Mike Flanagan, the visionary writer/director behind the acclaimed films Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game and creator of the hit series Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House and most recently The Fall of the House of Usher will write, direct and produce a radical new take on The Exorcist in a new film for Blumhouse and Morgan Creek.
The film will tell an all-new story set in The Exorcist universe and is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer. The film will be produced by Trevor Macy on behalf of Intrepid Pictures and Flanagan via his new Red Room Pictures banner. John Scherer will also be working on the film on behalf of Intrepid.
This film marks the fourth collaboration for Flanagan and Blumhouse; he wrote and directed Oculus (2013), Hush (2016) and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), all also produced by Macy, the latter which was recently featured in Blumhouse’s Halfway to Halloween AMC Film Series.
Stated Flanagan, “The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe. Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting.”
“Mike’s voice and vision are indispensable for horror fans and we are excited to welcome him back to Blumhouse. I immediately responded to Mike’s new take on the world of The Exorcist and can’t wait for audiences to experience it,” said Jason Blum, Founder and CEO, Blumhouse.
“It’s an honor to be working with Mike. I think his vision for this franchise is going to stun audiences worldwide, and I could not be more excited to be working with him, Trevor, Jason and the entire Blumhouse Team,” said David Robinson, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Creek.
(from left) Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) in The Exorcist: Believer, directed by David Gordon Green.
The Exorcist: Believer grossed $137M at the global box office. The film was directed by David Gordon Green, and written by Peter Sattler and Green, from a story by Scott Teems & Danny McBride & David Gordon Green. Green, Danny McBride, Stephanie Allain, Ryan Turek, Brian Robinson, Christopher Merrill, Mark David Katchur and Atilla Yücer are executive producers. David Robinson, James G. Robinson and Jason Blum produced the film. The film was a Universal Pictures Presentation and a Blumhouse/Morgan Creek Entertainment production in addition with Rough House Pictures.
Flanagan, Macy as well as Intrepid and Red Room are represented by WME, with VanderKloot Law also representing Flanagan and Reder & Feig handling Macy.
On Thursday, John Carpenter was the guest On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to discuss his latest project “John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams”, a six-episode horror anthology series available to stream on Peacock.
The host, a huge film nerd, revealed to the audience that his go to comfort movie food is 1982’s THE THING. Reviled by critics and cinema goers at the time for being too gory and violent, while expecting a remake of Christian Nyby’s and Howard Hawks’s black & white version of 1951’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, the movie was almost forgotten… until sci-fi and horror fans decided differently. In the decades since, the film saw new life with VHS, Laserdisc and Blu-ray/DVD. The film has a killer score composed by Ennio Morricone, organic, non-CGI effects from Rob Bottin and one of the best posters ever from Drew Struzan.
Having joined many Top Horror lists, film geeks over the years have bantered about different theories on the dismal ambiguous ending where the survivors slowly freeze to death to save humanity from infection in the ultimate heroic act.
When asked by Colbert if he knows who the actual Thing is, Carpenter coyly replies with: THERE’S AN ABSOLUTE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, I DO KNOW THE ANSWER. IF YOU WATCH IT REALLY CAREFULLY AND YOU SEND ME A CHECK IN THE MAIL, I WILL TELL YOU. Colbert follows up with, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHETHER I CAN FIGURE IT OUT, to which Carpenter says, YOU CAN.
John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams is a genre-busting unscripted horror anthology series from the mind of legendary director, writer, and producer, John Carpenter. The series explores the dark secrets and unspeakable evil that sometimes lurks beneath the surface of the sun-drenched streets, manicured lawns and friendly neighbors of suburbia. Each episode focuses on one true tale of terror, told by the real people who lived through it. Their firsthand accounts are brought to life through premium cinematic scene-work, news clips, home photos, and archival footage, combining the visual language of horror films with the tools and techniques of documentaries, creating a uniquely frightening experience for viewers.
Remotely directed from his own home, check out Carpenter’s idea of scary.
Highland Film
Group announced today the company has come aboard to handle worldwide sales for
the new horror action thriller The Lair written, directed, and
produced by Neil Marshall (20th Century Fox’s Dog Soldiers,
Lionsgate’s The Descent, The Reckoning, Lionsgate’s Hellboy).
Casting is currently underway with plans to start principal photography in Spring
2021. Highland Film Group will introduce the project to buyers at the upcoming
virtual American Film Market.
The
Lair is produced
by Neil Marshall / Scarlett Productions Ltd.
