Midnight Movies

Director:Jonas Åkerlund Writer:Dave Callaham Release Date:6 February 2009 (Italy) Genre:Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

RADIANT PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT Presents a MATTHEW BORA Film. OFFICIAL THEATRICAL MOVIE TRAILER

“Fear The Forest” The Legend Lives…
Written, Produced and Directed by: Matthew Bora.

Fear The Forest Movie Synopsis:

Long ago the Native Indians feared and respected it as a “God”…..
However, just a few years ago a very fast moving “Ghost-Like Creature” was thought to be killing people in the Dark unforgiving woods. Some disappearing without a trace and never to be found. Then a $2.5 Million Dollar bounty was on for the capture of this so called creature with a massive Hunter search party, but was dismissed as a hoax.

Enter the present day as a group of five fearless, young men and women venture into the woods for a weekend getaway, but to their demise the killing starts again and one by one the five are hunted, culled away and killed up to the last survivors. Time runs out on each of the last members, now they must run for their own lives, or fall Prey to the legend that still survives in Fear the Forest.

Plot: An ex-con moves into an old apartment building, where he encounters a domestic problem involving a police officer, his wife, and their daughter. When he tries to intervene, however, a mysterious curse entraps him.

Jesse Bradford ,Amelia Warner, Kevin Durand, Iza Calzado

Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. In years past they have presented the world premieres of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, APOCALYPTO and EAGLE EYE, while our guest roster has included such talent as Mel Gibson, Bill Murray, Paul Rudd, Bill Pullman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jon Favreau, George Romero, Darren Aronofsky and Mike Judge. They also feature world, national and regional premieres of new, up-and-coming genre films.

Fantastic Fest is held each year, primarily at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on South Lamar in Austin, Texas. The Alamo Drafthouse was named the best cinema in America by Entertainment Weekly and features food and drink served to your seat without any disruption of the movie experience.

During his Keynote Address at the International film Festival Summit in Las Vegas, Variety president and publisher Charlie Koones listed Fantastic Fest in a list of “10 Film Festivals we Love,” a list which included industry heavy-hitters such as Cannes, Toronto and Telluride.

“The geek Telluride… Fantastic Fest lives up to its name” – Variety

“If there’s a heaven, I want it to be just like the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar during the week of Fantastic Fest.” – Devin Faraci, CHUD.com

For more information: www.fantasticfest.com

June:

Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors New York
June 5-7, 2009
Jacob K. Javits Center
655 West 34th Street
New York, NY

Monster-Mania Con
June 12-14, 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel
HARTFORD - SOUTH CROMWEL
100 BERLIN RD.
CROMWELL, CT

International Classic Monster Movie Conference and Film Festival
June 26-28, 2009
Days Inn Conference Center
Butler, PA (north of Pittsburgh)

As spring draws to a close and the summer movie season boils up to full steam, DVD distributors are working diligently to give you a reason to stay home and watch TV with a gamut-running slew of new, nerd-friendly titles. Wired.com selected a few of the must-haves of the season:

The Transformers: The Complete First Season: When Shout Factory signed a deal with Hasbro, it quickly announced the release of the first season of Transformers to coincide with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This 25th-anniversary DVD (right, top) hits June 16 and features all Season 1 episodes, remastered audio, a collectible Autobots magnet and bonus content.

Top Gear, Season 10: You wouldn’t think a car show would earn accolades, but Top Gear is consistently one of the most entertaining and irreverent shows on television. Including legitimate tests of supercars and more affordable vehicles, the show also hangs its hat on amusing stunts like a 250-plus MPH Bugatti Veyron racing a British fighter jet.

Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy and American Dad, Volume 4: Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane serves up a double feature with two very different styles. The fourth season of American Dad departed from wholesale mockery of conservatives and the Bush administration to build more compelling comedic stories around the show’s established and supporting characters.

Meanwhile, the Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy was originally a series of shorts produced in conjunction with a Burger King promotion. The DVD collects all 50 short animated sketches and assembles in a simple succession. Imagine Family Guy’s asides without any plot to surround them. While some fall flat, this reporter is ashamed to have laughed himself silly watching Fred Flintstone go to the bathroom.

Doctor Who: “Attack of the Cyberman“, “The Rescue/The Romans“, “The E-Space Trilogy“, “Battlefield“: Spring’s Doctor Who releases span four eras of the show’s 45-plus year history.

Combining two episodes from the First Doctor (William Hartnell) era, “The Rescue/The Romans” shows the series’ early efforts to mix straight-up sci-fi stories with historical adventures. “The E-Space Trilogy” features the beginning of the end for Tom Baker’s seven years as The Fourth Doctor. The three alternate universe stories also offer the introduction of Adric (one of The Doctor’s less popular companions).

“Attack of the Cyberman” (right, middle) marked a return to the history of Doctor Who with a revisiting of two classic episodes, Hartnell’s “The Unearthly Child” and Patrick Troughton’s “Tomb of the Cybermen.” Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor goes to war against an archnemesis in a story that’s a little all over the place, but still entertaining.

