The pain, I can assure you, will be exquisite. As for our deaths, there is nothing to fear. Our names will be written on a thousand walls. Horror fans all over lost one of the greats this week, as Tony Todd – most famous for portraying Candyman across the namesake series – passed away at the age of 69. Now, his Candyman co-star, Virginia Madsen, is paying tribute.
Posting to Instagram following the news of Tony Todd’s death, Virginia Madsen – who played graduate student Helen Lyle in 1992’s Candyman – expressed her shock and thanked fans for reaching out. “Hey you guys, I just, just, just found out about Tony, and I will…I don’t know what to say right now. But yeah, I know about it. I will say more about my beloved Candyman. Anyway, thanks for your kind wishes.” In an accompanying caption, Madsen wrote, “My beloved. May you rest in power sweet to the sweet in heaven. The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel. As he was in life. More later but I can’t right now. I love you.”
In a separate post, Madsen wrote, “A truly poetic man. A voice that made it easy to swoon. Thanks to Bernard Rose, we really created a gothic romance. It’s why the film lives on. A gentle soul with a deep knowledge of the arts. He enjoyed the fans and was never shy when it came to fans approaching, wanting photos. A rare actor who allowed himself to be open to the public attention. Wish I had seen him on the stage. I will miss him so much and hope he haunts me once in a while. But I will not summon him in the mirror! What a gift that Jordon Peele let us live again as lovers. He talked about a prequel using technology so that we, ourselves could tell the tale of how their love began. Imagine that. I do. My dear friend Tony, I do.”
While Tony Todd would portray Candyman aka Daniel Robitaille in four films (including 2021’s sequel to the original), Virginia Madsen would only play Helen in the first movie, with a brief voice cameo in the 2021 follow-up. However, her character was planned to return for the 1995’s Farewell to the Flesh, but this storyline was ultimately cut and the screenplay reworked.
While Tony Todd would go on to have hundreds of screen credits, he will always be best remembered for Candyman. Not only does the film feature a genuinely terrifying performance from Todd, but it also was brave enough to explore ideas of social class, race and more. In it, Madsen’s Helen is studying urban legends when she comes across the Bloody Mary-esque Candyman, who makes Helen his target and object of desire. More than 30 years on, the film still holds up as one of the most interesting horror films of the ‘90s.
What are your memories of seeing Candyman when you were younger? What do you think Tony Todd’s legacy is in the horror genre?
For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…
Johnny Crap
Jonathan Bergeron A.K.A. Johnny Crap was born in Montreal, Canada, where he lives and works. Since the mid 90’s he has been involved in the Montreal graffiti scene under the “ZEN” moniker, where he still do occasional mural work.
Johnny is mostly a studio painter, doing figurative fine art and lowbrow/comic/sci fi inspired illustrations. For years he has been designing merchandise for musical acts such as Slayer, Guns n Roses, Alice Cooper and Anthrax to name a few as well as doing freelance illustration work for brands like Nike, Under Armour, Metal Mulisha and Dethrone.
In 2019 he was introduced to the Pinball world by designing the Jurassic park pinball packages for Stern, the biggest Pinball manufacturer in the world.
JOBLO: The first time that I was introduced to the art of Mr. Johnny Crap was when I purchased one of my first pinball machines back in 2019 by name of Jurassic Park. I was still a pinball newbie at that time so the game itself ended up being too hard for me, but I dug that friggin’ playfield art (done by Johnny himself). It was only a few weeks after that that I ended up meeting him in person at a local Montreal pinball tournament at the North Star Pinball bar and as it turns out, he lives in the same city as me! (and we grew up on much of the same music and cult flicks) I dug his art so much that we asked him to design many of the JoBlo T-shirts currently on our JOBLO STOREas well as the “mascot” of sorts, Johnny Horror, for our exhaustive “80s Horror Memories” documentary on YouTube. Since then, I’ve seen Johnny plenty of times at North Star and we both recently finished in the top 8 of the X-Men Pinball Tournament last weekend, which was a blast. A bientot!
