Thomas Jane Channels Pulp Horror For Directorial Debut ‘Dark Country’

Thomas Jane

by Rick Marshall – MTV.com

‘Tis the season for scary movies, so it’s fitting that Thomas Jane’s stylish, noir-fueled horror film “Dark Country” arrives on shelves this week. In his directorial debut, the “Punisher” actor not only makes his first bow behind the camera, but he also stars alongside Lauren German (“Hostel: Part II”) and Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”)—two actors not entirely unfamiliar with fright-friendly cinema.

Combining surreal, David Lynch-style visuals with a pulpy horror tale that would seem at home in old issues of “Tales From The Crypt” or “Creepy,” Jane says comic books weren’t far from his mind when he stepped behind the camera.

“I’ve been reading comic books since I was eight years old, and in comics, anything’s possible,” Jane told MTV News. “They come up with angles that you could never shoot in life, and they really have to work hard to make that two-dimensional space feel three-dimensional, so it’s a fantastic resource for coming up with ideas for shots.”

“I wanted to do something that was unique, and yet also paid homage to filmmakers who had a big impression on me,” said Jane, “like David Lynch, the Coen brothers, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, but also John Alton, who is a great cinematographer who worked with Anthony Mann on films like ‘Raw Deal’ and ‘He Walked By Night.’”

According to Jane, when it came time to pull double duty on the film, he sought advice from one of the more prominent actor/directors in recent years—and discovered that he was just the latest in a long line of people to receive the same words of wisdom.

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“I called Mel Gibson and he talked to me on the phone for an hour, and said that when he was getting ready to direct and star in his first film, he was nervous and he called Clint Eastwood,” said Jane. “Clint Eastwood talked to Mel for a long time and told Mel that he was really nervous and he called Don Siegel, who had directed Clint in a bunch of movies, and Don told Clint, ‘Don’t sell yourself short. Spend as much time on yourself—your own shots—as you do on every other actor, on every other aspect of production. Be careful, because you’re in the movie you have permission to just do one or two takes on yourself and quickly move on—but you need to spend as much time on yourself for your film to work.’”

“That’s what I took away from my conversation with Mel and I hung up the phone feeling much more confident in my ability to pull this thing off than I did before I’d gotten on the phone,” he explained.

Originally intended as a 3-D theater release, Jane said the film was shot in 3-D but plans were ratcheted back due to the lack of home theater equipment able to present the film in all its multidimensional glory.

“But that equipment is coming, and when it does I certainly hope that we give ‘Dark Country’ a home theatrical 3-D release,” he added.

Lauren German

While it could be a while until the film gets a 3-D premiere in homes, it did receive a screening in line with Jane’s plans this past weekend at Long Beach Comic Con, where “Dark Country” debuted in full 3-D glory in front of a packed house of nearly 400 fans. Jane and comic book artist Tim Bradstreet hosted the screening along with 3-D developer Ray 3D Zone.

And though his 3-D plans for the film involved looking ahead to the future of the medium, Jane said his inspiration for the tone of the film involved more of a rearview-mirror take on filmmaking—especially when it comes to horror movies.

“I wanted to make a movie that was for people who enjoy movies that are off the beaten track, you know?” said Jane. “I wanted to make a movie for fans of cult films, for fans of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ for guys who stayed up late to watch ‘The Outer Limits’ when they were probably too young to do that.”

“It seems like more and more now, people are really losing sight of some of the great, old drive-in films,” he continued. “Quentin Tarantino tried to bring some of that flavor to the ‘Grind House’ stuff and I think that this film very much embodies that spirit—but instead of trying purposely to scratch up the movie and print frames out of it and yellow the film, let’s make this movie as if it’s really exists. And I feel like the feedback’s been really, really rewarding.”

“Dark Country”  stars Thomas Jane, Lauren German and Ron Perlman. The film was directed by Jane, with a script by Tab Murphy.

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Clive Barker Teams With Saw Writers For New Television Horror Series

Clive Barker, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton

Russ Fischer – SlashFilm.com

On television, the horror anthology will never die. Now, according to the RiskyBiz Blog, Clive Barker is teaming up with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the writers of the latter half of the Saw franchise and the recent horror pic The Collector, which Dunstan also directed, to create a new show called Clive Barker’s Hotel. Dunstan and Melton have sold their pitch to Warner Bros. Television, and already networks are looking at it as a potential series.

