On January 1st, the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse – seen in the animated shorts Plane Crazy, The Gallopin’ Gaucho, and most famously Steamboat Willie – became public domain… which, of course, means we’re now going to get multiple horror movies that feature characters inspired by Mickey Mouse. Within the first three days of the year, we saw the short film The Vanishing of S.S. Willie, a trailer for the slasher movie Mickey’s Mouse Trap, and an announcement that Terrifier 2 producers Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy and director Steven LaMorte, who previously made the Grinch-inspired horror movie The Mean One, were teaming up for a Steamboat Willie-inspired horror flick that we now know is titled Screamboat. The film is aiming for a January 2025 release, and a teaser trailer made its way online back in August. (You can watch that in the embed above.) Now, Screamboat is set to be screened at the American Film Market, and to go along with that screening, Variety has revealed that the film’s cast includes Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Kailey Hyman (Terrifier 2), Brian Quinn (Impractical Jokers), and Joe DeRosa (Better Call Saul).
David Howard Thornton, who plays Art the Clown in the Terrifier films and brought the horror version of the Grinch to life in The Mean One, is playing the horror version of Steamboat Willie in Screamboat. Thornton and the newly announced cast members are joined in the cast by Allison Pittel (Stream), Amy Schumacher (The Mean One), Jesse Posey (Teen Wolf), Jesse Kove (Cobra Kai), Rumi C Jean-Louis (Hightown), Jarlath Conroy (George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead), and Charles Edwin Powell (The Exorcist III).
Screamboat will tell the story of a mischievous mouse that stalks a group of New Yorkers on a late night ferry ride, unleashing murderous mayhem on a relaxing commute. Can the ship’s motley crew of travelers find a way to stop a killer creature who has developed a taste for tourists? A previous press release told us LaMorte and the producers are “promising buckets of blood and unhinged chaos as their miniature mouse attacks a group of ferry commuters against the unmistakable backdrop of New York City’s iconic skyline. Screamboat will feature a mix of practical creature effects, miniatures, and cutting edge virtual production to showcase its very mischievous monster slashing his way through a ferry of fear.”
LaMorte is producing Screamboat with Amy Schumacher, Martine Melloul, and the previously mentioned Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy. Kali Pictures, Sleight of Hand Productions, Reckless Content, and Julien Didon serve as executive producers. The director provided the following statement: “I’m thrilled to be working on Screamboat with such a killer cast from horror legends to comedy icons. David Howard Thornton is bringing our mischievous and murderous take on Steamboat Willie to life like never before. I can’t wait for audiences to laugh and scream with us onboard Screamboat!“
Thornton added: “I’m beyond excited to join this incredible cast and bring Steamboat Willie to life with a horror twist. Screamboat is going to be a horrific and hilarious big screen thrill ride that fans won’t want to miss.“
Screamboat will be receiving a theatrical release, courtesy of Iconic Events Releasing. What do you think of Tyler Posey, Kailey Hyman, Brian Quinn, and Joe DeRosa joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Born in New York City in 1986, Lindsay Lohan began her performance ventures at the tender age of three as a Ford model, quickly becoming one of the most successful child models in the industry. Her early work included over 60 television commercials, including a notable Jell-O spot with Bill Cosby – an association that now carries uncomfortable undertones, given subsequent revelations about Cosby’s conduct.
However, it was in feature films that Lohan would truly shine. Her breakthrough came in 1998 with Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap, where, at age 11, she masterfully played dual roles as separated twin sisters. The performance showed the world not only her natural charm but also her remarkable technical skill for such a young actor, earning critical acclaim and establishing her as a rising star. The early 2000s marked Lohan’s ascension to Hollywood royalty. Her starring role in 2003’s Freaky Friday opposite Jamie Lee Curtis showcased her growing range and cemented her status as a bankable lead. The film’s success – both critically and commercially – set the stage for what would become her defining role.
2004’s Mean Girls transformed Lohan from a talented teen actress to a cultural phenomenon. As Cady Heron, she perfectly captured the fish-out-of-water story of a home-schooled student navigating the treacherous waters of high school social politics. The film, written by Tina Fey, became a defining piece of pop culture, with quotes and references that remain relevant today. Her starring role in Herbie: Fully Loaded in 2005 seemed to indicate a smooth transition to adult roles while maintaining her family-friendly appeal. However, behind the scenes, troubles were brewing that would derail her promising trajectory.
