We haven’t seen the last of Percy Jackson as Disney has announced that season 2 of the fantasy series is on the way.
Disney CEO Bob Iger made the announcement of the official renewal of Percy Jackson and the Olympians during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. The second season will feature the return of Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood. It will be based on The Sea of Monsters, the second installment of Rick Riordan’s best-selling book series.
“Rich in magic, wonder, adventure and heart, ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ captivated the imaginations of viewers of all ages everywhere,” said Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television. “We’re thrilled to embark on an exciting new quest and a season two with Rick Riordan, our fantastic partners at 20th Television, and the exceptional ensemble of cast and creative talent that bring this story to life.” Rick Riordan added, “I can’t wait to bring the next season of Percy Jackson to Disney+! Raise anchors. Hoist the mainsail. All hands on deck, demigods. We’re heading for the Sea of Monsters!“
The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was a big success for Disney+, with the premiere garnering 26.2 million views in its first three weeks on the streaming service. The first season now has over 110 million hours streamed to date. The series seems to have fared much better than the two feature film adaptations from over a decade ago, so I’m sure fans are grateful about that. Even the previous Percy Jackson, Logan Lerman, has sung the praises of the new series.
One question that remains is how they will handle the character of Zeus, who was portrayed by the late Lance Reddick. The season finale featured a tribute to the actor, but as Zeus remains an important part of the Percy Jackson novels, I’m sure they will have to recast the character for Percy Jackson season 2.
You’re welcome… again. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced today that Moana 2 is in the works. The original animated movie was released in 2016 and proved to be quite the hit, grossing $682 million worldwide, and featured more than a few earworms. The sequel is clearly further along than expected, as Iger revealed that the animated movie will actually hit theaters later this year on November 27th.
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise,” said Iger, “and we can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 comes to theaters this November.” A first-look image and a special look at the film have also been released; you can check those out below.
Moana 2 will take “audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.” Dave Derrick Jr. directed the sequel, with music by Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina.
While you would think that Dwayne Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho would be back to reprise their roles of Maui and Moana, the press release makes no mention of them or any cast members. Here’s hoping that we’ll get an official announcement of their return at a later date.
If you’re wondering how the sequel seemingly came out of nowhere, Iger mentioned that it had originally been developed as a TV series for Disney+ before they decided to transform it into a feature film. In addition to Moana 2, there’s also a live-action Moana movie in development. Hamilton director Thomas Kail is slated to direct the movie, and Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role of Maui in addition to producing through his Seven Bucks Productions banner.
Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures recently teamed up to produce the horror film Late Night With the Devil, headed up by the Australian writing and directing duo of Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 BloodyAcres) and starring David Dastmalchian – whose previous credits include The Boogeyman, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and The Suicide Squad. One of my most highly anticipated releases of the year, Late Night With the Devil is set to reach theatres, courtesy of IFC Films, on March 22nd, then will be heading to the Shudder streaming service on April 19th. With those dates drawing near, a promo for Late Night With the Devil has made its way online and can be seen in the embed at the bottom of this article… and it promises that Halloween 1977 is going to be a hell of a night, thanks to the TV programming schedule.
Late Night With the Devil is a “supernatural chiller” that tells the story of the live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Dastmalchian plays Jack Delroy, the host of the show Night Owls.
Colin and Cameron Cairnes provided the following statement: “In the ’70s and ’80s there was something slightly dangerous about late-night TV. Talk shows in particular were a window into some strange adult world. We thought combining that charged, live-to-air atmosphere with the supernatural could make for a uniquely frightening film experience.”
Late Night With the Devil has been making the festival rounds, racking up awards as it goes. The film had its premiere South by Southwest, won best screenplay at Sitges Film Festival, and won both best feature film and best lead performance (for Dastmalchian) at Toronto After Dark.
Dastmalchian had this to say about the IFC Films and Shudder distribution deal: “Playing Jack Delroy in Late Night With the Devil was a once-in-a-lifetime role that haunted me and changed the way I look at my work forever. IFC Films and Shudder are the perfect partners to bring this film to audiences. I’m so grateful to the Cairnes brothers for their craftsmanship and to all of the festival fans who have created an incredible rumble about Late Night With the Devil!“
Spooky Pictures was founded by It producer Roy Lee and the Paranormal Activity franchise’s Steven Schneider. They are producing Late Night With the Devil alongside John Molloy, Derek Dauchy, and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni and Adam White. Dastmalchian serves as an executive producer with Rami Yasin and Lake Mungo director Joel Anderson.
