Almost exactly one year ago, it was announced that Emma Roberts (Abandoned) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) had signed on to star in the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, which would mark the solo feature writing and directing debut of Jess Varley, who previously contributed a segment to the anthology film Phobias. The Astronaut has since made it way through production, but not with Roberts in the lead. Roberts had to drop out of the project and was replaced by Kate Mara (Class of ’09). Now a first look image that shows Mara as the title character has made its way online, and you can check it out at the bottom of this article.

The screenplay Varley wrote has the following synopsis: When astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

Gabriel Luna of The Last of Us is also in the cast.

The Astronaut is being produced by Eric B. Fleischman, Cameron Fuller, and genre regular Brad Fuller, who has produced such films as A Quiet Place, the Purge franchise, and the remakes/reboots of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. A press release notes that Highland Film Group is handling the international rights to the film, which wrapped production late last year in Ireland.

Fuller provided the following statement: “I was inspired by Jess’ vision and handle on the material and I’m thrilled to be working with her.“

Varley added: “This story is very close to my heart and I’m profoundly grateful it’s resonated with such an immensely accomplished team of creatives. I couldn’t be more excited for audiences to fasten their seatbelts and go on this thrilling ride with us!“

Does The Astronaut sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and check out this first look image while you’re scrolling down:

The post The Astronaut first look image shows Kate Mara in sci-fi thriller appeared first on JoBlo.

One of the best things about video games is that they can act as a form of wish fulfillment for the player. Save the world, go to space, or harness the power of dragons. But one of the newest additions to Game Pass offers one of my personal favorite bits of wish fulfillment: having a clean apartment. A Little to the…

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One of the best things about video games is that they can act as a form of wish fulfillment for the player. Save the world, go to space, or harness the power of dragons. But one of the newest additions to Game Pass offers one of my personal favorite bits of wish fulfillment: having a clean apartment. A Little to the…

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Dune: Part 2, the long-awaited follow-up to January’s erotic popcorn bucket, is less than two weeks from release. Among the most anticipated films of the year, Dune missed its original October bow because studios were trying to bankrupt writers and actors, forcing the film to compete in the shadow of Madame Web. But…

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Dune: Part 2, the long-awaited follow-up to January’s erotic popcorn bucket, is less than two weeks from release. Among the most anticipated films of the year, Dune missed its original October bow because studios were trying to bankrupt writers and actors, forcing the film to compete in the shadow of Madame Web. But…

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Flying Lotus has directed the experimental comedy Kuso and the Ozzy’s Dungeon segment of the horror anthology V/H/S/99, and next up for the rapper and filmmaker (who is a.k.a. Steven Ellison) is the sci-fi thriller Ash, starring Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad). When González and Paul were cast in the film, Flying Lotus released a statement saying, “We are building something fresh and unique with Ash and having Eiza and Aaron in this world just makes it flames. They are absolute magic makers, brave and equally inspiring. All that to say… We ‘bout to kill this shit.” And apparently they did kill it, because Deadline reports that Amazon’s Prime Video has just secured the international rights to the film in a high-seven figure pact, nearing $10 million. The film is currently in post-production, so we don’t know when Prime Video will be releasing it.

González plays a woman who wakes on a far-flung planet to find her crew mysteriously murdered. When a man (Paul) comes to investigate the scene, she must decide if she can trust him or if he’s responsible for her series of unfortunate events.

Beulah Koale (Hawaii Five-O), Kate Elliott (The Gulf), and Iko Uwais of the Raid films are also in the cast. At one time, Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were signed on to star in the film, but they both had to drop out and were replaced by González and Paul.

Flying Lotus – who some may know as the FlyLo FM DJ featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto Online – directed the film from a screenplay by Jonni Remmler and is also be composing the score. XYZ Films and GFC Films are producing Ash, with Neill Blomkamp and Echo Lake serving as executive producers. XYZ Films is co-financing the project with IPR.VC. Blomkamp is known for his own directing endeavors, including the films District 9, Elysium, Chappie, and Demonic. Individual producers are Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films and Matthew Metcalfe of GFC Films.

Are you interested in Ash? What do you think of Prime Video picking up the international rights? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The post Ash: Eiza González, Aaron Paul sci-fi thriller acquired by Prime Video appeared first on JoBlo.

Although collecting physical media doesn’t have the convenience appeal of streaming films, there is now sort of a stigma with purchasing movies through online platforms. Although its possible to compile a collection of movies through an online library, consumers will ultimately be at the whim of the service should it choose to keep the title available on their server. Additionally, there are a number of titles that don’t happen to find their way to have streaming access and physical media distributors like Shout and Vinegar Syndrome have dedicated their business to some overlooked titles.

Kino Lorber, another great media distributor has just unveiled the technical specs for the Chevy Chase Fletch films via Blu-ray.com, as well as revealing the special features that can be found on the new blu-rays. In 2022, Jon Hamm would take up the mantle in the long-in-development third movie, Confess, Fletch, which is based on the same mystery novels from Gregory McDonald. The Chevy Chase films are regarded as some of his best works (well, maybe the second one less so) and you can now take a look at the upcoming restorations of the comedies, which are set to become available on April 16.

