The Prime Video TV series adaptation of the popular Fallout video game franchise won’t begin streaming until April 12th, but season 2 of the show is already moving forward. While the first season was primarily filmed in New York (with some filming also taking place in Utah), Variety reports that the production will be moving to California for the next sequel. That’s not to take advantage of filming locations there, but rather to get a tax break. The California Film Commission just awarded $152 million in tax incentives to a dozen different TV shows, 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 notes 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. According to Polygon and confirmed by interviews in Vanity Fair, 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 glad to hear that Fallout season 2 is already moving forward? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
An Apple Original Film, the comedy-drama Fly Me to the Moon is set to receive a theatrical release (in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment) on July 12th before it starts streaming on Apple TV+. With its big screen debut just three months away, a trailer for Fly Me to the Moon has made its way online, and you can check it out in the embed above.
Directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Rose Gilroy (with Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn receiving story credit), the film is described as sharp and stylish and is set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing wunderkind Kelly Jones wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s already difficult task. When the President deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up and the countdown truly begins…
Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers) takes on the role of Kelly Jones, with Channing Tatum (Magic Mike) playing Cole Davis. Also in the cast are Nick Dillenburg (Orange Is the New Black), Anna Garcia (The Pembrook Brothers), Jim Rash (Community), Noah Robbins (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Colin Woodell (The Continental), Christian Zuber (The Morning Show), Donald Elise Watkins (Free State of Jones), Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), and Woody Harrelson (True Detective).
Speaking with People, Berlanti said, “The inspiration for this story was to craft a big, fun, smart original movie around whether or not the American government could have possibly faked the Apollo 11 moon landing, which is still the most-watched live TV event in the history of the world and has since become one of the most talked about conspiracy theories.“
Berlanti may be best known for producing TV shows like Riverdale, Superman & Lois, Gotham Knights, The Flash, Titans, You, Doom Patrol, Stargirl, Batwoman, Supergirl, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow. He previously directed the films The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, Life as We Know It, and Love, Simon.
What did you think of the Fly Me to the Moon trailer? Will you be checking this movie out when it reaches theatres in July, or will you wait to stream it on Apple TV+? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
There are a lot cult classics from the 1980s, but Road House stands somewhere near the top. Sure, many of its fans wouldn’t label it as such, since they lovingly, legitimately and unironically adore it. But there’s no use in arguing it belongs in one camp over another or that it is unapologetically everything it sets out to be. But it – and its cult following – couldn’t have happened without a few broken ribs, a don’t-take-no producer and some pervy late-night phone calls to a star’s spouse. Yes, it involves Bill Murray… So, pour some suds and rip some throats because we’re gonna find out: WTF Happened to this Movie?!
Road House comes from a script by David Lee Henry (a pseudonym for R. Lance Hill) and Hilary Henkin and tells of a dude with a mullet named Dalton hired to “cool” the Double Deuce bar, all while developing a romance with a doctor who has also caught the eye of a dastardly – by ‘80s movie standards, at least – businessman.
Coming to the table of superstar producer Joel Silver, Road House would be assigned to director Rowdy Herrington, who wasn’t entirely sold on the project as his follow-up to thriller Jack’s Back, but was convinced by Silver, who revealed that Patrick Swayze – a Hollywood darling after Dirty Dancing – would be starring. To also draw in any prospects, Silver summed up the movie as “boobs and bombs”, while Herrington “saw it as a cartoon…Broader than life. Brighter than life”, also noting that Silver had a penchant for making movies geared towards teenage boys.
As “peaceful warrior” James Dalton, Patrick Swayze would headline Road House, while Kelly Lynch (Cocktail, Drugstore Cowboy) would land love interest Dr. Elizabeth Clay. To prepare for her role, Lynch actually shadowed medical professionals…which we know now was completely useless since she doesn’t do any real medical work in the movie. Lynch wasn’t entirely sure if she even wanted the part, saying, “Okay, I don’t understand what this is. There’s a big-wheel truck, there’s a bad guy, there’s a doctor in a mini-dress, and there are bouncers…So many elements were thrown into this movie that it just didn’t make any sense to me.” But Silver reminded her she had a contract with United Artists and didn’t get much of a say, especially since original choice Annette Bening wouldn’t be hired due to her lack of chemistry with Swayze (she’s more of a Beatty gal).
Taking the part of Dalton’s mentor Wade Garrett would be Sam Elliott, another party who wasn’t interested at first, only being talked into it by Herrington, who told him, “If you don’t do this movie, I’m fucked.” But Silver – who Elliott called a “throwback to old Hollywood” – may have nailed it even better, telling the legend, “You’ve got a lot of baggage, and it makes you right for this part.” There, too, would be Ben Gazzara as Brad Wesley (a role first offered to James Garner, who turned it down), Kevin Tighe as Frank Tillman, and Red West as Red Webster, whose auto supply shop gets all blowed up in a stunt that cost $25,000! West actually has a pretty cool music background, as he was a close friend of Elvis and even a member of the Memphis Mafia. Also on the music front was blind guitarist Jeff Healey.
