Before you get your hopes up for a sequel to Shane Black’s The Nice Guys, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as a mismatched pair of private eyes, Gosling is throwing an angry bird at your chances for more off-color comedy from the detective duo. Speaking with Comicbook.com for his upcoming action film The Fall Guy, Gosling discussed the likelihood of teaming up with Crowe for a sequel to the fan-favorite comedy. Unfortunately, Gosling doesn’t think a Nice Guys sequel will happen and believe it or not, the Angry Birds Movie could be to blame.
According to Gosling, The Angry Birds Movie chucked a bomb at The Nice Guys at the box office during the film’s opening gambit.
“So much of a sequel, I think, is decided by the opening weekend of a movie, and we opened up against Angry Birds,” Gosling explained during his interview with Comicbook.com. “So Angry Birds just destroyed us. Angry Birds got a sequel.” Damn you, Red, Chuck, Bomb, Stella, and Mighty Eagle!
In a 2023 interview with KFC Radio, Russell Crowe said creatives entertained ideas for a Nice Guys sequel, but nothing was official. Crowe said, “We wanted to call it Nice Guys: The Mexican Detectives. Bang! It’s me and Ryan, somehow we’ve got to pretend we’re Mexican detectives.” Yikes! I don’t know if that would have gone over well with modern audiences. Maybe Gosling and Crowe dodged a bullet? In addition to this unsavory idea, Shane Black told /Film in 2022 that he tried turning The Nice Guys into a TV series. Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy it, and the project was scrapped.
Elsewhere in Hollywood, Gosling stars in The Fall Guy as Colt Seavers, “a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). While the film’s ruthless producer, maneuvers to keep the disappearance of star Tom Ryder a secret from the studio and the media, Colt performs the film’s most outrageous stunts while trying (with limited success) to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces. But as the mystery around the missing star deepens, Colt will find himself ensnared in a sinister, criminal plot that will push him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.”
What do you think about Gosling abandoning hopes for a Nice Guys sequel? Should Black revisit the Nice Guys TV series idea? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Terrifier cast member Michael Leavy has directed a new horror film called Stream – and not only has he brought Terrifier and Terrifier 2 director Damien Leone on board to handle the special effects, but he also packed the cast with genre icons. Here’s a sample of the Stream cast list: Tony Todd (the original Candyman himself), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator), Danielle Harris (Halloween 4), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Dee Wallace (The Howling), Mark Holton (Leprechaun), Daniel Roebuck (Final Destination), Dave Sheridan (The Devil’s Rejects), Terry Alexander (Day of the Dead), David Howard Thornton (Terrifier), Tim Reid (Stephen King’s It), Charles Edwin Powell (Exorcist III), Bob Adrian (The Conjuring 2), Sydney Malakeh (Cheer Camp Killer), Wesley Holloway (Terrifier 2), and Linden Porco (Leprechaun Returns). We’ll get to see them share the screen when Iconic Events Releasing gives the film a theatrical release in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico on August 21st.
Leavy directed the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jason Leavy, Steven Della Salla, and Robert Privitera. Here’s the synopsis: When Roy and Elaine Keenan realize their family is drifting apart, they decide that something needs to be done. Roy forces his work to take a back seat and they seize the opportunity to recreate a vacation from their past. A peaceful stay in a quaint hotel is just what they need, however that is not what is in store for them. With four deranged murderers patrolling the seemingly mundane halls, the odds are definitely not in the Keenan family’s favor. Roy must fight for his life and those of his family as their simple weekend getaway truly turns into a vacation to die for.
According to IMDb page for Stream, the Keenan family consists of characters played by Charles Edwin Powell, Danielle Harris, Sydney Malakeh, and Wesley Holloway.
Michael Leavy had this to say (to Deadline) about the theatrical release plans: “We are beyond thrilled to partner with Iconic Events Releasing again, but this time to bring an all new and modern horror film to the big screen! Stream is set to hit theaters across the country on August 21st. We built a very good relationship with Iconic through Terrifier 2 and now with the upcoming Terrifier 3, so we are honored to keep this train rolling and continue to deliver fun and exciting horror movies to our incredible fanbase and beyond.“
Steven Della Salla added: “Everyone involved in this film would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans. Their support is the reason that Stream exists, from inspiring us and spreading the word about our work to literally funding a large portion of the film through Indiegogo. Our connection to them makes us that much more excited about this film and the future of the franchise. The value of the fanbase is not lost on Iconic either and that is why we chose to partner with them. Audiences everywhere have been craving original content and we are honored that Iconic is allowing us to bring them just that, an original concept with original characters in a theater, where it is meant to be seen.“
And Iconic’s Steven Menkin provided the following statement: “Stream is the latest exciting and unexpected horror film from the most maniacal minds in horror today. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with this innovative and creative team and provide fans the opportunity to come together to see it on the big screen.“
A trailer for Stream was released last October and can be viewed at THIS LINK. Two months after sending this film to theatres, Iconic Events Releasing will also be giving Terrifier 3 a theatrical release. The date for that one is October 25th.