JOBLO: What got you started as an artist? JOHNNY:I’d say my most formative years as an artist were the 80’s. Listening to punk and getting into graffiti and skateboarding like many other artists I know, was really the catalyst for what I do. It’s still the base of what I do. For as long as I can remember I’ve been drawing. Surprisingly enough my mother wanted me to chase the artist dream, usually parents try to push you into something more stable as a career. So I did the opposite and tried other stuff for a while, even though I kept drawing and doing some freelance art on the side. About 25 years ago, after losing a boring job, I decided to start living off my freelance art full time. I was doing more gig posters, mostly local gigs, but then out of the blue I was asked to design some merch for Kid Rock (of all people). I’d probably have a different answer these days but it led me to do merchandise for Slayer, Guns n’ Roses, Alice Cooper and Anthrax to name a few.
Who were some of your favorite artists growing up? At some point I was into impressionist painters but then I discovered Otto Dix, the Expressionist painter and I really liked it work. It was a little more macabre, the horror of war and all that. Pushead was also a big influence, his work for Metallica, Zorlack skateboard and all that. His ink work with stippling had a punk edge that I liked. I mean, I was really into the whole punk aesthetic, Sub Hum Hans, Suicidal Tendencies, Circle Jerks, Exploited and Black Flags album covers and shirts were huge for me when I was 15. Many artists doing D&D sword and sorcery fantasy art were also very influentials, even though I didn’t play the games, Greg Hildebrant, Frazetta…they were such great artists, cranking up a crazy amount of work with insane deadlines. Drew Struzan too. You can’t grow up in the 80’s without falling in love with his movie poster work.
Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram? I like the scale model that Ryan Thomas Monahan does. His work is really cool. He does stuff like miniature reproduction of the Seinfeld apartment door, old video store front, Vans stores…stuff like that. Another fun one is Guznag. He does fun little ink and watercolour illustrations of neat little monsters. I honestly follow too many great artists to name them. I also have terrible memory of names.
What advice would you have for budding artists today? Do your thing and keep at it. Some of you will succeed faster than others but if you put in the work and will things will happen. And be true to yourself. It shows when you work on things that you have no interest in. I still think about quitting all of it after all these years, but that doesn’t last. I NEED to draw, and when you need to draw people will find you for what you are good at.
What should we be looking out for from you in the future? I’ve been working in the pinball world since 2018. I did art for the Jurassic Park pinball machine for Stern Pinball, as well as the Jim Henson’s Labyrinth pinball machine by Barrel Of Fun. So hopefully you’ll see more games with my art on in the very near future. I still design band merch too, so more of that is coming up. I just did some tour shirts for D.R.I, a crossover Thrash band that I was listening to when I was 14 years old. Those kind of gigs are close to my heart, I feel like I have a personal relation ship to some music.
Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time? WEIRD SCIENCE! That movie had a long lasting impact on my brain. haha. I still watch it regularly in the studio. Of couse everything Star Wars, hopefully one day I’ll do some art for the licence. Conan The Barbarian is another one on constant rotation and I keep saying that it would bake a killer pinball game. The soundtrack is really good too. I am also a Seinfeld head. I don’t want to hear nothing about Friends.
Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Johnny as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / X / Treads / Store
We won’t belabor the point because if you’re a normal person with normal mutuals, chances are your timeline is already doing that—this week sucked, and so will the next four years.
We won’t belabor the point because if you’re a normal person with normal mutuals, chances are your timeline is already doing that—this week sucked, and so will the next four years.
I have very sad news to report tonight. It has been announced that Tony Todd has died at the age of 69. The legendary actor is best known for his roles in Candyman, Final Destination, Platoon, The Crow, Night of the Living Dead, and his many appearances in the Star Trek franchise. He was a massively talented actor whose incredible baritone voice made every project so much better. This is a huge blow.
