From Jason Blum (Insidious, Sinister) and Josh Gates (Destination Truth), Stranded is the new Syfy reality series that uses the same stripped-down first-person method from Paranormal Activity to document an unconventional and terrifying paranormal and psychological experiment, in which participants are stranded at haunted location for a week and must record the entire experience themselves.  Each of the six hour-long episodes features the self-recorded footage of a group of everyday paranormal enthusiasts, combined with strategically-placed security cameras at each location.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, executive producer Jason Blum talked about how Stranded came about and why he thought it was a great fit for what he’d already done on the narrative side, the process of selecting the individuals and locations for the show, how he got some fun ideas for future movies while they were scouting possible haunted locations, and where his love for genre and horror started.  He also talked about how he expects Paranormal Activity 5 to go into production in middle to late Spring for an October release, why he and the film’s partners thought there was further story to be explored for Insidious 2, what made him want to collaborate with Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Glee) on a modern-day remake of The Town that Dreaded Sundown, that he hopes Area 51 will be released soon, and that he’s not currently juggling quite as many projects as IMDB would lead you to believe.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

The new Syfy reality series Stranded, which debuted on February 27^th, documents an unconventional and often terrifying paranormal and psychological experiment.  Each episode features the self-recorded footage of a diverse group of every-day paranormal enthusiasts who are left stranded at one of the most haunted locations in America and record the entire experience with hand-held cameras creating an unscripted first-hand account of their stay.

While we will share what executive producer Jason Blum had to say about the new show next week, we did want to share his updates on some of his current and upcoming feature films.  Blum told Collider that he expect Paranormal Activity 5 to go into production in middle to late Spring for an October release and that he hopes that franchise will remain ongoing, why he and the film’s partners thought there was further story to be explored for Insidious 2, what made him want to collaborate with Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Glee) on a modern-day remake of The Town that Dreaded Sundown and why he thinks that will appeal to audiences, that he hopes Area 51 will be released soon, and that he’s not currently juggling quite as many projects as IMDB would lead you to believe.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Check out the latest casting news for the following pictures:

• Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) is in talks to topline James Foley’s fantasy drama-romance Sands.  The modestly-budgeted picture is a supernatural love story penned by novelist Renata Bovara.
• Tuppence Middleton (Cleanskin) has joined the impressive cast of the Wachowski siblings’ Jupiter Ascending in an unspecified role.
• Danielle Bisutti (True Jackson, VP) has been added to the cast of James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2 as Michelle, whose character details are being kept under wraps.  Insidious: Chapter 2 opens August 30th.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

We’ve got a variety of new images from the following productions:

• Insidious: Chapter 2 – Director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell return for the sequel to their 2010 horror hit and have provided two behind-the-scenes looks.  Insidious: Chapter 2, starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne opens August 30th.
• Welcome to the Punch – Eran Creevy’s directorial follow-up to his 2008 film Shifty stars James McAvoy as a detective who is granted one last chance at catching a career criminal when the man is forced to return to London.  Welcome to the Punch opens stateside on March 15th.
• Riddick – The third installment from director David Twohy and star Vin Diesel features the return of the titular anti-hero.  Riddick, also starring Karl Urban, debuts on September 6th.

Hit the jump to see the images and synopses.

One of the many films to premiere footage at this year’s New York Comic-Con was director James Wan‘s (Insidious) supernatural thriller The Conjuring.  The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as “a husband and wife team of demonologists and psychic investigators who enter the most horrifying case of their career, spirits in a Rhode Island farmhouse.”  Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor play a couple who unknowingly move into the haunted farmhouse with their kids.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s recap of the Comic-Con panel.

Shortly before the panel started, I saw down with Wilson for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about how he got involved in The Conjuring and what attracted him to the material, what it’s like attending a comic convention after playing Nite Owl in Watchmen, what’s his favorite cut of the film, his thoughts on walking around a future convention in costume as Nite Owl, an adaptation of Caught Stealing, the status of an Insidious sequel, what it was like to do a reading for Rob Marshall‘s screen adaptation of Into the Woods, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

For the past month, we’ve been running a new column here at Collider.com called Limited Paper , and—thus far—it’s been a smashing success:  we’ve received shout-outs from a number of artists, galleries, and dealers within the poster community, we’ve showcased a ton of awesome prints, and we’ve seen our readership continue to grow with each passing installment.  But occasionally, our esteemed readership has pointed out that—for as awesome as the screenprints presented in Limited Paper are—they’re usually sold out by the time we show ‘em to you.   Depending on how badly you want those prints, that could be a problem.  Luckily, we’ve got a solution:  Unlimited Paper.  Meet me after the jump for links to some super-cool screenprints that you can buy…right now.