Going back to Marshall’s creature horror roots beloved worldwide, The Lair tells the terrifying tale about a Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair who is on her final flight mission when her jet is shot down over one of the most dangerous rebel strongholds of Afghanistan. She finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made biological weapons – half human, half alien and hungry for human flesh – are awakened. Sinclair barely escapes but unknowingly, tracks the creatures known as Ravagers back to a US army base.
“If The Reckoning was a gothic drama in testament to the power and resilience of women, then The Lair is my true return to full blooded horror and intense genre action in the style of Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Doomsday. I’m making something scary as hell, pulse pounding and great fun. This is a crowd pleaser. An adrenaline pumping roller-coaster ride. Spectacular and loud; inspired by classic genre movies like Aliens, Predator and The Thing and their incredible use of practical creature FX. Featuring a new breed of screen terror, The Lair will be a snarling, ravenous beast of a movie. I’m going to get my hands bloody making this one!” said Marshall.
Listen to Marshall talking about DOG SOLDIERS.
“The Lair has the potential to become a cult classic that showcases Neil’s extraordinary work we have already enjoyed in his hits such as The Descent and Dog Soldiers. The worldwide distributors are seeking powerful classic genre films with excellent execution from an expert’s hands. The Lair ticks all the boxes,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “Neil is at the top of his game when he is directing evocative creature films such as The Lair. When we read the script, we knew immediately that this would be another one of his signature event movies. We cannot wait for him to get to work,” continued Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.
Highland Film
Group’s diversified production and sales slate includes: Mark Neveldine’s Panama
starring Cole Hauser and Mel Gibson; Randall Emmett’s Wash Me In The River
starring Robert De Niro, John Malkovich, and Taylor Kitsch; Randall Emmett’s Midnight
in the Switchgrass starring Bruce Willis, Megan Fox, and Colson ‘Machine
Gun Kelly’ Baker; Andrew Baird’s One Way starring Colson ‘Machine Gun
Kelly’ Baker and Travis Fimmel; Alec Baldwin’s Rust; Jonathan Milott and
Cary Murnion’s Becky starring Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, and Joel McHale
released in the US June 2020; Infamous starring Bella Thorne and Jake
Manley, released in the US June 2020; Andrew Baird’s Zone 414 starring
Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz, and Travis Fimmel; John D. Eraklis’ Pierre the
Pigeon-Hawk with the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Howie Mandel; Mark Earl
Burman’s Ambush starring Aaron Eckhart; The Tiger Rising starring
Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid; and Skylin3s, the third chapter of the
successful franchise, starring Lindsey Morgan.
Photo by Vianney Le Caer/REX/Shutterstock (6727118ae) Scott Derrickson ‘Doctor Strange’ Launch Event, Westminster Abbey, London, UK – 24 Oct 2016
Scott Derrickson (Dr. Strange, Sinister, The Day the Earth Stood Still) will direct for Blumhouse and Universal.
Derrickson and frequent collaborator Robert Cargill (Bermuda, Doctor Strange, Sinister) adapted the script based on Joe Hill’s short story.
Mason Thames (For All Mankind) and Madeleine McGraw (Toy Story 4, Secrets of Sulphur Springs) are set to appear in the film.
Derrickson, Cargill and Jason Blum, for Blumhouse, are producing the film. Universal and Blumhouse will present the Crooked Highway Productions. Joe Hill is an executive producer.
Representatives include:
Scott Derrickson is represented by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Ziffren Brittenham.
Robert Cargill is represented by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Joe Hill is represented by Hotchkiss Daily & Associates and The Choate Agency
Mason Thames is represented by AKA Talent Agency, MC Talent Management and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher
Madeleine McGraw is represented by Coast to Coast Talent Group, the The Burstein Company and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham
On Thursday writer, producer, director Ava DuVernay was the guest on A Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The host and filmmaker talked about the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, his influence during the production of SELMA, and personal advice from the lawmaker where he told her to “do everything!”. They also spoke about the criminalization of black people and the myth that they need to be controlled through mechanisms of social control that is prominent in the justice system, which is shown in her film 13TH.
Winner of the Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody Awards, Academy award nominee, DuVernay also talked about her new program LEAP: Law Enforcement Accountability Project, which came about by the murder of George Floyd and how it funds artists who raise awareness about officers who have committed crimes against black people. In addition Colbert and DuVernay also discussed the mainstream press’s lack of coverage about law enforcement units in Army-style camouflage with no identification other than a simple “Police” label on their outfits going into Portland and other U.S. cities. Read more about it here: https://fortune.com/2020/07/22/trump-federal-troops-portland-law-us-cities-chicago-nyc-baltimore-philadelphia-detroit/
Learn more about LEAP and how to contribute at LEAPACTION.org
Duvernay’s film “13th” is streaming for free right now on YouTube.
Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay’s examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country’s history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America. This piercing, Oscar-nominated film won Best Documentary at the Emmys, the BAFTAs and the NAACP Image Awards.
DuVernay also helmed the film WHEN THEY SEE US, the infamous case of The Central Park Five, that was released worldwide on Netflix in May 2019.
On the heels of their successful collaboration on “Ready Player One,” Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment are again teaming with Warner Bros. Pictures to produce the action adventure “Blackhawk,” with an eye to Spielberg directing the film.
Based on the classic DC property, the project will mark the filmmaker’s first feature centered around characters from DC. The announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
In making the announcement, Emmerich stated, “We are so proud to be the studio behind Steven Spielberg’s latest hit, and are thrilled to be working with him again on this new action adventure. We can’t wait to see what new ground he will break in introducing ‘Blackhawk’ to movie audiences worldwide.”
The screenplay for “Blackhawk” is being written by David Koepp, who has collaborated with Spielberg as a screenwriter on the blockbusters “Jurassic Park,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Spielberg will produce the film together with Kristie Macosko Krieger, under the Amblin Entertainment banner, while Sue Kroll will executive produce, under her Kroll & Co. Entertainment shingle.
Spielberg noted, “It was wonderful working with the team at Warner Bros. to bring ‘Ready Player One’ to the screen. They bring a blend of passion and professionalism to everything they do and have a tremendous history in this genre. I am excited to reunite with them on ‘Blackhawk.’”
Spielberg’s next two films are the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise and “West Side Story.”
“Blackhawk” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Each summer, while the multiplexes are filled with the big spectacles and epic blockbusters, the little gems that grip us with their humor, their tragedy and their humanity, manage to find their ways into the cinemas. This year it’s THE JOURNEY, the gripping account of how two men from opposite sides of the political spectrum came together to change the course of history.
In 2006, amidst the ongoing, decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland, representatives from the two warring factions meet for negotiations. In one corner is Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall), the deeply conservative British loyalist; in the other is Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney), a former Irish Republican Army leader who has devoted his life to the cause of Irish reunification. Opposites in every way, the two men at first seem to have little chance of ever finding common ground. But over the course of an impromptu, detour-filled car ride through the Scottish countryside, each begins to see the other less as an enemy, and more as an individual—a breakthrough that promises to at last bring peace to the troubled region.
Driven by two virtuoso central performances, THE JOURNEY is a more-relevant-than-ever reminder of how simple humanity can overcome political division. Freddie Highmore, Toby Stephens, Catherine McCormack and John Hurt co-star. (Review)
I recently spoke with the director of THE JOURNEY, award winning director Nick Hamm. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Hamm directed cult-classic THE HOLE (2001), starring Thora Birch and Keira Knightley, in her feature film debut. He also helmed Lionsgate’s thriller GODSEND (2004), starring Robert DeNiro, Rebecca Romijn and Greg Kinnear.
Hamm later produced and directed the 80’s U2-centric comedy, KILLING BONO (2011) for Paramount Pictures and Northern Ireland Screen, starring Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan and Pete Postelwaite.
During our discussion about his latest movie, the British director and I talked about the film’s mixture of tension and humor, the human story and the message of THE JOURNEY.
We Are Movie Geeks: THE JOURNEY is a good story that should be told – the type that audiences don’t see anymore. It opened in 2016 in Toronto and then Venice, and finally had its premiere at the Belfast Film Festival in May 2017. What was the crowd’s reaction and how was it received?
Nick Hamm: That was a really extraordinary event. I’ve seen it now with thousands of people watching the movie and if you’re going to see a movie like this, you really need to take it back to Northern Ireland to see what they make of it. In the end, that’s where the authenticity of the film is. It is important to us. The event was attended by nearly a thousand people and political leaders from both sides of the community came so we had politicians from Sinn Féin and politicians from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). It was a very emotional and momentous event because in many respects it reminded people of something that they had achieved and had risked losing.
We Are Movie Geeks: It is such an interesting script by writer Colin Bateman, one that is funny, sad, and dramatic. Tell me about lead actors Timothy Spall (Paisley) and Colm Meaney (McGuinness – who died recently in March) and the casting. Their characters became known as ”the Chuckle Brothers”. Both actors were very impressive to watch.
