable to outspend Capitalism, and surrendered their One-Party power over the government on Feb. 7.
The U.S. / Soviet Summit reached a new accord on nuclear armaments, finally dismantling the threat of a nuclear holocaust for the forseeable future, on June 1
What's more,
The U.S.A. ended a brutal Police State in Panama on Jan. 3.
South Africa freed political prisoner, Nelson Mandela, on Feb. 11
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on Apr. 25.
And on June 15, Joe Dante's GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH, with Christopher Lee, opened in U.S. theaters!
TOMB RAIDER is 24
It was the new millennium. The gut punch of September 11 was months away and just as Comic book movies like TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, THE MASK, THE CROW, BLADE, and THE X-MEN were suddenly a great idea, so Hollywood was wondering, 'Why not Video games? And why not start with the hottest video game right now? After all, it's a lot like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but with a large busted woman all barely dressed for the hot sultry weather of the jungle!'!
The question was, of course, "But who?" Then out of the clear blue it was announced that Angelina Jolie of the cult hit, HACKERS, was signed on, and the fanboys went nuts for TOMB RAIDER.
BATMAN BEGINS is 20
When it comes to fan fights, even fans of other actors in pointy ears agree that this movie was the best first movie. This is why, BATMAN BEGINS.
THE INCREDIBLES 2 is 7 Years Old
Every comic fan knew that THE INCREDIBLES was modeled on Marvel Comics, FANTASTIC 4 with some WATCHMEN thrown in for good measure. Except Pixar did what 20th Century never could: Make such a team of superheroes fascinating, fun, popular, and exciting.
The villain was completely villainous: vain, indifferent to human suffering, wholly evil, and an all-around creep.
Where to go from there?
This is the review and tale of how an alumni of Stephen Spielberg's Amazing Stories, as well as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, The Critic, and the Director of IRON GIANT, Brad Bird, took 14 years to make it work, and proved in one weekend that a sequel like THE INCREDIBLES II rocked!
SATURDAY -
Writer Jeremy Dyson (THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN [TV - 1999 - 2002], THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN'S APOCALYPSE, FUNLAND [TV - 2005], PSYCHOBITCHES [TV - 2013], GHOST STORIES, THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN [TV - 2017]) is 58.
Actor Lucy Hale (BIONIC WOMAN [TV], FEAR ISLAND, SCREAM 4, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS [TV], TRUTH OR DARE, FANTASY ISLAND, RAGDOLL [TV], BOREGGO, BIG GOLD BRICK, F*** MARRY KILL) is 36.
Look for Lucy in the 2025 Horror Thriller, WHITE MARS.
Actor Jordan Hayes (NOSTRUM, HIDDEN 3D, EXIT HUMANITY, HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET, HELIX [TV], THE TOLL, FIXATION) is 38.
Actor Lauren LaVera (UNDER THE FLOWERS: CIRCLE OF HELL, CLINTON ROAD, TERRIFIER 2, THE WELL, THE HUNTER'S ANTHOLOGY: THE DEMON HUNTER, TERRIFIER 3, THE FETUS) is 31.
Look for Lauren's upcoming 2026 Horror Thriller, THE MONSTER, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.
Editor, Producer Bob Murawski (CARNAL CRIMES, ARMY OF DARKNESS, NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW, UNCLE SAM, LAST LIVES, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2, THE GIFT, SPIDER-MAN [all], THE HURT LOCKER, DRAG ME TO HELL, THE RESIDENT, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, DRACULA: UNTOLD, POLTERGIEST [2015], KONG: SKULL ISLAND, GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, DE TØDES TJERN [LAKE OF DEATH], DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, THE FIRST OMEN) is 61.
Look for Bob's upcoming Horror movie for 2026, SEND HELP.
Actor Will Patton (SILKWOOD, NO WAY OUT, A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM, THE RAPTURE, MIDNIGHT EDITION, THE CLIENT, THE PUPPET MASTERS, TOLLBOOTH, COPYCAT, ENTRAPMENT, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, THE PUNISHER, DOG DAYS OF SUMMER, THE LIST, THE CANYON, THE FOURTH KIND, Stephen Spielberg's FALLING SKIES, ABIGAIL HARM, HALLOWEEN [2018], SWAMP THING [2019 - TV], RADIOFLASH, THE DEVIL BELOW, HALLOWEEN KILLS, THE FOREVER PURGE, OUTER RANGE [TV], HALLOWEEN ENDS, SILO [TV]) is 71.
THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD Turns 68
With GOJIRA in 1954 and GODZILLA in 1956, theater audiences were going all Kaiju-goo-goo! Studios from Japan to Hollywood to England were revving up or pumping out Big Horror monsters in stop-motion and rubber suits.
United Artists wanted in on the fast money but everybody had a damn dinosaur or gorilla movie. So much so, that smaller studios were churning out overgrown insect (THEM) and spider movies (TARANTULA). One even had an overgrown regular lizard (GIANT GILA MONSTERS)! It was a seller's market for Big Horror and the big studios could outbid the smaller studios or just rip off people like Ray Bradbury and worry about the fall out later.
Even in a sellers market, one has to look for a buyer among the studios suddenly being inundated with Big Horror movies. Yet in 1955 a real life something, utterly bizarre and unexpected, happened in the California Mojave Desert. Because of that, screenwriter David Duncan (RODAN) had his story: THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD.
72 Years of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS
A year before GOJIRA was released to Japan, this Big Horror monster movie was released in the U.S.A., and it rocked the box office! Ray Harryhausen's stop motion animation was flabbergasting and the story by Ray Bradbury made you believe in THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS.
And -
THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is 47
There were so many unnecessary choices that could have wrecked this movie and nearly did. Yet the aging former A-Lister and past his prime star, Burt Lancaster, saved it through sheer force of acting ability like he'd never shown before.
Unfortunately this was a summer of 1977 releases and even people born in 2007 probably know what that means. The original Star Wars obliterated every other summer movie in 1977.
But that was a long time ago and this is why THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is worth your time.
Also -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
In 2000, this actor did three Horror/Thriller movies, which were all released in 2001, then disappeared. Forrest vanished! Wherever he is now, a Happy Birthday goes out to
Actor Forrest Cochran (THE BROTHERHOOD, FINAL STAB, THE BROTHERHOOD 2) who is 47.
Actor Melissa Lahlitah Crider aka Missy Crider (POWDER, EYES OF TERROR [TV], THE BEAST [TV], QUICKSILVER HIGHWAY [TV], ALIEN CARGO [TV], THE OTHERS [TV], MULHOLLAND DR., FRAILTY, DEMONS, BUTTERFLY DREAMING) is 50.
Look for Missy in the 2025 Mystery, JEWEL.
Actor Chris Evans (FANTASTIC FOUR [2005], TMNT [2007], SUNSHINE, FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, PUSH, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, THE AVENGERS, SNOWPIERCER, CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER,
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, KNIVES OUT, DEFENDING JACOB [TV], THE GRAY MAN, THE RED ONE) is 44.
Look for Chris in the upcoming Mystery Thriller, HONEY DON'T.
Actor Malcolm McDowell (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, CAT PEOPLE [1981], BLUE THUNDER, THE CALLER, MORTACCI, DISTURBED, MOON 44, CLASS OF 1999, IN THE EYE OF THE SNAKE, NIGHT TRAIN TO VENICE, CYBORG 3: THE RECYCLER, THE SURGEON, RINGER, WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, 2103: THE DEADLY WAKE, ASYLUM, THE GARDENER, ISLAND OF THE DEAD, THE BARBER, PACT WITH THE DEVIL, THE VOID, FIRESTARTER 2: REKINDLED, EVILENKO, METALOCALYPSE [TV], DOOMSDAY, HEROES [TV], Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, SUCK, THE BOOK OF ELI, POUND OF FLESH, SUING THE DEVIL, VAMPS, MISCHIEF NIGHT, SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D, ZOMBEX, SILENT NIGHT, METALOCALYPSE: THE DOOMSTAR REQUIEM, MICHIEF NIGHT, 31, ABNORMAL ATTRACTION, CASTLEVANIA [TV], CONSPIRACY OF FEAR, and way more! Over 275 in all and still counting!) is 82.
