JoBlo.com recently launched a new weekly documentary series called 80s Horror Memories, where each year of the 1980s has five episodes dedicated to it. Looking back at 1980, we discussed Maniac, Dressed to Kill, Alligator, Friday the 13th, The Shining, Prom Night, and The Fog. The second five episodes were a journey through 1981, covering The Funhouse, The Burning, Friday the 13th Part 2, My Bloody Valentine, Halloween II, The Evil Dead, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London, as well as the careers of horror hosts Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs. The next five were, of course, all about movies that came out in 1982: Conan the Barbarian, The Thing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and Poltergeist, with an examination of the short-lived 3-D boom along the way. For 1983, we talked about a trio of Stephen King adaptations, Jaws 3-D, Sleepaway Camp, the rise of TV horror anthologies, and Psycho II. For 1984, we covered the creation of the PG-13 rating, The Terminator, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Our trip through 1985 included Teen Wolf, Re-Animator, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Fright Night, Lifeforce, Day of the Dead, and The Return of the Living Dead. For 1986, we covered David Cronenberg’s The Fly, the horror comedies that were released during the year (including Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Aliens, the connection between horror movies and heavy metal, and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Now we’ve reached 1987, and we got our journey through this year started with looks at Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop. Next up is the Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. a space alien classic Predator! You can hear all about it in the embed above.

New episodes of 80s Horror Memories are released through the YouTube channel JoBlo Horror Originals every Friday. 

Here’s the info on 80s Horror Memories: It’s been over 40 years since the decade that shaped the horror movie industry began and having lived through most of those years personally, we at JoBlo/Arrow in the Head have decided to create a 10-part documentary series in which not only cover every nook and cranny of the biggest horror themes from 1980 to 1989 but also what was happening in the world at the time. Join us as we walk down Horror Memory Lane!

And here’s the info on this particular episode: The Predator is one of the most iconic movie monsters ever created, but is the movie more than just a sci-fi actioner, or is it simply machismo brawn over brains? Well, let’s head into the jungle and find out here on 80s Horror Memories.

This episode of 80s Horror Memories was written by Adam Walton, narrated by Tyler Nichols, edited by Adam Walton, produced by Berge Garabedian and John Fallon, co-produced by Mike Conway, and executive produced by Berge Garabedian. The score was provided by Shawn Knippelberg. Special Guests: Matt Winston of Stan Winston Studios and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry).

Let us know what you thought of this episode, plus share some of your own ’80s horror memories by leaving a comment!

Two of the previous episodes of 80s Horror Memories can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!

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Lucy Fry (the Wolf Creek TV series), Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks), and comedian Matt Rife (Natural Selection) lead the cast of the psychological horror film I Live Here Now, which recently made its way through production with first-time feature director Julie Pacino at the helm. Utopia represents the worldwide rights to the project, and Screen Daily reports that they’ll be launching distribution sales at the European Film Market, which will be held during the 74th Berlin International Film Festival later this month.

I Live Here Now sees Fry taking on the role of a woman who finds herself trapped in a remote hotel where the violent echoes of her past come alive, blurring the lines between her darkest nightmares and the waking world.

In addition to Wolf Creek, Fry’s credits include Vampire Academy, Mr. Church, 11.22.63, The Darkness, Bright, Night Teeth, She’s Missing, Last Looks, and Godfather of Harlem.

Pacino provided the following statement: “I am thrilled to unveil this deeply personal project with Utopia. I Live Here Now explores fear and discomfort through the eyes of a woman who has been conditioned by societal restraints to disconnect from her own body. I hope this movie can create a unifying experience and entertain anyone who watches it. It’s a wild ride and I can’t wait to share it.“

Marie Zeniter, Utopia’s head of sales, added: “Utopia is excited to bring a promising new filmmaker to EFM and is proud to support female directors in the genre space. I Live Here Now operates on so many levels. It’s sexy, dangerous, has a great cast and is incredibly topical.“

That’s all we know about I Live Here Now at this point, but Screen Daily did unveil a first look image that shows Lucy Fry’s character, and you can check that out at the bottom of this article.