Nick Hamm: What underscores everything is the fact that Colin’s script is so good and when that happens, you attract really good actors. Both Tim and Colm were fantastic partners on the film. Tim had to transform himself – he’s playing a six foot five, Northern Irish politician when in reality he’s a five foot nine London actor. We did some prosthetics on his chin and a little aging on his hair, along with the false teeth. The hair and makeup was done by Polly McKay. Tim became the character of Paisley which was fascinating to watch and he’s one of those actors that totally transforms himself.
Colm is one of Ireland’s best actors. What was important was to find somebody who could give McGuinness sympathy. This is a man whose background is well documented. What do you do? You start by making him human, you give him a life and a backstory. When you put someone like Colm Meany in that role, Colm transforms himself for that. He understands the culture from where that character comes, he understands the basis of that character’s ideology and he understands how that character ticks. If you have that and you are a good actor – which he is, then you have a good combination. It was great to watch him.
We Are Movie Geeks: I was very pleased to see the late John Hurt in the film in what was one of his final roles.
Nick Hamm: We all knew that John was very sick while he was doing the film. When we offered him the movie, he wanted to work until the end and play the part. It was real tribute to have him involved as a part of the film.
We Are Movie Geeks: Irish writer Seamus Heaney, although not a political animal was an artist like yourself. He was affected by “The Troubles” when his cousin Colum was killed as a result of the war – Heaney moved from Northern Ireland to Southern Ireland after that. Has it affected you in any way and was this a partial reason why you made the film?
Nick Hamm: It hasn’t affected me personally but I knew people who were. Growing up I was in school in Northern Ireland and I knew people who had real problems. I could see it with my own eyes, the difficulties back then, and it was an intense situation. The vast portion of the people in Northern Ireland went on about their daily life unaffected by it. The real heroes were the people who got on with their daily lives in that situation.
THE JOURNEY for me shows how a unique political friendship was achieved at the personal cost of both men. Both men were vilified by their respective communities, but it was one of the most unique political friendships that I had ever witnessed. For two people who were so antagonistic towards each other, who ultimately came to respect each other, and became friends with each other, is why I made the movie and to tell their story.
We Are Movie Geeks: Despite technically being set in Scotland, and on a plane, THE JOURNEY was filmed in Northern Ireland. There’s no green screen and it was filmed on the road with your director of photography Greg Gardiner. What was the approach when you took it out of the plane and into the car?
Nick Hamm: This device protected the claustrophobia that the film so demanded while allowing a political version of a road movie to take place. We decided to not be frightened by the tyranny of the car but rather embrace it and enjoy the conceit. Greg and I had discussed and ultimately rejected the idea of green-screen or back-projection very early. We filmed on the road, creating a ‘mobile studio’; our own little cinematic microcosm
We Are Movie Geeks: There is one scene in particular, where McGuiness and Paisley let down their defenses somewhat, set inside a church and then out in the cemetery, that has real depth.
Nick Hamm: I think in the cemetery scene when Colm breaks down, everyone expects Paisley to be sympathetic and wrap his arms around him, but he rebuffs him and shows him no pity or sympathy. Every scene was like a boxing match with each character winning a round.
We Are Movie Geeks: I appreciated the sound editing and especially the score from Stephen Warbeck who first became known for the music for “Prime Suspect” and won an Academy Award for his score for Shakespeare in Love. It is a really nice score.
Nick Hamm: It was something quite new for him and he really had a go at it.
We Are Movie Geeks: Did you speak to the families and to some of the individuals involved? And what was their reaction?
Nick Hamm: I met McGuiness before he died. The whole film came together very quickly from the start.. From the script to the financing, it was out in about two and a half years. It’s been a very quick process and very rare for an independent film. I did sit with McGuiness before we started filming about his friendship with Paisley and it was fascinating to hear him speak how important the relationship was and how important it was that they maintained contact up to its logical conclusion. I did talk to Paisley’s family and to his son. We wanted to reassure them we were not riding roughshod over the history. But at the same time it was important to be creatively independent. We did not share the screenplay with them at any stage. In the end both families really loved the movie.
Plus Sinn Féin and the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) really liked the film, which is almost unheard of, both parties liking the same thing never mind the same movie. The most important thing for us was that the story was balanced.
We Are Movie Geeks: Brexit is seemingly in the news all the time now. As a result, checkpoints could be set up again to control borders. The timing of the film and its release couldn’t be more relevant. Will it cause a major headache between Northern Ireland and Ireland? Will it hinder Ireland’s reunification?