Look for Malcolm in the upcoming 2024, 2025 Horror release, ROBOT DRACULA. Also in 2024, 2025, TRICK AND TREATS.
Anyone can inflict pain and fear on another person - that's not brave because you don't feel it - but when someone can knowingly inflict serious pain to themselves, you can only watch in slack-jawed awe!
Performer Steve-O (JACKASS [TV], JACKASS movies [all], DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, BLIND HORIZON) is 51.
Writer Whitley Strieber (Novels: THE WOLFEN, THE HUNGER, THE NIGHT CHURCH, THE HUNGER, COMMUNION, THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, ALIEN HUNTER, THE FOURTH MIND. Movies: WOLFEN, THE HUNGER, COMMUNION, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) is 80.
PREDATOR is 28
20 and 30 something Horror movie fans are continuously agog at just how good late 1970s and 1980s Horror movies were. When you watch many of these movies, certain now defunct studios keep re-appearing in the opening credits: AVCO (PHANTASM, THE HOWLING, SCANNERS, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK), ORION (MAD MAX, THE TERMINATOR, FRIGHT NIGHT, ROBOCOP), New Line (THE EVIL DEAD, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, CRITTERS). The major studios from Paramount to Warner Bros. could barely keep up and Universal Pictures was so adrift they wouldn't know a hit movie if they had one, and were known in that era for inanely misjudging how to guide, promote, or distribute the movie they had, and repeatedly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (John Carpenter's THE THING, VIDEODROME, FIRESTARTER, TREMORS).
When it came to movie studios and Horror and Science Fiction, the risk-taking minis were constantly kicking the big budget majors right off of the screens.
There was just one thing the majors had that the minis didn't: An enormous back-log of long tail money making movies spanning nearly a century, and the cash to buy the minis out. Which brings us to PREDATOR.
And -
JURASSIC WORLD is 10
Well, it was no JURASSIC PARK or even LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK for that matter. And when Steven Spielberg didn't have a Michael Crichton penned novel for a blueprint, he floundered worse with JURASSIC PARK III in 2001 than Jan de Bont did with 1999's THE HAUNTING (and Jan had the novel for a bluprint!).
In addition to being his otherwise awesome self, Spielberg had access to the best experts money could buy and, for well over a decade, none of them had anything worth the expense of a big budget sequel.
At one point though, I'm guessing some folks among the Comcast cronies looked at what Michael Bay was doing with TRANSFORMERS, pulled their lips from their lattes and sighed, "Instead of visionary bullshit like Crichton and Science, how about we make a movie for the public school audience, based off of our Jurassic Park toy commercials from back in the 1990s?"
Perhaps from such inspiration, JURASSIC WORLD was born!
THE OBLONG BOX is 56
Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in an Edgar Allen Poe story?
Yes please!
It was censors, not the make-up techniques of the day, that limited the realism of the more grotesque disfigurements in this 1969 movie of corruption, betrayal, murder, racism, romance, and revenge. The cast and crew were all at the top of their form when they brought audiences, THE OBLONG BOX.
And -
35 Years of Brian Yuzna's SOCIETY
The 1980s was, for some, a time of identity confusion and Body Horror, ushered into the Horror fan's realm by the likes of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, who reigned. But just as David and John's early Horror movies were in a place most audiences weren't prepared for, Indie auteur Brian Yuzna (FROM BEYOND, RE-ANIMATOR) capped off the decade with his masterstroke that many remain unprepared for: SOCIETY.
For Horror fans who have heard of Screaming Mad George but have yet to see what is so Screaming Mad about his practical effects make-up work? This is the movie that earned him his name. Believe me when I say that clips and stills on social media aren't enough. Talk to me after you've seen this movie in full!
Plus -
JURASSIC PARK is 32
32 Years ago audiences were awed by something the actors in this movie couldn't see: the most realistic dinosaurs in cinema of that time: JURASSIC PARK.
Also -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Ivana Baquero (ROMANSANTA: THE WEREWOLF HUNT, ROTTWEILER, FRAGILE, A CHRISTMAS TALE, PAN'S LABYRINTH, THE NEW DAUGHTER, ANOTHER ME, GELO, FEEDBACK, HIGH SEAS [TV], BLACK FRIDAY!) is 30.
Actor Adrienne Barbeau (THE DARKER SIDE OF TERROR [TV], THE FOG, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, SWAMP THING, THE THING [1982], CREEPSHOW, CANNIBAL WOMEN IN THE AVOCADO JUNGLE OF DEATH, DUE OCCHI DIABOLICI, BURIAL OF THE RATS [TV], THE CONVENT, RING OF DARKNESS [TV], GHOST ROCK, UNHOLY, WAR WOLVES, GOD OF WAR III [VG], HALO 4 [VG], TALES OF HALLOWEEN, BEYOND THE EDGE, DEATH HOUSE, HOAX, GATES OF DARKNESS, HELLBLAZERS, UNEARTH), is 80.
Adrienne shares a June 11 birthday with her THE THING alumni, Make-up artist, Brian Wade.
Look for Adrienne in the upcoming 2025 Horror Thriller, THE PITCHFORK
RETREAT. Also stars Tony Todd (CANDYMAN, THE CROW, FINAL DESTINATION [all], HATCHET) in what may be his last role. Also in 2025, THE DEMON DETECTIVE. And in 2026, ODDITIES.
Look for her upcoming 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025? Horror Thriller, BRING ME THE HEAD OF LANCE HENRIKSEN.
UPDATE: 15 years after its projected 2010 release date this movie is still in Production
and so still unreleased. 2025 will be the last mention of BRING ME THE HEAD OF LANCE HENRIKSEN.
Actor Joshua Jackson (SCREAM 2, APT PUPIL, URBAN LEGEND, CRUEL INTENTIONS, THE SKULLS, GOSSIP, I LOVE YOUR WORK, CURSED, FRINGE [TV], SHUTTER, INESCAPABLE, DR. DEATH [TV], FATAL ATTRACTION [TV]) is 47.
Make-up artist Brian Wade (PIRANHA 2: THE SPAWNING, GALAXY OF TERROR, THE THING [1982], PSYCHO II, STRANGE INVADERS, THE TERMINATOR, HOUSE, THE BLOB [1988], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4, GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH, FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5, THE EXORCIST III, BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR, BLADE, IDLE HANDS, HOLLOW MAN, HELLBOY, THE OMEN [2006], A SOUND OF THUNDER, FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, BABYLON A.D., SOLOMON KANE, PSYCHE 9, RESIDENT EVIL: AFTER LIFE, TEEN WOLF [TV], AMERICAN GODS [TV], WESTWORLD [TV], THE WRETCHED, SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, DOOM: ANNIHILATION, BEAST MODE, ARMY OF THE DEAD, NIGHT SWIM, MAXXXINE, SHELL, MONSTERS [TV], SALEM'S LOT [TV], GROTESQUERIE [TV], and way more) is 63.
Brian shares a June birthday with PSYCHE: 9 alumni, Colleen Camp and his DOOM: ANNIHILATION alumni, Phillip J. Roth.