Are you looking forward to Late Night With the Devil? Check out this promo, then let us know by leaving a comment below:
Dakota Johnson is giving audiences something to chew on about Hollywood’s inner workings when she’s not in the Amazon researching spiders with her mom. Speaking with L’Officiel, the Madame Web star got candid about the challenges of movie making and how executives could be stifling creative minds in the streaming arena. Last year, Johnson’s experience with her film Daddio opened her eyes to several problems plaguing the film industry. The film, which also stars Sean Penn, encountered several challenges during production, highlighting the uphill battle of selling a “riskier” idea to studios.
“We made a movie called ‘Daddio ‘that was sold at Telluride to Sony Classics, which was amazing, but it took a lot of fighting to get that made,” Johnson said. “People are just so afraid, and I’m like, ‘Why? What’s going to happen if you do something brave?’ It just feels like nobody knows what to do and everyone’s afraid. That’s what it feels like. Everyone who makes decisions is afraid. They want to do the safe thing and the safe thing is really boring.”
Unafraid to mention the elephant in the room, Johnson added that she’s “discovering that it’s really f*cking bleak in this industry. It is majorly disheartening.”
“The people who run streaming platforms don’t trust creative people or artists to know what’s going to work, and that is just going to make us implode,” she continued. “It’s really heartbreaking. It’s just f*cking so hard. It’s so hard to get anything made. All of the stuff I’m interested in making is really different, and it’s unique and it’s very forward in whatever it is.”
Speaking of risk, Dakota Johnson’s Marvel movie Madame Web spins a web in theaters on Valentine’s Day, and audiences are already nervous about Sony’s latest chapter of the studio’s expanding Spider-Verse. After Sony and Marvel’s Morbius left red in Sony’s ledger, fans of superhero cinema are less inclined to give the live-action Spider-Verse the benefit of the doubt. However, Dakota Johnson says some aspects of the film have made her feel confident about the project.
“When the script came along, I loved the idea of a superhero being a young woman whose mind was extremely powerful. I liked the dynamic between her and these three young women; how they genuinely protect and support and care for each other,” Johnson said about taking the lead in Sony and Marvel’s Madame Web. “And so, it just seemed different to me and it was way more grounded and real and gritty. I just thought it was an interesting way to experience that world.”
“In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures… if they can all survive a deadly present.”
Madame Webfeatures Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon, Emma Roberts as Mary Parker, and Adam Scott as Ben Parker. Zosia Mamet, Jill Hennessy, Tahar Rahim, Celeste O’Connor, and Mike Epps star as primary cast members.
Do you agree with Dakota Johnson’s assessment of Hollywood? Would you like to see studios take more risks to create original entertainment? Let us know in the comments below.
Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire (read our review HERE), the first part of director Zack Snyder’s two-part sci-fi epic, has been available to watch on the Netflix streaming service for over a month, and now we’re getting ready for the April 19th release of the follow-up Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver. With its release date just two months away, Rebel Moon Part Two has received its official rating from the Motion Picture Association ratings board: PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, brief strong language and suicide. Also earning a PG-13 rating this week is the Blumhouse horror film Imaginary, which reaches theatres on March 8th.Imaginary got its PG-13 for some violent content, drug material and language.
Neither one of these ratings comes as a surprise. Many Blumhouse movies, from Insidious to Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN, and Night Swim have PG-13 ratings. As for Rebel Moon, not only did the first movie have a PG-13 rating, but we already know these films are going to have extended, R-rated cuts down the line. The three hour, R-rated version of Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire is expected to be released this summer.
Snyder has always been open about the fact that he’s hoping “a massive IP and a universe that can be built out” from the foundation of Rebel Moon. He crafted the story for Rebel Moon with 300 co-writer Kurt Johnstad, and the pair wrote the screenplay with Army of the Dead co-writer Shay Hatten. The events of the two films, which draw inspiration from Seven Samurai, are set in motion when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate, the colonists dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.
Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle, the warriors must face the truths of their pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.
The films star Sofia Boutella (The Mummy), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II), Ray Fisher (Justice League), Doona Bae (The Host), Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Staz Nair (Supergirl), E. Duffy (whose previous credits are all short films), Charlotte Maggi (MaveriX), Sky Yang (Tomb Raider), Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones), Alfonso Herrera (Ozark), Cary Elwes (Saw), Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal), and Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves).
Imaginary is the latest team-up between Blumhouse and director Jeff Wadlow – who had previously collaborated on the 2018 film Truth or Dare and the 2020 horror version of Fantasy Island. The film sees DeWanda Wise of Jurassic World: Dominion taking on the role of Jessica, who moves back into her childhood home with her family, and her youngest stepdaughter Alice develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey. Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more concerning, Jessica intervenes, only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believes him to be.
Wadlow wrote the screenplay for Imaginary with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland.
Are you looking forward to Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver and/or Imaginary? What do you think of these movies receiving PG-13 ratings? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
We’re just weeks away from the March 1st theatrical release of Dune: Part Two, the second half of director Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel Dune… and the whole time we’ve been gearing up to see this movie, one element of it that has been getting a lot of hype is the presence of sandworms. Cast member Javier Bardem said he wanted to ride a sandworm in the film, the actors said the production included “a main unit, a second unit, and a sandworm unit“, and there are tie-in popcorn buckets designed to look like sandworms. Now an extended sneak preview has made its way online, and it features a clip from the film where our hero Paul Atreides learns to ride a sandworm! You can check it out in the embed at the bottom of this article.
Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune: Part One (watch or buy it HERE) introduced viewers to Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding”, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Coming to us from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Chalamet and Bardem are joined in the cast by Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Walken, Souheila Yacoub, and Léa Seydoux.
Villeneuve is producing Dune: Part Two with Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Patrick McCormick. Spaihts serves as executive producer alongside Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Richard P. Rubinstein, and John Harrison. Kevin J. Anderson is creative consultant.
Villeneuve and Spaihts wrote the screenplay for Dune: Part Two, and The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has revealed that he worked on the script as well.
Are you interested in Dune: Part Two, and are you looking forward to seeing the sandworm action on the big screen? Let us know by leaving a comment below – but first, check out this preview clip:
Pachinko and After Yangdirector Kogonada is ready to begin work on his next feature, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, and he’s bringing Academy Award nominees Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell along for the ride. The acting duo stars in Kogonada’s new project, with production by Imperative Entertainment. The endeavor boasts an original script by The Menu writer Seth Reiss, with Kogonada behind the camera.
Plot details remain a mystery, though Deadline says A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is described as “an imaginative tale of two strangers and the unbelievable journey that connects them.” Cameras roll in the Spring in California, with 30West financing the feature.
Margot Robbie’s participation in Kogonada’s film is intriguing because last month, The Suicide Squad and Barbie actress said she was considering taking a short break from acting. Robbie is concerned people are “probably getting sick of her,” and she does not want to outstay her welcome.
“This is the longest I haven’t acted on a set because we finished Barbie in October of 2022,” Robbie revealed. “So, it’s already been more than a year since I was on set as an actor, and other than Covid, that’s the first time that’s ever happened.” Robbie told Deadline in January. It would seem that enough time has ticked by for Robbie to get back in front of the cameras, and with Colin Farrell as her co-star, it’s shaping up to be one hell of a return.
Meanwhile, Colin Farrell and Kogonada worked together on 2021’s After Yang, a drama set in the near future where a family reckons with questions of love, connection, and loss after their A.I. helper unexpectedly breaks down. Farrell’s next acting gig is for the upcoming Apple TV+ series Sugar. Sugar is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture, and television history: the private detective story. Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel’s family secrets, some very recent, others long-buried.
The series also stars Kirby, Amy Ryan, James Cromwell, Anna Gunn, Dennis Boutsikaris, Nate Corddry, Sydney Chandler, and Alex Hernandez.