One of the most successful films profit-wise from last year was James Wan’s Insidious. The horror pic was made for a mere $1.5 million and ended up grossing over $95 million. That’s quite a hefty profit. Given the film’s success, it was pretty much guaranteed to get a sequel. Now it’s official, as Variety reports that a follow-up is currently in the works for a 2013 release. The creative team behind the first film, director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, are coming back for the second go-around, and James Blum is coming back to produce. Whannell had this to say regarding the sequel:

“It is with great excitement that we announce our commitment to a second installment of this story. Both of us feel that we can mine more terror from the world we created and know that if we assemble every member of the original team, we will have an amazing continuation of the story for fans of the first film.”

Production is set to get underway later this year, but plot details are (predictably) being kept under wraps. Head to the comments to sound off on where you think the sequel will go. Wan will next direct Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the supernatural thriller The Conjuring.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

Woo-hoo.  Folks, it looks like 2011 has indeed soared to its first big weekend win in months on the wings of Fox’s Rio.  The 3D animated toon rose from the ashes of a lower than expected Friday figure to earn an estimated $40 million for the three day frame.  Unfortunately, there was not a lot of love left over for Wes Craven’s Scream 4 but, no matter!  The weekend should still end up ahead of last year by approximately 12%.

Four new releases hit theatres this weekend, including one that was marketed to within an inch of its life.  Still, year-to-year grosses will be down once again by almost 10% and it was a holdover that took the number one title.  Universal’s Hop earned an estimated $21.7 million to put it on top of the US box office for the second week in a row.

Insidious got off to a solid start this weekend.  The horror film outperformed expectations of $10 million for an impressive 3^rd place at the box office with an estimated $13.5 million.  It marks the first big screen pairing in four years of Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell as director and writer and surprisingly just their third feature-length collaboration in those roles.  Their latest project follows a young family (Watchmen star Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne of Damages fame play the parents of two boys) who have just moved into a new home when bizarre events occur that make the mortgage the least frightening aspect of their new purchase.  Insidious appears to be a traditional haunted house film until the plot takes a major turn.

Collider caught up with director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (who also provides some comic relief onscreen) for a very revealing interview.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcript, including: updates on their future projects, a candid take on some high-profile horror remakes and stories of some formerly condescending classmates who have a very different take on their work these days.

Universal’s Hop has just earned 2011’s highest debut weekend – if today’s estimate of $38.1 million from 3,579 locations proves accurate. For now the three-day estimate for the live-action/CGI-animated comedy stands less than one million ahead of Rango’s record from five weeks back.

As expected, Universal’s Hop was Friday’s number one film with an estimated $11.4 million from 3,579 locations.  The live action/CGI-animated comedy was heavily promoted as hailing from the team behind last year’s Despicable Me and, though it ultimately fell short of that film’s $21.3 million first Friday, Hop has a shot at passing Rango to claim the biggest first weekend of 2011 if its projected three day take of $38 million proves accurate.  Summit Entertainment’s Source Code placed second with an estimated $5 million from 2,961 locations, which would indicate a weekend figure in the mid-teens.  In other words, not quite as strong as recent releases like Limitless in the sci-fi genre. Fellow newbie Insidious came in at number three on Friday with $4.8 million from 2,408 locations.  Weekend projections for the supernatural horror flick are between $10 and $15 million but, as FilmDirect’s follow-up to Paranormal Activity, the ultra low-budget Insidious is already counting its profits.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

James Wan’s a polarizing figure amongst horror geeks:  he co-wrote and directed the first Saw– which, at the time, was an awesome, nasty little indie horror flick– but in the time since that film’s release, we’ve seen a parade of lackluster Saw sequels…and two mediocre follow-ups from Wan in Death Sentence and Dead Silent.  With Insidious, though, Wan seems to have gotten his groove back:  Insidious is one of the scariest, most entertaining, enjoyable horror-watching experiences I’ve had in a theater in years.  Read on for my first impressions of Insidious after the break.

A new poster and some images from the upcoming film Insidious have hit the web. From director James Wan (Saw), the film stars Rose Byrne (Damages) and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) as parents of a boy who falls into a coma after an accident at their new house: “The tragedy doesn’t stop there when they are beset by vengeful spirits from another realm.” The first trailer hit the web a couple of weeks ago. Hit the jump to check out the poster and new images. [Update: Film District has sent us the high-resolution version of the poster.]