While primarily known for her screen presence, Lohan proved her versatility by venturing into the music industry. Her debut album Speak released in 2004, proved her vocal talents and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, eventually achieving platinum status. Singles like “Rumors” and “Over” showed off her pop sensibilities, while her follow-up album A Little More Personal (Raw) in 2005 revealed a more introspective side to her artistry. Her entrepreneurial spirit emerged through various business ventures, including the launch of her fashion line 6126 (named after Marilyn Monroe’s birth date) in 2008, which began with leggings and expanded into a full clothing line. She later developed her own self-tanning spray called Sevin Nyne and ventured into the hospitality industry with Lohan Beach House in Mykonos, Greece, which briefly spawned an MTV reality series Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club.
In the digital space, Lohan showed her adaptability by launching her own mobile game The Price of Fame in 2014, following it with a subscription lifestyle website called Preemium in 2017. These ventures, while meeting varying degrees of success, proved her understanding of brand expansion and celebrity entrepreneurship. Her influence on fashion and popular culture remained significant even during her challenging periods. Major fashion houses continued to court her, leading to modeling contracts with brands like Miu Miu and a memorable photoshoot recreating Marilyn Monroe’s final photo session for New York Magazine, showcasing her enduring appeal despite struggles in her private life.
As Lohan’s star rose, her personal life began to unravel publicly. Family dynamics played a significant role in her struggles, particularly her relationship with her father, Michael Lohan, whose own legal troubles and public behavior created additional stress and media scrutiny. His multiple arrests and public spectacles added another layer of complexity to Lindsay’s already challenging navigation of fame.
The late 2000s marked a particularly turbulent period, with a series of high-profile incidents that became tabloid fodder. In May 2007, Lohan was arrested for driving under the influence after her Mercedes struck a curb in Beverly Hills. Just two months later, in July, she faced another DUI arrest in Santa Monica, this time also charged with cocaine possession and driving with a suspended license. Police found her with a small amount of cocaine after she allegedly chased another vehicle.
These incidents led to her first significant stint in rehabilitation at the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu. However, this would be just the beginning of a cycle that would repeat several times over the next few years. By 2010, Lohan had been to rehabilitation facilities multiple times. Her legal troubles culminated in various consequences, including multiple jail stays. The media heavily documented each incident, with paparazzi capturing everything from her court appearances to her arrivals at various treatment facilities. The entertainment industry’s unforgiving nature and relentless paparazzi attention created a perfect storm that threatened to permanently derail her career.
During this period, Lohan became an unwitting victim of the notorious “Bling Ring” – a group of teenagers who burglarized celebrities’ homes in the Hollywood Hills. This incident, later dramatized in Sofia Coppola’s film “The Bling Ring,” highlighted the vulnerability of even established stars in the digital age. One of the most bizarre chapters in Lohan’s public life occurred in Moscow in 2018 when she live-streamed an attempted interaction with what she believed to be a homeless refugee family. The incident, which ended in confusion and controversy, emblemized the double-edged sword of social media and instant global reach. Her legal battles extended beyond her own conduct issues. A high-profile lawsuit against Rockstar Games regarding the alleged unauthorized use of her likeness in Grand Theft Auto V showed how complex the intersection of celebrity image rights and media had become in the digital age.
What makes Lohan’s life particularly compelling is her falls and persistent efforts to rise again. After years of struggling with addiction and legal issues, she began the difficult work of rebuilding both her home life and her professional reputation. Her journey to sobriety, though challenging and not without setbacks, proved her remarkable resilience.
In recent years, Lohan has found her niche in romantic comedies, particularly through Netflix productions. Her starring roles in holiday romances like “Falling for Christmas” and “Irish Wish” mark a return to the wholesome, family-friendly entertainment that launched her to fame. These films, while perhaps not matching the critical acclaim of “Mean Girls,” represent something more valuable: a stable, healthy return to the profession she loves. The announcement of Freakier Friday for 2025, a sequel to one of her early successes, feels like a perfect full-circle moment. It represents not just a career revival but a reconciliation with her past, embracing rather than running from the roles that made her famous.
Lohan’s personal life has also found stability. Her marriage to financier Bader Shammas and their growing family represents a new chapter in her life, one marked by internal contentment rather than public drama. This transformation mirrors the romance narratives she now brings to the screen, suggesting that everyone – regardless of their past – deserves their own love story. Her evolution from troubled starlet to rom-com specialist carries a powerful message about second chances and the human capacity for change. Just as her characters find love against the odds, Lohan herself has found personal and professional redemption, proving that past struggles don’t define future possibilities.