Does Stream sound interesting to you, and will you be checking it out during its theatrical run? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
On April 23, Fortnite Festival Season 3 launched, adding new music, skins, features, and tweaks to the popular rhythm game mode that lives inside Epic’s popular online battle royale. The big news is that players can now use plastic guitars while playing Fortnite Festival, making the mode just a bit more like Rock…
On April 23, Fortnite Festival Season 3 launched, adding new music, skins, features, and tweaks to the popular rhythm game mode that lives inside Epic’s popular online battle royale. The big news is that players can now use plastic guitars while playing Fortnite Festival, making the mode just a bit more like Rock…
Remakes are always a tricky proposition. Some of the greats both in the horror genre and elsewhere are actually remakes, whether it’s a loose one or not. Be it The Magnificent Seven coming from Seven Samurai or The Thing being birthed into imitation dog from the Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks original. I talk about The Thing A LOT but obviously it’s for a reason. You could also throw The Fly in that same category too while we are here. Those are some of the examples of the good but unfortunately, things can go downhill and fast. You have harmless ones like the Friday the 13th remake or Texas Chainsaw, the annoyingly unnecessary like Halloween and Amityville Horror, or the egregiously awful like The Fog and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Like them or loathe them, or in our case both, they are here to stay, and each passing year and decade gives us new possibilities to be mad at an unhinged level towards a piece of art that is trying to be an expression of that creator’s brain. 1999 happens to be one of the most packed years for movies ever but how does The Haunting (watch it HERE), one of the biggest releases that year, hold up? Does it carry the torch of justified remakes, or does it fail to stand the Test of Time?
Plot
I remember seeing Robert Wise’s seminal classic The Haunting as a rental and was admittedly a little bored. I then got the opportunity to see it at the old Bay theater in Seal Beach and suddenly I got it. It’s truly a masterclass of old school horror filmmaking where what isn’t seen is better and creepier than what is shown on screen. The movie, released in 1963, was based on the Shirley Jackson novel The Haunting of Hill House released four years prior. That title is probably a little more noticeable to recent fans as the brilliant show from Mike Flanagan was indeed also based on the work. Flash forward from 1963 to 1996 and two titans wanted to get together and make a horror movie. Steven with a V Spielberg approached Stephen with a PH King with the idea to make a haunted house picture together. Being of similar ages and tastes growing up, they agreed that The Haunting was the alpha and omega of ghost stories and that it should be the basis of their movie along with more elements from the novel.
Unfortunately, creative differences would split the pair and force the project in another direction. King would take the elements he liked from the screenplay and put them in his eventual TV miniseries Rose Red in 2002 while Spielberg would get a different screenplay from David Self. Jan de Bont would end up trading Minority Report directing duties to Spielberg for today’s movie and boy, both of those films could have looked very different indeed. De Bont is primarily known as a cinematographer but has also directed hits like Speed and Twister as well as non-hits like the second Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movie and Speed 2. While this was David Self’s first script, he would also go on to write Road to Perdition and another maligned remake in The Wolfman.
The collection of talent in front of the camera is peak late 90s with Catherine Zeta Jones, Liam Neeson, Owen Wilson, and Lili Taylor in the 4 main roles and Bruce Dern and Virginia Madsen having smaller bit parts. Surprisingly, with how many movies he has done, Neeson only has this as his entry into horror. Jones also must have had a sour taste in her mouth because this is also her only horror role apart from maybe Morticia Addams in the Netflix show Wednesday. Lili Taylor on the other hand is more our speed. In addition to The Haunting, she has been in an episode of Monsters, The Conjuring, The Addiction, and Leatherface from 2017. Wilson hasn’t done any in quite a while but also gave us his character in Anaconda and the criminally underseen Minus Man.
The movie has 3 patients go to a large mansion property where they are told they are participating in a sleep study. What they don’t know is that the doctor who got them there is actually looking to get their responses to fear. Lots of supernatural events happen in the house and to the participant while Nell finds out that she is related to a matriarch of the property. In addition to that, she discovers that Crain, the owner of the house, used children as workers on his farm and mill and also tortured and killed many of the orphans that he was allegedly looking for homes for. The doctor admits what the study actually is and that he set up some of the spooky stuff for them to find.
This doesn’t hold for Nell as she has fully bought in to her belief in ghosts, murdered children, and her relation to the house. They try to leave and take Nell with her but the house, and ghost of Crain fight back in a way that leaves two of the patients dead and the surviving two with little to explain the events they saw. That 12 line synopsis is obviously a very scrunched down version of a movie that is, in actuality, a bit longer than it needs to be.
