Mission: Impossible IV is getting off the ground as Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec have been hired to write the screenplay, Variety reports. Paramount Pictures and producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have hired the pair, who have previously written for Abrams’ TV projects at Bad Robot. Appelbaum and Nemec worked on four seasons of Alias as co-executive producers and they also created ABC’s new series Happy Town and previous shows October Road and the US version of Life on Mars.
They will write the M:I 4 script based on a story they wrote with Abrams. Don’t hold your breath for plot details — the film isn’t due out until 2011.
Tagline: Don’t fear the end of the world. Fear what happens next.
Look for a September 18th realease for this Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Film.
Plot Summary:
Two crew members are stranded on a spacecraft and quickly – and horrifically – realize they are not alone. Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the ship. They can’t remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission? With Lt. Payton staying behind to guide him via radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower ventures deep into the ship and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking, deadly secrets are revealed…and the astronauts find their own survival is more important than they could ever have imagined.
Directed by Christian Alvart
Cast includes:
Ben Foster … Bower
Dennis Quaid … Payton
Cam Gigandet … Gallo
Antje Traue
Make Up Department
Tamar Aviv … prosthetic makeup artist
Allan B. Holt … mold maker
Birger Laube … special makeup effects artist
Björn Rehbein … hair department head
Björn Rehbein … makeup department head
Katrin Schneider … makeup artist
Jörn Seifert … prosthetic makeup artist
Arjen Tuiten … special makeup effects artist: Stan Winston Studio
Special Effects Department
Herbert Blank … special effects senior technician
Steffen Blechschmidt … life casting assistant: Chris Creatures Filmeffects
Katharina Boehm … creature costume trainee
Johannes Brömel … life casting assistant: Chris Creatures Filmeffects
Tom Christ … special effects technician
Laura Elliott … special effects technician
Norman Ernst … special effects senior technician
Gerd Feuchter … special effects supervisor
Damian Fisher … key mold maker
Thomas Friedrich … special effects buyer
Andreas Herberg … special effects technician
Mark Keetch … lab technician
Chris Kunzmann … lead casting technician: Chris Creatures Filmeffects
Sebastian Lochmann … lifecast maker: Chris Creatures Filmeffects
Michael Luppino … special effects foreman
Klaus Mielich … special effects technical & crew coordinator
Peter Muehlenkamp … lifecast maker: Chris Creatures Filmeffects
Monty Ploch … special effects technician
Bernd Rautenberg … special effects foreman
Michael Rudnik … special effects foreman
Tobias Schroeter … creature costume supervisor
Tobias Schroeter … modelmaker/sculptor
Jürgen Thiel … special effects senior technician
Chris Zega … lab technician: Legacy effects
Visual Effects Department
Patrik Bergman … digital compositor
Jan Brukner … senior digital artist: UPP
Mario Dubec … visual effects artist
Martin Dusek … software research and development
Miro Gal … senior flame artist
Tyler Gooden … digital compositor
Petr Hastík … senior compositor
Jan Heusler … digital compositor
Milos Hudec … data operator
Dalibor Janda … digital compositor
Jan Jinda … senior cgi artist: UPP
Tomas Kalhous … senior compositor
Ales Killian … compositor
Tomas Kral … senior cgi artist: UPP
Jason Lopes … senior systems engineer stan winston studio
Jana Macenauerova … digital compositor
Petr Masek … digital compositor
Viktor Muller … visual effects supervisor
Tomas Munzar … digital compositor: UPP
Robert Pik … vfx compositor
Viktor Plch … senior effects artist
Vit Sedlacek … flame / inferno artist
Vit Sedlacek … matchmove artist
Jakub Szilvasi … digital compositor
Vladimir Valovic … digital compositor
Lucie Zemanova … digital compositor
John Hughes died of a heart attack on Thursday, his spokeswoman confirmed to the Los Angeles Times. The director was 59.
Hughes, who directed the beloved ’80s films The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, was visiting family in Manhattan when he had a heart attack during a morning walk, the Associated Press reports.
The writer-director, who lived in the Chicago area and set many of his films there, is credited with making Molly Ringwald, who appeared in his 1984 movie Sixteen Candles, a star.
The last film he directed was 1991’s Curly Sue. In recent years, the somewhat reclusive Hughes contributed as a writer to movies including 2002’s Maid in Manhattan
Deborah Ann Woll has flowers ready for “Mother’s Day,” the remake of Charles Kaufman’s 1980 Troma cult classic being directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.
The original “Mother’s Day” revolved around three female friends who, while camping, run afoul of two brothers who engage in murder and rape to impress their deranged mother.
The remake sees the villainous family, slightly expanded to include a daughter (Woll), return to the house where they grew up and terrorize the new owners and their guests.
Twisted Pictures, the Genre Co., Rat Entertainment and LightTower Entertainment are behind the remake.