Lindsay Lohan’s life in the public light reminds us that redemption isn’t about erasing the past but about learning from it. Her journey from child star to troubled young adult to Netflix leading lady mirrors the complex narratives of the very movies she now stars in – stories where imperfect people find their way to happiness through growth and self-acceptance. As she continues her artistic renaissance, Lohan embodies the idea that everyone deserves their own happy ending. Her narrative shows us that in both movies and life, the path to love – whether it’s love of self, family, or romance – often requires navigating through difficulties and emerging stronger on the other side.
In the end, Lindsay Lohan’s greatest role may be as herself: a survivor who proves that with persistence, support, and self-reflection, it’s possible to rewrite your own story. As she continues to charm audiences in romantic comedies, she reminds us that love, in all its forms, is not just for the perfect – it’s for everyone who’s brave enough to believe in second chances.
Going first usually has its advantages. Not in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The mobile card game flips the traditional calculus on its head. Going first doesn’t just lose its edge, it feels downright bad.
Going first usually has its advantages. Not in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The mobile card game flips the traditional calculus on its head. Going first doesn’t just lose its edge, it feels downright bad.
The Prime Video TV series adaptation of the popular Fallout video game franchise already had a second season in the works before the first season even started streaming – which turned out to be a good move, because Fallout quickly became Prime Video’s second most-watched title (after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), drawing in 65 million viewers in its first 16 days of release. Seven months after the show premiered, Deadline has learned that Macaulay Culkin, best known for starring in the first two Home Alone movies, has joined the cast of Fallout season 2. Details on his character are being kept under wraps, but Deadline was able to learn that he’ll be playing the recurring role of “a crazy genius-type character.”
While the first season was primarily filmed in New York (with some filming also taking place in Utah), production is moving to California for season 2. That’s not to take advantage of filming locations there, but rather to get a tax break. The California Film Commission awarded $152 million in tax incentives to a dozen different TV shows earlier this year, and Fallout is on the list. For filming the next season in California, the show will receive $25 million in California tax credits. The budget for the show is quite large, as Variety noted that it has $153 million in qualified expenditures for the season.
Like the video games on which it is based, the “Fallout” series is set in a world where the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077. The TV series is telling an original story that is set in the world of the video games and will be canon to the game franchise. The story plays out in and around a fallout shelter in Los Angeles called Vault 33.
In addition to Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4, the video game series also consists of the spin-offs Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout Shelter, and Fallout Pinball. The first game takes place 219 years after nuclear war and is set in a post-apocalyptic Southern California. The protagonist, referred to as the Vault Dweller, is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken one in their underground shelter home, Vault 13. Afterwards, the Vault Dweller must thwart the plans of a group of mutants, led by a grotesque entity named the Master.
Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner are the showrunners on the Fallout TV series and are executive producing the series with Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios, James Altman of Bethesda Softworks, and Athena Wickham, Jonathan Nolan, and Lisa Joy of Kilter Films. Amazon Studios and Kilter Films are producing the series, in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. Nolan and Joy developed the concept for TV, and Nolan directed the first three episodes.
Prime Video’s Fallout stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Walton Goggins (Justified), Xelia Mendes-Jones (Sans Comic), Aaron Moten (Father Stu), Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Frances Turner (The Boys), Dave Register (Heightened), Zach Cherry (Severance), Johnny Pemberton (Ant-Man), Rodrigo Luzzi (Dead Ringers), and Annabel O’Hagan (Law & Order: SVU).
Purnell’s character is Lucy, who has lived her entire life inside a subterranean vault, where every need and want has been satisfied while generations and generations await the day when it is safe to surface. When a crisis forces Lucy to venture above on a rescue mission, she finds that the planet above remains a hellscape crawling with giant insects, voracious mutant animal “abominations,” and a human population of sunbaked miscreants who make the manners, morals, and hygiene of the gunslinging Old West look like Downton Abbey. Moten’s character is Maximus, who grew up aboveground but, like Lucy, was also raised in a cloistered “family” of sorts—a brutal collective of warriors called the Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood is made up of battalions of super-soldier knights in shining power armor, who stalk the landscape enforcing the Brotherhood’s notion of order. Maximus serves as a squire. MacLachlan plays Lucy’s father, the overseer of Vault 33, which essentially makes him the mayor of their hometown, while Choudhury is a different kind of leader in this world, willing to sacrifice anything for her band of people. Arias plays Lucy’s inquisitive brother. Emerson is an enigmatic researcher named Wilzig.