What do you think about Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell teaming up for Kogonada’s next feature? Did you see After Yang? What did you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
The episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? covering The Silence of the Lambs was Written by Mike Holtz, Narrated by Adam Walton, Edited by Victoria Verduzco, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
A serial killer who has excellent taste in music but happens to skin women alive. Another serial killer who eats his victims and sometimes wears their faces. A prison inmate who throws his bodily fluids in the face of passers-by and freaking BUGS. Welcome to the 1992 Academy Awards Ceremony. Wait, what? That’s right kids! Do you enjoy listening to Primus and want to see Hannibal Lecter make potato chips out of each one of your eyelids? Once upon a time, horror put on its best face; LITERALLY, and was the belle of the fanciest ball of them all. And every little girl deserves to go to the ball. Just how did our beloved little genre shed the judgment of the people to reach the tippity top of the mountain? Let’s find out together just WTF happened to 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs.
In 1981 Thomas Harris published a novel titled Red Dragon which featured an FBI profiler who must turn to an imprisoned serial killer and cannibal to capture another killer dubbed “the tooth fairy”. Though, I must admit I feel weird reducing the nuanced man known as Hannibal Lecter to the term “cannibal”. I feel like we should call him a “fancy” cannibal or something? But that just reminds me of ketchup. The book was so successful it would be adapted into a film in 1986 starring Brian Cox as the titular character, titled Manhunter. The film was met (at the time) with minimal success but that didn’t stop Thomas Harris from penning his sequel novel. You guessed it: Electric Boogaloo 2: Secret of the Ooze. Okay, you got me. The Silence of the Lambs (watch it HERE). This book was met with even more praise for Harris and was adapted as well into the movie we’re talking about today: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. I swear, that was the last one.
Originally, The Silence of the Lambs was to be produced in part by filmmaker-friendly Orion Films and partly financed as well by the great Gene Hackman, who was set to direct and possibly star in the film as agent in charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, Jack Crawford. Hackman was excited enough to put up $250,000 of his own money to help finance the film and writer Ted Tally was chosen to adapt the screenplay from the novel. Oddly enough, while the script was still being written, Hackman decided that the film was just too violent and that there was no way he could do it. Later that year, Hackman would build his very own steakhouse from the ground up only to realize he was a vegetarian on opening day. Orion was cool with it and refunded his money.
Executive VP of Orion at the time, Mike Medavoy told screenwriter Ted Tally (who no doubt was wearing his brown pants to work every day at this moment) “Keep writing, don’t give up and when you finish the script, we will find another director”. Medavoy reached out to his frequent collaborator and director of Married to the Mob, Jonathan Demme. It seemed like a strange match at the time with even Medavoy stating “Most people thought I was really being foolish to go with Jonathan on a picture like this, but I knew his work and I felt like he could do a really good type of thriller.” a bet that unlike most of mine this past weekend….paid off. Does anyone have a quarter I can borrow?
Demme originally declined the offer, taking a quick look at it and deciding it was just another run of the mill slasher but when encouraged to look deeper he realized the project had potential. With a director and a script in place, it was time to cast the role of Hannibal Lecter. A role so pivotal that it would have to be a performance that would eat people’s faces off. Literally. The legendary Sean Connery was reached out to but declined due to the characters’ chest hair not being shown enough. Unfortunately, that’s a lie (I think), like Hackman, the film proved to be too violent for Connery. The unfair stigma of horror movies being beneath other forms of theatrical art striking once again; little did they know this picture would be the one to break that stigma possibly more than any other before it or since. That is until the Winnie the Pooh slasher sequel releases. Then they’ll have no choice but to respect us!
Moving on, the list of actors once considered for the role of Lecter would become more intimidating than Donnie Darko’s Iowa test scores. It was a list that would feature Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Dennis Hoffman, Forest Whitaker, and Daniel Day Lewis. But the movie gods knew only one man was meant to play the role and finally… Anthony Hopkins came into the fold. Hopkins said of receiving the script for the first time “I thought it was a children’s story. A Bedtime story. And I knew when I read the script it was probably going to change a lot of things in my life. This is that sort of once in a lifetime script that comes along.” But Anthony! Isn’t it too violent? WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? Hopkins later elaborated “I understood the man and how to play him. I knew he was the shadowy figure that lurks inside of all of us. And I don’t know why I have an instinct about those kinds of things, but I do. I’m fascinated by the shadow side of our psyches because they are also the most creative sides of us and if we deny the shadow side the dark side of our nature you live a pretty bland or destructive life because it will come out in the end in some form or another.” Well said, Anthony.
