
As the beginning of January saw the box office smash, and subsequent fall, of the found-footage exorcism pic The Devil Inside, the sequel to another film in the “found-footage exorcism movie” genre is moving full speed ahead. We first heard movement on the follow-up to 2010’s The Last Exorcism last August, but now the sequel has a director, star, and new rating. Ed Gass-Donnelly (This Beautiful City) will direct the untitled sequel, which begins production next month in New Orleans, and instead of sticking with the original’s PG-13 rating, the sequel will be going R. Hit the jump for story details, and to find out what’s behind the rating switch.

With Netflix taking on original programming through their streaming service for the anticipated return of Arrested Development and a new series from David Fincher and Kevin Spacey called House of Cards, the DVD mailing and online streaming outlet is really making a stride to compete with cable television providers. Their most recent effort comes in the form of a horror series as Deadline reports Netflix is currently negotiating with Gaumont International Television for a 13-episode horror series called Hemlock Grove backed by Hostel mastermind Eli Roth. The series is based on an upcoming horror novel of the same name by Brian McGreevy the series is said to be set against the backdrop of our darkest myths, adolescent deceptions, ravenous relationships and rumors of a werewolf lurking about and aims to reimagine everything it means to be a monster as reflected in the struggle to be human. More after the jump.

All eyes were on Daniel Radcliffe wondering what kind of project he would choose for his first post-Harry Potter role as the franchise came to an end. It was a bit of a surprise for some, then, when Radcliffe signed onto the Gothic horror pic The Woman in Black. The story centers on a young lawyer who encounters a seemingly haunted town marred by countless accidents and suicides. Steve recently got the chance to speak with producer Brian Oliver (President of Cross Creek Pictures) about his upcoming political drama The Ides of March, and Oliver talked a bit about the horror film as well as a couple of upcoming Eli Roth projects. He spoke about how they settled on Daniel Radcliffe as the star of Woman in Black, almost making the film in 3D, and revealed that he’s readying two films for Eli Roth: The Aftershock and Clown. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

It’s evident in Richard Kelly’s work that he’s one of the best idea men in the business. But he’s struggled to capitalize on the backdoor success of Donnie Darko: audiences were understandably baffled by Southland Tales, and notoriously slapped the more mainstream The Box with a grade “F” CinemaScore. The admittedly uneven film didn’t deserve that “F,” but it’s gotta be hard to rebound from such a negative reaction.
Yet, the resilient Kelly is busy setting up his next film, a Texas-set thriller titled Corpus Christi. The story revolves around the strange friendship between a mentally unstable Iraq war veteran and his boss, the wealthy owner of a supermarket chain with political ambitions. Variety suggests a more traditional narrative, but the publication seems to be responding to the lack of overt sci-fi. With a mentally unstable lead character, I expect some grade “A” Kelly weirdness.
Kelly will produce with Darko Entertainment partner Sean McKittrick and Eli Roth. They have begun the casting process, with an announcement expected by the end of March. Corpus Christi is set to begin filming on location in July.

Eli Roth has signed on to produce two horror projects for Cross Creek Pictures and Vertebra Films. The first project is Clown, the story of “a loving father who dons a clown outfit and make-up to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover the costume — red nose and wig included — will not come off.” A fake trailer for the film made the rounds around the internet a couple of weeks ago, and included Eli Roth’s name in its faux credits. The trailer got Roth’s attention: “I was blown away when I saw that Clown trailer. Everyone thought it was real, or that I had at least made a fake trailer. I called the guys right away and their first response was ‘Thank you for not suing us!’ I said ‘Sue you? Let’s make this into a real film!’ ” Jon Watts will direct from a script he will co-write with Christopher D. Ford.
The second project is Aftershock, a high-octane horror-thriller set during the aftermath of the February 27, 2010 Chilean earthquake. Roth will co-write the film with Nicolás López and Guillermo Amoedo; López is set to direct. Hit the jump to read the full press release and to see the “trailer” for Clown.

Eli Roth and Eric Newman teamed up as the creators of this August’s The Last Exorcism, and are getting together once again to produce the suspense thriller Psycho Thriller. Gavin Polone (producer of Zombieland) is set to direct, while Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) penned the script. If you’re interested from those names and the title of the film alone, wait until you hear the plot… after the jump.

Russell Crowe has signed on to star opposite RZA in the kung fu film The Man with the Iron Fist. Speaking to E! Online, RZA (who co-wrote the script and will also direct) wouldn’t talk about Crowe’s role in the film other than to say, “Russell’s gonna be the baddest man alive. That man is in fighting shape. That man will knock you out.” RZA, who will play “a weapons-making village blacksmith in feudal China”, added “It’s nerve-wracking. [Crowe's] a master of the craft. I’m quite sure that I may learn something from him.” Filming is set to begin in December in Shanghai. Eli Roth is a co-producer and co-writer on the movie.
RZA and Crowe previously worked together in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster and even recorded a song together, but the film’s producers decided not to use it on the soundtrack. The two are also co-starring in Paul Haggis’ thriller The Next Three Days, which opens on November 19th.

The nominees for Spike TV’s “Scream 2010” have been announced and Christopher Nolan’s Inception leads all films with fourteen nominations. While there are certainly more prestigious awards that films (especially Inception) would like to be honored with, the award show always looks like a good time from my couch and I imagine it’s nice to be recognized for your work regardless of the outlet. Moreover, while fans may vote for the winners, the nominees themselves are chosen by an advisory board made up of industry professionals including: Tim Burton, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, and Joss Whedon. In short, it’s not like the kind people at Spike are calling me up asking for my opinion on who deserves a “Scream” nod (Note: I am available just in case though).
Officially, the “Scream Awards” honor “the best in sci-fi, fantasy, comics, and horror” and will air on Spike on October 19th. In addition, they are responsible for one of the few times a year that I feel compelled to watch Spike TV (I’ll admit to occasionally indulging in an episode or five of Pros vs. Joes). To check out the press release which includes a full list of this year’s nominees, hit the jump.