As Vanity Fair noted, “in the Fallout games, Ghouls are typically cannon fodder, mindless zombies whose bodies have been mutated by radiation.” Goggins’ character is Cooper Howard, a legendary Ghoul who still retains some of the person he used to be. He’s “a gruesomely scarred roughrider who has a code of honor, but also a ruthless streak. He’s also quite a survivor—having existed for hundreds of years. The show occasionally flashes back to the human being he once was, a father and husband named Cooper Howard, before the nuclear holocaust turned the world into a cinder and transformed him into an undead, noseless sharp-shooting fiend.“
Are you a Fallout fan, and are you glad to hear that Macaulay Culkin is joining Fallout season 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
As Saturday Night Live hits its 50th anniversary, those who have been around since the beginning – whether as viewers or cast members – will no doubt have their takes on how the show has changed. The latest comes from Garrett Morris, who was not only in the original lineup but was also the show’s first Black cast member. And for Morris, the show just doesn’t have the bite it used to.
While Garrett Morris does still watch Saturday Night Live every week, he has noticed that the punches and satire have grown weaker throughout the decades. Speaking with The Guardian, he said. “I don’t see the courage, the experimental impulses. That was the whole core of what happened the first 10 years. I keep expecting it to attack in a funny way and bring out the foibles not only of individuals but of the government and all that. And nowadays, although people still check it out, I think they’re catering to too many people too much of the time.”
No doubt the pot shots on SNL have changed since Garrett Morris left in the early ‘80s. And while there are still no doubt targets, he might have a point in that it tends to cater to a certain audience. It, too, can be seen as being less on the offensive with something intelligent to say and more just putting our society in funny wigs. But hey, it’s been on the air for 50 years, so it must be doing something right…
As a key player on the first season of SNL, Garrett Morris – who, like fellow OG cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner, left after season five – is of course featured in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, chronicling the making of the very first episode. In it, he’s played by Lamorne Morris (no relation). Check out our 8/10 review here.
Unfortunately, despite his role in the evolution of SNL, Garrett Morris tends to get overlooked as far as his actual contributions, with most highlights showing the likes of John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner. But I would highly recommend bits like Bad Clams, White Guilt Relief Fund and his incredible lead on “Winter Wonderland” from season one, showing off his Juilliard-trained chops.
What do you think of Garrett Morris’ take on Saturday Night Live? Does the show still have an edge to it or is it too concerned about catering?
As Saturday Night Live hits its 50th anniversary, those who have been around since the beginning – whether as viewers or cast members – will no doubt have their takes on how the show has changed. The latest comes from Garrett Morris, who was not only in the original lineup but was also the show’s first Black cast member. And for Morris, the show just doesn’t have the bite it used to.
While Garrett Morris does still watch Saturday Night Live every week, he has noticed that the punches and satire have grown weaker throughout the decades. Speaking with The Guardian, he said. “I don’t see the courage, the experimental impulses. That was the whole core of what happened the first 10 years. I keep expecting it to attack in a funny way and bring out the foibles not only of individuals but of the government and all that. And nowadays, although people still check it out, I think they’re catering to too many people too much of the time.”
No doubt the pot shots on SNL have changed since Garrett Morris left in the early ‘80s. And while there are still no doubt targets, he might have a point in that it tends to cater to a certain audience. It, too, can be seen as being less on the offensive with something intelligent to say and more just putting our society in funny wigs. But hey, it’s been on the air for 50 years, so it must be doing something right…
As a key player on the first season of SNL, Garrett Morris – who, like fellow OG cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner, left after season five – is of course featured in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, chronicling the making of the very first episode. In it, he’s played by Lamorne Morris (no relation). Check out our 8/10 review here.
Unfortunately, despite his role in the evolution of SNL, Garrett Morris tends to get overlooked as far as his actual contributions, with most highlights showing the likes of John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner. But I would highly recommend bits like Bad Clams, White Guilt Relief Fund and his incredible lead on “Winter Wonderland” from season one, showing off his Juilliard-trained chops.