Todd’s wife, Fatima, told THR that he died on Wednesday at his home in Marina del Rey after a long illness. New Line Cinema, the studio which produces the Final Destination franchise, wrote on Instagram: “The industry has lost a legend. We have lost a cherished friend. Rest in peace, Tony, -Your Final Destination Family.“
After studying theater at the Eugene O’Neill National Actors Theatre Institute, Todd made the leap to the silver screen, making one of his first appearances in Oliver Stone’s Platoon as Sergeant Warren. He also played Ben in Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead, but he became a true horror icon after playing Daniel Robitaille in Candyman. His terrifying yet touching performance scared the hell out of a generation of movie fans, something the actor was continuously surprised by. “The genuine terror that people have towards it. I do conventions and people [wait] in line only to tell me that I scared the bejesus out of them when they were kids,” Todd told /Film in 2021. “And that used to bother me because I went back to Bernard [Rose, director of “Candyman”]. I said, “Did we make a kids’ movie?” And he says, “Tony, anybody that saw the film when they were young will remember it forever.” He reprised the role in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman: Day of the Dead, and also returned for Nia DaCosta’s Candyman movie.
Todd also made appearances in movies such as Bird, The Crow, The Rock, Wishmaster, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Hatchet, Victor Crowley, and so much more. The man was prolific. He also played William Bludworth in the Final Destination franchise, a funeral director with a unique knowledge of Death. He played the role in Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and Final Destination 5. He returned for the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines, which will hit theaters next year.
On the TV side, Todd was in just about everything. He played Kurn, Worf’s brother, on Star Trek: The Next Generation, later reprising the role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also played the adult Jake Sisko in one of DS9′s most touching episodes and appeared on Star Trek: Voyager as the Alpha Hirogen.
One of my favourite performances from Todd was in an episode of The X-Files in which he played a Vietnam vet who has been unable to sleep for decades. He absolutely stole the show. Todd also appeared in episodes of 21 Jump Street, Night Court, MacGyver, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Angel, Smallville, Andromeda, Boston Public, CSI: Miami, 24, Chuck, The Flash, The Orville, Scream: Resurrection, and more.
He also lent his voice to various video games, including Star Trek: Elite Force II, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Star Trek Online, and Spider-Man 2 as Venom. His final voice role will arrive in December with the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The man was an absolute icon, and we here at JoBlo express our sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones. You will be missed, Mr. Todd, but you will certainly never be forgotten.
There have been rumours that Barry Keoghan would be reprising the role of Joker for a TV series set between the events of The Batman Part II and The Batman Part III. However, DC Studios co-head James Gunn quickly shot down the rumours. “No there is absolutely no truth to this,” Gunn wrote on Threads. “A Joker series is not being discussed nor has even come up at this time. Sorry.“
Given how successful The Penguin series has been, it sounded plausible that DC Studios might have been considering a similar series to bridge the gap between the next two Batman movies. But alas, a Joker TV series doesn’t sound like it’s in the works.
Keoghan briefly played the role of Joker (albeit unnamed) in one of the final scenes of Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He also appeared in a deleted scene, which was released just weeks after the movie premiered. The deleted scene featured Batman (Robert Pattinson) visiting Joker in Arkham Asylum to get his perspective on Gotham’s latest villain, The Riddler. Reeves has previously explained that he cut the scene because it didn’t fit into the larger narrative.
“Not because anyone asked me to cut it, but [I didn’t think] it was necessary,” Reeves said. “But it’s a really cool scene with that same unseen prisoner in Arkham. There was an earlier scene where Batman, because he’s getting these cards and letters from the Riddler, and he’s thinking, ‘Why is this guy writing to me? I’m supposed to be anonymous and he’s putting a lens on me. I don’t like that,’ and so he goes to kind of profile this kind of serial killer.“
Reeves continued, “And you see him meeting with somebody who is obviously a serial killer himself, who, because it’s not Batman’s origin, but it is the origins of all these other characters, you’re seeing a version of this character who, yes, when you see the unknown prisoner, you’re like, ‘well, gee, I think that’s who that is.’ Well, that is who that is, but he’s not yet that character.“
While it seems likely that we will see Keoghan’s Joker again (perhaps even in The Batman Part II), Reeves told Keoghan from the start that he couldn’t promise that this would be a recurring role. “I said to Barry, right from the beginning, ‘Look, I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t promise that it’ll even ever come back. I don’t know,’” Reeves said. “And I still feel that way now. I’m not sure exactly.“
The Batman Part II will finally start shooting next year and is currently slated for an October 2, 2026release.