Black Raven Trailer Drop for BRUTE 1976
From Scott Motisko
Cinephobia Releasing is proud to announce the Summer release of director Marcel Walz’s (That’s A Wrap, Pretty Boy) and writer Joe Knetter’s (George A. Romero’s Twilight of the Dead) latest feature Brute 1976. The film is set to release in select theaters this August, followed closely by a digital, VOD release on August 26.
”Brute 1976 is bloody and sexy, with a deranged family so demented they make John Waters’s Pink Flamingos look like a paradigm of family values,” said Cinephobia President Raymond Murray. “Brute 1976 restored my faith in horror that shocks.”
And -
SUPER 8 is 14 Years Old
Released on June 10, 2011 in the U.S.A., this movie may have germinated like this (I can't be sure, I wasn't there).
One day Steven Spielberg met with J.J. Abrams, perhaps at one of Chuck Lorre's private San Diego Comic Con parties, and in essence said, "I like the cut of your jib!"
J.J. might have replied along the lines of, "I don't get it."
Steve is a man of action, so likely got to the point, "I think we should make a movie together!"
J.J. probably said something like, "Okay, but we have to have an explosion or crash in the first five minutes."
Steve, who may have looked like he was rethinking his invitation, would naturally ask why and J.J. may have said, "I can't direct a movie or show without an explosion or crash in the first five minutes. Did you see my brilliant creation, LOST?"
Steve: "Ah. Yes. Of course. The 5 minute Gotcha."
J.J. "I'm reluctant to use words like Genius when describing myself, but: Crash in the first 5 minutes! Then an explosion! When that jet engine -"
Steve: "I understand. I mentored Michael Bay."
J.J.: "Michael Bay is God."
Steve: "Yes... Yes, well, at least your name has value. Let's make this god damn thing."
J.J.: "Does it have a title?"
Steve: "SUPER 8."
J.J.: "I don't get it."
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Frankie Faison (CAT PEOPLE, EXTERMINATOR 2, C.H.U.D., MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, MANHUNTER, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, FREEJACK, THE LANGOLIERS, PREY, HANNIBAL, RED DRAGON, HIGHWAYMEN, MESSENGERS, FOR SALE BY OWNER, CIRQUE DU FREAK, ASSUMPTION OF RISK, THE SOUNDING, THE GRUDGE [2020], THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN, THE GRUDGE [2020], REDEMPTION IN CHERRY SPRINGS, HELLO TOMORROW! [TV]) is 75.
Actor Jurgen Prochnow (ZÄRTLICHKEIT DER WÖLFE, EINER VON UNS BEIDEN, THE KEEP, DUNE, KILLING CARS, THE SEVENTH SIGN, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, DNA, DARK ASYLUM, HOUSE OF THE DEAD, THE POET, CHAIN REACTION, THE DA VINCI CODE, PRIMEVAL, OKO, SINNERS & SAINTS, 24 [TV], EYE IN THE WALL, SINNERS & SAINTS, EIN SCHMALER GRAT, TWIN PEAKS: THE MISSING PIECES, DRAMA, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, DAMASCUS COVER) is 84.
When people think of the entertainment quality we've come to expect from Syfy Channel movies, we think of this guy.
Producer, Director, Writer Phillip J. Roth (VELOCITY TRAP, DEEP CORE, PYTHON, MINDSTORM, PYTHON 2, DARK DESCENT, BOA, DARK WATERS, BOA VS. PYTHON, MANTICORE, S.S. DOOM PATROL, LAKE PLACID 2, BATS: HUMAN HARVEST, GENESIS CODE, TERMINATION SHOCK, THE GRUDGE 3, THE MESSENGERS 2, WRONG TURN 3, GHOST TOWN, ANNIHILATION EARTH, LAKE PLACID 3, TRIASSIC ATTACK, MORLOCKS, RAGE OF THE YETI, TRUE BLOODTHIRST, BOOGEYMAN [2012], LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER, WRONG TURN 5, DEADLY DESCENT [2013], INVASION ROSWELL, ROBOCROC, WRONG TURN 6, CRYSTAL SKULLS, LAKE PLACID VS. ANACONDA, ROBOSHARK, DEATH RACE 4, THE CAR: ROAD TO REVENGE, DOOM: ANNIHILATION, PANDORA [TV], HER ADMIRER) is 66.
Actor/Producer Andrew Stevens (THE WEREWOLF OF WOODSTOCK, DAY OF THE ANIMALS, THE FURY, DEATH HUNT, THE SEDUCTION, SCARED STIFF, THE TERROR WITHIN, THE TERROR WITHIN II, NIGHT EYES, VENOMOUS, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, FEAR DOT COM, DEEP EVIL, BLESSED, GLASS TRAP, HALF PAST DEAD 2, MONGOLIAN DEATH WORM, MANDRAKE, ONE NIGHTMARE STAND, 47 HOURS TO LIVE, THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP DEAD, MY DAUGHTER'S DEADLY ROOMMATES, KILLER RIVALRY) is 69.
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in Domestic (U.S. & Canada) Box Office: B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theaters 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
5. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES in its fourth weekend, steps down from last weekend's #4 with a box office drop of 44% against a 389 screen cut. So far its performing within expectations and has made over 5 times its production budget in its first four weekends.
7. BRING HER BACK dropped two places from last weekend in its 2nd weekend, losing 50% of its box office and 24 screens. That said, its performing to expectations, which were low from the start.
8. DAN DA DAN: THE EVIL EYE opens on 1,085 screens in its first weekend in the Top Ten.
9. SINNERS drops 3 places from last weekend's #6 in its 8th weekend with a 46% drop in ticket sales against a 620 screen cut. It continues to perform far above expectations now earning 4 times its production budget.
10. THUNDERBOLTS drops from last weekend's #7 with a 49% drop in box office against a 565 screen cut. In its 6th weekend, its still only barely breaking even to its production budget.
You Buried Nothing This Weekend
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
DAMIEN: THE OMEN II is 47
Was it a Supernatural Curse that befell this movie?
No, but this was the trouble that fell over production of DAMIEN: OMEN II.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Johnny Depp (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, FREDDY'S DEAD: The Final Nightmare, ED WOOD, DEAD MAN, THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE, THE NINTH GATE, SLEEPY HOLLOW, FROM HELL, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN [all], SECRET WINDOW, THE CORPSE BRIDE, Tim Buton's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, THE TOURIST, DARK SHADOWS, TRANSCENDENCE, TUSK, INTO THE WOODS, YOGA HOSERS, ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM [all], MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS [2017]) is 61.
Johnny shares a June birthday with his NIGHTMARE alumni, Robert Englund.
Look for Johnny in the upcoming 2026 Thriller, DAY DRINKER.
Writer / Director / Editor / Actor Caleb Emerson (RED'S BREAKFAST 2: DAWN OF THE RED, CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER IV, RAVING MANIACS, PRETTY DEAD THINGS, DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS, POULTRYGIEST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD, TORTURE ROOM, THE UNFORTUNATE, SPLATTER DISCO, THE TREK, CRUSTACEAN, THE GRUESOME DEATH OF JOHNNY PISTOL, CONTAGION, FRANKIE IN BLUNDERLAND, I SPILL YOUR GUTS, RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH VOL. 1, GRINDSPLOITATION, KILLER WAVES, THE GHOST INSIDE MY CHILD [TV], IT WANTS BLOOD!, LAS VEGAS FRANKENSTEIN, ELI ROTH PRESENTS: THE LEGION OF EXORCISTS, TEDDY TOLD ME TO, THE AFTER DARK) is 49.
Look for Caleb's work in the upcoming 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, Horror, BLOOD CURSE: THE HAUNTING OF ALICIA STONE. Also in 2022, 2023, 2024, (still re-slated for) 2025, PA39: THE HALLOWEEN BROADCAST. And in 2024, 2025 Caleb edits two movies directed by Tom Devlin: NAMELESS.
