Premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was the natural disaster thriller, Aftershock.  Co-written by star Eli Roth and director Nicolas Lopez, Aftershock centers on a group of young partygoers in Chile who find themselves surrounded by death and destruction when a violent earthquake brings the town down around them.  You can watch some footage here.  Also, Dimension just picked up the rights to Aftershock, so you can expect to see the film for yourself sometime next year.

Before the world premiere, I sat down with Roth and Lopez for an extended interview.  They talked about premiering at TIFF, how they ended up working together, the genesis of Aftershock and how the original idea was to make a sci-fi movie, being distributed by Dimension, and a lot more.  In addition, with Roth and Lopez involved in a number of other projects, I got updates on Clown, The Green Inferno, and RZA’s The Man With the Iron Fists which Roth called a “hip hop kung fu Avengers” and who did the soundtrack.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

The Toronto Film Festival only just got underway yesterday, but Dimension Films has already made a fairly major acquisition.  Per Deadline, Bob Weinstein’s genre studio is nearing a deal to distribute two projects produced by Hostel director Eli Roth: Aftershock and Clown.  Roth co-wrote and also stars in Aftershock, which is an earthquake thriller that’s set to screen at the festival.

Clown hasn’t yet begun production, but the film actually spawned from an incredibly creepy fan-made trailer that went viral and piqued Roth’s interest.  The story centers on 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.  The distribution deals apparently guarantee a wide release for each film, so this is big news for Roth.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer for Clown.

Let’s make something very clear up front: this trailer for Klown (Klovn) is the definition of “not safe/suitable for work” so don’t even think about watching it in your cubicle unless you’ve already put in your two weeks notice.  Directed by Mikkel Norgaard and starring Frank Hvam, Casper Christensen and Marcuz Jess Petersen, Klown follows a male-bonding vacation between two friends that is deemed by them to be a “Tour de Pussy.” Complicating matters is Frank’s (Hvam) kidnapping of his pregnant girlfriend’s 12-year-old nephew to accompany them on their debaucherous trip so he can prove his parenting skills.  HBO’s Eastbound & Down star, Danny McBride, is set to write and star in the remake of the Danish project and I can definitely see why he is a perfect fit.  This new red-band trailer highlights the strange friendship between Frank and Casper and a woman who, literally, gets stuck in between them (the 12-year-old is left out due to decency/legal reasons).  Klown will be released in theaters and VOD/digital platforms on July 27th.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer which, once again, is super NSFW. You’ve been warned.

Danny McBride is set to write and star in the adaptation of the Danish TV series-turned-film Klovn (Clown) with Todd Phillips attached to produce.  Per Deadline, the logline is “two men and a 13-year old boy embark on an R-rated vacation.”  In the TV series, two guys plan a “canoeing trip”, which is actually what they’ve deemed a “Tour de Pussy” where they plan to party hard and have lots and lots of sex.  When one of the guys discovers that his girlfriend is pregnant and wants to get rid of the baby, he attempts to prove he can be a good father by taking her son on the canoeing trip even though the guy and his pal still plan to embark on their “Tour de Pussy.”

Hit the jump for more.

Shortly before George Clooney’s The Ides of March hit theaters, I sat down with Brian Oliver, President and CEO of Cross Creek Pictures, for an exclusive interview.  While you may not be familiar with Cross Creek Pictures or even Brian Oliver, that’s about to change.  I say this because last year they produced Darren Aronofsky ‘s Black Swan, Ides of March, Ron Howard’s Rush and the Gothic horror film The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe.  In addition, they’re developing a Steve McQueen biopic that will star Jeremy Renner, two Eli Roth projects that will shoot next year, the real life story of mobster Whitey Bulger (Black Mass), and the Colin Firth/Emily Blunt film Arthur Newman, Golf Pro. So, like I said, Cross Creek is about to hit your radar.

During my extended conversation with Oliver we talked about Cross Creek’s plans for the future, what they have in development and the status of each project, how he ended up running the company, how the success of Black Swan has impacted their future plans, and so much more.  I’ve also put together a list of “15 Things to Know” in case you just want the highlights. Hit the jump for more.

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.

Time isn’t always on your side. While at Fantastic Fest this year, I dove in way more than last year and exposed myself to nearly every film I could. Through screeners and screenings, I managed to fit in over 30 films over the last 11 days. Unfortunately, I just don’t have the time to review every one of them so instead, I will provide a slew of bite-sized capsules to provide a general feel and idea of what these films do well and where they might fail. So, without any more fanfare, join me after the jump for my reviews of Aardvark, Clown, Carre Blanc, The Day, Smuggler, The Corridor, Livid, Let the Bullets Fly, and A Lonely Place to Die.

Well, folks, it’s over:  another year, another week-long cavalcade of awesome at Fantastic Fest.  This year’s lineup included some big name movies (Melancholia, Take Shelter), some smaller ones (You’re Next, Extraterrestrial), and some complete unknowns (Zombie Ass, A Boy and His Samurai), as well as some truly amazing, non-screening events.  Who won awards at this year’s Fantastic Fest, and what were the highlights of the week?  Find out after the jump, folks.

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.