The Peacock streaming service recently announced that the first two episodes of the James Wan-produced series Teacup, which is an adaptation of the 1988 bestseller Stinger, written by Robert R. McCammon (pick up a copy HERE), are set to premiere on October 10th… and if you’re wondering why the TV series has a different title than the novel source material, it turns out there’s a very good reason for that. Yellowstone consulting producer Ian McCulloch is a writer and executive producer on the show, in addition to being the showrunner, and he told SFX magazine that the show only really adapts the spirit of McCammon’s novel.
McCulloch said, “I think that if I had read the book as a teenager when it came out, I might have felt a little more beholden to it. This is a very different kind of adaptation in that it’s really the spirit of the thing and the ideas, and not much else.” He also revealed why the eight episodes are only around 30 minutes each: “I came up as a playwright long, long ago and the idea not only was always shorter, more economical episodes but to leave them wanting more.“
Peacock will be releasing two episodes of Teacup weekly through Halloween.
McCammon’s novel has the following description: The story takes place during a single twenty-four hour period in Inferno, Texas. Inferno is a town in trouble, driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence, and a collapsing economy. But things can always get worse, and they do so with astonishing speed when an unidentified spacecraft crash lands in the desert outside of town, followed by a second craft bearing the alien being who will soon be known as Stinger. Stinger is a kind of interstellar hunter on a mission he intends to complete, whatever the cost. He brings with him an endless array of technological marvels and an infinite capacity for destruction that threaten the existence of Inferno, its inhabitants, and the larger world beyond.
Teacup will follow a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat to survive.
James Wan is executive producing Teacup through his company Atomic Monster, alongside Michael Clear and Rob Hackett. Other executive producers include McCulloch, McCammon, Francisca X. Hu, Kevin Tancharoen, and E.L. Katz, who directed the first two episodes. Danielle Bozzone is overseeing the project for Atomic Monster. The show is coming our way from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.
McCulloch provided the following statement: “When Atomic Monster first approached me about creating a series adaptation of Robert McCammon’s Stinger—a no-holds-barred, gargantuan spectacle of a novel along the lines of The Stand, Independence Day and Mars Attacks—to be honest, I didn’t want to throw my hat in the ring. I’m not a spectacle writer. I’m a less-is-more writer. I gravitate more toward what are known as keyhole epics. Large stories told through small lenses. Think Signs, The Thing, A Quiet Place. But here’s the thing. I read Stinger and it stayed with me. Wouldn’t leave me alone. I just couldn’t stop thinking about its razor-sharp premise, how it unfolds over the course of a single harrowing day, and about the relatable and real family McCammon puts center stage. That’s when the flash bang-light bulb idea hit… What if I adapted Stinger in a way that honors the book and stays true to the kinds of stories I like to tell? Keep the conceit. Keep Stinger’s most effective elements. Take away the large ensemble. Take away the giant set pieces. Even take away the book’s crowded town setting. The adaptation would be like an acoustic guitar version of, say, a Radiohead song. It won’t have the production value, electronic instruments, loops, or synthesized bells and whistles but it will still have the melody, the structure, the lyrics, the real magic at the core, all the stuff that makes a great song agreatsong. All of which is to say I could suddenly see exactly what to do and how to do it. Two weeks later, Atomic Monster had the script for the first episode. Soon after that, Peacock bought it. Not so long after that, both my creative and career dreams actually started coming true as more scripts were written, hires made, actors cast, sets built, and production began… Of course, during production the series changed and evolved. Just as it should. Even the title’s different. Stinger is now Teacup. The reasons for this are too spoilery to share but watch the first few episodes and all will be revealed. Point being, the series is now very much its own thing: a puzzle-box mystery, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, a can’t-but-must look horror story, a family drama, a science fiction epic—of the keyhole variety, of course. But as singular, strange, and surprising as I hope Teacup is, all you need to do is peel away the layers, characters, situations, and mythology and look behind the thrills, chills, hairpin turns and make-you gaspreveals. Do all that and you’ll see, at its heart, Teacup is still very much standing on the shoulders of Stinger. Just as it should.“
