First look into the forthcoming supernatural film “Season of the Witch” has come out in the form of a teaser trailer. Brought forth by IGN, the sneak peek is less than a minute long and mostly centers its attention at some of the film’s cast ensemble, Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman and Claire Foy.
Cage stars as a 14th century crusader who returns home with his comrade and finds their land is left devastated by the Black Plague. As church blames sorcery as the cause of the plague, the two knights are sent on a mission to transport an accused witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence.
On the journey troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl, they are joined by a priest, a grieving knight, an itinerant swindler, and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight. But, a horrific discovery at the abbey jeopardizes their pledge to ensure the girl fair treatment and pits them against an inexplicably powerful and destructive force.
“Season of the Witch” has Dominic Sena, the helmer of “Gone in Sixty Seconds” and “Whiteout”, serving behind the lens. Stephen Campbell Moore, Ulrich Thomsen, Stephen Graham and Robert Sheehan are in supporting roles. Lionsgate eyes to distribute this supernatural thriller into theaters across the U.S. on March 19, 2010.
Mike Elizalde, whose credits include “X-Men: The Last Stand”, both of the “Fantastic Four” films, both of the “Hellboy” films and most recently “The Land of the Lost” film, has been in the special effects business for over 20 years. Mr. Elizalde was nominated for a “Best Makeup” Oscar for his work on Hellboy II (2008). He is the owner of Spectral Motion an all purpose special effects shop offering Creatures, Props, Special Makeup Effects. His shop specializes in the design and creation of astonishing cinematic creature effects, special makeup effects, animatronics and action props. Mr. Elizalde shares his journey into the world of filmmaking and special effects with GoreMaster.
‘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.
Ron Perlman, speaking with Fangoria Radio, gave the world an update on his long-gestating follow-up to Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep. In the new film Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, Perlman will be replacing Bruce Campbell as Elvis in what is sure to be an over-the-top adventure unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Perlman hopes to shoot the film in the fall, stating, “Well, I have this window that’s about to open. I’ll be done shooting Sons of Anarchy in September, and we’re hoping to get into production on Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires in my hiatus between seasons two and three. I just spoke to Paul Giamatti (set to play Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker) and Don Coscarelli this morning, and we’re just moving the ball down the field, trying to get her done.”
Also reported in the same story is that Don Coscarelli’s favorite actor, and star of his Phantasm films, Angus Scrimm has joined the cast as a Boris Karloff-like horror star who Elvis meets on the set of a vampire movie.
About starring in the film, Perlman stated, “Elvis is so iconic because there was never anyone like him and never since. Elvis created an entire new place for that image. He’s so iconic, he’s mythic. I’m very titillated to see what it’s gonna be like to be inside the white jumpsuit.” The sequel currently has a proposed release date of 2011.
Circle of Confusion’s producing Gatekeeper, a zombie thriller featuring the insane cast of Matthew O’Leary (Solstice, Sorority Row), Lea Thompson (Marty’s hot mom in Back to the Future), Judge Reinhold (Axel Foley’s sidekick in the Beverly Hills Cop films), Ron Perlman (Hellboy, The Last Winter) and Jana Kramer (Prom Night, Rotld: Necropolis).
Isaac Meisenheimer is signed to make his feature directing debut on the film. Meisenheimer also penned the script, in which a simple mistake leaves three friends to defend their town from a zombie outbreak.
Circle of Confusion exec Stephen Emery will produce, with production starting in September. “We intend to make a film in the vein of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ for American audiences,” Emery said
BEST WIDE-RELEASE FILM HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
CLOVERFIELD
THE STRANGERS
THE RUINS
QUARANTINE Write-ins: FUNNY GAMES; DOOMSDAY; MIRRORS
BEST LIMITED-RELEASE/DIRECT-TO-VIDEO FILM LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER
ROGUE
STUCK
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD Write-ins: INSIDE; MACHINE GIRL; MOTHER OF TEARS
BEST ACTOR Ron Perlman, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Kare Hedebrant, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Marc Senter, THE LOST
Trevor Matthews, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER
Leo Bill, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD Write-ins: Brian Cox, RED; Anthony Stewart Head, REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA; Jay Hernandez, QUARANTINE; Kiefer Sutherland, MIRRORS
BEST ACTRESS Lina Leandersson, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Naomi Watts, FUNNY GAMES
Eliza Dushku, THE ALPHABET KILLER
Jess Weixler, TEETH
Alysson Paradis, INSIDE Write-ins: Asia Argento, MOTHER OF TEARS; Jennifer Carpenter, QUARANTINE; Liv Tyler, THE STRANGERS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Doug Jones, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
TIE: Michael Pitt, FUNNY GAMES/Vinnie Jones, THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN
Robert Englund, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER
A.J. Bowen, THE SIGNAL Write-ins: Luke Goss, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY; Jean-Pierre Jorris, FRONTIER(S); Noah Segan, DEADGIRL
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Beatrice Dalle, INSIDE
Anna Walton, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Lauren Roy, THE CHAIR
Jennifer Ellison, THE COTTAGE
Lou Doillon, SISTERS Write-ins: Selma Blair, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY; Megan Henning, THE LOST; Mylene Jampanoi, MARTYRS; Laura Ramsey, THE RUINS
BEST SCREENPLAY John Ajvide Lindqvist, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Guillermo del Toro, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Mitchell Lichtenstein, TEETH
TIE: John Ainslie, Jon Knautz, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER/John Strysik, STUCK Write-in: Dario Argento, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, MOTHER OF TEARS
BEST SCORE John Soderqvist, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
tomandandy, THE STRANGERS
TIE: Michael Giacchino, CLOVERFIELD/Ryan Shore, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER
Robert Miller, TEETH Write-ins: Danny Elfman, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY; Claudio Simonetti, MOTHER OF TEARS
BEST MAKEUP/CREATURE FX Mike Elizalde, Cliff Wallace, David Martí, Montse Ribé, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Robert Hall, QUARANTINE
David Scott, JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER
Jacques-Olivier Molon, INSIDE
Todd Tucker, Drac Studios, TRAILER PARK OF TERROR Write-in: John Cox, ROGUE
WORST FILM
The top five vote-getters were: PROM NIGHT
CLOVERFIELD
THE HAPPENING
SAW V
TWILIGHT
With a tie for second place here, we’re inducting three new members into the FANGORIA HORROR HALL OF FAME: Doug Jones, Forrest J Ackerman and Roger Corman.
Tagline: An evil entombed for 2000 years… until now
The Story: A team of mercenaries under the command of hard-charging war veteran Mack (Cuba Gooding Jr.), are contracted by a mysterious CIA operative named Elissa (Valerie Cruz) to rescue a scientist (Ron Perlman) working on an archeological discovery deep under the Middle Eastern desert. With the help of a mysterious priest (Henry Rollins), Mack and his team soon discover the true secret of what lies beneath the sands. A secret that has been protected for thousands of years. A secret that is not of this Earth
The Crew:
Jason Connery (Shanghai Noon, Urban Ghost Story, Night Skies ) is the director
Jerry Macaluso (Gods and Monsters, Modern Vampires, Little Nicky) is the special effects supervisor
Ron Trost (Crash, American Pie, Rushmore) is the special effects coordinator
Janeen York (Dead Man’s Hand, Evil Bong, Doll Graveyard) is the key makeup artist