Finally, Battlefield is one of Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy’s most enjoyable yarns, featuring a sci-fi retelling of the Arthurian legend and the return of the beloved Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Venture Brothers Season 3: This ingenious and inspired Adult Swim show doesn’t get enough press and deserves far more accolades than it’s pulling down. One of the best-written shows on all of television, it’s taken what was a safe concept of spoofing Jonny Quest and escalated into a richly nuanced world full of distinct characters. This DVD volume of its third season features completely uncensored episodes.

The Invisibles, Season 1: This little-known BBC comedy/drama is just making its way overseas and features Anthony Head (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who) as an aging thief who retires to a small English village only to find his old habits irresistible.

24, Season 7: This frantic go-around just wrapped up recently on Fox, but it’s already in stores. Delayed a year by star Kiefer Sutherland’s legal troubles, the seventh season (the first in the Obama era) kept to its central themes and maintained strong audience numbers.

RiffTrax — “Carnival of Souls,” “House on Haunted Hill,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Missile to the Moon,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” “Reefer Madness,” “Swing Parade” and ”Shorts: Vol. 2″: The DVD selection at RiffTrax (right, bottom) exploded recently with the release of a series of cult classics with commentary by Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.

Originally published by Legend Films with comments from Nelson on his own, the entire series is being rereleased with triple-team wisecracks for the first time.

Source - www.wired.com/underwire

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival will honor director Penelope Spheeris who will be in attendance on Friday, June 26 at the Egyptian Theatre.

A special screening of SUBURBIA will follow a panel discussion with Penelope Spheeris, Ross Albert, Christina Beck, and Bert Dragin moderated by Robert Rosen

Los Angeles, CA May 19, 2009 — The evening will celebrate a blend of her professional landscape of documentary and fiction independent
filmmaking. The event will begin with a special screening of Spheeris’ documentary short NO USE WALKIN’ WHEN YOU CAN STROLL (1998) and her eighties cult classic feature SUBURBIA (1984), followed by a panel discussion with Spheeris, Ross Albert, Christina Beck, and Bert Dragin, moderated by UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Robert Rosen. The event will conclude with a reception.

Spheeris’ career began with a love for music. In 1974, she formed her own production company, ROCK ‘N REEL. It was the first production company in LA to specialize in music videos. After producing, directing, and editing videos for major bands throughout the seventies and eighties, she directed the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, which was received with unanimous critical praise.

Still fascinated with the subject, she wrote and directed her first narrative film, SUBURBIA produced by industry legend Roger Corman. The drama revolves around the lives of “The Rejected”, a group of punk kids who have abandoned their homes escaping abuse, and have squatted a Los Angeles bungalow. NO USE WALKIN’ WHEN YOU CAN STROLL is the moving and honest short portrait of Penelope Spheeris’ mother, which sheds light onto the director’s unusual and turbulent childhood years that would later inform the majority of her film works.

Spheeris never veered far from exploring desolation of youth which continued to dominate her subsequent fiction films, including THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (1984) with Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield; DUDES (1987) with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Lee Ving, and Daniel Roebuck; and THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART II: THE METAL YEARS (1988) with commentaries from Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Alice Cooper.

In 1992, Spheeris directed her seventh feature and first studio film, WAYNE’S WORLD (Paramount Pictures), followed by THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES (Fox, 1993), THE LITTLE RASCALS (Universal, 1994), BLACK SHEEP (Paramount, 1996), and SENSELESS (Dimension, 1998). THE KID & I (2005), starring Tom Arnold and Eric Gores about a brilliant young actor with cerebral palsy is the last film she directed. Spheeris wrote LOVE ABOVE THE STRIP, a romantic heavy metal comedy set in the summer of 1987, and is in development of ROTTEN: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs John Lydon’s best-selling biography.

Panel discussion will be moderated by Robert Rosen, Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Rosen has published widely in the field of media preservation and has guided the growth of the UCLA Film & Television Archive in original film and television materials. He also holds the following leadership positions: Founding Director of the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American Film Institute, the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Film Archives, member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, and Board Member of the Stanford Theater Foundation and the Geffen Playhouse. For ten years he was the film critic for KCRW National Public Radio and he is an active member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Panelists include Ross Albert, Christina Beck and Bert Dragin. Ross Albert started his career making a series of experimental short films, for which he was awarded several film festival prizes. He received his first editing credit for SUBURBIA. Since then, he has worked with Spheeris on nine projects including THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, LITTLE RASCALS, BLACK SHEEP, and THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART III. He has also edited a wide range of other feature films including BLUE CITY, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, LISA, DEAD AND BURIED, 2010, BUSHWHACKED, WHAT WE DO IS SECRET, BABY ON BOARD, and THE PEST. Christina Beck began her career as a performer in Spheeris’ SUBURBIA, BOYS NEXT DOOR and DUDES. Beck has directed, written and starred in several short films including SLICE, produced by Fox Searchlight’s New Directors program screened at Cannes short film corner, SO HOT FOR YOU, and THE OPHELIA PROJECT. Her first feature film, PERFECTION is currently in production. Bert Dragin is the writer and director best known for his classic eighties horror flicks SUMMER CAMP NIGHTMARE (1987), co-written with Spheeris and produced by Roger Corman and TWICE DEAD (1988). He also produced Spheeris’ SUBURBIA.
The third annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) takes place June 25-28 in Hollywood at The Egyptian Theatre. LAGFF showcases new films from Greece, Cyprus, and filmmakers of Greek descent worldwide.