With a budget of $15 million, production on Road House commenced in April 1988, with filming taking place in California, a set standing in for the Missouri’s fake Double Deuce, although some interiors were shot inside of a now-defunct bar in CA called The Bandstand, also once called Cowboy Boogie. Other locations included Santa Clarita and Valencia.
It’s probably no surprise that much of the behind-the-scenes goodness of Road House stems from the action, so much of which seems so silly and dated 35 years after its release (even director Herrington said he wanted to pay homage to silent comedians the Keystone Kops!). What might be more of a shock is that the cast was encouraged to do their own stunts. As Elliott put it, “It was a very physical job. I mean, you hear all that bullshit about ‘It’s all stunt doubles’ and all that shit. Well, it isn’t. All the actors, as far as I know, did their own fighting. I fucking got the shit kicked out of me for the entire film.”
Still, none of it was possible without stunt coordinator Charlie Picerni, who had previously done stunts for Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop II and more, and nine-time black belter Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, who had a leg up in recognizing that Swayze could have been a pro kickboxer after seeing him in action. There, too, would be a lot of explosives work by Al Di Sarro, who Herrington said “might’ve been in prison for pyromania if he wasn’t in the film business.” We can picture that!
By pretty much all accounts, Road House was a fun set to be on. And yes, the cast knew how ridiculous some of the one-liners were, including that one, which was originally written as “Damn, boy, I thought you were good!”, although whether it was a Marshall Teague improv or a line tossed in by Joel Silver remains debated…Which brings us to the scene we all know and love:
The scene in question, in which Dalton chases down Jimmy Reno on foot and tackles him off of a motorcycle – the one stunt Swayze wasn’t allowed to perform (yet they let him take a 20-foot plunge into a truck; go figure!) – before launching into an epic fistfight. That fight – the high point of the movie – took a full five days and more than 70 takes to nail. And with it came the bumps, bruises and breaks that show up on screen. Teague (who got the role after Scott Glenn turned it down) took to antagonizing Swayze to get more out of the fight, firing up the star, who also wanted it all to look as real as possible. And real it was, with the two having to be broken up at one point because they thought Swayze and Teague were actually beating the shit out of each other!…which they kind of were, since Teague gave Swayze broken ribs, forcing him to undergo four total surgeries, while Swayze would also have 2.5 ounces of fluid drained from his knee. Who says “Pain don’t hurt”? Don’t worry, Teague got his, too, ending up with a broken eye socket…Despite the injuries, it was actually his haircut that Swayze called “the bane of my existence.” But it is a damn good fight, a standout of over-the-top hand-to-hand combat in ‘80s cinema, ending with one of the wildest moments of the decade: Swayze ripping out Reno’s throat. For that? Just one take.
But it wasn’t all pain on the set. There was some love, too – and we don’t just mean the flock of female fans were trying to get a glimpse – and probably more – of Swayze. As far as that moment between Swayze and Lynch, which starts against a fireplace, she remembered: “They really liked everything about the way that scene looked, with the blonde hair against the rocks behind me, but I was like, ‘Isn’t this kind of…mean?’ So they put a thin padding under my dress, so you can’t see it. But he’s still slamming me against the rocks, so I had to be careful not to hit my head. Thank God Patrick was so strong.” He, too, had some fond memories, saying, “The love scene is probably the hottest I’ve ever done, and clothes don’t even come off.”
It might not be that memorable for most of the male audience, but there is one family that can’t get enough of it. As it turns out, Bill Murray and his brothers have made it a habit to ring up Kelly Lynch’s husband, writer Mitch Glazer, every time that scene comes on, altering their voices and informing him, “You don’t know me, but your wife is getting slammed up against the wall by Patrick Swayze. She’s not putting up much of a fight.” For the Murray brothers, no time of night is off limits for the prank call. (Murray isn’t the only famous fan, though, as Anthony Bourdain counted himself among its biggest supporters.)
But long before the lewd messages, Road House had to hit theaters; and it did on May 19th, 1989, opening against newbiesFright Night 2 and Miracle Mile. But there would be other movies keeping it from hitting #1, with its $6 million opening weekend landing it just behind the previous week’s champ, See No Evil, Hear No Evil…and ahead of five-weeker Field of Dreams. And that’s where it would peak. With a total gross of $30 million, Road House may have doubled its budget but it wasn’t exactly a smash, barely beating out a re-release of Disney’s Peter Pan on the year-end charts.
Critically, it was a disaster, even going on to earn five Razzie nominations, tying for the most that year with The Karate Kid Part III and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. They were: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor (poor Ben Gazzara!), and Worst Screenplay, “losing” most to The Final Frontier.