Wan added: “After reading Robert McCammon’s book Stinger, the entire team at Atomic Monster felt a spark. The story had all the ingredients for a captivating series and Ian McCulloch had a vision to bring it to life in a fresh way that was both startling and darkly atmospheric, but filled with a rich sense of humanity — often lacking in edgy narratives. Add in our incredibly talented cast led by Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chaske Spencer and fans are in for a true edge-of-your-seat experience. Teacup defies easy labels. It’s a genre-bending blend of horror, mystery, and drama, with layers that unfold like a captivating puzzle. It goes beyond chills and thrills and holds up a mirror to humanity, exploring the darkness that resides within us all. We hope you enjoy this wild ride as much as we’ve loved creating it!“
Are you looking forward to Teacup? What do you think of what Ian McCulloch had to say about the Stinger adaptation and episode length? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Back in early 2022, it was announced that Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) was set to star in a true crime serial killer thriller called The Dating Game – and at that time, Watcher director Chloe Okuno was attached to direct the film. By the end of 2022, Okuno had vacated the director’s seat and Kendrick had decided to make her directing debut on the film. The finished product, titled Woman of the Hour, was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, where JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch it. You can read his 8/10 review at THIS LINK. Following the TIFF screening, the Netflix streaming service purchased the distribution rights for an estimated $11 million… and now, they’re ready to send the movie out into the world. Woman of the Hour will be streaming on Netflix as of October 18th – and with that date just a couple of weeks away, a full trailer for the film has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Scripted by Ian MacAllister McDonald, Woman of the Hour is based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of Cheryl Bradshaw, who was a bachelorette on the hit 70s TV matchmaking show The Dating Game and chose handsome and funny bachelor number one, Rodney Alcala. But behind Alcala’s charming façade was a deadly secret: he was a psychopathic serial killer. Here’s the official logline: The stranger-than-fiction story of an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles and a serial killer in the midst of a yearslong murder spree, whose lives intersect when they’re cast on an episode of The Dating Game. McDonald’s script was featured on the 2017 Black List, an annual survey of the most-liked unproduced scripts, under the title Rodney & Sheryl.
Kendrick is joined in the cast by Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, Nicolette Robinson, Pete Holmes, Autumn Best, Kathryn Gallagher, and Kelley Jakle.
Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, and Raphael Margule produced Woman of the Hour, with Kendrick serving as an executive producer alongside Stuart Ford, Zach Garrett, Miguel A. Palos Jr., Ian Mcdonald, Joe Penna, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Paul Barbeau, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Andrew Deane, and Stephen Crawford. Lorelle Lynch, Chris Abernathy, and Tracy Rosenblum co-produced.
What did you think of the full trailer for Woman of the Hour? Will you be watching this movie when it reaches Netflix later this month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
It was reported last month that a popular side character from Prime Video’s Reacherwas in the works to get her own spin-off. Now, Deadline is reporting that the Frances Neagley-focused series has officially been ordered at Amazon. The show, tentatively titled Neagley will star Maria Sten as the titular character. The character of Neagley is a corporate security professional and former military colleague of Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) in the Army’s 110th Special Investigations Unit. It is also being reported that Ritchson is set to appear in the spinoff as a guest star, reprising his role as Reacher.
Vernon Sanders, the head of television at Amazon MGM Studios, stated, “As Reacher continues to resonate with our global customers in a profound way, expanding on the storytelling and characters with a spinoff was an easy decision. With Nick and Nicholas as well as our partners Skydance and CBS Studios, we’re confident this new chapter, starring the amazing Maria Sten, will not only honor the Reacher legacy but also bring fresh energy and excitement to new and longtime fans alike.”
Maria Sten would express her enthusiasm in taking the character in further direction, “I’m beyond thrilled to further explore the world of Neagley and her somewhat mysterious background. She’s such a wonderful character to play and I’m very excited for everyone to get to know her a little better.”
Reacher executive producer and showrunner Nick Santora partners with Nicholas Wootton on the development. The two have also previously worked together on the series Prison Break. Both are also set to executive produce as well as serve as dual showrunners on the series. Neagley will be produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Skydance Television, along with CBS Studios, which recently absorbed the original slate of co-producer Paramount TV Studios.
Santora and Wootton commented, “Lee Child created an immensely rich character with Neagley, and Maria Sten brought her to life in such a vivid, authentic way in Reacher. Amazon, Skydance Television, and CBS Studios have been tremendous partners from the start, and we are excited to explore Neagley’s story further and dive into what makes her so unique.”