Signs of the Time
Within the movie itself there are only a couple that jumped out. One of them is Liam Neeson’s characters archaic brick of a cell phone that he drops while hanging from a banister while trying to save Nell. I had one of these for emergencies in high school where you had to literally pull the antenna up and out to make calls. Ah, simpler times. The other one really took me back and I didn’t even notice it right away. Nell had to get directions to the Crain mansion and on her dashboard is an honest to God printout from Map Quest. I remember printing many listed directions to get to where I needed to go and if you missed a turn, you were not given instant alternative directions. Those were the days my friends.
That’s what stood out inside the actual plot and world of the movie but if you are looking at the production or non-story elements, we have a few. Remakes weren’t as big as they would get in the years that immediately followed but it wasn’t uncommon either. 1990 gave us the Tom Savini directed remake of Night of the Living Dead and the year before this movie came out, we were gifted? Is that the right word? The dreadful Psycho remake. We would get a much more popular quasi-remake in 1999 with Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy. In line with mentioning that movie, the effects on The Mummy still hold up but here they look worse today than they did when they premiered. This isn’t uncommon as most CGI of the time was sketchy to make work well and most of it has not aged in a positive manner. Phil Tippet helped with some stuff and I hope it was the practical stuff or set design because all of the CGI stuff here looks rough. I’ve mentioned it multiple times on this channel, but CGI comes in waves of quality both good and bad.
What Holds Up
Not as much as I would like. Liam Neeson does a pretty decent job here with what he is given and is pretty much what you’d expect from the man at this point. Bruce Dern, for as small as his part is, adds a gruff, almost classic Hollywood appeal to the film and it would have been nice to have him in more than the few scenes he is in. The story itself is an interesting one even if it strays from both the 60s film and the book’s source material in a few major ways. It had the potential to be both interesting and frightening but falls flat completely in the latter and is woefully mishandled in the former. The score, here done by Oscar winner Jerry Goldsmith, is a high point for 90% of the movie but even it lets us down in a few key moments of the film. Finally, for all the complaints about the CGI that I have, the set design, sound design, and set decoration are incredible. I could look at the mansion and everything inside of it for hours. During the watch for this review, I found myself looking around the screen admiring the set rather than paying attention to the movie and had to rewind a couple times.
What Doesn’t Hold Up
Not to beat that dead horse but CGI, CGI, CGI. It is distractingly bad and how good everything else looks in the movie becomes a detriment when ghost Crain or ghost children try to come into the movie. Even the house itself attempting to rebel looks like a cartoon and not in a good way. While the story is interesting, the actual script and the deliveries and performances by the actors falls very flat. Some of the lines wouldn’t have worked regardless of who was delivering them but there are multiple times that the performances are worse than the written dialogue and even other times that the combo just makes everything worse. Lili Taylor is a good actor but her scream in bed is one of the least convincing horror screams I’ve heard in a movie and as good as most things look, the makeup for Crain in his old photos is so laughable that it takes the horror, and audience, right out of the movie. The culmination of the acting being a detriment is the lifeless reaction to Owen Wilson being decapitated in the fireplace. The way Liam Neeson looks away with a cringe is exactly how I feel about watching this movie again.
Verdict
The Robert Wise original is better, the book is MUCH better, and the Mike Flanagan 10 episode take on the material is honestly the best interpretation of it period. I really wanted to have a change of tune on this movie as it’s been over 20 years since I saw it. It wasn’t a flop at all with it making over 100 million, but the reviews were middling then and I’d say middling at best now. It’s not good enough to be, well, good, and not bad enough to fall under our awfully good banner. It’s regrettably boring and a frustrating watch to see good actors fall flat with a script that takes a great idea and story and does its best to scuttle the whole thing. The Haunting doesn’t need further study to show it falls short of standing the Test of Time.
A couple of the previous episodes of The Test of Time can be seen below. To see more, click over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Metaphor: Refantazio is the next game from the Persona leads at Atlus, and while it has some similarities to the franchise (it’s a turn-based, social sim-driven RPG), it’s adapting a lot of those concepts into a medieval fantasy setting rather than a modern-day high school. On April 22, Atlus held a 25-minute…
Metaphor: Refantazio is the next game from the Persona leads at Atlus, and while it has some similarities to the franchise (it’s a turn-based, social sim-driven RPG), it’s adapting a lot of those concepts into a medieval fantasy setting rather than a modern-day high school. On April 22, Atlus held a 25-minute…
As an RPG, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has a number of character stats that influence various aspects of a battle. Luck is perhaps one of the less understood ones. Not only is it an attribute worth raising, but certain characters, like Cait Sith in particular, can benefit from a high Luck stat in some dramatic ways.