But Road House’s reputation decades on can’t be denied. Sure, it has a lot of corn, a sprinkle of homoeroticism and easily mockable sequences, but it has actually proved useful in real-life situations. Following the 2014 murder of Eric Garner, which sparked outrage and protests against police departments for use of excessive force, the NYPD implemented the movie’s Three Simple rules as part of a new retraining program: 1) Never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected; 2) Take it outside. Never start anything inside the bar unless it’s absolutely necessary; and 3) Be nice…OK, so they did modify these a bit and we’re still waiting to see the long-term effects, but at least they weren’t getting inspiration from Denzel in Training Day…
The movie truly found its fanbase and would later do remarkably well on the home video market, already beginning to build a newfound fanbase. As such, it’s really no surprise that studios have gone back to the Road House well, first producing a 2006 direct-to-video sequel which followed the exploits of Dalton’s son, Shane. There, too, most surprisingly, was an off-Broadway production in 2003, whose full title is: Road House: The Stage Version Of The Cinema Classic That Starred Patrick Swayze, Except This One Stars Taimak From The 80’s Cult Classic “The Last Dragon” Wearing A Blonde Mullet Wig. Yes, there were multiple sold-out shows.
In 2015 – six years after the death of Patrick Swayze – a remake was on the table with Ronda Rousey starring and Nick Cassavetes directing. That was KO’d, but a new one was finally greenlit and is out in 2024 with Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead. But we won’t spend too much time here, as it has so much going on behind the scenes – original Road House writer R. Lance Hill claiming copyright infringement, the release moving from theatrical to streaming, the subsequent protests from director Doug Liman, the allegations of AI use to replicate actor’s voices amid the SAG-AFTRA strike – that it might end up getting its own “WTF Happened to This Movie?!” episode someday. But we should still note that Marshall Teague found the fight scenes “humorous” and that we highly doubt Jake Gyllenhaal saw the injuries that Patrick Swayze did.
But there’s just no replacing the original Road House, which has an intense following that has inspired theme nights and screenings, typically within college crowds. No doubt this was spawned partly by seemingly constant spots in AMC’s rotation…And we can still see exactly why Joel Silver called it “the best drive-in movie ever made”, even though most of us probably never saw it at the drive-in.
As Rowdy Herrington put it, “It’s harder to throw a meatball past a hungry dog than it is to make a picture that endures.” Now that’s a one-liner worthy of Road House!
We mustn’t dwell… no, not today, not on Rex Manning Day. Today marks the 30th anniversary of Rex Manning Day, the fictional day celebrated in the Allan Moyle disaffected teen comedy Empire Records. Rex Manning Day is celebrated to honor the memory and legacy of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who on April 8th was found dead in his Seattle mansion on Lake Washington Boulevard from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after dying on April 5, 1994.
Directed by Allan Moyle, Empire Records takes place over twenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults, thanks to each other and the manager. Dripping with attitude, pining, and real-life drama, Empire Records taps into the struggles of a generation by exploring social pressure, the importance of found family, and the power of music as a healing tool. Written by Carol Heikkinen, Empire Recordsstars Anthony LaPaglia, Robin Tunney, Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, Ethan Embry, Coyote Shivers, Brendan Sexton III, Rory Cochrane, and Maxwell Caufield.
Every April 8th, Empire Records fans recognize Rex Manning Day, an event in the film revolving around the fictional ’80s pop star who makes teenage hearts go pitter-pat. In Empire Records, Rex Manning, played smarmily by Maxwell Caufield, visits the Empire Records music store to sign autographs and promote his new single, “Say No More (Mon Amour).” Despite the song being an earworm, with its catchy hooks, suggestive lyrics, and hip-shaking rhythms, several Empire Records employees find his music (and personality) grating and cheesy.
While Rex Manning is a fictional character no one would aspire to, Kurt Cobain, whose body was found 30 years ago today, is an esteemed member of the 27 Club, referring to a list of famous musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. As Nirvana’s lead singer and guitarist, Kurt Cobain gave a voice to the voiceless with his angst-ridden lyrics, harsh guitar riffs, and beautiful yet tortured vocal stylings. While Nirvana formed in 1987, the band didn’t find its final member, drummer Dave Grohl, until 1990. Although countless bootlegs exist, Nirvana’s primary output includes the albums Bleach, Nevermind, Incesticide, In Utero, and MTV’s Unplugged in New York.
Empire Records proudly raises its middle finger to corporate America. It captures the rebellious spirit of ’90s teens and emphasizes the importance of reaching out to loved ones in times of crisis. When people wish each other a Happy Rex Manning Day, it’s to remind ourselves that we’re all stronger than we think, and there’s nothing as therapeutic as pressing Play on your favorite album and screaming at the sky.
From the director of acclaimed classics such as Max Payne and A Good Day to Die Hard, as well as the second-unit camera operator on Space Truckers, comes a movie made simply because its release date was badass. Join JoBlo Horror as we shout at the devil with The Omen. Welcome to our horror party, kids, where we take some horror films (good or bad) and make a fun game out of it. I’m Mike Conway, and because of the release of The First Omen, we are looking into the eyes of evil with The Omen released in 2006 (watch it HERE).
The Omen follows diplomat Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine. After Katherine unknowingly gives birth to a stillborn child, Robert is approached by a priest to take a newborn from a mother who had just died. As the years go by, grisly and mysterious deaths begin to surround their child, Damien. Robert is then approached by a priest who claims his son is the antichrist and must be killed. Now, with the help of a photographer… wait. I’m sorry. I was reading the summary of the first first Omen. Let’s do this again.