Special Features and Technical Specs for Fletch:

• NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
• NEW Audio Commentary by Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
• Just Charge it to the Underhills: Making and Remembering Fletch – 2007 Featurette with Actor M. Emmet Walsh, Actor Richard Libertini, Actor Tim Matheson, Screenwriter Andrew Bergman, Actor George Wyner, Actor Larry Flash Jenkins, Actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Producer Alan Greisman, Producer Peter Douglas, Editor Richard Harris, First Assistant Director Wolfgang Glattes, Associate Producer/Production Manager Gordon Webb and Featurette Producer Jason Hillhouse (26:32)
• The Disguises: From John Cocktoaston to Harry S. Truman – 2007 Featurette with Makeup Artist Ken Chase, Hair Stylist Bunny Parker, Screenwriter Andrew Bergman, Actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Actor Tim Matheson, Actor Larry Flash Jenkins, Producer Peter Douglas, Producer Alan Greisman and Associate Producer/Production Manager Gordon Webb (4:53)
• Favorite Fletch Moments – 2007 Featurette (2:35)
• Chevy Chase: Reba Merrill Profile – 1985 Interview with Chevy Chase (3:41)
• 4 TV Spots
• Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
• Optional English Subtitles

Special Features and Technical Specs for Fletch Lives:

• NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
• NEW Audio Commentary by Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
• Fletch Lives: Making-of Featurette – with Star Chevy Chase, Director Michael Ritchie and Actress Julianne Phillips (6:14)
• Fletch Lives: Chevy Chase Profile – with Star Chevy Chase and Director Michael Ritchie (2:40)
• Fletch Lives: Julianne Phillips Profile – with Actress Julianne Phillips, Star Chevy Chase and Director Michael Ritchie (2:18)
• 6 TV Spots
• Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
• Optional English Subtitles

The post Fletch and Fletch Lives blu-ray specs and features are unveiled by Kino Lorber appeared first on JoBlo.

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 Hellraiser, RoboCop, Predator, and Evil Dead II. With the latest episode, we’re taking a look at one of the most popular vampire movies ever made: The Lost Boys! 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: Today, we are going to travel back to the fictional town of Santa Carla. A quintessential beach town famous for its boardwalk, carousel, and the sexiest saxophone player you will ever see in your life. But if there’s one thing it has too much of, it’s all the damn vampires. So, let’s sleep all day, party all night, never grow old, and never die with The Lost Boys on our 80s Horror Memories.

This episode of 80s Horror Memories was written by Mike Conway, narrated by Tyler Nichols, edited by Mike Conway, 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: Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II), Doug Jones (What We Do in the Shadows), Patrick Lussier (Dracula 2000), and Matt Winston of Stan Winston Studios.

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!

The post Episode 40 of 80s Horror Memories parties on the boardwalk with The Lost Boys appeared first on JoBlo.

Christopher Nolan has directed thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi, action, superhero movies, a World War II movie, and a historical drama, but one genre the man behind Oppenheimer hasn’t fully ventured into is horror. And while he has said that he doesn’t want to move away from the large scale movies he has been making for most of his career, he does have a strong interest in horror, as he revealed during an event at London’s British Film Institute. While speaking to a “rapt, sold-out audience”, Nolan said he would “love to make a horror film”.

Variety provides the transcription of what Nolan said: “Oppenheimer has elements of horror in it definitely, as I think is appropriate to the subject matter. I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices, it really is about a visceral response to things and so, at some point, I’d love to make a horror film. But I think a really good horror film requires a really exceptional idea. And those are few and far between. So I haven’t found a story that lends itself to that. But I think it’s a very interesting genre from a cinematic point of view. It’s also one of the few genres where the studios make a lot of these films, and they are films that have a lot of bleakness, a lot of abstraction. They have a lot of the qualities that Hollywood is generally very resistant to putting in films, but that’s a genre where it’s allowable.“

While some would describe Oppenheimer as a biopic, Nolan would disagree, as he says biopics are “not a useful genre“. Instead, he sees the film as a blend of the heist and courtroom genres (with, as mentioned, elements of horror). “The reason I settled on those two genres (heist and courtroom) is they are mainstream genres in which dialogue, people talking, is inherently intense and interesting to an audience. That’s the fun thing with genre, you can play with a lot of different areas, where in a different type of film you really wouldn’t be allowed to.“

Would you like to see Christopher Nolan make a horror film someday? Share your thoughts on this idea by leaving a comment below.

The post Christopher Nolan would love to make a horror film appeared first on JoBlo.

It’s been a whirlwind week or so for Xbox. The weekend of February 3, rumors began swirling that major console exclusives like Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones game would head to other platforms, and Xbox fans’ reactions were intense, to say the least. The backlash prompted head honcho Phil Spencer to announce…

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