Nick Hamm: The question needs to be asked and it’s a dreadful situation. The idea that there will be a border back in Ireland again, I don’t think anybody wants that. I know for a fact that the DUP doesn’t want that and it would be suicide for both the economy and the welfare of the people to start putting border checks back up. That border in Ireland runs through people’s fields and farms. It was never designed to be a hard border, which it was during “The Troubles”. It would be an unmitigated tragedy to go back to that.
We Are Movie Geeks: Speaking of Indie Films, what are your thoughts on how people see films? Many are leaving the cinemas in favor of watching a film at home or on the computers with the advent of Netflix and HULU, etc.
Nick Hamm: I like that at the beginning of a movie’s life that it has a public screening. I think the ways a film is distributed these days is really fascinating. I don’t distinguish between how and where a movie is watched. It’s changing so quickly, in five years-time it’ll change all again. Even the act of going to a movie theater is going to change. As long as they keep putting out these huge blockbuster films, in the cinemas is the best way to watch them. However some films work better on a smaller screen. I think screen size some people can get very worked up about.
We Are Movie Geeks: What’s your next project?
Nick Hamm: We are going to do the DeLorean story, DRIVEN. It’s through the eyes of the guy who gave him up to the FBI. We’re hoping to shoot in September in Puerto Rico. The script is from THE JOURNEY’s Colin Bateman. Jason Sudeikis, Lee Pace and Timothy Olyphant are in the picture.
Synopsis:
DRIVEN is the turbo-charged story about the FBI sting operation to entrap maverick car designer John DeLorean.
Sudeikis stars as Jim Hoffman, a con artist-turned-informer for the FBI in the war on drugs. Olyphant plays his handler, determined to snare the world-famous but enigmatic DeLorean (Pace) — desperate for cash to finance his dream of designing the ultimate car of the future — in a drug deal that would become the most lurid celebrity scandal of the 1980s.
The Academy will pay tribute to director-producer Richard Donner with an evening of personal anecdotes, film clips spanning his prolific career and special appearances by friends and colleagues on Wednesday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Guests to take the stage with Donner include actors Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Jeff B. Cohen, Carol Kane, Joseph Mazzello, David Morse, Ke Huy Quan and John Savage; producer and president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige; writer, president and chief creative officer at DC Entertainment Geoff Johns; writer Brian Helgeland; and Lauren Shuler Donner, producer and Donner’s wife for more than 30 years.
Lauren Shuler Donner and Richard Donner 2006 Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
Donner’s work is wide-ranging, from small independents (“Inside Moves”) to cult classics (“The Goonies”), superhero epics (“Superman”) to medieval love stories (“Ladyhawke”), and mystery-suspense thrillers (“The Omen”) to blockbuster comedies (“Scrooged”) and the buddy action series, “Lethal Weapon.”
Recently director Patty Jenkins described in the New York Times how Donner’s SUPERMAN played into one scene from WONDER WOMAN.
What was the inspiration for the scene?
It’s an homage to one of my favorite movies of all time, Richard Donner’s “Superman.” One of the things I loved in Superman was this very playful period of time where we know who Superman is and what he can do. But he’s let loose on Metropolis. And he encounters a mugging he’s completely ill-prepared for. In that movie Lois Lane knows exactly what’s going on and is trying to handle the situation. She causes a gun to go off and he catches the bullet and she never sees it and he’s able to save the day with his superpowers. So this scene is trying to comment with humor on how things would go down when the roles are reversed….we built onstage because what we were looking for was something that both echoed Richard Donner’s “Superman” alleyway and something that [allowed us to] block that alley fight.
LETHAL WEAPON recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Released in March 1987, the movie grossed over $120 million against a production budget of $15 million, and it was nominated for Academy Award in the category of Best Sound. It spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and a television series.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, saying Donner “tops himself”.
Running from 1-31 July, BFI Southbank are delighted to present a season of films which have inspired director Christopher Nolan’s new feature Dunkirk (2017), released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 21 July.
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN PRESENTS has been personally curated by the award-winning director and will offer audiences unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of WWII.
The season will include a special preview screening ofDunkirkonThursday 13 July, which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself.
Christopher Nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film, and as one of the few cinemas in the UK that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film, BFI Southbank will screenall the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm.