The Omen follows diplomat Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine. After Katherine unknowingly gives birth to a stillborn child, Robert is approached by a priest to take a newborn from a mother who had just died. As the years go by, grisly and mysterious deaths begin to surround their child, Damien. Robert is then approached by a priest who claims his son is the antichrist and must be killed. Now, with the help of a photographer, Robert tries to see if his boy really is the son of the devil and how he can be stopped.
So, what type of party is this movie? Well, according to our scale, this one looks to be best enjoyed with friends and a little of the devil weed. And as always, I’ll be making a drink to tie in with the movie.
EL ANTICHRISTO 1 ½ OZ TEQUILA ½ OZ LIME JUICE 1 OZ CRÈME DE CASSIS 3 OZ GINGER BEER
This one is all for you.
As with any game, there are some basic rules you can follow or modify. For today’s game, take a drink when:
Liev Schreiber doesn’t mumble his lines Every time “Thorn” is mentioned Every time “Damien” is mentioned When a priest appears Every time an actor from Harry Potter appears And finally, with any kill
If alcohol isn’t your bag, there are plenty of other things to choose from. Cannabis if legal in your state, delta 8, 9, 10, or whatever the hell number they’re at now, caffeine, hot sauce, anything. Just know your tolerance. This is supposed to be fun; we don’t want to send you to the hospital. Basically, don’t be a dumbass.
Is The Omen a worthy entry into the franchise, or did someone take the same “How to remake a horror movie like Gus Van Zant” class? Regardless, let’s break this flick to see why we feel it’s worthy of a party movie.
The movie opens with a priest checking out the stars in the Vatican observatory. And go ahead and take a drink because this priest is none other than the High Master of Durmstrang himself, Igor Karkaroff (DRINK – POTTER). What exactly is he looking at? Well, I’ll get to that in just a bit. We then cut to Robert Thorn, played by Liev Schreiber. He’s rushing to the hospital after finding out his wife is giving birth. “There’s been complications.” After learning his newborn baby died during the delivery, he is offered option B: to do a little switcharoo with another newborn whose mother had just died. But it’s totally cool because “She doesn’t know.” Robert agrees to it, and they name him Damien. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?
Several years pass, and as we see little Damien grow, the married couple remains looking the exact same, even keeping the same hairstyles. You know what? Bullshit. I had a lovely full of hair before my son was born. Now look at me.
After a freak accident causes the death of an ambassador, the Wild Thorns move to London and into a big house. Fast forward another few years, and Robert’s career is on the upswing as the youngest US ambassador. Which sounds fancy until you realize it comes with a side of supernatural chaos and even more bizarre deaths. Anarchy in the UK, amiright? Following the death of Damien’s nanny at his birthday party, Robert is approached by Father Brennan, who claims to know the truth about Damien’s origins. Meanwhile, photographer Keith Jennings, played by the fantastic David Thewlis (DRINK: HARRY POTTER), starts snapping pics that predict how folks will die.
The stay-at-home mom with no other job, Katherine, decides they need another nanny to replace the dead one. Enter Mrs. Baylock, played by Mia Farrow, who knows a thing or two about the spawns of Satan. She is very protective over Damien by making decisions left and right without consulting the Thorns, and even brings in a sweet little puppy home as extra protection. After Robert begins to believe something isn’t right with Damien, he pays a visit to Father Brennan, who tells him the boy is the Antichrist and must die. This sends Robert and Jennings on a quest to find the truth, where they meet up with Voldemort and Dumbledore (DRINK: HARRY POTTER), who tell them how to kill the boy. Will this Wild Thorn bury his son and rid the evil once and for all? Well…
You know exactly how this plays out if you have seen the original Richard Donner classic. Look, I’m not against remakes. Not at all. Just as long as you can bring something new and fresh to the table. When the teaser for this film dropped in 2006, I gotta be honest: I thought it was pretty badass we were getting another Omen movie on 6/6/06. But, as more trailers came out, I became less interested and ultimately forgot about it… until fairly recently, with the new one coming out. If you were like me, watching this for the first time, you probably said to yourself, “Wait, I’ve seen this before.” And you wouldn’t be wrong. While it’s not a COMPLETE shot-for-shot remake like Psycho, it’s almost word-for-word. In fact, screenwriter Dan McDermott was denied any writing credit since it was too close to the original script. Instead, original screenwriter David Seltzer got sole credit. However, instead of opening like the original, this opens with a priest seeing three comets, which signals Armageddon. Top that off with actual footage on the world today, and boom… that means it’s different, right? Don’t copy and paste something; sprinkle a few random lines and scenes and call it an original screenplay. That shit’s lazy. I’m looking at you, Disney remakes. However, there are some positives here. And that’s the kills. So, prepare your drink, and let’s play a game called
WHO DID IT BETTER?
