Month: February 2024

Thirty-six years after the release of the Tim Burton-directed classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE), a sequel titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to reach theatres on September 6th… but a few days before that date arrives, fans will also be able to get their hands on an official coloring book that was inspired by the original film! This book is, very fittingly, called Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book, and it has a street date of September 3rd. Copies are available for pre-order through Amazon.

Coming from the same folks that brought us It: The Official Coloring Book and will also be publishing a Universal Monsters coloring book in September, Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book was created in collaboration with Warner Bros. and features art by Alan Robert, the creator of the coloring book series The Beauty of Horror. A description says that Robert “intricately illustrates the most recognizable and beloved scenes of the ghost with the most from Tim Burton’s renowned 1988 film”. The mischievous world of Beetlejuice comes to life in Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book, ready to be colored! Alan Robert, renowned illustrator of The Beauty of Horror coloring book series, hand-draws rich, detailed illustrations that evoke the haunting spirit of the infamous bio-exorcist as he tempts the Maitlands, terrorizes Lydia Deetz and her family, counters Otho’s over-the-top hijinks, and highlights all the frights and sights revealed in the afterlife. With more than 60 pages of captivating illustrations from the cult classic film, fans can chant Beetlejuice… Beetlejuice… Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book to conjure up hours of strange and unusual fun among the recently deceased.

60+ COLORING PAGES: Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book is full of more than 60 pages of custom art, full of details ready to color!

ICONIC SCENES: Color in Barbara and Adam’s adventures in the underworld, the Maitland’s exorcism, the Deetz’s Day-O dinner party, all of Betelgeuse’s haunting attractions, and more!

BEWITCHING ILLUSTRATIONS: Tim Burton’s afterlife scenes captured the audience’s imagination upon release in 1988, and now fans can color and explore those unforgettable settings!

The book’s cover and a couple sample pages can be seen at the bottom of this article. More can be seen at the Amazon link above.

Are you a fan of the classic monsters and/or coloring books, and will you be picking up a copy of Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book
Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book
Beetlejuice: The Official Coloring Book

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Karate Kid, Ben Wang, American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese actor Ben Wang needs to start practicing his crane kicks because he’s the star of Sony’s new Karate Kid. Wang’s casting comes after a global search for the right actor. Wang beat thousands of competitors for the role, with 10,000 entries reported in 24 hours. The anticipated film finds Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio reprising their roles from previous chapters of the Karate Kid franchise.

To say Wang’s audition was impressive would be an understatement. Not only did he display a profound understanding of the character, but he’s also fluent in Mandarin and trained in multiple martial arts forms. His arsenal of skills includes karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, Kempo, and taekwondo training.

Details about the plot remain a mystery, though we hear Sony will move the story to the East Coast and focus on a teen from China who finds identity and strength in martial arts. During his journey of self-discovery, Wang’s character meets a disciplined martial arts master. With Chan and Macchio both appearing in the film, there’s a chance Wang’s character could train under two teachers.

Jonathan Entwistle (Vanity Fair, I Am Not Okay With This, Human Beings) directs Sony’s Karate Kid from a script by Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit, The Goldbergs, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween). Sony plans to unleash Karate Kid in theaters on December 13, 2024.

Previously, industry insider Daniel Richtman printed a rumor about the plot for Sony’s Karate Kid, saying the film is “about a Chinese 16-year-old who studied at Jackie Chan’s [Kung Fu studio] in China. His family moves to Brooklyn. He falls for a girl whose dad is a 35-year-old washed-up boxer who runs a pizza place. The kid trains the girl’s dad for a comeback.”

That plot may sound better in execution than it does on paper. I can’t picture a Karate Kid film where Ben Wang’s character isn’t the focus and the person going through the growing pains of learning martial arts. Then again, the underdog element of Karate Kid has been done to death. Maybe Sony’s Karate Kid is going in a different direction. I have my doubts, but I’m not on the inside of anything here.

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Gremlins

We all know the three rules of mogwai: don’t expose it to sunlight, don’t get it wet and don’t feed it after midnight. While that third point is up for debate as to its interpretation, one thing that isn’t is the desire for a third Gremlins movie – at least to its original star, Zach Galligan, who played Billy Peltzer in both the 1984 movie and its 1990 sequel, The New Batch. With animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai proving to be a hit, maybe Galligan is right in his call for Gremlins 3.

Speaking with Screen Rant, Galligan said that the studio must have a plan for the Gremlins franchise if they have invested more time and money into Secrets of the Mogwai. “I can’t really figure out why Warner Bros. would do two seasons – not one, but two seasons – of the animated series, and spend a lot of money on it, unless there was some kind of endgame. And usually the endgame for a huge studio like Warner Bros. Discovery is a live-action film. A live-action film is always where you’re going to make the most money. Super Mario Bros. just proved that!” And with Baby Yoda – who Gremlins director Joe Dante knows is a blatant ripoff of Gizmo – in the public conscience, there’s definitely room to bring back the nostalgic puppetry of the beloved mogwai.