In 2015 Nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist Tacita Dean at the BFI London Film Festival to discuss the importance of celluloid as an artistic medium, and he consistently shoots on film despite the industry’s move toward digital. Here, the director sums up his programming choices for this exclusive season:
“You might expect a season of films leading up to a screening ofDunkirk to be a selection of war movies. But I chose to approach Dunkirk more as survival story than war film. One look at James Jones’ essay on ‘Phony War Films’ (in which he takes down several of my old favourites) immediately shows you the perils of taking on real-life combat in a dramatic motion picture. In Jones’ estimation All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) said it first and best: war dehumanises. Revisiting that masterpiece it is hard to disagree that the intensity and horror have never been bettered. For me, the film demonstrates the power of resisting the convention of finding meaning and logic in individual fate. Most of the other films in this series fall into two different, but overlapping categories. From established classics of tension like The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953) and Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) through to the more recent ticking-clock nail-biters Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994) and Tony Scott’s final film, the relentless Unstoppable (2010), our season explores the mechanics and uses of suspense to modulate an audience’s response to narrative.
Other titles explore the possibilities of purely visual storytelling, whether literally, in the case of the silent epics – Stroheim’s Greed (1924) and Murnau’s Sunrise (1927) – or in part, like the thrilling windswept beaches and crashing waves of Ryan’s Daughter (David Lean, 1970). The relationship of geographical spectacle to narrative and thematic drive in these works is extraordinary and inspiring. Pure cinema. The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) is a timeless and affecting verité narrative, which forces empathy with its characters in the least theatrical manner imaginable. We care about the people in the film simply because we feel immersed in their reality and the odds they face.
The visual splendour, intertwined narratives and aggressively anachronistic music of Hugh Hudson’s Chariots of Fire (1981) combined to create a masterpiece of British understatement whose popularity rapidly obscured its radical nature. Finally, no examination of cinematic suspense and visual storytelling would be complete without Hitchcock, and his technical virtuosity in Foreign Correspondent’s (1940) portrayal of the downing of a plane at sea provided inspiration for much of what we attempted in Dunkirk. All the films are screened on 35mm or 70mm prints. I hope you will enjoy the rare opportunity of seeing these incredible movies in their original analogue glory, as nature intended.”
SEASON LISTINGS:
Preview: Dunkirk + intro by director Christopher Nolan
Netherlands-UK-France-USA 2017. Dir Christopher Nolan. With Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy,Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh. RT and cert TBC. 70mm. Courtesy of Warner Brothers
Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in. We’re delighted to screen Nolan’s much anticipated vision of an event that shaped our world.
Tickets £24, concs £19.20 (Members pay £2 less)
THU 13 JUL20:15 NFT1
Greed
USA 1924. Dir Erich von Stroheim. With Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt. 132min. 35mm. PG. With live piano accompaniment
Hollywood’s more serious stabs at realist fiction emulate the social and psychological nuances of the 19th-century novel, and no one has taken American film further down that road than Stroheim. Shot on location in San Francisco and Death Valley, the film was cut to less than a third of its original nine hours, but remains extraordinary for its unflinching vision of the corrosive power of money.
SUN 2 JUL 15:10 NFT1 / SUN 9 JUL 14:15 NFT3
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
USA 1927. Dir FW Murnau. With George O’Brien,Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston. 94min.35mm. With score. U
Murnau’s foray into American cinema sees him construct a world free of geographic and social specifics – a dreamlike rural landscape and a brash cityscape that is everywhere and nowhere. Made at the end of the silent era, it pioneered the use of synchronous sound on film, for Reisenfeld’s score as well as such sound effects as traffic, whistles and church bells. Sunrise stands as a haunting fable – a dream of crime, love, loss and redemption.
USA 1930. Dir Lewis Milestone. With Lew Ayres,Louis Wolheim, John Wray. 133min with restoredsoundtrack. 35mm. PG
All Quiet on the Western Front is rightly recognised as one of cinema’s most enduring and emotive portrayals of the tragedy of the Great War. This epic film concerns a generation of German schoolboys who – exhorted by their patriotic teacher – enlist enthusiastically but are ultimately destroyed in the war. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, the film proved highly controversial and was banned in many countries.
SUN 2 JUL 17:20 NFT3 /THU 6 JUL18:00 NFT3
Considering All Quiet onthe Western Front
TRT 90min
During WWI, Lewis Milestone, a recent Russian émigré to the US, made films for the Signal Corp, and this experience undoubtedly informed his 1930 Hollywood masterpiece, All Quiet on the WesternFront. Film historian Kevin Brownlow (who interviewed Milestone about his film career in the 1960s) will be joined by film professional Mamoun Hassan to discuss – alongside film clips and a rare trailer – the history and achievement of what is considered to be the greatest anti-war film of all time.