Pacino assembled a strong cast for the film, so I look forward to seeing how it has turned out. Does I Live Here Now sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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Amy Winehouse had a quick rise to fame and unfortunately, it lasted just as quickly when her addictions would take a toll on her tumultuous life. Her talent would not go unnoticed as the singer gained a huge following, and her fans celebrate her music to this day. Focus Features has now released the official trailer for the biopic about Winehouse as it chronicles her meteoric celebrity and how the dark forces of it all would become too much for her. Marisa Abela, of the TV series Industry and Barbie, plays the singer. The film also stars Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville. The biopic comes from filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson.

The official plot synopsis from Focus Features reads,
“The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.”

Back to Black is written by Matt Greenhalgh, whose past credits include Nowhere Boy and Control. Giles Martin, who is known for Rocketman and the documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, has handled music production, with Nina Gold who worked on1917 and The Power of the Dog on board for casting. The film is produced by Alison Owen, of Saving Mr Banks, Me Before You and Elizabeth, and Debra Hayward, who had previously worked on Les Miserables and Bridget Jones’s Baby, of Monumental Pictures alongside Nicky Kentish-Barnes, whose credits include About Time, Everest and About A Boy. Taylor-Johnson is additionally on board as executive producer, alongside Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin who executive produce on behalf of StudioCanal.

Back to Black is due to hit theaters nationwide on Friday, May 17th.

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Not only do Blumhouse productions tend to have such low budgets that it’s difficult for them to fail, but the company also makes so much content that you never go too long without seeing a new release from them. So if one disappoints, they have another chance to impress soon after. The Exorcist: Believer wasn’t well-received? That’s okay, Five Nights at Freddy’s is right around the corner. Night Swim didn’t live up to the success they had with M3GAN last year? Well, let’s see how Imaginary does on March 8th. With the release of Imaginary just one month away, a new poster for the film has arrived online and can be seen at the bottom of this article.

Imaginary is the latest team-up between Blumhouse and director Jeff Wadlow – who had previously collaborated on the 2018 film Truth or Dare and the 2020 horror version of Fantasy Island. The film sees DeWanda Wise of Jurassic World: Dominion taking on the role of Jessica, who moves back into her childhood home with her family, and her youngest stepdaughter Alice develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey. Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more concerning, Jessica intervenes, only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believes him to be.

Wadlow wrote the screenplay for Imaginary with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. An earlier synopsis we saw made it sound like a horror take on the 1991 comedy Drop Dead Fred: A young woman returns to her childhood home only to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and very unhappy she left.

The director had this to say about working with Wise: “DeWanda has been more than a star on this movie — she has been a full creative partner. So much of horror grows out of our most basic fears from childhood, and DeWanda taps into all of that. You know that old saying that the audience’s imagination is scarier than any movie? We’re going to put that to the test.“

Lionsgate and Blumhouse are co-financing Imaginary. Lionsgate and Blumhouse previously worked together on the 2012 release Sinister. Wadlow is producing the film alongside Blumhouse founder Jason Blum.

In addition to Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island, Wadlow has also directed Cry_Wolf, Never Back Down, Kick-Ass 2, True Memoirs of an International Assassin, and The Curse of Bridge Hollow, as well as episodes of TV shows like Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television and Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are you looking forward to Imaginary? Check out the new poster, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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As quickly as it came, Sundance 2024 is in the books, with it another excellent showcase of the hottest titles in independent cinema. This marked my fifteenth year attending the festival in Park City, Utah, and I ended up reviewing twenty-one movies as part of my coverage. Here are a few takeaways from the festival:

Horror is king at Sundance

The midnight section at Sundance has always been extensive, but in the last few years, thanks to the box office success of breakout acquisitions like Hereditary, The Babadook, and last year’s Talk to Me, it’s become the premiere section for big deals. A24 showed up with one of the most buzzed-about titles of the festival, I Saw the TV Glow (which I disliked – but I was in the minority), while Netflix spent $17 million on It’s What’s Inside, which could be a big horror breakout for them. The section is so hot that A24 brought their noir-tinged thriller Love Lies Bleeding to the section when, in previous years, it would have likely been in the premieres category.

Kung Fu Mayhem still had a place at Sundance:

In recent years, I’ve whined about how festivals don’t play enough action movies, so I was thrilled when this year’s opening night movie, Freaky Tales, seemed reverse-engineered to please my addled brain. The film has everything: Pedro Pascal being a badass, Nazis getting beaten up, a killer 80s score, and a kung-fu bloodbath climax. Hell yes.