The first one is probably the most iconic scene in the original. Only here, it looks like it’s taken place at Billy Madison’s kindergarten graduation. After Damien’s nanny has a staring match with this good boy, she heads up to the house’s roof, which conveniently has steps already in place at the ledge. She gets everyone’s attention, hilariously including these puppets, and shouts out the famous line. (“IT’S ALL FOR YOU”). Yeah, this is pretty much shot-for-shot, but it doesn’t mean it’s less effective. What helped make it so chilling in the first one was how realistic it looked and no music cues as she takes the jump. It’s the same thing here, with a little extra brutality added. And hey, afterward we get a little cameo from the original Damien himself. I call this one a tie.
Next on the list is Father Brennan. After Katherine suspects something isn’t right with her boy, Robert meets up with the overly anxious priest. He tells Robert he must kill the boy, but first has to go meet up with a man named Bugenhagen to show him how it’s done. Robert brushes this off and sends the frantic priest on his way. Now, it wouldn’t be a proper horror movie without a dramatic storm scene, would it? Brennan, caught in a torrential downpour, seeks refuge in a church. Unfortunately for him, it seems the Big Guy upstairs has other plans. A bolt of lightning strikes, and before you can say, “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple,” a steel rod impales Brennan. This scene is wonderfully shot. Much like the rest of the film, the main thing missing is the iconic score from Jerry Goldsmith. That being said, the remake wins the kill here.
Next up is Katherine. The setup to her death is all the same, with Damien knocking her over a rail inside the house. Now, I may get some gasps here, but I prefer Julia Stiles’ take on her over Lee Remick’s portrayal. Especially in this scene. I mean, shit, she even does her own stunt work here. But I digress. Unlike the previous kills, this one is completely different. In this one, Mrs. Baylock visits Katherine in the hospital. At first, she seems comforting until she pulls out a syringe and administers about Ten CCs She Hates About Death. What the hell is up with hospitals in horror movies? Where are the fucking nurses when the call alarm is going off? You know what? Let’s ask a professional if this death is medically accurate in a new segment I’d like to call:
WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH HOSPITALS IN HORROR MOVIES?
While it could be a little hazardous, the amount of air she put in the IV would not be fatal. An air bubble in excess of 150 cc would be the closest to cause an embolism.
And that was, “What the hell is up with hospitals in horror movies?”
Even though Katherine’s death is goofy as fuck in the original, Mrs. Baylock is so menacing that I have no choice but to give 1976 the win here.
Next is Keith Jennings. As I’ve said before, Keith’s photographs have predicted the previous deaths. Unfortunately for him, he falls under that category. After Keith and Robert’s Bogus Journey to visit Bugenhagen, Robert declares he will not take his son’s life. Keith says screw that noise, and he will do it himself. As he walks away, we get a pretty great cameo of Death from Final Destination. In both films, they get decapitated in pretty gnarly ways, but in this one, it’s more brutal instead of the head of a dummy flying through a window. The remake wins here.
Like the original, the setup is the same for Mrs. Baylock. Robert returns home, grabs a pair of scissors, and heads upstairs to a sleeping Damien. He finds the number of the beast under his hair, which leads to Mrs. Baylock interfering. After a brief scuffle and a swift kick to the face, Robert takes a screaming Damien out of the house and throws him in the car. Baylock then returns mad as hell with a random sledgehammer that just suddenly appeared. Robert then puts the pedal to the metal and sends Baylock to meet her master. The original wasn’t so climatic as this, but that doesn’t mean it was worse. Instead, it takes place entirely in the house, but the struggle is more intense and shot so damn well. Plus, we get that wonderful Goldsmith score. OG for the win.
Which finally brings us to the end with the death of Robert. Mr. Thorn has had enough of this shit and rushes Damien to the church to sacrifice his boy. Just before he strikes down on a pleading Damien, the police show up and shoot Robert dead. Both are pretty identical here, so really, this is all up to who performed it better. Liev Schreiber is a fantastic actor, but for some reason, he felt completely emotionless the entire film until this point, when we finally get something from him. The same goes for Damien. Look. I can’t knock a kid’s acting, but the remake’s Damien looks like they went out of their way to make the child look evil as shit from the beginning. The original still had that boyish innocence to him that made you feel Robert’s pain when he chose to sacrifice his son. The original wins here, and with a score of 3 to 2 and one tie, the 1976 film wins overall.
And that’s it. The Omen was released in 2006, and it was heavily promoted as being released on 6/6/06. It did well financially but was critically panned. It’s really not terrible, but in the end, the remake is like that B-movie you stumble upon late at night, hoping for some scares but settling for a few laughs instead. It’s not exactly Oscar-worthy material, but hey, if you’re in the mood for some devilishly campy fun, it might just hit the spot. Just don’t expect it to outshine the original—it’s more like a doomed photocopy of a masterpiece.
What movies would you like us to cover in the future? Let us know in the comments and we will see you on the next one.
A couple previous episodes of the Best Horror Party Movies series can be seen below. To see more, and to check out some of our other shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Production on MaXXXine, the sequel to director Ti West‘s films Pearl (watch it HERE) and X (watch that one at THIS LINK), wrapped way back in May of 2023, and we still have a few months to wait before A24 gives it a theatrical release on July 5th. To hold us over while we wait – and to give an idea of what the movie has in store for us – A24 has unveiled a trailer for MaXXXine, and you can check it out in the embed above!