Writer David Koepp (APARTMENT ZERO, BAD INFLUENCE, DEATH BECOMES HER, JURASSIC PARK, THE SHADOW, THE TRIGGER EFFECT, THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, STIR OF ECHOES, PANIC ROOM, SPIDER-MAN, SECRET WINDOW, WAR OF THE WORLDS [2005], INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, ANGELS & DEMONS, JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT, THE MUMMY [2017], YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT, KIMI, PRESENCE, BLACK BAG) is 62.
David shares his birthday with SECRET WINDOW alumni, Johnny Depp. Known in Hollywood as Koepp & Depp.
Look for David's 2024, 2025, Horror Thriller, COLD STORAGE, starring Liam Neeson. Also in 2025, another JURASSIC WORLD movie.
SUNDAY -
Actor Lexa Doig (JUNGLEGROUND, WHILE MY PRETTY ONE SLEEPS [TV], TEEN SORCERY, CODE NAME PHOENIX, NO ALIBI, JASON X, THE 4400 [TV], STARGATE SG-1 [TV], BA'AL, FIREBALL, V [TV - 2010], CONTINUUM [TV], AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES, ARROW [TV], CHUCKY [TV], GOOSEBUMPS [TV]) is 51.
Actor Florence Faivre (THE COFFIN, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. [TV], THE EXPANSE [TV], AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY, THE ASSENT) is 41.
Look for Florence in the upcoming 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller SURVIVING SILENCE.
Actor Frank Grillo (DEADLY RIVALS, MINORITY REPORT, BLIND JUSTICE [TV], iMURDERS, PRIDE AND GLORY, EDGE OF DARKNESS, THE GATES [TV], MOTHER'S DAY [2010], MY SOUL TO TAKE, THE GREY, DISCONNECT, ZERO DARK THIRTY, COLLISION, CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER, THE PURGE: ANARCHY, DEMONIC, BIG SKY, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR, THE CRASH, STEPHANIE, WHEELMAN, BEYOND SKYLINE, INTO THE ASHES, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, POINT BLANK, BOSS LEVEL, JIU JITSU, COSMIC SIN, THE GATEWAY, SHATTERED, THE RESURRECTION OF CHARLES MANSON, KING OF THE KILLERS, LIGHTS OUT [2024], DIE ALONE, WEREWOLVES, CREATURE COMMANDOS [TV]) is 58.
Frank shares a June birthday with his THE GREY alumnis, Liam Neeson and Joe Carnahan.
Look for Frank in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller, HARD MATTER. Also in 2024, 2025, MISDIRECTION.
Writer Daniel G Keohane (CHRISTMAS TREES AND MONKEYS: COLLECTED HORROR STORIES, SOLOMON'S GRAVE, PLAGUE OF DARKNESS, DESTROYER OF WORLDS) is 64 or something.
GHOSTBUSTERS Turns 42!
All the highschoolers who saw it at the theaters in 1983 are in their mid and late 50s!
Watching this movie looks as if it was all so easy to shoot, but its birth agony was anything but. There were a ton of changes made to the script, the look of the props, the monster, everything. A huge part was written specifically for Eddie Murphy, not as some blue-collar schlub looking for a job, but a fellow scientist.
Eddie, however, wanted nothing to do with any of his old Saturday Night Live alumni. Only nobody knew that until nearly the last week of the shoot.
So Eddie chose his path, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis chose theirs, we got a great movie without Eddie, and Ernie Hudson was brought in at the last minute and now has two franchises under his belt. Read why GHOSTBUSTERS remains a classic and a textbook example of great genre moviemaking.
GREMLINS Turns 42
1983 and Hollywood gossip had it that Steven Spielberg couldn't stop himself from micro-managing his directors. This all stemmed the none-too-quiet rumor getting printed in fan magazines that Steven hired Tobe Hooper to direct POLTERGIEST, but when it came to the day to day operations, Steve kept coming to the set and taking over.
The Directors Guild of America had to do something, but what? Many Directors were also Producers. How do you protect one without stepping on the toes of the other?
A decision had to be made.
So when it came time to Produce this movie, Steven once again hired another director, Joe Dante (THE HOWLING).
Once again, Steve came to the live set, interrupting everything just by his presence. However, the d.g.a, made a few subtle changes to the game. The Director calls the shots on a live set and when he gives the orders, those who want to stay will follow them or get escorted off the set.
Steven looking over Joe Dante's shoulder.
Words to that effect.
So when Steven shoulder rolled a passive-aggressive "Anything I can do to help?" offer, Director Joe took advantage of the moment and said, "Why yes there is." And what Joe ordered Steve to do became just one part of the humorous behind-the-scenes legend of GREMLINS.
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Turns 17
Remember seeing this when you were 21?
Well now yer 38! You're almost 40!
And Eli is still 12...
If you haven't seen this in a while, take a moment to remember the slowly startling charm of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
PROMETHEUS Turns 13
Ridley Scott wanted another shot at ALIEN. George Lucas inverted his once original and inspiring Star Wars saga into a pile of rendered lard where only white humans ran a galaxy full of aliens and those humans were all related, practically inbred.
Ridley thought that would work for his own sequel/reboot/retconn (he never seemed sure) so he made a human-centric universe full of no mysteries and Ancient Astronauts (Scott is bananas for the long debunked fraud, Erich von Däniken), just like that, the ALIEN concept, which had a great foundation in a far younger Ridley Scott's Direction and a great launch under the guidance of James Cameron, sputtered out and hit the mud under the squandered shepherding of its Producers.
Ridley, however, had a chance to turn around a long moribund franchise still running on the 20 year old fumes of ALIENS. Did he do that with PROMETHEUS?
HEREDITARY Turns 7
Actor Toni Collette (THE SIXTH SENSE, FRIGHT NIGHT, KRAMPUS) had done enough "dark" films. She was done with Horror, she wanted more fun light comedies like Little Miss Sunshine!
Fortunately, however, she read Writer Ari Aster's HEREDITARY and, well, you already know how damn irresistable a great Horror story can be.
SATURDAY -
There are some people - whom you've never met - that you just like. And I like today's birthday girl,
Actor, Producer Colleen Camp (BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, DEATH GAME, CAT IN A CAGE, APOCALYPSE NOW, DEADLY GAMES, TRIAL BY TERROR, D.A.R.Y.L., CLUE, TRACK 29, WICKED STEP MOTHER, SLIVER, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, SHE CREATURE, THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, EARTH vs. THE SPIDER, TEENAGE CAVEMAN, TRAPPED, DEAD AND DEADER, MYSTERY WOMAN, CIRQUE DU FREAK, PSYCHE: 9, KNOCK KNOCK, ALWAYS SHINE, THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS, THE LEFT RIGHT GAME [TV], MONSTROUS, WILD EYED AND WICKED, UNIT 234, BORDERLINE, ) who is 73.
Look for Colleen in the 10 years of post-production Hell, but still expected 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (?) Horror movie, LAKE MEAD, which is Co-Wrote, Exec. Produced, and Produced by Eli Roth (CABIN FEVER, HOSTEL). And in 2025, STILETTO. Also in 2025, I AM YOUR DRIVER.
Actor Liam Neeson (EXCALIBER, KRULL, SUSPECT, THE DEAD POOL, HIGH SPIRITS, DARKMAN, SHINING THROUGH, BEFORE AND AFTER, THE HAUNTING, BATMAN BEGINS, TAKEN, THE OTHER MAN, AFTER.LIFE, CLASH OF THE TITANS, UNKNOWN, THE GREY, WRATH OF THE TITANS, BATTLESHIP, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, TAKEN 2, NON-STOP, A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, A MONSTER CALLS, THE COMMUTER, MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL, THE MARKSMAN, THE ICE ROAD, MEMORY, BLACKLIGHT, MARLOWE, RETRIBUTION, IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS, ABSOLUTION) is 73.