The makers are eyeing a spring release timed for Mother’s Day with a shoot to begin in the fall in Manitoba.
Woll, repped by Stone Manners and Marshak/Zachary Co., is best known for playing teen vampire Jessica Hamby on HBO’s “True Blood.” She next shoots the indie drama “Highland Park.”
Won 1954 Oscar for “On the Waterfront,” wrote Oscar-winning “A Face in the Crowd.”
Writer Budd Schulberg, who won an Academy Award for “On the Waterfront,” died on Wednesday (August 5, 2009) at 95.
The son of B.P. Schulberg, head of Paramount Pictures, and Adeline Jafee-Schulberg, sister to agent/film producer Sam Jaffe, Schulberg was hardly a Hollywood insider. Aside from his 1954 Oscar, he’s best known for his iconic anti-Hollywood novel, “What Makes Sammy Run.”
The book made him almost as unpopular in the industry town as his appearance in 1951 as a friendly witness in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming names of other alleged Hollywood communists.
Famously, after penning “Sammy,” Louis B. Mayer told B.P. Schulberg that his son should be deported. B.P. replied that since Budd was a U.S. citizen raised in Hollywood, “Where the hell are you gonna deport him? Catalina Island?”
Among his other works of fiction are “The Disenchanted,” a 1950 bestseller about a young screenwriter who becomes disillusioned with a thinly disguised F. Scott Fitzgerald”; “The Harder They Fall,” later made into the Movie “A Face in the Crowd,” for which Schulberg did the screenplay”; “Sanctuary V”; and “Everything That Moves.”
He also was a prolific boxing writer and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a writer in 2003, when he was 89 years old.
In the wake of the Los Angeles riots in the mid-60s, Schulberg helped found the Watts Writers Workshop. He also co-founded, in 1971, the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center in New York City.
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. said of his autobiography, “Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince”: “As a book on the early days of the movies in Hollywood — their triumphs and fiascos, their scoundrels and heroes — his candid memoir is hard to beat. A fascinating and significant contribution to American social history.”
He spent his last years in Long Island; he is survived by his wife Betsy and five children.
NEW YORK — Premium TV service Epix, the joint venture among Viacom, Lionsgate and MGM, has struck an exclusive output deal with Samuel Goldwyn Films.
It’s Epix’s first output arrangement beyond deals with its venture partners. Under the terms of the deal, up to 20 Goldwyn films slated for theatrical release in 2010 and 2011 will be available across all Epix platforms, including its linear channel, subscription-on-demand and epixhd.com, starting next year.
Part of Samuel Goldwyn’s 2010 slate is “The Yellow Handkerchief,” with other films to be announced shortly.
“Epix is developing a brand and an approach that is transforming the way films are viewed by consumers,” said Meyer Gottlieb, president and COO of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “We chose Epix because we want to be part of this new approach to deliver our films to consumers in the way they want to see them.”
On Wednesday, “Watch With Kristin” broke the news that Paris Hilton would be guest-starring on “Supernatural.”
This season on the show, Sam and Dean Winchester will be facing down the Satan himself and the Apocalypse. Could the arrival of Paris, in Episode 5 of Season 5, be the scariest aspect of “Supernatural’s” End Times?
Actually, as is so often the case on “Supernatural,” the whole thing has a comedic side to it. I got a bit more info from creator/executive producer Eric Kripke and executive producer Sera Gamble regarding the starlet’s appearance on the CW show, which returns Sept. 10.
“If anyone ever wanted to see a bloodthirsty Paris attack and kill somebody, this is your chance,” said Kripke, who added that he was “quite frankly shocked that Paris agreed to do it.”
“We wrote the role just for her,” Gamble said. “We’re very excited that she said yes. She plays the role of a demonic creature that takes the form of… Paris Hilton. If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so–expect that. The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She’s flat-out awesome for playing along. You’ll see.”
12 haunts honored as eerie elite for best scare tactics in U.S.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) August 6, 2009 — The fear facts are in. America’s Best Haunts, the nation’s eminent authority on thrill attractions, has released the official list of top haunts for 2009.
As professionals of the scare, America’s Best Haunt (http://www.americasbesthaunts.com) evaluated haunted attractions from coast to coast to select 12 of the best of the best to wear its coveted seal. Utilizing a panel of thrill park industry experts, top haunts from across the U.S. were thoroughly analyzed before being honored as one of this year’s eerie elite. Each attraction was judged on creepy criteria including special effects, marketing, consumer value, design, actor ability, fear factor and safety.