MaXXXine is written and directed by West. Mia Goth reprises the role of X survivor Maxine Minx, a burlesque performer and adult film actress with the goal of being a star. The film has the following synopsis: In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past. As you can see in the trailer, the Hollywood setting even allows for a visit to the Bates Motel.
The horror magazine Scream learned that the film is described as being “a good old whodunit slasher,” while Goth described it as “a superhero movie.” She said that because, “Maxine, as a character, has come a long way. She’s a survivor, she’s gone through a lot. When we meet her again, in this new world that she’s in, she’s really fought for everything that she has, and she’s not about to give that up. She’s going to fight for what she has. She’s a badass. There’s a strength to her. And she’s a really proactive, determined, focused woman. She goes after what she wants, and she’s not really going to take no for an answer.“
Goth and singer Halsey (who can be seen with Goth in the first look image at the bottom of this article) are joined in the cast by Kevin Bacon (Tremors), Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet), singer Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Bobby Cannavale (Netflix’s The Watcher), Lily Collins (Emily in Paris), and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Esposito will be playing an agent for adult film and Z-list movie actors, Debicki’s character is a film director, Monaghan and Canavale are playing LAPD detectives, and Bacon is playing a private detective.
MaXXXine is being produced by A24, Ti West, Jacob Jaffke, Kevin Turen, and Harrison Kreiss. Mia Goth serves as executive producer.
What did you think of the MaXXXine trailer? Will you be watching this movie when it’s released in July? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
CiniemaCon 2024 is upon us, and as we prepare for a deluge of news, previews, and commentary from the show floor, JoBlo’s Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, has spotted the official title for Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator sequel. Forgoing subtitles, such as Gladiator: Blood on the Sand or Gladiator: Wicked Empire, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel is titled Gladiator II. While the title is simple, it aptly includes the Roman numeral for two. I see what you did there, Mr. Scott. Sometimes, the obvious choice is also the correct one.
Gladiator 2 is one of the year’s hotly-anticipated films after Ridley Scott’s original, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Wilson, became a favorite among film buffs, with some calling it “magnificent,” “compelling,” and “richly enjoyable.” Near the film’s release, you couldn’t go more than a day without someone shouting, “Are you not entertained?” in your face, referring to Crowe’s iconic character Maximus Decimus Meridius. The quote quickly became as memeable as violently kicking someone into an abyss, like in Zack Snyder’s 300.
Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers, Normal People, Aftersun) leads Gladiator II, taking over the lead from Russell Crowe’s Maximus. Mescal plays Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who is fully grown in the sequel. The story takes place several years after Maximus’ death in the original. Before he died, Maximus rescued Lucius and his mother from the clutches of the young man’s uncle, Commodus (Phoenix). The event left an impression on Lucius, who aspires to be as formidable as Maximus as he braves a harsh world.
Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Denzel Washington (Philadelphia), Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Matt Lucas (Wonka), Fred Hechinger (The Woman in the Window), Derek Jacobi (Dead Again), and May Calamawy (Moon Knight) join Mescal as primary cast members in Gladiator II. Ridley Scott directs the Gladiator sequel from a script by David Scarpa (All The Money In the World).
The Gladiator II display at CinemaCon is a massive shield with the words “What we do in life echoes in eternity” etched into the formidable material. Beneath what looks like a crest (or the head of a statue), we see the title Gladiator II. The display is in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where CinemaCon takes place. There’s lots to see from the show floor, so check back later today for a look at this year’s CinemaCon offerings.
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II arrives in theaters on November 22, 2024.
Many people may not know this, but before Steven Seagal’s action movie heyday, he worked as a martial arts instructor and choreographer. Most famously, he was super agent Michael Ovitz’s martial arts teacher. Ovitz, notoriously, thought he could make anyone a movie star, and proved it by securing Steven Seagal a movie deal at Warner Bros, where he made Above the Law… and the rest was history.
Another guy Steven Seagal trained was Sean Connery, who was one of Ovitz’s first major clients. The agent paired Connery up with Seagal to get him into shape for the unofficial James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again. Connery was fifty-two at the time and had a couple of fight sequences in the film, so Seagal was brought in to whip him into shape. One day, while sparring, Seagal broke Connery’s wrist. The urban legend is that Connery did something that made him angry, and the assault was deliberate, but that seems hard to believe. Connery himself was fond of telling the story, always portraying it as an accident, such as in this interview he did with Jay Leno back in the nineties.
“We had this training in the building where I had an apartment, and he was really very good,” Connery says, mentioning that the training was in Aikido. Connery admits he got a little cocky because “I thought I knew what I was doing. The principle is that it’s defence so its a pyramid, and I got a bit flash and I did that (holding arm outside the pyramid) and (miming a chopping motion) he broke my wrist! It was so well put together here that I still have it…broken.” Indeed, Connery tells Leno that twelve years after the incident a doctor told him the wrist was still broken, and maintains it still gave him trouble in certain motions.