Documentaries are big business

Two of the festival’s biggest acquisitions were for documentaries. Warner Bros is set to plunk down $15 million for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (a fitting purchase given their DC ownership), while Netflix spent eight figures on Will & Harper, a documentary featuring Will Ferrell making a cross-country journey with his best friend, Harper, who recently came out as trans.

Here’s a list of 10 five favorite movies from the festival:

1. Freaky Tales
2. Hitman
3. Exhibiting Forgiveness
4. A Real Pain
5. The Greatest Night in Pop
6. Suncoast
7. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
8. It’s What’s Inside
9. Love Lies Bleeding
10. Will & Harper

Which Sundance movies are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments! Reall all our Sundance reviews HERE!

The post Sundance 2024: A Full Wrap Up + Our Favorites From the Fest appeared first on JoBlo.

When Veronica Taylor was called to audition for a Japanese cartoon in 1998, she had no idea what to expect. Heavily pregnant and living in New York, the 33-year-old actor had just finished a run of commercials, soaps and theatre productions, before a chance call from her acting coach sent her hurrying downtown. It was…

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When Veronica Taylor was called to audition for a Japanese cartoon in 1998, she had no idea what to expect. Heavily pregnant and living in New York, the 33-year-old actor had just finished a run of commercials, soaps and theatre productions, before a chance call from her acting coach sent her hurrying downtown. It was…

Read more…

Deadline is reporting on the new project from Stephen Frears, the director of Dangerous Liasons, The Queen and Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight. Frears is set to make Wilder & Me, which will be a screen adaptation of Jonathan Coe’s popular novel Mr. Wilder and Me. The screenplay for the film will be penned by two-time Oscar winner Christopher Hampton (The Father), with Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) producing the film. Frears has assembled his impressive cast for the film, which will include Christoph Waltz as legendary movie director Billy Wilder, who has helmed such films as Some Like it Hot and The Apartment. Waltz is set to be joined by Maya Hawke, Jon Hamm and John Turturro.

According to Deadline, “The story starts out during a heady Greek summer, and sees Calista fall in love with cinema and life on a journey of self-discovery. Thrilled by her new adventure, Calista follows Wilder to Munich and Paris to continue the shoot with leading actor William Holden, and experiences her first love. Realising his star is on the wane, Wilder navigates the changing world of cinema in the twilight of his career, while Calista’s career is just beginning. The time she spends in this glamorous, unfamiliar new life will change her forever.”

Hawke will be playing Calista, a young musician whose life will change after it takes on a whole new meaning while working on the set of Billy Wilder’s film Fedora. Turturro is set to play his lifelong friend and screenwriting partner I.A.L. Diamond. And Hamm will play the famed actor William Holden. The production is set for an early 2025 shoot in Greece and aims to take advantage of the Greek locations originally used by Wilder.

Frears expressed his excitement for working on the film, “This is the most wonderful project. Wilder was sharp, clever and very very funny. And he directed Marilyn Monroe twice! Christoph Waltz will be magnificent. I always go by the script and this one is terrific.” Hampton would add, “Wilder And Me is the story of veteran film-makers in the 1970s, beginning to realise the extent of the changes within the industry and the ways in which they have failed to move with the times; it’s about the memories that haunt an émigré on his return to the boneyard of Europe; and it shows how an open-minded younger generation can draw inspiration from the giants of the past.”

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OK, campers, rise and shine and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s cold out there today. It’s cold out there every day! But this isn’t Miami Beach and it’s not even Punxsutawney. Heck, it’s not even Woodstock, Illinois, where Groundhog Day was shot. No, it’s Chicago, the location of a celebration not only of the 1993 comedy but also the life of director Harold Ramis.

Today, February 2nd, of course marks Groundhog Day, when thousands of people gather to freeze their butts off and worship a rat. But for many of us today is more about the movie. And that’s just what will be commemorated at Chicago’s Navy Pier when a selection of the cast gathers to remember Groundhog Day and Ramis, who passed away in February 2014.