You may believe that, by the time we’re celebrating the career of David Hasselhoff, the celebrity roast is a dying art form. And you’d be right. But the Friars Club does its best to maintain the tradition of the gin-soaked roasts of the Dean Martin era. Case in point: the club has announced a roast centered on Quentin Tarantino, with Samuel L. Jackson serving as “Roastmaster.” Such former Tarantino collaborators as Uma Thurman, Pam Grier, Michael Madsen, Eli Roth, Rosario Dawso, and Harvey Weinstein(!) will be on hand to poke fun at the idiosyncratic director. Sounds like it’ll be loads of fun, and I can only hope that some internet-friendly videographer is on hand to capture it. Hit the jump for the official press release.

In the documentary-style horror thriller The Last Exorcism, the Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) expects to perform another routine exorcism, which he admits to being smoke and mirrors, when he arrives at the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer with a film crew in tow. Living there with his two children, the earnest fundamentalist has contacted the preacher in an attempt to save his teenage daughter Nell (Ashley Bell), who he is convinced is possessed by a demon. However, things quickly become more bizarre than Cotton ever could have imagined, and it soon becomes clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there.
Promoting the film at the press day, co-stars Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell talked about what drew them to this project, what it was like to study real exorcisms in preparation for the film and their own personal beliefs about demons. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

In talking to filmmaker Eli Roth, one thing becomes immediately clear, he is equally passionate and knowledge about his chosen career path, which presumably accounts for his huge success in the film industry.
As the man behind Cabin Fever and Hostel (along with its sequel Hostel II), he proved that you can make films with a modest budget and no major stars that audiences will love. Now the producer of the documentary-style thriller The Last Exorcism, which he is bringing to the big screen with German filmmaker Daniel Stamm at the helm, he is focusing much more on psychological horror than gore, which is no less effective in its creepiness factor.
While promoting the film at the press day, Eli Roth talked to Collider about what drew him to this script, why he sees film as the perfect outlet to release your life’s fears and his desire to make a 3D feature. He also gave us updates on Man with the Iron First (which he expects to go into production in the Fall), The Other Woman (which he’s producing), Endangered Species (which he plans to direct) and a remake of Funhouse (which he plans to do in 3D). Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Despite every bad trend that lies in waiting for The Last Exorcism to fall into, director Daniel Stamm deftly provides the route for this “found-footage” horror to excel and give us a lean and thrilling character study with scary results. Certain rules simply do not exist as a subtle but involving musical score accompanies the story of a reverend that is out to disprove exorcisms by unwittingly taking on a final challenge that puts everything in doubt. The film is all the more remarkable for the sparse special effects and the PG-13 rating that defies the odds with crafty camerawork. For those not seeking the blood bath often associated with horror these days and willing to put up with a genuine storyline being established in the first third, you will be rewarded with a horror flick that makes you think more than it will make you jump.

I haven’t seen The Last Exorcism, but it looks like the way to describe it is if The Exorcism had sex with Paranormal Activity and they made a horror baby. The premise is that at priest lets a documentary film crew witness his last exorcism. Watching this new TV spot for the film, you’ll know if you’re the audience for this kind of movie. Also, Eli Roth fans should get on board since he served as a producer on the film. And if you need one last bit of convincing that this flick may be worth a look, our own Bill Graham saw it at Comic-Con and said in his review (which we’ll post in full next Friday) that The Last Exorcism “is a horror flick that makes you think more than it will make you jump.”
Hit the jump to check out the new TV spot along with the official synopsis. The Last Exorcism opens on August 27th.

Deemed “too hot for Comic-Con” by the e-mail invite, director Alexandre Aja (High Tension) and a majority of the cast debuted new footage of Piranha 3D Thursday night at the Regal Theater in downtown San Diego. The screening featured approximately 8-10 minutes of new footage from the film (screened in 3D) and was followed by a short Q & A session with the panel including: Alexandre Aja, producer Mark Canton, visual designer Neville Page, Eli Roth, Adam Scott, Jerry O’Connell, Steven McQueen, Elisabeth Shue, Kelly Brook, Riley Steele, and Paul Scheer.
If I had to encapsulate the footage previewed into a single word it would be “ridiculously insane.” All right so that’s two words. Nevertheless, when there is that much blood crammed into less than ten minutes, one word just can’t do it justice. Hit the jump for details of the footage as well as some highlight quotes from the panel.

If you had to pull two in film right now, low budget horror films and Philip Seymour Hoffman could be pretty accurate. That brings us to the trailers that just hit the web, Jack Goes Boating and The Last Exorcism. We’ll start with the latter. Obviously since the success of Paranormal Activity, studios are looking for the next great rural looking horror film, and in honesty I think The Last Exorcism (which was produced by Hostel director Eli Roth) could be it. The story has a priest agreeing to do an exorcism in the midst of a documentary crew, and everything (obviously) goes wrong. The trailer does bring some good horror and while it’s too early to tell, I think it’ll be a smash hit.
Jack Goes Boating on the other hand is Hoffman’s directorial debut which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie stars Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Lola Glaudini, and looks fantastic. The premise involves Hoffman and Ryan falling in love after a blind date, and the issues that surround the two couple. The trailer has the most amazing use of music, with White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes kicking in near the end at just the right moments. It looks like a winning combination of great acting, good directing and the low key independent vibe that is trending in so many movies these days. The Last Exorcism comes out on August 27th, while Jack Goes Boating simply has a 2010 release date. Hit the jump to check out both trailers.
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