Just last month, Quentin Tarantino shared a few hot takes on recent movies, including his refusal to watch Denis Villeneuve’s Dune because he’s already seen David Lynch’s version. “I saw [David Lynch’s] Dune a couple of times,” Tarantino said. “I don’t need to see that story again. I don’t need to see spice worms. I don’t need to see a movie that says the word ‘spice’ so dramatically.“
Villeneuve recently took part in a Q&A at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal, where he had a simple response to Tarantino’s refusal to watch Dune. “I don’t care,” Villeneuve said, which prompted the audience to erupt in laughter. However, he did agree with Tarantino in one area. “I agree with him that I don’t like this idea of recycling and bringing back old ideas,” he said. “But where I disagree is that what I did was not a remake. It’s an adaptation of the book. I see this as an original.” Villeneuve then added, “But we are very different human beings.“
I would say Tarantino is missing out. While Lynch’s movie and Villeneuve’s movies do share the same source in Frank Herbert’s novel, they are very different animals.
“It’s one after another of this remake and that remake,” Tarantino said. “People ask have you seen ‘Dune’? Have you seen ‘Ripley?’ Have you seen ‘Shōgun’?” And I’m like no, no, no, no. There’s six or seven Ripley books. If you do one again, why are you doing the same one that they’ve done twice already? I’ve seen that story twice before, and I didn’t really like it in either version, so I’m not really interested in seeing it a third time. If you did another story, that would be interesting enough to give it a shot anyway.“
As for Dune, Villeneuve is set to return to Arrakis for a third installment of the franchise. However, he’s said that he doesn’t view Dune 3 as the completion of a trilogy. “First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.“
It’s been nearly a decade since the last Ice Age movie, but Manny, Diego, Ellie, Sid, Scrat, and Baby Scrat are coming back for more. It was announced at D23 Brazil that Ice Age 6 is officially in production. Will Scrat finally get his acorn?
The audience at D23 Brazil was treated to a short video announcing Ice Age 6, with cast members Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Simon Pegg returning for the sequel. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but fans of the franchise will doubtlessly be thrilled at its return.
Just announced at #D23Brasil: Ice Age 6 is now in production! Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, and Simon Pegg are returning for an all-new big screen adventure. pic.twitter.com/b0lCN3tew5
Ice Age was Blue Sky Studios’ first movie. It was cheap to produce and became a massive hit upon its release in 2002, grossing $383 million worldwide. It was followed by Ice Age: The Meltdown in 2006, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009, Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012, and Ice Age: Collision Course in 2016. Blue Sky Studios was a subsidiary of 20th Century Animation until its acquisition by Disney in 2019. There had been talk of a sixth sequel at the time, but the studio was closed down by Disney in 2021 due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios,” said a studio spokesperson at the time. A short video was later released on YouTube, which featured Scrat finally getting his acorn and eating it.
In addition to the movies, the Ice Age franchise also spawned several shorts, TV specials, and a short series for Disney+. There was also The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, a spinoff movie featuring Simon Pegg’s character, a one-eyed weasel and dinosaur hunter. While the Ice Age franchise hasn’t always been a critical darling, it has always been a consistent performer at the box office and has legions of passionate fans.
Interstellar is returning to IMAX for the sci-fi film’s 10th anniversary on December 6. Normally, this would be a time for fans of the impressive space epic and its director, Christopher Nolan, to celebrate. Finally, a chance to once again see all 64 minutes of those glorious 70mm shots of blackholes and planetary…
Interstellar is returning to IMAX for the sci-fi film’s 10th anniversary on December 6. Normally, this would be a time for fans of the impressive space epic and its director, Christopher Nolan, to celebrate. Finally, a chance to once again see all 64 minutes of those glorious 70mm shots of blackholes and planetary…
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, and Simon Pegg are returning for an all-new big screen adventure. 