It should be said that Connery doesn’t seem all that fazed or even angry in the telling of the story, and at the time Seagal’s ego was in check enough that it (probably) was just that – an accident. Of course, his egomania did get the better of him as time went on, such as an infamous story we’ve written about here that involved him yelling at Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau of all people, and the fact that he only has forty-one minutes of screentime in Under Siege. Whatever the case may be, I maintain that the first five movies Steven Seagal made (Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, Out for Justice and Under Siege) are all pretty awesome, although you can absolutely stop there and – with the possible exception of Executive Decision – pretty much discard everything else he ever did.
Do you think it was an accident that Seagal broke Connery’s wrist, or do you believe the urban legend that Seagal was angry? Let us know in the comments.
Roland Emmerich is officially heading back to television, teasing his upcoming series Those About to Die. That sounds like it could have been the title of most of his works, but this time around Emmerich is stepping into the arena to focus on the world of gladiators.
Roland Emmerich took to Instagram over the weekend to show off new promotional art for Those About to Die which features star Anthony Hopkins and the release date: July 18th, 2024. He captioned the photo by writing, “For there are those about to rise and… THOSE ABOUT TO DIE”. Peacock has also released the teaser, although don’t expect to see any footage.
It’s a solid enough poster which seems designed to try to snag some leftover Game of Thrones fans with its stark imagery, dreary facial expressions and font style. Whether or not Those About to Die matches the visual aesthetic or goes for something unique to Emmerich is something we’ll have to wait to check out but we can see Emmerich delivering a solid series for Peacock here.
Those About to Die – which is based on Daniel P. Mannix’s book – sounds like something that could have fit with the Starz lineup a handful of years ago, but now that Peacock is trying to make a name for themselves with original programming, it could be a welcome home for Emmerich, especially as their first historical drama.
While announcing Those About to Die, Emmerich said, “I have always been fascinated by the history of the Roman Empire…So much still seems relevant for our society today – from the entanglement of politics and sports to the disciplines of the competitions, which haven’t changed much either over the last 2000 years. The most electrifying spectacles for the masses still involve two men in an arena, beating each other up, and the chariots of today are called race cars whose drivers still crash and often pay with their lives.”
Like his star Anthony Hopkins, Roland Emmerich hasn’t done a whole lot of television as of late. While Hopkins did at least have an important role on Westworld, it has been over a decade since Emmerich worked on the small screen, which will no doubt be a draw for his fans. But as he all know, this isn’t the first time Anthony Hopkins was glad he ate ‘er!
Are you looking forward to Those About to Die? Let us know below!
Sometimes your entire world can change in a single moment. For a young Tia Carrere’s world became more excellent one trip a local grocery store where the parents of a man who was producing a movie saw her and told her about this movie their son was shooting. This would lead Tia Carrere to land a role in the film Aloha Summer. She says she was super nervous because she had never acted before and hadn’t even thought of it as an option in her life but she did it! Ms Carrere grew up wanting to be a singer…. and she did that too!
After rocking everyone’s world in the Wayne’s World cinematic universe film franchise, Tia Carrere became a household name in the early nineties while also standing toe to toe with some of the biggest names in the business. But after a few bad turns at the box office it seemed she was destined for the direct to video bins that would lead her into a steady career of TV appearances that never seemed to match the immense talent she displayed when she first started. With two Grammy wins to her name and a Disney live action remake that might not be horrible in the pipeline, its time we ask that ever important question: WTF Happened to Tia Carrere.
Early roles
But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began on her birthday 1967, Hawaii. Carrere would move to Los Angeles at the age of 17 and begin dating a man who acted as her manager. The man was a few decades her senior and although landing Carrere some gigs on shows like Star Search, The A-Team, MacGyver and General Hospital would end up stealing all of her money and leaving her homeless. Luckily she had a Modeling Agent who let her crash at their place. Carrere says she never even thought about going home as she came out to L.A with one goal in mind, there was never a plan B.
She was landing auditions for bigger roles including a chance to play David Hasselhoff’s girlfriend on Baywatch when she was presented with a new script that featured a strong female character that needed to have great style and most importantly could sing. For Carrere, it was the role of a lifetime that she knew she could nail. That role was of Cassandra Wong in the big screen adaptation of the hit Saturday Night Live sketch Wayne’s World which would go on to be the highest grossing SNL sketch turned movie of all time pulling in over $183 million on a $20 million budget and making us all feel like we were not worthy of Tia Carrere’s talents. She would even be nominated for the first ever Most Desirable Female at the MTV Movie Awards.
From there, Tia Carrere became the “it” girl of the early nineties. She wasn’t just another pretty face on the big screen, she was a multi-talented performer with screen presence that could stand up to the biggest stars, which she did when she starred opposite Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes in the $107 million grossing Rising Sun in 1993 before returning to her star making role later that year in Wayne’s World 2, although this one didn’t light up the box office as much as the first one earning $72 million against a $40 million budget, critics and audiences alike agreed that Carrere stole every scene she was in. While the cast and crew of Wayne’s World would reunite, virtually, during the pandemic for the Josh Gad hosted Reunited Apart, where Carrere would show that after all these years, she’s still got that star power!