Joining Santora and Wootton, the series is set to be executive-produced by Lee Child, Don Granger, and Lisa Kussner. They will be joined by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Matt Thunell for Skydance Television. Also, Carolyn Harris, Kenny Madrid, and Niko Fernandez will be overseeing the project for Skydance.
In 1984, Wes Craven presented to the world an iconic villain, Freddy Krueger. The guy with knives for fingernails and a dirty red and green sweater. And he almost joined the ranks of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, and perhaps, now, may actually be the greatest slasher of all time. Since A Nightmare on Elm Street terrified audiences back then, it has spawned a legacy of sequels. Dream Warriors and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare are my favorites. Still, I have a soft spot for even the weakest entries. However, there’s nothing like the first installment, and seeing A Nightmare on Elm Street recently, with its new transfer (on a Friday the 13th, no less), was incredible. It brought my love of the original film back in the most maniacally mesmerizing ways!
Those in attendance included Charles Bernstein (Composer – Nightmare 1), Jack Sholder (Director – Nightmare 2), Dan Perri (Title Designer Nightmare 1,3,4), Steven Fierberg (Cinematographer – Nightmare 4), John Skipp (Nightmare 5), Rodd Matsui (Nightmare 6), Miko Hughes (New Nightmare), Zack Ward (Freddy vs. Jason), Mark Swift & Damian Shannon (Freddy vs. Jason) and Andrew Kasch (Director – Never Sleep Again doc). Seeing those who’ve worked on the franchise mingle with the dedicated fans in attendance was fantastic.
After the movie, there was a fun question-and-answer session with the guests of honor. Nostalgic Nebula‘s own Cody Chavez took on moderating duties. With that many people on stage simultaneously, you don’t get to focus on each. However, the colorful collection of filmmakers shared terrific stories about Freddy Krueger’s dark history.
A few of my favorite moments came from the legendary composer Charles Bernstein. He discussed the many films he’s scored, with only a handful being genre. Ironically, he’s known for his iconic spooky sounds. He also discussed his feelings now and how it was when he first witnessed the work in print.
“I didn’t know that when I got involved. I was thinking, I don’t think this movie’s going to see the light of day. It was a work print. It was black and white. A lot of scenes were just slugged in because they hadn’t done the visual effects. It was kind of a I honestly didn’t think it was a good idea.
I remember one scene in particular when I was thinking about it tonight. It’s that scene where the plastic tongue comes out of the phone. I was watching the black and white VHS at home. And I just remember when that tongue shot out, I got up and hit the pause button. And I just said, Charles, what are you doing? What is this?
It was one of those moments where I just was kind of baffled by the style. And yet, one of the beautiful things about Wes [Craven], he was a beautiful man, and I loved working with him. He knew how to put some humor in, the way Hitchcock could do that and some other great directors. And I realized there’s a lot of little touches, like when she says, you know, she looks, “Oh my God, I look 20,” or whatever, that there’s humor in there.”
The evening was a beautiful tribute to the stunning legacy created by the great Wes Craven. I’m still blown away by the power that this wild, scary, and funny classic still has. With Halloween just a month away, now is a good time to celebrate with the legends of horror and remember so very fondly the Nightmare that Wes built.
Disney+ is expanding their live streaming options, introducing four channels: Hallowstream, Hits & Heroes, Throwbacks, and Real Life. While Disney+ does currently have “non-stop playlists”, this expansion will aim to reach a wider audience within their subscriber base while fulfilling the niches within the service.
Last month, Disney+ introduced ABC News Live and Disney+ Playtime, which is geared towards the pre-school-aged audience. In their initial announcement of these, the House of Mouse also teased versions of the four aforementioned channels. For Seasonal Content, expect “a collection of seasonal-themed content”, so in this case you can anticipate a stream of movies like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown and maybe even Mr. Boogedy.
Hits & Heroes is now evidently a twist on Epic Stories, which offers “a compilation of action-packed stories from marquee brands and franchises, including Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars.” Throwbacks, on the other hand, will play off of some of the studio’s most iconic animated and live-action, like Snow White, Cinderella and Matthew Broderick’s Inspector Gadget. Rounding out this batch of channels will be Real Life, which puts the focus on documentaries, biopics and stories based on real life.