Look for Liam in the upcoming 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller, COLD STORAGE, based on the novel by David Koep (APARTMENT ZERO, JURASSIC PARK, STIR OF ECHOES, PANIC ROOM, SPIDER-MAN, WAR OF THE WORLDS).
Actor Anna Torv (THE BOOK OF REVELATION, FRANKENSTEIN [2007], FRINGE [TV], STEPHANIE, SECRET CITY [TV], MINDHUNTER [TV], THE LAST OF US [TV], SCARYGIRL, FORCE OF NATURE: THE DRY 2) is 46.
Actor Karl Urban (HEAVEN, THE IRREFUTABLE TRUTH ABOUT DEMONS, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, GHOST SHIP, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, DOOM, STAR TREK, AND SOON THE DARKNESS, PRIEST, DREDD, STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, LOFT, RIDDICK, STAR TREK BEYOND, THOR: RAGNAROK, THE BOYS [TV], THE SEA BEAST) is 53.
Karl shares a June birthday with fellow CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK alumni Keith David.
TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA is 55
I hardly need to tell any fan of Horror how popular a Horror actor Christopher Lee was. He was larger than life in movies and, hell! Co-starring with the major Horror icons of his day from Vincent Price to Peter Cushing to recording a Heavy Metal album in his 90s, he was larger than life in real life!
There's a lot of Horror movies out there and there's a lot of Vampire and Dracula movies out there. Now let me tell you why, if you haven't, you should watch TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA.
INVADERS FROM MARS is 39
Tobe Hooper wanted to make a family Science Fiction Horror movie from his childhood. But he also wanted it to be fun like he remembered. Like the original from 1953, it had to have plenty of moments when it tipped its hand and let you in on the secret.
But for whatever reason in 1986, few got the joke behind Tobe Hooper's INVADERS FROM MARS.
And -
21 Years Ago Today, Luc Besson's DISTRICT B13 Hit the US Hard
When this first hit the shores of France, they were in the throes of a series of flabby, self-indulgent, and regrettably disappointing MATRIX sequels. Lux Besson's movie was the lean mean action Thriller the MATRIX once was but would never be again. In 2003 when MATRIX fans walked away bummed out from the MATRIX sequels, REHASHED and REGURGITATED, they had no idea that Luc Besson was gearing up production. It would be nearly another three years before Mark Cuban's tiny boutique distributor, Magnolia, secured the rights for USA DtV release (the best Mark can do, which is better than most on his distribution level).
Read why this mini-masterpiece remains one of the most High-Octane Thrillers ever made! DISTRICT B13.
Plus -
MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN is 20
Bruce Campbell? Well, we all love Bruce. In fact, from time to time Bruce tests just how much we love him by Writing, Producing, Directing, and Starring in movies like MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN.
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THE OMEN Turns 19
When it comes to Remakes, sometimes I think, 'Yeah, it could have been better.' Usually, however, I watch the result and think, 'What's the point?'
What was the point of Gus Van Zant's PSYCHO remake? What the hell was the point of Ridley Scott rebooting ALIEN with not one but TWO stillborn prequels? What was the freaking point of remaking THE OMEN?1
1 Now they're remaking THE OMEN again for 2024? No. They already did. It was released on April 5th of this year. It didn't get much attention but its Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Robert Englund (SLASHED DREAMS, EATEN ALIVE, THE FIFTH FLOOR, DEAD & BURIED, GALAXY OF TERROR, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [original series], THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, C.H.U.D. II, NIGHT TERRORS, THE MANGLER, WISHMASTER, URBAN LEGEND, STRANGELAND, PYTHON, JASON VS. FREDDY, 2001 MANIACS, HATCHET, DANCE OF THE DEAD, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER, RED, ZOMBIE STRIPPERS!, NIGHT OF THE SINNER, FEAR CLINIC [TV], GOOD DAY FOR IT, THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE, STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES, INKUBUS, LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER, ZOMBIE MUTATION, KANTEMIR, THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE, ABRUPTIO, NATTY KNOCKS, and so much more!) is 78.
Actor Jason Isaacs (DANGEROUS LADY, DRAGONHEART, EVENT HORIZON, RESIDENT EVIL, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, GRINDHOUSE, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, SKELETONS, BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 1 & 2, ABDUCTION, THE GREAT GHOST RESCUE, AWAKE [TV], SWEETWATER, CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW 2 [VG], ROSEMARY'S BABY [TV], DIG [TV], A CURE FOR WELLNESS, MONSTER FAMILY, LONDON FIELDS, LOOK AWAY, THE OA [TV], DARK CRYSTAL [TV], SCOOB!, OCCUPATION: RAINFALL, MASS, AGENT GAME) is 62.
Jason shares a June birthday with fellow "Dangerous Lady" alumni, Susan Lynch.
Jason also shares a June birthday with EVENT HORIZON alumni, Sean Pertwee.
Hollywood everything Chris Stavrakis (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD [1990], DIABOLIQUE, CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD, DOGMA, REIGN OF THE DEAD, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, ALTERED, THE HAUNTING HOUR, MORTAL REMAINS) who is 54.
Disney ALIENS Come to Hulu
Before we even have a chance to enjoy the teaser trailer, DisneyHulu shows their complete ignorance about the entire ALIEN cannon, including their own ALIEN: RETCONN ROMULUS.
To whit: "We were safer in space."
The Hell?
The two biggest problems with fighting Aliens in space is that the have acid blood and they go up like match sticks when fire touches them.
Wound an Alien and its Acid blood eats a hole in the spaceship hull, killing everyone on board. An alien on fire and running around while it dies, setting the ship on fire, is not something you want when your oxygen is extremely limited and there is nowhere for all of the acidic smoke to go. And of course, the burning alien will bleed its acid blood everywhere.
Take those two major problems out of the equation and one person with a flame thrower can set a whole charging herd of aliens on fire. And aliens love to attack in herds whenever the opportunity presents itself. Like all predators that are too weak to engage in a prolonged fight/hunt, Aliens are Ambush predators when fighting/hunting alone.
Grizzly bears would be more dangerous.
And -
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is 72
By 1953 Universal Pictures had thrown in the towel on keeping their original monsters, DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, THE WOLF MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN going. They wanted fresh blood! Inspiration (copying someone else), came along in the 1950s with 20th Century Fox's mad success with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL in 1951.That same year saw the unbelievable success of Producer Howard Hawks' independent production (distributed by RKO), THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. Universal had to jump on that and not put out a cheap-o production like all the Poverty Row mini-studios were doing. THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON would be just the monster UP was looking for, but before that, the studio swung for the fences with IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Composer Tyler Bates (BLUE FLAME, DEEP DOWN, NOT LIKE US, ALIEN AVENGERS, SHRIEK IF YOU KNOW WHAT I DID LAST FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, STRANGE FREQUENCY, CITY OF GHOSTS, DAWN OF THE DEAD [2004], THE DEAD WILL TELL, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, SLITHER, SEE NO EVIL, 300, GRINDHOUSE, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, DOOMSDAY, DAY OF THE DEAD [2008], THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, WATCHMEN, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN II, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON, SUPER, SUCKER PUNCH, SYM-BIONIC TITAN [TV], CONAN THE BARBARIAN, THE DARKEST HOUR, GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION [VG], THE SACRAMENT, KILLZONE: SHADOWFALL [VG], NOT SAFE FOR WORK, FLIGHT 7500, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [all], JOHN WICK [all], THE BELKO EXPERIMENT, SALEM [TV], ATOMIC BLONDE, 24 HOURS TO LIVE, DEADPOOL 2, THE PUNISHER [TV], FAR CRY NEW DAWN [VG], PRIMAL [TV]) is 60.