Tickets £6.50
THU 6 JUL 20:40 NFT3
Foreign Correspondent
USA 1940. Dir Alfred Hitchcock. With LaraineDay, George Sanders, Joel McCrea.119min. 35mm. PG
Made partly to raise the American public’s awareness of the Nazi threat, this picaresque espionage adventure follows a US journalist to London and Holland to cover a mooted peace treaty; instead, with the help of a diplomat’s daughter, he uncovers a conspiracy. Set pieces abound, including one at Westminster Cathedral and a windmill that conceals a sinister secret.
SAT 1 JUL 15:20 NFT1 / SUN 22 JUL15:10 NFT3
The Wages of Fear Le salaire de la peur
France-Italy 1953. Dir Henri-Georges Clouzot. With Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Véra Clouzot. 147min. 35mm. EST. PG
Watched by a hungry vulture, a child plays with cockroaches in the dusty street of a South American shantytown. So begins one of the most nerve-wrackingly suspenseful films ever made, as four desperados take on a suicidal mission to drive two trucks full of nitro-glycerine along precipitous, pot-holed roads. As the tension mounts, this journey to hell is propelled to its misanthropic conclusion by a truly unsettling score.
SAT 15 JUL 18:00 NFT1 / SAT 22 JUL 17:40 NFT3
The Battle of Algiers La battaglia di Algeri
Algeria-Italy 1966. Dir Gillo Pontecorvo. With Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Brahim Hadjadj. 121min. 35mm. EST. 15
Algiers functions as both the site and symbol of struggle in this dazzling reconstruction of nationalist opposition to French occupation during the 1950s. The Old City nurtures and shelters the guerrilla fighters who, despite brutal reprisals, repeatedly venture from it to attack the colonial might of the new ‘European’ city. Battle of Algiers is an award-winning masterpiece of political cinema.
TUE 4 JUL 18:15 NFT3 / SUN 9 JUL 20:10 NFT1
Ryan’s Daughter
UK 1970. Dir David Lean. With John Mills, Sarah Miles, Robert Mitchum. 194min (+ interval). 70mm. 15
With a harsh critical response at the time of its release, Ryan’s Daughter is a triumph of sensual storytelling for David Lean. Robert Bolt’s script reworks Hardy-esque formulae into a story about romantic excess and moral cowardice, set during the Troubles of 1916, woven into a vision of damnation. Freddie Young and John Mills won Oscars®, and deservedly so.
SUN 16 JUL 15:15 NFT1 / WED 19 JUL 19:00 NFT1
Alien
UK-USA 1979. Dir Ridley Scott. With Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm. 116min. 35mm. 15
The Alien phenomenon began here as the crew of the Nostromo are woken from stasis by the ship’s computer and grudgingly sent to investigate a transmission of unknown origin. They discover a deadly alien species and as the crew are picked off one by one, Ripley takes her place as the ultimate sci-fi heroine. This iconic classic features designs from HR Giger and a brilliant script by Dan O’Bannon.
SUN 23 JUL 20:15 NFT1 / SAT 29 JUL 20:45 NFT1
Chariots of Fire
UK 1981. Dir Hugh Hudson. With Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm, Nicholas Farrell. 123min. 35mm. PG
Hugh Hudson’s visually magnificent, emotionally exhilarating account of the struggle by Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell to compete on their own terms at the 1924 Olympics seemed to herald a new highpoint in British cinema and was a hit at the Oscars®. With fine use of slow motion, Chariots of Fire tugged at the heartstrings of a nation.
SAT 15 JUL 15:20 NFT3 / SUN 23 JUL 17:40 NFT1
Speed
USA 1994. Dir Jan de Bont. With Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper. 116min. 35mm. 15
This blockbuster hit has non-stop, edge of the seat thrills and spills. Reeves turns in a strong performance as the hero, a SWAT cop dealing with a crazed bomber who has wired up a bus to explode if the speed drops below 50mph. Bullock shines as the feisty passenger at the steering wheel. A thoroughly enjoyable roller-coaster ride of a movie.
TUE 25 JUL 20:50 NFT1 / SUN 30 JUL 17:20 NFT3
Unstoppable
USA 2010. Dir Tony Scott. With Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson. 98min. 35mm. 12A
With the poster tag line reading ‘1 million tonnes of steel, 100,000 lives at stake, 100 minutes to impact’, Tony Scott’s final film as a director is about a runaway freight train, a retired railroad engineer and a rookie conductor who must figure out a way of trying to avert disaster. It’s a well-made, suspenseful thriller that works as a great companion piece to Speed.
Len Kabasinski had a childhood much like many of us – grew up loving genre movies (for him, kung-fu and sci-fi, and sci-fi-kung-fu), but unlike many of us, when he grew up he had the drive and determination to parlay that into a filmmaking career which has now lasted over a decade and gone from strength to strength.