What do you think of Garrett Morris’ take on Saturday Night Live? Does the show still have an edge to it or is it too concerned about catering?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s institution of the multiverse and variants shows that anything is now possible. Deadpool & Wolverine blew the door down and showcased some delightfully unexpected possibilities. One of those possibilities was Channing Tatum finally getting to play X-Man Gambit after so many false starts in getting his own movie. Tatum is holding out hope that the positive responses to his appearance might lead to something as he’s said, “I sure hope so. From your mouth to God’s ears. Write it into existence, my friend. Please.” He had also told Marvel that he still wants to make the movie. “I’ve course I’ve said it. I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.”
Ryan Reynolds proclaims that Tatum’s dreams may be on the path to realization as he tells Entertainment Weekly that Marvel is obsessed with him in that character. Reynolds explained,
I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role. It’s kind of like the same situation I went through. Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”
The Deadpool & Wolverine star continues, “And Channing is so singular in how he plays that character. but also he’s so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps.”
Additionally, earlier this year, Reynolds has called on Marvel to give Wesley Snipes a Logan-like send off to the Blade character. Reynolds posted, “There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market. He’s Marvel Daddy. Please retweet for a Logan-like send off. #DeadpoolAndWolverine.” Then, he would make another push, saying, “The reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please. #DayWalker.” He later went back and edited his post to add a P.S.: “A Logan-style send off, specifically.“
The world of Stephen King adaptations runs the gamut across nearly every aspect of filmmaking. You have theatrically released ones and straight to video ones. Stories stretched into TV miniseries and short stories used as segments of anthology movies. Of course, there are features that do well with critics but fail with audiences and vice versa, fail with critics but are eaten up but movie goers worldwide. 1408 came at the beginning of the King renaissance in 2007 and was a success with both critics and audiences but somehow stands alone in the mid 2000s horror pantheon as a successful but forgotten movie. Who was originally going to star in the title role? How many endings does the movie technically have? How meticulous was the production about the number 1408? Grab your room keys as we find out what happened to 1408.
Stephen King had released books in several different ways throughout his career by 1999. These included being published in magazines, standard novels, short story collections, and even a damn calendar in the case of Cycle of the Werewolf. He would break up The Green Mile into easily digestible entries for younger readers and in 1999 he would release an audio collection called Blood and Smoke. It would only include 3 stories but one of them would be the hotel ghost story 1408. That story would move to print in the short story collection Everything’s Eventual along with its Blood and Smoke brethren as well as a handful of others. King properties tend to do well one way, or another so Dimension optioned the story rights at the end of 2003. They sat on it for a bit until October of 2005 when they announced that Mikael Hafstrom was going to direct with a script done by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. These two would eventually be joined by Matt Greenberg.
Hafstrom is a Swedish writer and director who before this movie had done a fair amount of TV and was first seen widely by American audiences when he directed the thriller Derailed starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen. This movie would help him get The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and Escape Plan with Sly and Arnie. Greenberg has a fun resume including writing the third Children of the Corn movie, The Prophecy II, and Halloween H20. Alexander came from a different part of the film world with things like Man on the Moon, The People vs Larry Flint, and Agent Cody Banks. He does have some horror roots with episodes of both Monsters and Tales from the Crypt on the small screen. The third writer, Karaszewski, is a writing partner of Alexander and has nearly identical credits and recently wrote every episode of the second season of American Crime Storry.
These three were tasked with coming up with the shooting script for 1408 and had a field day making references to both the number 1408 and 13. 1408 is the title of the story and 13 is seen as unlucky in many facets of life to the point where some buildings don’t even have a 13th floor. Many numbers that appear on screen add up to these numbers and it is easy to notice when you know the creators goal. The cast is a small but effective group with John Cusack as writer Mike Enslin, Sam Jackson as the hotel manager and Tony Shalhoub as Mike’s publicist. In smaller roles we have Isiah Whitlock Jr. as a hotel engineer and an Mary McCormack as Enslin’s ex-wife. McCormack wasn’t the first choice and actually replaced Kate Walsh who had to exit due to commitments on the show Grey’s Anatomy. Cusack wasn’t originally attached either as originally Keanu Reeves was to portray the non-fiction horror writer.
Cusack has done other horror and other King properties with roles in Stand by Me and The Cell which also co-starred Jackson. Shalhoub is probably most famous for Monk or Wings but had a large role in the remake of 13 Ghosts from 2001. Jackson had done some horror and horror adjacent titles like a cameo in Exorcist III and Snakes on a Plane and would go on to co-star in Spiral. The basic conceit of a man staying in and being stuck in a haunted hotel room was very short, hence being in a collection of short stories, but it was almost merely a footnote. King originally wrote a very short premise as a sort of guide for one of the many types of horror stories there are for his second nonfiction work On Writing but he liked it so much that he ended up fleshing it out for a proper short story to include in a collection.