True Lies
It would be that star power that would land her one of her biggest roles ever when she appeared opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the James Cameron directed True Lies where she would play a worthy antagonist with equal parts beauty and crazy! While many of us fell in love with her as the perfect woman in the Wayne’s World movies, her performance in True Lies showed a genuine range she possessed as an actress… and even as the villain we all still fell in love with her which was in large part due to her dance scene with Schwarzenegger which would nab the pair a Best Dance Sequence nomination from the MTV Movie Awards while she would receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Saturn Awards.
In 1993, Carrere would fulfill her lifelong dreams by releasing her debut album.. titled Dream! The album would garner some solid reviews throughout the years, and would even go platinum in the Philippines. With her voice appearing over the final credits of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as she sang the song I Never Even told You
There was no denying Carrere had a knack for comedy and in the early 90’s there kind of was no bigger comedy star than Pauly Shore, if you don’t believe us, go check out our WTF Happened to Pauly Shore video! So it would be no surprise when Carrere signed on the dotted line to take on the female lead in Shore’s film Jury Duty in 1995. The only problem was, this was when Shore’s films started to dip at the box office as Jury Duty could only manage $17 million off a $21 million budget.
Relic Hunter
From there the remainder of the 90’s turned into a bunch if direct to video titles like The Immortals, for which she also was an Associate Producer on, Hostile Intentions, Hollow Point, Natural Enemy, Top of the World, Scar City, 20 Dates, Five Aces while also still showing up in theaters a few times in films like Kull The Conqueror which was a massive dud only generating $6.1 million worldwide and the parody film High School High which only garnered $21 million.
She would close out the 90’s by shedding her wholesome perfect girlfriend image for the scandalous film My Teacher’s Wife where she plays, well, you get the picture! On TV, Carrere would appear in the shows Murder One and Veronica’s Closet before landing the lead role in the series Relic Hunter which would run for 3 seasons and 66 episodes and nab her an ALMA Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Syndicated Drama Series before discovering the world of voice acting when she landed gigs on Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child and Hercules which would make way for her entry into the world of Disney Animated Films with 2002’s Lily & Stitch where she would voice Lilo’s older sister and legal guardian. A role she would reprise several times over the years in projects such as the direct to video Stitch: The Movie (2003), Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-2006), Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) and 2006’s Leroy & Stitch.
From the early 2000’s on, Carrere would appear in a ton of limited or direct to video titles such as Back in the Day (2005), Dark Honeymoon (2008), Wild Cherry (2009), Hard Breakers (2010), You May Not Kiss The Bride (2011) and Gunshot Straight (2014) among others while her TV career has been filled with noteworthy projects like The O.C, Nip/Tuck, CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, Family Guy, Blue Bloods with recurring roles on shows like In Plain Sight and showing off her pitch perfect comedic skills as Richard Lewis’ girlfriend who enjoys small talk on Curb your Enthusiasm. While also lending her talented vocals to the video games Saints Row and Saints Row IV as Lin. She would also have the distinct pleasure, I guess you would call it, of being fired by the Future President of the United States when she was Fired in the fifth week of the fifth season of Celebrity Apprentice. It would seem the fifth week of whatever competition program she was on was her achilles heel as she was also eliminated in the fifth week or the second season of Dancing With The Stars.
Music
Of course one area where Carrere has truly shined is her music. Despite her first album, 1993’s Dream not being a hit in the states, her passion for music never left her and after a 14 year break she would return with the Hawaiian inspired album Hawaiiana which would land Carrere her first ever Grammy Nomination for Best Hawaiian Music Album. She would follow that up a year later with the album ‘Ikena which would see her become a Grammy Winning Artist when she won in that same category. She would follow that pattern by releasing the 2009 album He Nani which would be nominated for Best Hawaiian Music Album in 2009, and then go on to win that award the following year for her album Huana Ke Aloha.
After toiling away in films that never really garnered much of a response like Showdown in Manila (2016) and the animated The Legend of Hallowaiian (2018), Carrere would land a series regular role on the RuPaul created Netflix series AJ and the Queen playing a scene stealing villain that Carrere has said she loves to play because she gets to just chew the scenery while performing. Sadly the series was cancelled after just a single season. But she would return to movie theaters in 2022 with the comedy Easter Sunday (which we interviewed her for)and earlier this year she would appear in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, so there’s that.
Where is Tia Carrere now?
And that is where we find Ms. Carrere today, an actress who has had an over 30 year career in a business where such things aren’t always the norm. Seeing her pop up on your screen is like seeing an old friend, there is a familiarity we all share with her and that is because she was one of the first woman to command the screen with her sheer bad ass-ness without being an action hero. She was a rock star that we all fell in love with. Of course being a music star is where she is most comfortable and that is where you can still find her today, up on the stage singing some of her now iconic Hawaiian songs. And despite having big theatrical hits over the years, we may have seen nothing yet as she is set to star in the live action version of Lilo & Stitch. It is for those reasons, and so many more, that no one should give a F about what the F happened to Tia Carrere, because she is doing just fine!