With Hopkins in the fold and working on creating what would be one of the scariest human beings ever to grace a screen, the hunt for our heroine, FBI Agent Clarice Starling was also taking place. Demme had suggested Michelle Pfeiffer after working with her before, but she turned down the project due to it not having ENOUGH violence in it for her personal tastes. Just kidding. She said it was too violent as well. Weren’t you in Scarface? Did they not chop a dude up with a chainsaw in a bathtub?
All would be just fine, however. There was indeed an actress not only willing to accept the role but actively pursuing and campaigning for it. And her name was Robert Paulson. Shoot, sorry. Her name was Jodie Foster. That’s incorrect. What I meant to say was “Fresh off winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for The Accused … Jodie effin’ Foster”.
The perfect casting wouldn’t stop there, however, as the thankless role of serial killer Buffalo Bill was thankfully taken on by the great Ted Levine. Now, don’t get me wrong. We’d all have a total blast blaring some ‘Goodbye Horses’, dancing around and trying on some sweet new threads but this role came with its own dark baggage for Levine who would end up being type cast not only career-wise but sometimes in his personal life. He was so haunting and believable in the role, that he once said he “really had to sort of fight to be seen as husband, father, good person kind of thing. But still people respect me for it.” A respect that’s well deserved. That role and the infamous lines just wouldn’t have been the same without his dedicated performance to the role.
Furthermore, the character itself was the source of what may be The Silence of the Lamb’s biggest controversy of all when activist groups found themselves upset at their opinion of the films portrayal of the LGBT community which led to controversy in the community and many protests of the film. Despite both Demme and Levine being on the record stating they never saw the character as LGBT. Part of the argument was that the character simply hated himself so much he wanted to get as far away from himself as possible, which for him was in the literal skin of a woman. Levine said that he’d decided himself the character wasn’t a member of the LGBT community early in the process, saying, “The stance I took was more one of an acutely homophobic heterosexual man doing that mocking thing.”
Demme at one point also stated that “We knew it was tremendously important to not have Gumb misinterpreted by the audience as being homosexual. That would be a complete betrayal of the themes of the movie. And a disservice to gay people.” Furthermore, there’s a line in the film itself where Hannibal Lecter, while breaking down the psyche of the character for Clarice, that “Billy is not a real trans-sexual, but he thinks he is. He tries to be. He’s tried a lot of things, I expect.” Ultimately, the waters in this situation remained muddy and Demme himself expressed regret for any bad light the role shined on the community. He would go on to direct Philadelphia two years later.
Controversy aside, our script, director and main trio of cast members were complete but The Silence of the Lambs would go on to round out an absolutely astounding supporting cast that included Scott Glenn as Clarice’s boss Jack Crawford in a role based on the real-life FBI Agent John E Douglas who actually helped prep Jack Crawford for the role. In fact, the FBI were more than accommodating to the production of Silence of the Lambs, even letting them film their FBI training sequences on location in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI saw the character of Agent Starling and her portrayal by Jodie Foster as so impressive, they considered it a recruiting tool for future female agents and offered to help any way they could.
This aspect of The Silence of the Lambs was a backbone for the film from the very beginning. Throughout the film’s entirety, we are placed in the point of view of Starling. If you notice throughout, the extreme closeups of characters while speaking to Starling are looking directly at the audience. However, during Starlings close ups, she is looking slightly away to specifically put us in her point of view. Another theme of the film is just how difficult it was for her to navigate this world of the FBI as a female amongst mostly dismissive males including Anthony Heald as Dr. Frederick Chilton who was amazing in playing the epitome of a complete and total douche nozzle.