In a statement from Disney+ president Alisa Bowen, she boasted the initiative by saying, “Playlists are the latest example of how we’re providing the best value and experience for our subscribers every time they open Disney+. Whether it’s news, kids’ content, popular genres, hit TV shows or blockbuster films, there will be something for everyone in a lean-back viewing experience based on seasonality and interest.” Probably not coincidentally, price hikes also begin this month for Disney+, with the lowest plan (Disney+ with ads) at $9.99/month and the highest (Hulu + Live TV) at $95.99/month.
I think every streaming service should have this option. Sure, you can search for any movie offered on Disney+, but when it becomes curated and allows you to stumble across something you might not have seen or wasn’t even on your radar, that’s all the better. Earlier this year, The Criterion Channel launched a 24/7 live stream, where you might catch Wild Strawberries in the morning and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla around lunchtime. There is a lot to discovery but even this is a bit flawed at the moment. The way Disney+ is setting it up, if you’re in a particular mood – say, for family-friendly Halloween flicks while decorating pumpkins with the kiddos – then just flick on Hallowstream and let your festivities commence, thus removing at least a little bit of hassle to the afternoon.
Which Disney+ live streaming channel do you see being the most popular?
For a lot of horror fans, October is their favorite month of the year, giving us 31 full days to watch even more horror movies than we do throughout the rest of the year, including films that are set on the holiday that ends the month: Halloween. Of course, the Halloween-set horror movies that get the most views are the slasher movies that share their name with the holiday. So with fresh viewings of every Halloween movie taken in, we have assembled a list: Halloween Movies Ranked, from worst to best. Check it out:
HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (2002)
Director Rick Rosenthal did such a good job emulating the style of John Carpenter when he made Halloween II, bringing him back to direct the follow-up to H20 seemed like a great idea. It turned out to be a mistake. Rosenthal didn’t have great material to work with: the movie walks back the ending of H20 and kills off Laurie Strode in the first 15 minutes, then dives into a story that does make sense for our modern world – a group of college students are gathered together in the old Myers house for a livestream event – but didn’t really need to be a Halloween movie. The director brought an odd sense of humor to this sequel, making any dramatic scene come off as campy and allowing actors to deliver silly, over-the-top performances. The worst offender is Busta Rhymes, who gives such a ridiculous performance filled with goofy ad libs that it’s clear he didn’t take this movie or anything about the Halloween franchise seriously at all. They ignored sequels to make H20, then went on to make the worst sequel of the bunch.
HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022)
The final confrontation between Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode and the masked slasher Michael Myers is almost an afterthought in this story about a bullied babysitter who becomes a slasher himself. While Myers was securely locked up for 40 years, Laurie let her trauma and fear rule her life. But since he disappeared after slashing his way through Haddonfield and killing her daughter, Laurie found peace and has been carrying on a normal life for 4 years. Director David Gordon Green and his co-writers present the idea that Myers gains strength with each murder he commits (sort of like Freddy Krueger gathering souls), but it seems that strength doesn’t last long, because after his 2018 killing spree he ended up a broken down sewer dweller. The movie also plays with the idea that Myers’ evil can be passed on to someone else, which could be interesting… but the execution in Halloween Ends is lacking, dull, and often cringe-inducing. I didn’t need to see Michael Myers go out killing with a sidekick, or get knocked around by his protégé.
HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995)
Fans had to wait six years to see the resolution to the Halloween 5 cliffhanger… and what a reward we got for our patience. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is a compromised mess packed with ideas that never should have been brought into the franchise. Jamie Lloyd, no longer played by Danielle Harris, has been kept in captivity for years and impregnated against her will. She’s around just long enough to give birth and get killed. Myers is now associated with a Druid cult, only kills when a certain constellation shows in the sky, and can be stopped by magical stones. At least, that’s what we’re told in the Producer’s Cut of this Joe Chappelle-directed letdown. In the Dimension Films theatrical cut, the cult is played down in favor of references to genetic experiments and shots of Myers oozing a green substance from his face. At least we get Paul Rudd as hero Tommy Doyle, no matter which version you watch. The Jamie Lloyd trilogy gets such an upsetting, wrongheaded conclusion, I want a retcon sequel that brings back Danielle Harris and the burn-scarred Michael Myers of this era so we can finish this story right. (And film it in Salt Lake City, of course.)
HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021)
Picking up exactly where Halloween 2018 ended, this one could sport the tagline The Night Everyone in Haddonfield Acts Like an Idiot. Obviously a movie called Halloween Kills has to have a large body count, but the fact that almost everyone Michael Myers comes across just stumbles into their demise through pure buffoonery (firing all of their bullets at nothing, sitting back and watching their pals get killed, holding a knife but not trying to defend themselves, etc.) takes some of the enjoyment out of it. Then there’s the idiocy of the townsfolk who form a mob, run around chanting “Evil dies tonight” and persecute an innocent man who looks like The Penguin, figuring he must be Myers. It was fun to see director David Gordon Green try to recreate Halloween 1978 for some flashbacks (replacing the events of the original Halloween II), but the characters in this movie are so stupid that it becomes very irritating and borderline insulting to sit through. At least Jamie Lee Curtis got paid to spend most of another movie relaxing in a hospital bed.
HALLOWEEN II (2009)
Rob Zombie has gone on record as saying that working with Dimension Films heads the Weinsteins when he was making his Halloween movies was a nightmare. Apparently he dealt with even more studio interference on Halloween II than on the previous movie – which is surprising, because the movie plays like he had more creative freedom this time around. He got to shoot it on grainy 16mm film and packed it with bizarre hallucinations: a white horse, a ghostly mother, a pumpkinheaded royal. This sequel feels like even less of a Halloween movie than its predecessor and almost every character in it (other than Brad Dourif’s Sheriff Brackett) comes off horribly. After finding teen heroine Laurie Strode (played in these movies by Scout Taylor Compton) boring to write in the remake, Zombie livened her up in the sequel by making her deeply traumatized and struggling with her own sanity. In the process of dealing with her trauma, Laurie has gotten just as foul as the average Zombie character. There are some good ideas in here, some ideas that will make you wonder what Zombie was thinking, some nice slasher moments, and an excessively long nightmare sequence that gives a nod to the hospital setting of the original Halloween II. This isn’t my idea of a Halloween movie, but at least Zombie was trying to do something interesting with it.
HALLOWEEN (2007)
Writer/director Rob Zombie’s Halloween is an odd beast, pairing nearly an hour of prequel material – which turns the formerly mysterious force of evil Michael Myers into your typical serial killer with a lousy childhood (the treatment even said he lives in “White Trash Heaven”) – with remake material that plays like watching John Carpenter’s Halloween at 1.5 speed… and with a lot of vulgarity added in. Any time Zombie tries to replicate a moment from Carpenter’s film, his movie pales in comparison, but outside of those moments he was successful at putting his own stamp on / bringing his own style to the Halloween brand. A hulking version of masked slasher Michael Myers may be present, but he’s not the same Myers we knew before, and the movie has a different feel to it than other Halloweens have – it’s more along the lines of sleazier movies like Silent Night, Deadly Night. As an entry in the franchise, it doesn’t quite fit in. Taken on its own as a slasher movie, it has its moments.
HALLOWEEN 5 (1989)
Halloween 5is a sequel I like more and more as time goes on. It’s not the ideal follow-up to Halloween 4, the hermit nursing Michael Myers back to life is weird, it has the annoying Tina character, returning heroine Rachel is killed off too early, the Man in Black that was randomly dropped into the film during production never should have been added… It has plenty of problems. But I love Halloween 4, and while director Dominique Othenin-Girard brought a different style (and questionable ideas) to this follow-up, it is the closest any other sequel has come to being like Halloween 4, since it’s a direct follow-up. So it has that goodwill going for it. Danielle Harris continues to be great as Myers’ niece Jamie Lloyd, even though her character’s voice is taken away for most of the movie, and Donald Pleasence‘s Dr. Loomis continues to be awesome to watch. The franchise really lost an important element when he passed away. I want to get a glimpse into a universe where Jeff Burr got to make the Halloween 5 he was going to direct that would have been set on the same night as 4, but the Halloween 5 we got does include some great moments – most notably the laundry chute sequence.