Dunstan and Melton hooked up with Barker when they worked on one of the many abandoned drafts of the Hellraiser remake (still stuck in development hell) and ended up cooking up the idea for this series, which Barker will produce. RiskyBiz doesn’t have a lot of details, but says the thing “is expected to follow a series of ghoulish incidents at a haunted hotel.” Which is all you really need for a horror anthology. It’s certainly no worse than the basis for the old Friday the 13th series, which had the new owners of an antique shop tracking down the cursed objects they’d sold. (And also landed David Cronenberg as a director for one episode, lest we forget.) I’m also thinking of David Lynch’s brief anthology mini-series for HBO, Hotel Room.

Meanwhile, the Hellraiser remake continues to stall. Having finally seen Martyrs I’m perfectly happy that Pascal Laugier is off the project; I’d still like to see Inside’s Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury have their crack, but that window of opportunity is long closed. Too bad, because as remakes go, Hellraiser is one that has some potential. The original film will always be great (especially as a low-budget outing for the directorially inexperienced Barker) but there’s a lot to do with a new version so long as practical effects were still highlighted in the mix.

Peter Berg Talks Dune

Russ Fischer – SlashFilm.com

Last year it was announced that Peter Berg would be directing a new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s massive and influential novel Dune. We haven’t yet heard much about what Berg plans to do with his version, which will be the third filmed take on the story. SciFi Wire caught up with Berg, who reveals that there is not yet a script, but says “there’s a more dynamic film to be made” from the novel.

Said Berg, “…[The book] was much more muscular and adventurous, more violent and possibly even a little bit more fun. I think those are all elements of my experience of the book that can be brought in without offending the die-hard fans of the Bene Gesserit and Kwisatz Haderach. There’s a more dynamic film to be made..”

 ‘Dynamic’ I can see. David Lynch’s 1984 version was ponderous (though it has moments of exaltation and amazing sets) while the 2000 Sci Fi Channel mini-series was overly pagebound. It kept a lot of the details Lynch had to cut, and left out most of the art. Yet scripting a dynamic film that properly deals with two warring political houses who are scrabbling over the planet Arakkis and the valuable spice it exclusively produces has proven to be a difficult task, if those previous efforts are any example. There’s a lot of politics to cover, a great deal of mystical mumbo jumbo and no small amount of pure science fiction.

But audiences now are accustomed to a faster storytelling pace, especially when it comes to establishing settings and background, so Berg may have a little wiggle room that Lynch didn’t. Just look at the opening titles to Berg’s The Kingdom, for an example of how he might contract years of galactic history and intrigue into a few minutes.

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Rodriguez, Pena, Moynahan join Eckhart in ‘Battle: L.A.’

Michelle Rodriguez

By Borys Kit – HollywoodReporter.com

Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan have been recruited to join Columbia’s “Battle: Los Angeles.”

Bridget Moynahan

 

The sci-fi actioner, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and produced by Original Film’s Neal Moritz, stars Aaron Eckhart and is set to begin production in the fall.

“Battle” revolves around a Marine staff sergeant (Eckhart) and his new platoon’s battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles.

Rodriguez will play Crpl. Adriana Santos, a member of a radio battalion.
Pena plays the father of a boy the Marines find along the way, and Moynahan plays a veterinarian.

“I’m thrilled to reunite with Michelle,” said Moritz, who worked with Rodriguez on “S.W.A.T.” and “The Fast and the Furious” movies. “Her intensity is just right for the platoon.”

Ori Marmur is overseeing for Original. Doug Belgrad and Sam Dickerman are overseeing for Columbia.

Aaron Eckhart

Rodriguez next appears in James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar” and will star and co-produce her first film, the historical drama “Tropico de Sangre,” through her production company Cheshire Kat. She is repped by UTA and the Collective.

Pena, who most recently appeared in “Observe and Report” with Seth Rogen, recently completed production on Werner Herzog and David Lynch’s psychological thriller “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.” He is repped by CAA and Management 360.

Moynahan, repped by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, next appears in Fox’s “Ramona and Beezus,” starring opposite John Corbett and Ginnifer Goodwin.

Michael Pena