In fact, it is suspected that the character of Starling was the main draw of the initial creation of the novel to begin with. Screenwriter Ted Tally stated“I think what especially interested Tom when writing Silence of the Lambs was to try to live inside the mind of a female character. To put a woman at the center of a book and I think that was the challenge he set himself.” Which pays off in a major way as we learn not only about Starling’s past but watch her literally earn her skills and toughness as the movie unfolds. We learn to respect AND care for the character while also acknowledging the deck stacked against her. This makes the audience feel oh so vulnerable when she’s locked in the dark basement of this absolute Super-Shredder level psycho wearing night vision goggles and reaching for her hair like fake Michael Myers reaching for Laurie before getting his head chopped off.
There’s no doubt Jodie Foster embodied the character of Clarice Starling and was absolutely essential in the film to succeed as it did. Then there’s the other side of that coin. Anthony Hopkins embodied Hannibal Lecter with his looks, voice and movements in a way that burns itself into your brain and leaves you in fear but absolutely captivated with his every movement. Using a voice technique somewhat inspired by Hal 9000, the vocal stylings of Truman Capote and a dash of HOLY HELL this is Satan himself and he’s staring directly at me!Hopkins absolutely transcends into an utter madman while simultaneously being the calmest man in the room.Of his portrayal Hopkins said, “They talk about him for 10 minutes before he’s seen as if he’s some babbling psychopath and I wanted to play him the opposite. You always play the opposite of what the audience expects.” Hopkins maintained eye contact with whomever he was speaking with while moving his head as little as possible and not blinking. The result is absolutely terrifying. All before we even see him eat a single nose. I would argue that it has to be in any conversation for the single greatest horror performance of all time.
As far as his look and presence, a lot of work and brilliant decision making went into that as well. Painstaking efforts were made to decide on his overalls and overall look which went from orange and yellow jumpsuits, ultimately deciding on the dark blue before Hopkins recommended, he wear all white during the escape scene because it reminded him of his fear of dentists. Same, dude *Clip of Arnold and Carl Weathers locking arm handshake in Predator*. The infamous half mask we see during his transport to keep him from getting “bitey” was created by a man named Ed Cubberly who created masks for NHL goalkeepers. The FX crew ordered the mask with the intention of painting it to their liking once it had arrived, but the paint job worked so well for that whole “I eat people” aesthetic that they decided to leave it just as it came…and history was made.
The classic scenes of Starling and Lecter going back and forth were set up using plexiglass rather than your typical prison bars to make the closeups of Lecter far more intimate than they would have been with bars between the camera lens and the audience. This also afforded a chance for Hopkins to ad lib smelling Clarice through the holes. GOD, I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DEEP SNIFF ME! The worst!
When I think of The Silence of the Lambs, I think of it as the horror genre’s version of Morgan Freeman walking through the library in Seven while Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 3 in D Major played over the speakers (I totally had to google that). It’s a film that just feels so refined and prestigious despite having just as much depraved and sadistic content as any other horror film. This is in part due to the people involved from the top to the bottom. Nearly every account of working on the set created by Jonathan Demme and company was a complimentary one. This culture created the environment for everyone to do their best work including the FX team which thought it would be disrespectful to use true crime photos as the movie told of Buffalo Bill’s previous crimes. They instead went through painstaking details of bringing in actors and recreating the corpses of the victims before photographing them. The moths found in the victims’ throats were even made of tootsie rolls and gummies so that if an accident occurred and they were swallowed, the actor would be safe.
All of these folks’ best efforts would pay off in the end with The Silence of the Lambs being released onto the masses on Valentine’s Day weekend of 1991 and raking in $17 million of its $20 million dollar budget back on the opening weekend alone. Then, due to word of mouth and excellent critics reviews the film would stay at #1 in the box office for a whopping FIVE weeks. The Silence of the Lambs would end up making $273 million dollars worldwide and become an international sensation. On the initial $20 million dollar budget, Producer Ron Bozman said “It was a pretty modest production. It wasn’t an attempt to go make an Academy Award winning film.” WELL SLAP ME AROUND AND CALL ME SUSAN! That’s exactly what came next….