His first film was a little gem called “Swamp Zombies!!!” (yes, three exclamation marks) While it looks a lot like the legions of other no-budget forests-based horror movies that we’ve been subjected to in recent years, it’s differentiated by two things that would become Kabasinski trademarks – oddball casting and excellent fight scenes. The latter can be explained by his being a nationally ranked martial artist and knowing lots of people who can fight well on camera; but the former is probably the first reason I became a fan, and that’s the casting of pro wrestlers. In this movie alone we get Brian “The Blue Meanie” Heffron, Jasmine St Claire, and Dan Severn; in later movies we see Lanny Poffo, aka “The Genius”, aka Macho Man Randy Savage’s brother.“Swamp Zombies!!!” is a heck of a lot of fun, though. There’s a strong feeling running through it of a deep love for genre movies, and a respect for their cliches and oddities, that’s also run through the rest of his output. You need very little description other than the title – like, I bet whatever mental image you have right now is about 75% accurate on the finished product.
I’m not going to be telling you about all his movies, as that would be exhausting for me and you. If you want to watch his output, the majority of it is available to stream for a low price from https://killerwolffilms.vhx.tv/ I have favourites, but there’s at least something to recommend in almost everything. 2006’s “Curse Of The Wolf”, for example, has a strong following among Kabasinski-ites, even though this reviewer didn’t love it.
“Fist Of The Vampire”, from 2007, is a belter, chock full of action (it’s partially about an underground fight league, one of the great staples of low-budget cinema), with some decent performances too. It’s the first of his movies where I wished he had a larger budget – more on that later – because his ideas are almost too big for what he can afford.
My personal favourite, and the movie that tells you quite a bit about Kabasinski, is 2009’s “Apocalypse Female Warriors”. This is the tale of three women and the guy they sort of pick up, trying to navigate their way across the post-apocalyptic landscape to get to the safety of the only remaining city, at least partly so they can get drunk and laid. The effects are better, the pacing is better, the performances are better, he’s more confident with the camera, and while it’s still a micro-budget b-movie with a lot of the action taking place in the woods, if you’re a fan of strange cinema, you’ll love this. But it’s not just that it’s a good film. Several years later, Len listened to criticism of it – it was slightly too long, a few scenes didn’t work, some of the effects weren’t amazing – and in a fairly unprecedented move, re-edited it and re-released it under a different name (its original title was “Warriors of the Apocalypse”). The new version, clocking in a little over 75 minutes, is a lean mean slice of modern grindhouse.
One of the things I’ve noticed about Len is his lack of ego. If he does something that doesn’t quite work (like overuse of Dutch angles, for instance) he wants to have this pointed out so his next movie can be stronger. Take 2011’s “Ninja: Prophecy Of Death”, another grindhouse-esque gem, featuring a strong performance from Brian Anthony, a Kabasinski regular. Heck, he even gives himself a great role in this, as Anthony’s co-tracker Colt, and the scene where he takes on a house full of evil ninja is brilliant. What’s perhaps most surprising is the huge number of post-production delays, to the point where it was almost going to be shelved; the only way we consumers can notice is a few bits where some ADRed sound would have been handy but wasn’t financially available.
Released late last year was “Angel Of Reckoning”, a good old fashioned revenge flick, with a female soldier back in town for a holiday, who encounters drug gangs and sleazy pornographers and has to kick a bunch of ass. And next up is “Hellcat’s Revenge”, which I’m really looking forward to. Fans of seeing his sense of humour can check out his association with Red Letter Media, including a few interviews and a segment of a fake movie called “Horse Ninja”.
So that’s Len Kabasinski, a man who’s prepared to work a great deal harder than you or I and has a decade of often excellent b-movies, made on weekends and breaks from work, to show for it. If you’re at We Are Movie Geeks for the excellent reviews of big-budget studio fare, then there might not be a lot for you here, but if you’re one of those people who’s prepared to dig a little deeper, then you might really enjoy his work.
I write reviews for another site, and one of our projects is to review every movie made by the SyFy Channel. I’ve seen hundreds, movies that look entirely competent but often have not a single thing to recommend them. Given that SyFy is only interested in having something original to fill a couple of hours, I wish they’d behave more like Roger Corman and give work to interesting new directors. Even the relatively tiny budgets for those movies would represent a huge increase for a director like Len, and he’d really struggle to make something as bad as the worst of their output.
Read Mark Longden’s previous ‘Legend Of Cult Cinema’ article on Andy Sidaris HERE
