Rob Zombie will direct the thriller The Lords of Salem this spring.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Zombie’s script is “set in contemporary Salem, where the inhabitants receive a demonic visit from a 300-year old coven of witches.”  I’m sure the coven comes by because they heard how swimmingly everything went for witches the last time they were in Salem area.  The film will be backed by Haunted Movies, which is a partnership between the UK’s Alliance films and Paranormal Activity producers Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and Steven Schneider.  Haunted Movies plans to sell the rights to The Lords of Salem at the European Film Market in Berlin.  They’ll also be showing footage from Barry Levinson’s upcoming film The Bay.

Several unknowns have been tapped to star in Barry Levinson’s upcoming horror film The Bay (aka Isopod.)  According to Bloody Disgusting, the film stars Will Rogers  as “Alex,” Steven Kunken as “Dr. Abrams,” Kether Donohue as “Donna,” Frank Deal as “John Stockman,” Christopher Denham as “Sam,” and Kristin Connolly as “Stephanie”.  The film is currently shooting from a screenplay written by Michael Wallach which tells the story of a biological disaster that takes place in the Chesapeake Bay on July 4^th, 2011.  An isopod parasite carries mutated diseases and infects fish and human hosts, replacing them with itself.  The true extent of the disaster isn’t known until seven years later, when the truth is revealed through home videos taken by residents of the town.  Paranormal Activity’s producers of Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and Steven Schneider are producing along with Brian Kavanagh Jones.

Wayne McClammy, the director of the hilarious Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel shorts “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” and “I’m Fucking Ben Affleck,” is in negotiations with Universal to direct their upcoming comedy Desperados.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Isla Fisher may star in the project, which is currently in development.  Mark Gordon and Jason Blum will produce the film written by Ellen Rapaport which is described as a “female version of The Hangover.”  The film is about a woman who sends her new boyfriend an angry email when he doesn’t contact her after they have sex, but it turns out he’s in a coma in a hospital in Mexico so she and her friends go to erase the email before he wakes up.  Production is set to start by the end of the year.

Hit the jump to check out “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” and “I’m Fucking Ben Affleck”.

While the minds behind The First Avenger: Captain America are consistently frustrating fans with their ever-growing grocery list of potential on-camera talent, the sequel to one of the biggest horror movies of all time is having a similar problem behind the camera.

Last month, Collider reported that Brian De Palma (Scarface, Carrie) was one of many directors being considered to direct Paranormal Activity 2.  That rumor seems to have lost its steam with Shock’s report claiming that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, whose works include A Beautiful Mind (for which he won an Oscar) and Batman & Robin, will be announced as the sequel’s director.

However, it has just been reported that the rumor is not true. Hit the jump to find out the current state of the production team behind the sequel and to find out when we should expect an official director announcement.

Whenever a film becomes a smash hit, there are the inevitable rip-offs and finally the sequel. For Paranormal Activity, we already have news that the director that cut his teeth on Saw VI has come aboard the untitled and mysterious sequel to the hit that tore into audiences worldwide for over $150 million last year despite only having a budget of $15,000.

According to THR, Kevin Greutert will direct the sequel while Michael R. Perry will write. Greutert edited the first five Saw films and sat in the director’s chair for the sixth installment last October. Meanwhile, Perry has hopped from a variety of TV shows, but is best known for his writing on The Guardian and Millennium. Not exactly the ideal guys to put behind the sequel, but there is a silver lining:

Universal Pictures has picked up a spec for the “female ‘Hangover’” as a potential star vehicle for Isla Fisher.  The film, titled “Desperados,” tells the story of a woman who sends an angry email to her new boyfriend after he stops returning her calls only to learn that the reason he turned silent is that he’s in a coma in Mexico.  Now she and a group of friends must race south of the border to intercept the message before he wakes up.  More details after the jump.

Sam Raimi is producing a supernatural horror film about a Yeti terrorizing a remote town.  This picture represents a 100% increase in the number of Yeti films currently in production. I think we’re pretty much done.  I’ll give you more details after the jump but seriously:  Sam Raimi plus Yeti.  We’re already trying to buy a ticket (at least I am).