Actor Amanda Crew (FINAL DESTINATION 3, MELTDOWN: DAYS OF DESTRUCTION, WHISTLER, MONSTER ARK, THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, FEROCIOUS, A CROOKED SOMEBODY, TONE-DEAF, ISABELLE, FREAKS, MOST WANTED) is 38.
Writer Judi Rohrig (Feoamante.com alumni, former Editor of Hellnotes, Horror gadfly, various short stories) who is mumble something years old today.
Musician Niko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN: VIRTUAL IX, IRON MAIDEN [drummer], GIRLS GONE DEAD) is 72.
SFX Artist Jordu Schell (PREDATOR 2, BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR, GUYVER, PUPPET MASTER II, NEMESIS, SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK...AGAIN, HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE, ALIEN: RESURRECTION, STARSHIP TROOPERS, X-FILES: THE MOVIE, GALAXY QUEST, HOLLOW MAN, EVOLUTION, PLANET OF THE APES [2001], HULK, DAWN OF THE DEAD [2004], HELLBOY, SCARY MOVIE 3, BLADE: TRINITY, REEKER, FEAST, 300, THE MIST, ALIENS VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM, CLOVERFIELD, CREATURE OF DARKNESS, AVATAR, BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, COWBOYS & ALIENS, THE THING [2011], THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, MEN IN BLACK 3, THE WATCH, R.I.P.D., MONSTERS AT LARGE, FROM THE RIVER), is 57.
Actor Mark Wahlberg (FEAR, THE BIG HIT, THE CORRUPTOR, PLANET OF THE APES [2001], THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE, THE HAPPENING, MAX PAYNE, THE LOVELY BONES, CONTRABAND, PRISONERS, TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION, TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST NIGHT, SCOOB!, INFINITE) is 53.
Look for Mark's upcoming 2024 Thriller, FLIGHT RISK.
POLTERGEIST Turns 43
43 years ago today, the Cinema Summer of 1982 in North America was called Steven Spielberg's One Two knock-out punch, as his two movies dominated the summer. They knocked out other major movies that would come to be regarded as better movies like Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER and John Carpenter's THE THING.
But how could a PG Horror movie with a cast of nobodies overwhelm everything else? Welcome to the dawn of fan power and the blockbuster summer. Steven was hot, coming off of wildly successful movies like JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Spielberg was coupled with his director Tobe Hooper, still hot among Horror fans for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, as together they were creating the cinema's decade that would come to be known by unborn generations as the ultimate era for Horror movies.
This is how audiences felt when they sat before massive screens, surrounded by giant theater speakers, and were lured into the world of POLTERGEIST.
And -
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN is Old Enough to Legally Buy a Beer
By 2004 there were two great fantasy franchises and Warner Bros. had them both! THE LORD OF THE RINGS through WB's company, New Line, had finished its run in 2003, the previous year, but H.P. had another 5 novels to go and the next one was HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.
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SPLICE Turns 16
When SPECIES came out it was largely sold on the fact that the Oscar winning artist of the still mega-popular ALIEN movie, H.R. Giger, was the designer here as well. Advanced sales of Giger art books on the movie were sold ahead of release. What's more, Oscar winning actors, Ben Kingsley and Forest Whitaker were also in it. It was directed by Roger Donaldson. Finally, it was sold on its R rating and promised the nudity of its star, Natasha Henstridge.
Unfortunately SPECIES was Produced, and written entirely by Dennis Feldman (VIRUS).
Giger soon realized that MGM (wallowing in the dregs of their SUPERNOVA era) didn't want a great Science Fiction Horror movie like ALIEN, they wanted Giger's name on a cheap movie so they could sell it as if it was the next ALIEN.
"Well what does all that have to do with Vincent Natali and Guillermo Del Toro's movie?"
you may ask.
Because while it was in production, it was decided that this movie would be sold like it was an heir, not to a great movie like ALIEN, but a dreary ALIEN wannabe that had already sank and died in the diminishing returns of Direct To Video land sequels. Compounding the bad marketing was the fact that original Canadian distributor, Entertainment One, was going to give up and dump it direct to video, which probably didn't help the first weekend box office returns on SPLICE.
Also -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Keith David (John Carpenter's THE THING [1982], THEY LIVE, LADY KILLERS [TV], FINAL ANALYSIS, NAILS [TV], THE PUPPET MASTERS, GARGOYLES [voice], THE GRAVE, SPAWN [TV], PRINCESS MONOKE [voice], PITCH BLACK, FINAL FANTASY [voice], 29 PALMS, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, DIRTY, SPAWN: The Animation, CHAIN LETTER, NOW HERE, SAMUEL BLEAK, THE INHERITANCE, SMILEY, CLOUD ATLAS, UNION FURNACE, SONS OF LIBERTY, IF I TELL YOU I HAVE TO KILL YOU, RANGE 15, RICK AND MORTY [TV], TALES FROM THE HOOD 2, YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER, LIVERSPOTS AND ASTRONOTS [TV], KIDS VS MONSTERS, THE SEVENTH DAY, FINAL SPACE [TV], BLACK AS NIGHT, THE GATEWAY, NOPE, FROM THE SHADOWS, TIM TRAVERS AND THE TIME TRAVELERS PARADOX, SHELBY OAKS) is 69.
Look for Keith's upcoming 2025 Horror, PORTAL TO HELL.
Writer Joe Hill (Books: HEART-SHAPED BOX,
20th CENTURY GHOSTS, HORNS, NOS4A2, THE FIREMAN, STRANGE WEATHER, WRAITH, FULL THROTTLE. Movies: LOCKE & KEYE, HORNS, Joe Hill's TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, NOS4A2 [TV], CREEPSHOW [TV], THE BLACK PHONE, LOCKE & KEYE [TV]) is 53.
Actor Angelina Jolie (CYBORG 2, HACKERS, THE BONE COLLECTOR, Laura Croft: TOMB RAIDER, ORIGINAL SIN, LAURA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: The Cradle of Life, TAKING LIVES, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, THE GOOD SHEPHERD, CHANGELING, WANTED, SALT, THE TOURIST, MALEFICENT [all], THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD, THE ETERNALS) is 50.
Actor Sean Pertwee (EVENT HORIZON, TALE OF THE MUMMY, FIVE SECONDS TO SPARE, SEVEN SECONDS TO LIVE, DOG SOLDIERS, EQUILIBRIUM, THE PROPHECY: Uprising, RENAISSANCE, WILDERNESS, BOTCHED, DOOMSDAY, MUTANT CHRONICLES, 4.3.2.1., DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, FOUR, ULTRAMARINES, LIEN UPRISING, HOWL, GOTHAM [TV], THE PALE HORSE [TV], THE RECKONING, THE INVITATION, YOU [TV], THE NIGHT CALLER [TV]) is 61.
Actor Bruce Dern (MARNIE, "HUSH ... HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE", THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT, FAMILY PLOT, BLACK SUNDAY, "AFTER DARK, MY SWEET", THE HAUNTING [1999], THE GLASS HOUSE, SWAMP DEVIL, THE HOLE, CHOOSE, TWIXT, TOOLBOX MURDERS 2, THE HATEFUL EIGHT, FREAKS, SWING LOW, MR. MERCEDES, BUCK ALAMO, HELLBLAZERS, MID-CENTURY, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, BUCK ALAMO OR, BLOODLINE KILLER) is 88 and the only living actor who can claim roles in 2 Alfred Hitchcock movies.
Look for Bruce in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller THE DEVIL'S TRAP. Also in 2025, CATnip and FRACTURED.