The Silence of the Lambs arrived on Oscars’ night and took home awards for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay AND Best Picture. Anthony Hopkins won the award for Best Actor despite having the lowest on-screen time percentage than any other before him, having been on screen for only 21% of the film. The Silence of the Lambs is now widely considered one of the greatest films of all time and produced multiple sequels and a beloved yet cancelled far too early TV show in Hannibal. Anthony Hopkins went from almost giving up on a Hollywood career to being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for “services to the arts” and is now known as SIR Anthony Hopkins if you’re nasty. That’s what I call putting the lotion in the basket. And that is WTF happened to The Silence of the Lambs. I’d love to stay and chat but I’m having an old friend for dinner. Then I’m going to throw on some Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus, break out a full-sized mirror and see where the night takes me! Wait, is this mic still on?
A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Make room on your conspiracy whiteboard and grab some string and push-pins from your local craft store because The Traitors is getting a Season 3 renewal! Peacock wants more of the Alan Cumming-hosted unscripted series, which bends the brains of cast members and audiences alike with a psychological mystery. The Traitors Season 3 renewal arrives mid-way through the show’s second season.
The setup for The Traitors is quite genius. The series finds a group of reality stars and celebrities playing a murder mystery game in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. With instructions from the always-fabulous Alan Cumming, the group must work together on a wealth of missions to establish a prize fund worth up to a total of $250,000. While some contestants are Faithful, others are Traitors, aiming to eliminate the Faithful and steal the prize for themselves. Under the cloak of night, the Traitors murder the Faithful one at a time while the Faithful attempt to expose the Traitors and exile them from the contest. If the Faithful expel all the Traitors, or vice versa, the surviving group takes the pot.
The Traitors isn’t just popular; it’s also an awards darling. The show recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program, with stars like Kate Chastain (Below Deck, Project Runway, Discretion Advised), Larsa Pippen (The Real Housewives of Miami, Entertainment Tonight), Maksim Chmerkovskiy (General Hospital, Why Women Kill, Byrd and the Bees), and John Bercow (Inside the Commons, South at Six) leading the charge.
Alan Cumming, whose widely distributed fragrance “Cumming” is a real thing, is a brilliant actor who’s starred in projects like Goldeneye, X2: X-Men United, Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men, and the musical series Schmigadoon!
Are you excited about The Traitors getting a Season 3 renewal? If you were on the show, would you prefer to act as a member of the Faithful or as a Traitor? How long would you last on a backstabbing series such as this? Is $250,000 enough of a prize to enter a perpetual state of paranoia until the game concludes? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Regarding Pedro Pascal’s involvement with Marvel’s forthcoming Fantastic Four film, the stretchy cat could be out of the bag! According to SAG-AFTRA, Pascal plays the patriarch of Marvel’s first family, Reed Richard, in the superhero spectacle, with production soon to begin. The reveal comes from a career retrospective organized and presented by SAG-AFTRA, saying Pascal “recently wrapped production on Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Gladiator 2 and will soon begin production on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four.” SAG-AFTRA redacted the bit about Pascal’s involvement with Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four, but only after eagle-eyed fans spotted the post.
While we’re still waiting for an official confirmation from Marvel, the SAG-AFTRA gaff lends credence to the long-whispered rumors about Pascal suiting up as Mr. Fanstastic.
Rumors about who will star in Marvel’s latest attempt to reboot the Fantastic Four have circulated since the project’s confirmation. Pascal was long-rumored to play Reed, with Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, The Crown, Pieces of a Woman) widely rumored to play Susan Storm Richards. Meanwhile, watercooler whispers imply Joesph Quinn (Stranger Things) is playing Johnny Storm (Human Torch), with Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, The Punisher, John Adams) playing Ben Grimm (The Thing). Other hearsay suggests Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Skyfall, Biutiful) could play the world-eating villain Galactus in the anticipated superhero epic, with Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Furiosa, Last Night in Soho) possibly playing a gender-swapped version of the Silver Surfer, aka Juno.
Hopefully, Marvel plans to officially announce the cast for Fantastic Four sooner rather than later because some fans feel the will-they-won’t-they casting dance for this movie is long out of hand. Maybe after Marvel drops a trailer for Deadpool 3 during the Super Bowl, they can concentrate on announcing details for Fantastic Four. Let’s go, Marvel!
What do you think about SAG-AFTRA possibly confirming Pedro Pascal’s role as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four? Is The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star a fantastic fit for one of the most intelligent characters in the Marvel Universe? Is there someone else you’d rather see in the role? Let us know in the comments section below.