In 2008, more than 26 million Americans flocked to haunted attractions, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Haunts have ratcheted up the fright factor with animatronics and digital sound mixed with the traditional “fear in your face” scare tactics. With Halloween consumer spending growing to nearly $6 billion last year (NRF), thrill-seekers continue to want more and are willing to pay for it. Thrill attraction ticket prices across America reportedly now range from $15 to $65. “The haunt business is a boon to the economy as Halloween bridges the gap between back-to-school and holiday season sales,” said Steve Kopelman of America’s Best Haunts. “Our team of haunt experts takes their jobs seriously when it comes to naming America’s best. Haunted attractions that wear our stamp of approval provide sophisticated fright fans with Hollywood-style design, acting, production and more.”
The America’s Best Haunts 2009 top thrill attractions include:
Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia, PA)
Billed as a haunted house inside a state prison, this lost world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers stands behind the Eastern State Penitentiary’s massive 30-foot high walls. This is home to Terror Behind the Walls, ranked the “Number 1 Haunted House in the U.S.” by AOL City Guide, and labeled “perfect for Halloween” by the New York Times. http://www.TerrorBehindTheWalls.com
Bennett’s Curse (Baltimore, MD)
Featuring the Legendary House of the Vampyres, Bennett’s Curse is the only medieval vampire knight themed haunted house in the world. Original scenes, enthusiastic actors, and state of the art special effects combine to create an unforgettable experience that will keep you screaming for more. http://www.bennettscurse.com
Screampark (Lexington, KY) New Comer of the Year
Kentucky’s largest fear factory features three terrifying attractions, live events and more maniacal monsters than you care to meet under one roof. Screampark brings detailed sets, nightmarish monsters and high-tech scares to the “Heart of the Bluegrass”. http://www.scarylexington.com
The Terror Test (Lumberton, MS)
Mississippi’s largest haunted attraction includes Hollywood movie quality props, realistic sets, state of the art special effects and authentic costumes. Horror hounds will experience three eerie attractions under one roof that will frighten even the bravest of souls. http://www.terrortest.com
The 13th Door (Denver, CO)
What begins as an informative tour of a local historical site soon turns into terror as you are swept through time to relive the horrors of the famed Barrington Hotel Massacre. As events unfold, you soon learn that your only path of escape is through a mysterious 13th Door. Chased from one gruesome scene to the next, you quickly discover that your life is in very real jeopardy. http://www.13Door.com
ScreamWorld (Houston, TX)
Since 1989, ScreamWorld has been the premier home for horror in Houston with three haunted houses, an outdoor maze, a cemetery, and roaming creepy characters. Continually named Houston’s No. 1 Haunted Attraction by both the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press, ScreamWorld provides the most mayhem for the money to its 30,000 annual guests. http://www.ScreamWorld.com
Nightmare New England (Litchfield, NH)
This year, New England’s legendary Spookyworld joins Nightmare New England to forge one of the largest and most terrifying Halloween Scream Parks in the country. The scale and variety of this mega-park offers something to thrill even the boldest of Halloween fanatics. Nightmare New England and Spookyworld feature seven terrifying haunted attractions and a “Monster Midway” where dozens of freakish characters freely roam the grounds and lurk around every corner. http://www.nightmarenewengland.com
Woods of Terror (Greensboro, NC)
What began as a mere haunted trail 18 years ago, is now one of the leading and top ranked haunted attractions in the U.S. Today, a staggering 20,000 visitors a year – young and old, from near and far – pay to roam 20 acres of pure terror while seeking the thrill of the ultimate adrenaline rush: fear. http://www.woodsofterror.com
Thrillvania (Terrell, TX)
Located 20 miles east of Dallas, Thrillvania is one of the most decorated haunted attractions in the world. With 50 acres encompassing eight attractions, a midway and a haunted store, Thrillvania frightens more than 20,000 “victims” each year. The cornerstone of this fear farm is Verdun Manor, a two-story haunted house originally designed by Disney Imagineers and said to boast more props per square foot than any other haunt in the country. http://www.Thrillvania.com
The Terrorfest (Columbus, OH)
Formerly the critically-acclaimed “House of Nightmares” haunted house, The Terrorfest has had fear facelift. With a new, more terrorizing theme, diabolically-detailed sets, state of the art effects and a core of more than 60 dedicated actors, The Terrorfest is destined to bring a new level of haunting excellence to the Columbus brewery district. http://www.TheTerrorFest.com
The House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs (Buffalo, NY)
Known for scaring the yell out of you, The House of Horrors has zombies, demons, vampires, psycho killers, and the living dead creeping around every corner. Celebrating its 17th season, the Haunted Catacombs guarantees fear-in-your-face special effects, amazing animations, and Hollywood-style sets that will have make your jaw drop and your heart race. http://www.thehouseofhorrors.com
Terror on the Fox (Greenbay, WI)
The terror continues at Wisconsin’s premier thrill attraction as it celebrates its 13th season. With four haunts from an asylum to the pitch-dark void, the torment is pure torture. Terror on the Fox is sure to put you on the edge when you discover you are virtually trapped inside yourself. http://www.terroronthefox.com
About America’s Best Haunts:
Established in 2006, Americas Best Haunts is the only expert resource of its kind, identifying the most superior haunted attractions in the country for today’s discerning fright lovers.