PSYCHO II Turns 42
It's 42 Years Later, and we're still talking about PSYCHO II.
It took 22 years to make the sequel that no one thought could work. You can't follow an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Preposterous! It's foolish to even try. But there were hundreds of big name PSYCHO fans living in Hollywood who worked in the industry. They were among the tops in their field and they would love to give it a shot.
Except for Universal Pictures who held the rights.
In 1983 sequels had to be made quick and cheap. Unless your name was George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, nobody should risk spending more on the sequel than was spent on the original. And even those two came with doubts that they could equal the master, Hitchcock himself.
Then Hitchcock himself recommended a Director. With that blessing, actor Anthony Perkins, who uniquely made Norman Bates all his own, said he'd do it.
The rest, as is said, is the history of PSYCHO II.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Bonnie Aarons (CAGED HEAT 3000, MULHOLLAND DR. [TV], MULHOLLAND DR., SPECTOR'S ROCK, WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY, I KNOW WHO KILLED ME, INALIENABLE, HELL RIDE, DRAG ME TO HELL, DAHMER VS GACY, THE CONJURING 2, THE NUN [all], JAKOB'S WIFE, FRANK, I LIVE ALONE, THE BELL KEEPER, CAMP PLEASENT LAKE, LITTLE BITES) is 47.
Look for Bonnie in the 2023, 2024, 2025, Horror Mystery, MARTINEZ MARGARITAS AND MURDER. Also expected in 2025, IF IT BLEEDS and EVER AFTER.
Writer/bookstore owner/Actor Del Howison (Books: DARK DELICACIES, DARK DELICACIES II, DARK DELICACIES III. Movies: THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS CLUB, HORRORVISION, SCARLETT COUNTESS, B-MOVIE MONSTER, BOOGIE WITH THE UNDEAD, COUNTESS DRACULA'S ORGY OF BLOOD, THE VOID [2016], EVIL BONG 888: INFINITY HIGH, TRANSMISSION [2023]) is 73.
Look for Del in the 2023, 2024, 2025, Horror Thriller, THE SALEM CHRONICLES.
Writer, Producer, and Feo Amante's Horror Thriller, alumni, Kelly Parks (UNIVERSAL DEAD, DEMON PROTOCOL) is 64.
Actor James Purefoy (THE CLONING OF JOANNA MAY, FEAST OF JULY, BRIGHT HAIR, LIGHTHOUSE, RESIDENT EVIL, BLESSED, BLACKBEARD: TERROR AT SEA, FRANKENSTEIN [2007], SOLOMON KANE, JOHN CARTER, THE FOLLOWING [TV], HIGH-RISE, ALTERED CARBON [TV], HAP AND LEONARD [TV], LIMBO, EL CANDIDATO, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES [TV], PENNYWORTH [TV], A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES [TV], THE VEIL [TV]) is 56.
James shares a June birthday with fellow THE CLONING OF JOANA MAY alumni, Brian Cox.
Horror Artist Mike Soznowski (SATAN'S 3-RING CIRCUS OF HELL) is 63.
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in Domestic (U.S. & Canada) Box Office: B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theaters 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
4. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES in its third weekend, steps down from last weekend's #3 with a box office drop of 44% against a 389 screen cut. So far its performing within expectations and has made nearly 5 times its production budget in its first three weekends.
5. BRING HER BACK opens this weekend on 2,449 screens, from A24.
6. SINNERS steps down from last weekend's #5 in its 7th weekend with a 39% drop in ticket sales against a 494 screen cut. It has performed far above expectations earning nearly 4 times its production budget.
7. THUNDERBOLTS drops from last weekend's #4 with a 50% drop in box office against a 660 screen cut. In its 5th weekend, its just barely breaking even.
12. A MINECRAFT MOVIE falls from the Top Ten in its 9th weekend with a 66% drop in box office against a 1,263 screen cut. That said, its made over 6 times its production budget.
You Buried Nothing This Weekend
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
Watch for the June 24 Digital Release of -
STRANGER IN MY HOME
Plus -
Magnolia releases 40 ACRES in Theaters Nationwide ... Today? On a Monday?
"That's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see how it plays out."
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Morena Baccarin (FIREFLY [TV], SERENITY, SANDS OF OBLIVION, STOLEN LIVES, V [2009 - TV], HOMELAND [TV], SON OF BATMAN, BATMAN: BAD BLOOD, DEADPOOL [TV], GOTHAM [TV], DEADPOOL [all], TO YOUR LAST DEATH, GREENLAND, HOME INVASION [TV], LAST LOOKS, ELEVATION, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, ) is 46.
Morena shares a June 2 birthday with her FIREFLY and SERENITY alumni, Jewel Staite.
Look for Morena in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025, TROPICO. Also expected in 2025, GREENLAND: MIGRATION. And expected one year from now in 2026, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Writer Bill Breedlove (Various short stories) is 63 or something.
Producer Kevin Feige (X-MEN [all], SPIDER-MAN [all], DAREDEVIL, IRON MAN [all], THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR [all], CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER [all], THE AVENGERS [all], THOR: THE DARK WORLD, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [all], AGENT CARTER [TV], DOCTOR STRANGE [all], BLACK PANTHER, CAPTAIN MARVEL, WANDA VISION, THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER [TV], BLACK WIDOW, SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, MOONKNIGHT [TV], DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW ROLD, THUNDERBOLTS) is 52.
For 2022, 2023, 2024 look for Kevin's Horror Thriller, BLADE (Never mind, it just slipped back into Pre-Production with no timeline release for the foreseeable future.
UPDATE: Nevermind. It was cancelled
UPDATE: Back in Development Hell, after 25 years and counting.). Expected for 2026 is, AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, and MARVEL ZOMBIES [TV]
Writer, Publisher, Warren Lapine (ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE magazine, Wilder Publications, THE KISS INTERVIEWS, JUST LIKE THE JETSONS AND OTHER STORIES) is 61.
Writer Matthew Pierce (REFLECTED EVIL, THE DARK CURSE OF WHISPERS) is 65 or something I think.
Actor Zachary Quinto (24, HEROES, STAR TREK [2009], MARGIN CALL, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, STAR TREK BEYOND, PASSAGE TO MARS, HOTEL ARTEMIS, NOS4A2 [TV], INVINCIBLE [TV], DISTANT) is 48.
Actor James Ransone (INSIDE MAN, PROM NIGHT [2008], SINISTER, OLDBOY [2013], KRISTY, SINISTER 2, FUN SIZE HORROR: Vol. TWO, GEMINI, MOSAIC [TV], FAMILY BLOOD, THE FIRST [TV], CAPTIVE STATE, IT CHAPTER TWO, WHAT WE FOUND, BLACK PHONE, V/H/S/ 85) is 46.
Actor Jewel Staite (FIREFLY [TV], SERENITY, THE TRIBE, STARGATE: ATLANTIS, MOTHMAN [2010], THE DOOMSDAY PROPHECY, ANIMISM [TV], THE KILLING [TV], SHE WHO MUST BURN, THE WRONG BED: NAKED PURSUIT, THE MAGICIANS [TV]) is 43.
Jewel shares a June 3 birthday with FIREFLY alumni, Morena Baccarin and they both share a June Birthday month with fellow
FIREFLY alumni, Mark Sheppard.
Look for Jewel in the upcoming 2025 Thriller, CHASING MIDNIGHT.
Writer Bev Vincent (THE ROAD TO THE DARK TOWER: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: 8 Secondary Characters from The Dark Tower Series, THE STEPHEN KING SOURCEBOOK, STEPHEN KING: ILLUSTRATED COMPANION) is 65.