HALLOWEEN II (1981)
The first Halloween sequel scores points with the fact that director Rick Rosenthal was trying to replicate the tone and style of the first film. The story picks up right where the previous film left off, taking us back to Halloween night 1978, and it feels perfect. The opening 30 minutes or so, with Michael Myers roaming around the town of Haddonfield while Dr. Loomis and the police force deal with the aftermath of the first movie, is terrific. But once the film settles in at the hospital it starts to feel like a missed opportunity. It becomes an empty kill fest, despite John Carpenter’s desperate attempt to add substance to the script by awkwardly dropping in the “Myers and Laurie Strode are siblings” twist, something I wish he hadn’t done. (Really could have done without the “Samhain” graffiti, too.) Jamie Lee Curtis is wasted, as Laurie Strode spends most of the movie unconscious or groggy in her hospital bed. The way Halloween H20 and Halloween 2018, or even Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, show Laurie dealing with post-traumatic issues make me wish they had done something like that in 1981 instead of slapping together a movie that’s only about Myers walking around in a hospital, looking for a sleepy Laurie.
HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
Feeling the Michael Myers story had been run into the ground, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill thought they should turn Halloween into an anthology series. Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is so different from the other films, I considered giving it an “honorable mention” and just ranking the Myers entries. But it is part of the series, and I do enjoy it more than some of the Myers movies. Tasked with writing a “witchcraft meets the computer age” story, Nigel Kneale came up with the idea (then filtered through Wallace and Carpenter rewrites) of a toymaker who decides to play a prank / make human sacrifices by harnessing the power of Stonehenge to melt the heads of any kids wearing Halloween masks made by his company, Silver Shamrock. Dan O’Herlihy delivers a Bond villain performance as toymaker Conal Cochran, with Tom Atkins as our deadbeat alcoholic hero Dr. Dan Challis, a character who might be insufferable if he weren’t played by Atkins. There’s still some Halloween style in here, thanks to cinematographer Dean Cundey and the music by Carpenter and Alan Howarth, but this weird and wild movie – with its robots, snakes, bugs, and supernatural lazer beams – makes for a very different viewing experience than any other Halloween.
HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)
I hated this movie when it was released because of the decision to bring Jamie Lee Curtis back to the role of Laurie Strode by ignoring the events of the sequels she hadn’t been in. As time has gone on and the franchise timeline has gotten more fractured, I’ve come to see Halloween H20 as a strong follow-up to the first two films. It has a good atmosphere, thanks to director Steve Miner (who got his start on the Friday the 13th franchise), and it’s a nice attempt to show the repercussions of the trauma Laurie Strode endured in ‘78. Some of the dialogue is overwritten (I suspect the uncredited Kevin Williamson was responsible for that), but the biggest problem is that the movie feels like it’s rushing through the story. Miner likes his movies to be as short as possible, but this one could have used a bit more time to breathe. The H20 version of traumatized Laurie seems more likely to me than the one in Halloween 2018, but the movie should have spent more time on her issues. Some of the deleted scenes (like this one) should have been left in. And while the “paramedic clothes switch” twist isn’t revealed here, it is telegraphed well enough to take away from the effectiveness of the final moments.
HALLOWEEN (2018)
It was kind of surprising when Jamie Lee Curtis said she wanted to return to the Halloween franchise for H20 so she could explore how Laurie Strode was handling her trauma twenty years down the line – and so she could have a final confrontation with Michael Myers. The fact that she came back again after another twenty years to do the same thing all over again, that was truly shocking. Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween 2018 does comes off like “H20 Take 2″, but it does a slightly better job of handling the trauma side of the story and has some nice stalking and slashing scenes (that long take sequence is awesome) while feeling like a blend of Carpenter’s original with some of the grit and brutality of Zombie’s vision. It builds up to a climactic “Laurie vs. Michael” rematch that’s even better than the ending of H20. The fact that I strongly disliked both of this movie’s direct follow-ups does taint it a bit for me. In retrospect, it would have been better if Curtis had only returned for one movie and this was the “Halloween Ends” installment, because this would have made for a great ending. Instead, it’s a strong start to a disappointing trilogy.
HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988)
Producer Moustapha Akkad wanted to bring Michael Myers back after the bizarre detour of Halloween III. The director chosen for the job was Dwight H. Little, who delivered a film that has some of the best Midwestern Halloween atmosphere to be found in the entire franchise, a badass version of Michael Myers (try not to let the mask ruin it for you), a wonderful ‘80s vibe, a Haddonfield that’s populated by memorable and/or endearing characters, and another incredible performance from Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis. The sibling twist in Halloween II may have been a misstep, but it did allow for this story of Myers going after his young niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) in the absence of Jamie Lee Curtis, which works due to the strength of the characters and performances. From the moment the nostalgia-inducing title sequence begins until the awesome ending, Halloween 4 is a joy to watch. I’m always hoping the latest Halloween sequel will recapture some of what made Halloween 4 so great, but they never do.
HALLOWEEN (1978)
The first and the best. John Carpenter’s Halloween is a masterfully crafted stalk ‘n slash classic. The set-up is simple: a young boy murders his teen sister on Halloween night for no apparent reason. Fifteen years later, he escapes from a mental institution just in time for Halloween and returns to his hometown, where he proceeds to stalk a babysitter (Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode) and knock off her friends. It’s random. It’s fate. Michael Myers is pure evil, but there’s no talk of cults or supernatural powers. He’s just a killer with a mask and knife, preying on the innocent while Donald Pleasence turns in an iconic performance as his doctor, Sam Loomis, who doesn’t do a very good job of trying to stop his patient. The cinematography, the music, the tone and structure, and the simplicity work together to make the first Halloween not just the best entry in this franchise, but one of the best horror movies ever made.
How does your personal list compare to this Halloween Movies Ranked list? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Shaun Weiss played Greg Goldberg in The Mighty Ducks, but it’s been a long time since he’s laced up his skates and hit the ice. In fact, it’s been nearly three decades, with the last time being during the production of the third Mighty Ducks movie. Given the actor’s health and addiction struggles, it’s heartwarming to see him having some fun.
“Last time I skated was the final day of filming D3. It’s like riding a bike,” Weiss said. “With bones that have aged 30 years. Such a blast working on promos for FunkAway. Thanks for giving me a reason to lace up.“
Although Weiss continued to work after the Mighty Ducks movies, his career didn’t take off the way he hoped. He found himself getting in trouble with the law and struggling with methamphetamine addiction. A 2018 mugshot revealed a shocking change in appearance, with the actor looking gaunt and much older than he really was.
While speaking with Addiction Talk two years ago, Weiss mentioned how hard it was to see himself like that. “It’s hard to see those images…When I see them, they kind of shock me still…I was avoiding reflective surfaces, so I didn’t know what I looked like. I’m not exaggerating,” Weiss said. “I’m really sorry ‘Ducks’ fans had to see me like that…I’m really hoping my story can be useful, so it’s not just a sad thing that happened.” Thankfully, Weiss got on the path to recovery and is now celebrating over three years of sobriety. Keep it up, man!
Weiss played Greg Goldberg in the first three movies in the Mighty Ducks franchise, and while many original stars returned for a special reunion episode of Disney’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers series, Weiss wasn’t able to. The first season of the series was set in present-day Minnesota and found the Mighty Ducks having evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan Morrow (Brady Noon) is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom, Alex (Lauren Graham), set out to build their own team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of youth sports today. With the help of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), they rediscover the joys of playing just for the love of the game. Estevez dropped out of the series after the first season and was replaced by Josh Duhamel. Disney cancelled the series after the second season.
Rumours began circulating earlier this month that Josh Brolin was in talks to star in HBO’s upcoming Green Lantern TV series. It later emerged that he had turned down the role, with Warner Bros. now in talks with Kyle Chandler to wield the power ring. While speaking with ComicBook.com, Brolin confirmed he had been in talks to star in Lanterns, but it didn’t work out.
“You know what? Green Lantern didn’t work out, but that’s okay,” Brolin said. “It’s working out. Who is it going to be, Kyle Chandler? I love him as an actor, I think he’s wonderful, actually. And, you know, we’ll see what’s down the line, man.” That last line does seem to hint that he would be open to another DC role. While there were some who weren’t down with Brolin taking on the role, I was excited by his potential involvement, however brief it might have been. That said, I’m sure Chandler will be great.
The production is still looking for an actor to play John Stewart, with Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) and Stephan James (Homecoming) recently being cited as the top choices.