The story follows Mike Enslin, a skeptic who makes a living writing about supposed supernatural events. He is a very cynical man who seems to loathe both his audience’s belief in what he writes about and the very subject matter itself. While promoting his latest release he gets a postcard from a hotel named The Dolphin with an ominous warning not to go into room 1408. He heads there and requests the room before being told no as well as its dangerous and frightening history. He gets into the room eventually and begins a battle of wits with the very room itself. He faces off against both ghosts from the rooms’ past as well as ones that haunt his own personal history before the whole thing resetting and the room reverting to what it was when he first entered. He is told he can relive the last hour over and over again or he can take himself off the board permanently and “Check Out”. Mike declines this and sets the room on fire with a makeshift firebomb and then, depending on what version you are watching, you would be treated to one of 4 endings. Yes. FOUR.
The original ending that was shot was a downer for audiences according to director Hafstrom. The original shot ending has Mike dying as a result of the fire but killing whatever evil had hold of the room as well. At the funeral, the hotel manager brings a box of tape recordings to try and give to Mike’s ex-woife, but she refuses, and Olin sees a burnt corpse ghost version of Mike before seeing another apparition of a father and daughter walking away together. The scene switches back to the hotel when ghost Mike is pleased that he has beaten the room, but we also get the happy end that Mike and his daughter, who passed from cancer, are reunited at last. Finally, the room being beaten has allowed all the other souls to be freed as well. While this sounds like it has happy written all over it with a reunion of father and daughter and the trapped ghosts being freed, audiences just hated seeing Mike die.
The ending that theaters got and that shows up in a lot of streaming platforms in addition to the theatrical DVD release is Mike actually surviving the ordeal and ending back up with his ex. They play a recording that has them hear their daughters voice which also confirms Mikes account of what happened. A slightly altered version for ending number 3 has only Mike hear his daughters voice which could confirm his journey or confirm that maybe he is a little crazy. The 4th ending that was shot includes Mike still dying but instead of a funeral we get to see his publicist find the manuscript and recordings only to have his office door supernaturally shut and Mikes fathers voice give an ominous warning. While the theatrical ending was the only one available on the DVD release, the two disc Blu-ray has the director’s cut ending as well as all of the other endings as special features on the discs.
Cusack would go on to say that he based his performance of a man going crazy and seeing things that shouldn’t exist on his own experiences tripping on LSD. While his character is certainly tripping in a way throughout the performance, the audience isn’t crazy if they notice an over abundance to both the number 13 and the number 1408. In terms of the number 1408 we have things like the DVD run time being 104 minutes and 8 seconds, the frequency for the clock radio being 104.8 mhz, and an ad on the back of a plane ending in the number 1408. 13 is a lot more prevalent but also takes more detective work on the part of the viewer. These can get into the weeds a little like with the Jim Carrey vehicle The Number 23 but there are still quite a few. Radio clock digits ad up to 13 in multiple scenes, the Bible verse Mike opens up to is Samuel 2:11 which add up to 13, the classical music selection that plays during a scene is Serenade Number 13 and the list goes on. While the movie is called 1408, the number 13 is more prevalent even in that there is no 13th floor due to superstition, and that 1408 also adds up to 13. One last real piece of information is found when Mike threatens legal action against the hotel for not allowing him to go into the room. This is based on fact that hotels can kick people out for infractions or not rent specific rooms due to damage, but they can’t refuse a guest a room for any other reason.
1408 was released on June 22nd, 2007, and was a massive success. While the budget was 25 million, the film opened at number 2 with a take of over 20 million. This is not your typical summer blockbuster fare, but it would go on to gross 133 million in its theatrical run and make millions more with its multiple releases both for rent which gave Blockbuster an exclusive version to get to customers, and its dual platform retail release. It is still in the top 10 all time for King related movies at the box office and considering just how large that list is, that’s no small feat. We may never know exactly what drove the horror in that room in the Dolphin Hotel but we do now know what happened to 1408.
A couple of the previous episodes of What Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Who else had Macaulay Culkin reportedly being cast in season two of Fallout on their bingo card? Just me? Weird. According to Deadline’s mysterious sources, the Uncle Buck star is set for a recurring role in the new season of Amazon’s mega-hit Fallout TV series. He will, the site claims, play a “crazy genius-type…