The Tribute to Penelope Spheeris will be held on Friday, June 26, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre, located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, CA 90028. A reception will follow. The event will be presented by The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation – ERT SA.

Admission to the reception, screening and panel discussion is $15 advance online purchase; $20 at the door. For more information on the festival please visit www.lagreekfilmfestival.org or call 818.728.0720.

Kathy Coleman will play a cameo role in ‘Land of the Lost’ movie slated to release on June 5th. Kathy is a child actress who is known for playing Holly Marshall in the original 1974 TV series on which this movie is based. The film is directed by Brad Silberling and stars Will Ferrell.

The ‘Land of the Lost’ film follows “a disgraced paleontologist, his assistant, and a macho tour guide who find themselves in a strange, alternate world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks.”

Land of the Lost TV series was created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network. It was not, however, a prime-time series. It has since become a cult classic and is now available on DVD. It was shot in Los Angeles, California.

Excel Home Videos has released two scifi films like X-Files - I Want To Believe and Babylon AD on DVD. The films based on science fiction and sci-fi action promises to be a treat for lovers of the genre.Both the DVDs will be available in all leading stores for Rs 399.

Incidentally, The X- Files: I Want To Believe is the second feature film based on Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning American cult television series The X- Files.

The X-Files had become the longest-running science fiction series ever on US broadcast television by its final airing and was rated as one of the greatest cult television show by TV Guide. In 2007, Time magazine included it on a list of the ‘100 best TV shows of all time’.

Directed by series creator Chris Carter from a story he penned with executive producer Frank Spotnitz, The X-Files: I Want To Believe is a standalone story described as a “skillful thriller” (Roger Ebert; Chicago Sun-Times) that picks up six years after the series ended.

Bonus features included in the DVD are: audio commentary by director Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, deleted scenes, gag reel, featurettes and ‘Dying to live’ by Xzibit.

In Babylon AD Vin Diesel is back at his best on a mission to save the future of mankind. Based on the critically-acclaimed French novel Babylon Babies by Maurice.G.Dantec, Babylon AD is directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (of Gothika and Assassins fame) and stars Vin Diesel (of Saving Private Ryan, The Chronicles of Riddick fame) as Toorop, French actress Mélanie Thierry and martial arts star Michelle Yeoh (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame).

The DVD is loaded with action packed bonus features that include an extended unrated cut, multiple featurettes and picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes footage.

Bonus features found in the DVD are Babylon Babies, Artic Escape, Featurettes, deleted scenes, prequel to Babylon AD and still gallery.

Source - www.indiantelevision.com

Moviemaker talks about the prequel, memories … and eyebrows.

J.J. Abrams, collector of cult audiences with his creations that include “Lost,” “Heroes,” “Fringe” (and that great misunderstood monster movie “Cloverfield”) has now taken on the mother of all cult audiences: “Star Trek.”

In his new anticipated blockbuster, which opened Thursday, Abrams goes back to the childhoods of Spock and James T. Kirk, creating a prequel that the trekkie and the trek-phobic can both cheer.

The AJC wedged in an interview with the director between television appearances.

Q: This movie is Star Trek 11, but we notice you left off the number. Are you trying to pretend the other movies didn’t happen?

A: “This is its own thing. It’s a re-start. The key thing for me is for people to know that you never have to have seen any ‘Star Trek’ to see this movie.”

Q: What was your first experience with “Star Trek”?

A: “I remember being in elementary school and there was a kid who just loved it. … I watched the show a couple of times.”

Q: Did he smell bad and sit by himself at lunch?

A: “This guy was actually not an uncool guy. He was a regular kid, he played sports. … I remember that I didn’t connect with it.”

Q: Then “Star Wars” came along.

A: “When ‘Star Wars’ came out, it blew my mind; it was awe-inspiring. It not only did what any great story does, which was introduce relatable characters who are thrust into extraordinary situations, but unlike ‘Star Trek’ it gave you a ground floor entry point into who the people were. And it was funny.”

Q: How do you compete with that?

A: “It’s not about a competition between the two … In my head I felt like I was a little bit paralyzed by the brilliant work of George Lucas and his team. The reason I ended up taking on this movie as a director is that when I read the script the story was so much fun; the characters were so much fun. The comedy of it for me was great. I thought, ‘My gosh, I kind of love these people.’ “

Q: In the early seasons of “Heroes” viewers said Zach Quinto (Sylar) looked like Spock. Did this make you cast him as young Spock?

A: “I did not cast him only because he looked like him, but it did not hurt that when he walked in, I almost gasped at the eerie similarity between him and Nimoy. That had an impact.”

Q: Plus he was willing to shave off his eyebrows.

A: “Right. I told him, ‘They’ll grow back.’ Then I asked [the producer] ‘They will grow back, won’t they?’ “

Source - http://www.ajc.com