The series “follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.” Lanterns was given an eight-episode straight-to-series order earlier this summer. Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, said: “We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC’s ‘Green Lantern.’ As part of James and Peter’s vision for the DC Universe, this first new live action series will mark an exciting new era.“
In a joint statement, James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios, added: “We’re thrilled to bring this seminal DC title to HBO with Chris, Damon and Tom at the helm. John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC’s most compelling characters, and LANTERNS brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we’re launching next summer with ‘Superman.’“
Believe it or not, but it’s been 11 years since Frank Darabont has directed anything. However, he was brought out of retirement by the Duffer brothers to helm two episodes of the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Darabont is best known as the writer/director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, but he hasn’t been behind the camera since Mob City in 2013. The neo-noir crime drama, which Darabont also created, was cancelled after just six episodes and he hasn’t directed since. Darabont later said that he had been burnt out from decades of over-work, but the uplifting tone of Stranger Things convinced him to come out of retirement.
“What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show,” Darabont told The Daily Beast. “Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart. That positivity is something I really responded to.” When asked if this means he’ll be returning for more projects, Darabont isn’t sure. “Who knows?” he said. “I haven’t missed the business but I have missed being on set with creative people… It may well be one and done, but we’ve still got time.“
I’d love to see Frank Darabont return for another project, but I’ll be happy to take a couple of episodes of Stranger Things. The final season of the acclaimed Netflix series is highly anticipated, with fans anxious to see how the saga wraps up. Everything has been kept under wraps, but if Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) had his way, the show would kill off more characters. “It might sound messed up but we should kill more people,” Matarazzo said. “This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like at any moment, any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we’re all too safe.” Who will survive the final season? We’ll have to wait and see.
Although this new season will be the end of Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers do have plans for a spinoff series which would be “very, very different” from the main show.
Chucky season 3 aired its finale at the start of May, and even though series creator Don Mancini had already pitched his idea for season 4 to the network and Chucky himself requested viewer support, we learned last week that Chucky – which aired on both Syfy and USA Network, in addition to streaming on the Peacock service – has been cancelled. Mancini has already promised that Chucky will return, whether he has his own TV show or not, and we’ve known for months that another movie is in development – but the cast of the TV show is hoping that it will still be able to continue on a different network.
Chucky cast members Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, and Billy Boyd appeared on a panel at Terror Con in Marlborough, Massachusetts over the weekend. When the subject of the show’s cancellation came up, Fiona Dourif said (with thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), “I have been on the phone with Don [Mancini, creator of Chucky]. It was a surprise that we got cancelled. At this point, what we’re hoping to do and what should be done and would be normal for a show as successful as Chucky’s been – because the ratings were solidly good and reviewed extremely well; the numbers were great at Peacock – is that it would be marketed to other networks. The extent that there could be pressure on the powers that be to have that happen, I think that everybody who is involved in making the show would appreciate that. There’s no reason on earth why it shouldn’t be marketed to other networks.“
When they were asked if they could share any details on Mancini’s pitch for season 4, Brad Dourif answered, “I’m not gonna tell you because it might get done, and it’s brilliant. You’re gonna have to get on the internet and make it happen!“
A follow-up to all of the Child’s Play movies (remake excluded), Chucky picks up where Cult of Chucky left off. Don Mancini, who has written every film in the franchise (except that remake) and directed a few of them, developed Chucky with producer David Kirschner. Mancini and Kirschner are executive producing Chucky with Harley Peyton, Alex Hedlund, and Nick Antosca. The first season had Chucky terrorizing Hackensack, New Jersey, then he was sent off to a Catholic boarding school for season 2. With season 3, it was D.C.’s turn to experience some Chucky trouble. Here’s the season 3 synopsis: In Chucky’s unending thirst for power, season 3 now sees Chucky ensconced with the most powerful family in the world — America’s First Family, inside the infamous walls of the White House. How did Chucky wind up here? What in God’s name does he want? And how can Jake, Devon, and Lexy possibly get to Chucky inside the world’s most secure house, all while balancing the pressures of romantic relationships and growing up? Meanwhile, Tiffany faces a looming crisis of her own as the police close in on her for “Jennifer Tilly’s” murderous rampage last season.
Would you like to see Chucky season 4 happen on a different network? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