SUNDAY -
This writer's work was so profound, that many a modern day Televangelist is so befuddled, as to quote from this writer's works; believing it to be in their Bible! In fact, Dante's interpretation
of what the afterlife must look and feel like, not only contradicts the
Christian bible, but is widely held (by western
Christians who apparently don't even read their bible) as THE
actual view of what happens to a person after death. In essence, more
western Christians believe in Dante's version of the afterlife than their faith in their Bible's vision (and they probably
never read Dante either!)! So Happy Birthday to -
Writer Dante Alighieri (THE DIVINE COMEDIES,
INFERNO. Game: THE LOST [VG]. Movies: DANTE'S INFERNO [2007]) whose remains - what remain of them - are 759 today.
Actor Brian Cox (WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN, MANHUNTER, MURDER BY MOONLIGHT, SECRET WEAPON, HIDDEN AGENDA, DECEPTIONS, THE CLONING OF JOANNA MAY, CHAIN REACTION, THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, KISS THE GIRLS, THE MINUS MAN, COMPLICITY, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE RING, THE RECKONING, X2, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, RED EYE, TRICK R' TREAT, RED [2008], AS GOOD AS DEAD, RED [2010], THE VETERAN, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, EXIT HUMANITY, BLOOD, HER, ANNA, THE ANOMALY, THE GAME [TV], MORGAN, THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, GOOD OMENS [TV], STRANGE BUT TRUE, LAST MOMENT OF CLARITY, THE BAY OF SILENCE, SEPARATION, BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS [TV], THE INDEPENDENT, THE ELECTRIC STATE, THE PARENTING) is 79.
Actor and Producer Morgan Freeman (ELECTRIC COMPANY [TV show, among his many characters were Count Dracula and The Mad Scientist], THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, OUTBREAK, SE7EN, KISS THE GIRLS, ALONG CAME A SPIDER, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS, DREAMCATCHER, UNLEASHED, BATMAN BEGINS, WAR OF THE WORLDS, GONE BABY GONE, WANTED, THE DARK KNIGHT, RED, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, OBLIVION, NOW YOU SEE ME, LONDON HAS FALLEN, TRANSCENDENCE, LUCY, THE POISON ROSE, SOLOS [TV], THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP DEAD, THE RITUAL KILLER, 57 SECONDS, MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE) is 89.
Writer Fran Friel (MAMA'S BOY, THE SEA ORPHAN, BEACH OF DREAMS), is another year older today!
Actor Teri Polo (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA [TV], THE ARRIVAL, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN 1997 [TV], VAN HELSING CHRONICLES [TV],
BRIMSTONE [TV], THE UNSAID, DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE, 2:13, THE BEACON, THE HOLE [2009], BEYOND, FINAL RECOURSE, DEADLY DELUSION, DEADLY SWITCH) is 57.
Actor Jonathan Pryce (MURDER IS EASY, SOMETHING
WICKED THIS WAY COMES, BRAZIL, THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS, HAUNTED HONEYMOON,
MAN ON FIRE, DEADLY ADVICE, DARK BLOOD, STIGMATA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Trilogy, THE BROTHERS GRIMM, G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA, ECHELON CONSPIRACY, CITY STATE, DARK BLOOD, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, NARCOPOLIS, THE WHITE KING, GAME OF THRONES [TV], TABOO [TV], THE GHOST AND THE WHALE, TALES FROM THE LOOP [TV], ALL THE OLD KNIVES, SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, 3 BODY PROBLEM [TV]) is 78.
Look for Jonathan in the upcoming 2025 Mystery, FLAVIA. Also expected in 2025, UNDER SALT MARSH, and THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB.
Actor Parrish Randall (THE QUICK AND THE UNDEAD, THE FLESH KEEPER, SLAUGHTER HOUSE, PROTEGE, DARK SPACES, DEAD OF KNIGHT, POSSUM WALK, KODIE, CHILLERAMA, JACOB, IMAGO, GUT INSTINCTS, HOUSE CALL, IMAGO [2013], CIRCUS OF THE DEAD, HAIR METAL SHOTGUN ZOMBIE MASSACRE, ESTELLA'S REVENGE, FUN. DARK RITUAL) is 65.
NOSFERATU is 96
Released in Germany in 1922, it would be another six years before the vampire made its way to New York City. The "Roaring 20s" in NYC had already experienced the German made METROPOLIS and the city, and so the U.S., was hungry for more.
However, Director F.W. Murnau didn't make a Science Fiction Horror movie like Fritz Lang. Murnau made a Supernatural one. For an early 20th Century America still sick with Superstition, NOSFERATU became the new century's THE EXORCIST, and for the first time in bloodsucker lore, a vampire could die by sunlight.
44 Years of Lucio Fulci's HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY
A favorite among Fulci fans, read why this still cherished movie is So Bad It's Good after nearly half a century! THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY.
MR BROOKS is Old Enough to Vote!
The sinister character of Mr. Brooks has no redeeming qualities. He is everything we should hate. So how did co-writer and Director Bruce A. Evans (STARMAN, STAND BY ME) get us to like him? Read my review of MR BROOKS.
SATURDAY -
In 2023 I finally added Colin Farrel to this list. I'd never want to put someone in our favorite genres who didn't want to be here, but with his long cinema history now in plain hindsight, Colin's overall ouvre has a distinct twist to nearly every movie he makes. That twist is invariably dark humored and dark fantasy even when its not outright Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and / or Suspense.
Nearly all of his crime movies have a Science Fiction or Supernatural element or, in some cases, a borderland of cryptozoology that exists between Science and Supernatural - whether by intent or extraordinary circumstance.
So without further ado, a Happy Birthday to
Actor Colin Farrell (THE WAR ZONE, MINORITY REPORT, PHONE BOOTH, THE RECRUIT, DAREDEVIL, TRIAGE, ONDINE, FRIGHT NIGHT, TOTAL RECALL [2012], WINTER'S TALE, THE LOBSTER, TRUE DETECTIVE [TV], SOLACE, FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, THE BEGUILED, LEGEND OF CAMBRIA [TV], THE GENTLEMEN, ARTEMIS FOWL, AVA, VOYAGERS, AFTER YANG, THE NORTH WATER [TV], THE BATMAN, THIRTEEN LIVES, THE PENGUIN (TV)) is 48.
Look for Colin in the upcoming 2025 Mystery Thriller, SUGAR. Also expected in 2025, THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER
THE ARRIVAL Turns 29
Writer and Director David Twohy (PITCH BLACK, IMPOSTOR, BELOW, THE PERFECT GETAWAY) has spent his career bubbling just below the surface of "Breakout". He's written and directed some good movies, with some great moments, but as of this date, no great movies.
That said, there's always just enough about his stories to keep you coming back and THE ARRIVAL is no exception.
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is 23
In his life, Tom Clancy had a huge following for his best selling novels. Novels so minutely accurate to the intricacies of real world governments and their various weapons programs and technology, that the CIA and NSA found themselves both intimidated by and attracted to his fiction.
As often happens, once you gain an expertise on a subject, there will be those who are peddling a lie that won't like your facts and they won't like your freely speaking about them.
But in life, Tom was so huge that everything that had his touch turned to gold. Not just his novels, but when he turned his attention to making the most realistic Video War Games anyone had ever seen, those too became bestsellers.
Holy shit how Hollywood wanted a piece of that action!
And it worked!
One Tom Clancy movie after the next was a hit: I'm talking world-wide market hit. Unfortunately, the actors in Tom Clancy movies would catch such flack from their peers that they'd back off making any more. Which is why, during Paramount Pictures run of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan movies, the titular character is played by a different actor every time. Further, every actor who played Jack would, at some point, badmouth Tom Clancy and so their role.
This is what happened when Harrison Ford left the franchise with SUM OF ALL FEARS.
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