As such, Galligan wants there to be a Gremlins 3, which would satisfy his thirst a little better than a Mountain Dew“The endgame probably will be, I’m hoping, a third film. I don’t think it’ll be a reboot, though, because Chris Columbus has nixed that idea. He owns part of the rights.” As far as Columbus – who wrote the first Gremlins – goes, he previously said a script is written and hopes the movie wouldn’t have to rely on CGI.

The Gremlins franchise had been dormant since The New Batch – still one of the most fun follow-ups to any ‘80s movie – came out nearly 25 years ago. But a third movie could absolutely work with the right creatives and cast. Of course, we would have to have Zach Galligan, who even cameod on Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, showing his commitment to the series. But the filmmakers may run into an issue getting Phoebe Cates, who retired from acting and hasn’t been in a movie since 2001’s The Anniversary Party.

Would you be down for a third Gremlins movie or has the clock struck midnight on the franchise? Let us know below!

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The Matrix and Sense8 mastermind Lilly Wachowski is here to take out the trash for her next film, Trash Mountain. The project finds Wachowski teaming up with comedian Caleb Hearon for what Collider says is an emotional comedy about closure through sorting the belongings of a hoarder. Casting for the film is underway, with Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic WorldSafety Not GuaranteedJurassic World: Dominion) producing alongside Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev of Sight Unseen.

Caleb Hearon, a rising comedian, wrote the script with Ruby Caster. The comedian also stars in the project, which sounds like part tearjerker and part knee-slapper. According to Collider‘s exclusive report, Trash Mountain follows a gay Chicago man in his 20s who must return to rural Missouri to deal with the death of his father — an obsessive hoarder who has left a house full of items, some valuable and some not so, to pick through.”

The report indicates that Lilly Wachowski and Colin Trevorrow immediately fell in love with the script, needing one pass to jump on an opportunity to bring it to life on screens. Trash Mountain is Lilly Wachowski’s solo directorial debut after partnering with her sister, Lana Wachowski, on projects like the Matrix franchise, Jupiter AscendingSpeed RacerCloud Atlas, and more.

“When my pal Caleb Hearon sent me ‘Trash Mountain’ I leapt at the chance to direct it. So beautiful and sad and funny! Queer representation and stories are vital at this time as we are being shoved further into the margins. Our amazing writers, Caleb and Ruby are a shining light in all this dang darkness,” Wachowski told Collider.

“Caleb Hearon and Ruby Caster are true originals and Lilly Wachowski is a living legend. I’m insanely lucky to call them collaborators and friends,” Trevorrow said about partnering with the duo on this intriguing project.

Are you excited about Lilly Wachowski breaking out on her own? Do you think Trash Mountain is a straightforward comedic drama, or will it include Lilly’s signature flare regarding dynamic camerawork, striking cinematography, and other elements that could make it stand out in a crowd? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Terrifier‘s Catherine Corcoran stars in the upcoming “anthology style crime thriller” If It Bleeds alongside Justin Miles (Old Dads), Krsy Fox (Bury the Bride), and genre icons Dee Wallace (The Howling) and Doug Jones (The Shape of Water) – and a press release lets us know that production on this project is nearly complete! The film is being directed by Matthew Hersh, who was a producer and segment director on Night of the Missing, which was just released through Cineverse’s Screambox streaming platform a couple months ago.

If It Bleeds follows the journey of Diane Winters (Catherine Corcoran), a young and ambitious news reporter and her cameraman Simon (Justin Miles), as they uncover a mysterious series of gruesome murders that unfold throughout the course of a chaotic and violent day. As events unfold, the duo become players in a sinister situation even more menacing than either one could have imagined.

Corcoran (who penned a great write-up on nudity in horror and her shocking Terrifier death scene a while back, and co-hosts the Scream Dreams podcast) had this to say about the film: “Ever a champion of independent filmmakers, I was thrilled when Matthew invited me to come along on this next phase of his creative journey. Diane’s story is universal in that we all have the need to be seen and valued, and I can’t wait for the world to see how our incredible cast and crew bring that theme to life.

Corcoran and Fox are consulting producers on If It Bleeds, which Hersh is producing with Allison Victoria-Wolfe and Doug Hawley. Samuel Gonzalez Jr., Hersh’s Night of the Missing co-director, will be directing an additional segment for this film.

Hersh said, “To have so many genre greats believe in me and trust me with the story I wanted to tell with this film at such an early stage of my career was truly surreal. I figured what better way to dive into the horror genre than through the eyes of a news reporter in the field seeing and facing the horrors of humanity unfold in front of her very own eyes.

And Jones had this to say about it: “Getting to play a quirky cosmetic surgeon was a treat enough for me. But under Mathew Hersh’s careful direction and witty writing, that treat was sweetened all the more. Add to that the professional, efficient crew, the joy of acting opposite the thoughtful and hilarious Krsy Fox, and this filming experience was dang near perfect.

I haven’t seen Night of the Missing yet, but I was sold on If It Bleeds as soon as I saw the cast list.

Does If It Bleeds sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Dee Wallace Stream

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