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Ridley Scott is going back to the futurism.
The “Blade Runner” director is joining forces with Leonardo DiCaprio to take on one of the most highly regarded dystopian works of literature, Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.”
Both are producing the Universal project, which DiCaprio would tentatively star in and Scott direct. The studio has brought on “Apocalypto” scribe Farhad Safinia to write the script; he’s expected to be working shortly.
Scott has mentioned casually in interviews that he’s interested in the 1931 novel, whose film rights are owned by DiCaprio’s Appian Way production company, prompting a flurry of rumors on sci-fi and other blogs over the past year. But the studio details as well as DiCaprio’s personal involvement always have been murky.
Now, with a writer on board and production executives meeting frequently during the past six months, the project has more momentum, though several people familiar with it emphasize that it remains at the development stage.
Much of the timing going forward will depend on the script. Scott is not committed to direct anything beyond “Robin Hood,” which is in post-production. DiCaprio is shooting the Christopher Nolan adventure tale “Inception,” but does not have a movie lined up after that.
“Brave” has had several go-rounds on television, including a Leonard Nimoy-Peter Gallagher picture on NBC in 1998. But Huxley’s idea-rich novel hasn’t had a shot on the big screen.
Huxley sets his book in a seemingly perfect 26th century world that has achieved harmony by tightly controlling birth, which takes place mainly in laboratories, and outlawing family. The world is populated by a series of five castes, each with its own defined roles.
Characters who figure in are Bernard, a lower-caste member, and Lenina, the woman with whom he is infatuated. DiCaprio would likely play Bernard, who is persecuted when the leaders of the society find his behavior antisocial.
Dystopian stories have sometimes proved difficult to film. George Orwell’s “1984” has had several theatrical turns, including Michael Anderson’s Columbia version in 1956 and the somewhat better regarded John Hurt vehicle 25 years ago.
Scott is considered one of the few who can pull it off. The director took the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” and turned it into the 1982 futurist pic “Blade Runner.” While the movie divided critics and didn’t enjoy a great theatrical run, it has had a long life on video and become a cult classic.
Scott directed DiCaprio in last year’s Middle East thriller “Body of Lies,” and the two are also producing dark thriller “The Low Dweller” at indie filmmaker Relativity.
In the video above you can watch a behind the scenes video of Where The Wild Things Are with writer/director Spike Jonze and the book’s writer Maurice Sendak.
An adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world–a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.
Release date is October 16, 2009
Special Effects Department Jason Barnett … special makeup effects technician
Genevieve Bevan-John … special effects assistant
Tom Blake … animatronic designer
Jeff Bresin … special effects technician
Bruce Bright … senior effects technician
Tamara Carlson … fabricator: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Eric Cotton … animatronic electrical engineer
Val Crawford … hair/fabrication: Henson’s Studios
Dave Elsey … creature supervisor
David Fedele … creature suit fabricator
Dean Franklin … special effects technician
Cleve Gunderman … mold department supervisor: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Glen Hanz … sculptor: Jim Henson Co.
Catherine Hart … special effects
Josh Head … special effects technician
Rob Heggie … on set supervisor
Jeff Jingle … animatronics designer
Adam Keenan … animatronic model designer
Heath Kerr … special effects assistant
Carol Koch … sculptor: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop designer/sculptor: Steve Johnson’s Edge FX Inc. designer/sculptor: Alterian
Jim Kundig … animatronics designer
Jim Leng … special effects technician
Jeff Little … senior special effects technician
Russell Lukich … painter
Russell Lukich … special effects crew
Ned Neidhardt … hair technician: Jim Henson Co.
Ken Niederbaumer … special effects technician: Jim Henson Co
John Nolan … animatronic designer
Michael O’Brien … mold/seaming departments: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Tim O’Brien … special effects technician
James Ojala … makeup effects lab technician: Jim Henson Creature Shop
Ratna Pappert… creature suit fabricator: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop/Steve Johnson’s Edge FX Inc.
Luke Polti … special effects makeup
Andrew Power … first assistant director: puppet/miniature unit
Angelo Sahin … on set supervisor
Mike Scanlan … animatronic designer
Dave Seaborn … special effects technician
Amber Skowronski … special effects technician: Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Jeff Small… special effects technician
David Smith … sculptor/painter: Jim Henson Co.
Peter Stubbs … special effects supervisor
Rebecca Thiele … special effects technician
Kevin Turner … special effects foreman
Mark Viniello … foam lab supervisor
Lynne Watson … creature hair department
Tim Whiteley … special effects technician
GoreMaster News 