The most notable cast members joining the Groundhog Day festivities are Brian Doyle-Murray (“Inner Circle” head Buster Green), Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson) and Marita Geraghty (Phil’s part-time love interest Nancy Taylor), while those that played waitress Doris, the psychiatrist, the piano teacher, and the DJ will also be there. The question on everybody’s mind today won’t be if Phil the groundhog sees his shadow but if Phil Connors shows up, as Bill Murray is a Chicago boy. And who wouldn’t want to see Chris Elliott and Andie MacDowell?

The central location for the Groundhog Day event will be Harry Caray’s Tavern, which Ramis actually was a partner in. There, attendees can get some themed drinks (sweet vermouth, rocks with a twist?) and check out a number of pieces from Ramis’ career, including clothing and his personal leather-bound shooting scripts from Groundhog Day, in addition to his and Murray’s iconic outfits from 1984’s Ghostbusters.

Groundhog Day has gone on to become one of the most respected comedies ever, being recognized by the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for being a significant work in movie history and even placing in the top 300 on this year’s edition of They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’s list of the 1,000 greatest films ever. It’s also just about as deep and dark of a comedy you’re likely to get, what with all of the existentialism, suicide and groundhog-napping.

Happy Groundhog Day, readers!

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PLOT: An artist (Andre Holland) must come to terms with the trauma of his youth when his father (James Earl Jelks) re-enters his life seeking forgiveness.

REVIEW: It’s easier to forgive than forget. That the well-worn but always true message of director Titus Kaphar’s powerhouse debut, Exhibiting Forgiveness. A notable artist who received the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2018 had exhibitions all over the United States and abroad, this marks his first time behind the camera, and what a debut it is.

The Knick star Andre Holland stars as Tarrell, an acclaimed black artist who’s become the toast of the art world, has a beautiful, loving wife (Audra Day) and an adoring young son. But he still wakes up in a cold sweat every morning, remembering the psychological and physical abuse his father, La’Ron (James Earl Jelks), dished out on him as a kid. This included making him work a full day mowing lawns even after he impaled his foot on a dirty nail. Now that Tarrell is thriving and happy, his father has come out of the woodwork, claiming to have “found Jesus” and to be free of the crack addiction he blames for his worst behaviour. His loving mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), wants him to let his dad back in his life, but it’s not so easy for Tarrell, who can’t help but despise the man.

Indeed, Exhibiting Forgiveness is the antithesis of your typical, uplifting family drama. Too many films judge the victims of abuse too harshly for not being quick to forgive or forget, and Exhibiting Forgiveness is on Tarrell’s side throughout as some wounds, like it or not, run too deep.

Yet, the film is sensitively acted and manages to have some empathy towards everyone. No one is perfect, including Holland’s Tarrell, who repressed his anger and fear so much that it comes out at the wrong targets, including his own family, in a misguided attempt to protect them from his past. While Audra Day’s Aisha could have been a stock, “loving wife” character, she has agency of her own, with her a struggling musician looking to fulfil her own ambitions. Her support is unwavering, but she doesn’t hand Tarrell platitudes about moving on. She doesn’t know what he went through because he won’t let her in, and the film respects that.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, as Tarrell’s loving mother, also has a more complicated role than usual in the film. While a dotting, kind and religious woman, the film also questions the fact that she allowed La’Ron to abuse his son for so long. And finally, James Earl Jelks has a powerhouse role as the once fearsome La’Ron, who’s become mentally and physically mellowed with time.

One of the best things about the film is that Kaphar allows you to empathize with all involved without spoon-feeding you a reconciliation narrative that might come off as unearned. He doesn’t want you leaving the theatre with an “up” feeling because that’s not truthful to the experience of the abused. Some demons may stay buried, but they’re never, ever forgotten. Through it all, Kaphar brings a touch of the avant-garde to his movie while still dipping into a little welcome art world satire, as wealthy patrons jockey to buy Tarrell’s depictions of suffering because they’re trendy, and how he resents it but also needs to go along with it to make a living.

In many ways, I’m surprised Exhibiting Forgiveness didn’t get a big sale (yet) at Sundance, as it seems like the kind of movie an indie distributor could do a lot with come awards time. Holland has long been underrated as an actor, and this is a powerhouse showcase for him.

Sundance

AMAZING

9

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