Romero talks 'Diamond Dead' & 'Land of the Dead 2'

Moviehole.net has details from George A. Romero about his sequel to Land of the Dead, while giving more info on Diamond Dead and an untitled project with Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg.

Romero tells Moviehole, “I would love to do Diamond Dead. It’s from an Australian Producer, a guy named Andrew Gaty. It’s my favourite, but nobody seems to get it. I love the project. It’s one of those things that everybody says ‘What’s this?’ It’s very hard to explain. It’s sort of like Phantom of the Paradise; it’s a rock and roll spoof about a dead rock band. Everybody that reads it says ‘I don’t quite get it’. I would give my teeth…I would love to do it. I would love to do it while I can still move my bones a little.”

Contrary to recent rumours on the Internet, Romero says the sequel to 'Land of the Dead' won’t be going straight to video.

“People have been asking me about that, I don’t know where that came from”, says Romero. “My partner and I are trying to promote a direct to video series of zombie films, but it has nothing to do with Land of the Dead. I don’t think Universal would want to go the direct to video route for Land of the Dead 2. It’d be theatrical”.

For the full interview and all of the details head on over to Moviehole.net.

- The Monster

For Sale: House of Hell

For sale: three-bedroom Colonial in charming neighborhood. Hardwood floors. Lots of personality. And, oh yeah: Satan slept here.

In the Old but still Horror news.

From the RFT:
For the residents of this tidy, tree-lined Bel-Nor neighborhood, the haunting story that surrounds the home at 8435 Roanoke Drive may be their worst-kept secret.

"Oh yeah, that's the house," confirms neighbor Cris Coy when asked if he's aware of the occult history of the two-story brick colonial next door.

"That's what they say," acknowledges Jean Kustura, a 72-year-old widow who for twenty years has kept watch over the north St. Louis County neighborhood from her bungalow on the other side of the infamous house. "But all of that happened back in the 1940s. I'm told the victim is still alive. He won't talk about it."

Indeed, it seems the only people who aren't eager to recount the sordid tale are the home's current owner, Gary Stafford, and the real-estate agent trying to sell the house. But the fact remains that the real-life story behind author William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel The Exorcist had its origins in St. Louis.

It is within that nondescript brick home that some of the most spellbinding tales of the exorcism occurred.

To read more head over to the riverfronttimes.com.

- The Monster

House Honors Flight 19

From the SciFi Wire:
The House of Representatives on Nov. 17 passed a resolution honoring the 14 airmen of Flight 19—the so-called Lost Patrol—who disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle after taking off from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 5, 1945, during a routine training mission, as well as the 13 men aboard a rescue plane that also disappeared.

Rep. Clay Shaw's (R-Fla.) announcement that the House had passed his resolution came at a news conference and screening sponsored by the SCI FI Channel of its upcoming documentary The Bermuda Triangle: Startling New Secrets for members of Congress, congressional staff and the media. The documentary, hosted by NBC/MSNBC news anchor Lester Holt, looks at the disappearance of Flight 19 and the phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle. SCI FI executives Bonnie Hammer and Dave Howe were also in attendance, as were Holt and family members of the lost airmen.

- The Monster

Day Of The Dead Remake Poster

Arrow In The Head were at the 2005 American Film Market and got this picture of the new Day of the Dead remake poster. Similar to the the DVD cover of Land of the Dead.

The remake is being helmed by Steve Miner (Lake Placid).

For more AFM coverage check it out here.

- The Monster

The Monsters A Go-Go The Kingdom DVD Giveaway!

The Monsters A Go-Go is happy to announce our
Lars von Triers' The Kingdom 2 DVD Giveaway!

Will you be one of the luckey Monsters A Go-Go readers? (Click Here) to learn more!

The Kingdom - Series One

Synopsis:
Acclaimed director Lars von Trier (Dogville) delves into the world of the supernatural with The Kingdom. A hospital known as The Kingdom is the setting for a number of uncanny occurrences and hides many strange occurrences including a ghostly ambulance that appears and disappears, the voice of a little girl calling to a patient in an elevator shaft and a fetus growing at an alarming rate.

Episodes:
The Unheavenly Host
Thy Kingdom Come
A Foreign Body
The Living Dead

DVD bonus features:
Behind-the-Scenes footage, Commentary by Lars Von Trier, Misc. TV spots directed by Lars Von Trier, Trailer

Good luck.
- The Monster

'Halloween' Producer Moustapha Akkad Dies in Jordan

From AP:
AMMAN, Jordan - Moustapha Akkad, the Syrian-born filmmaker and producer of the "Halloween" horror movie franchise, died Friday from wounds sustained in the triple hotel bombings in Jordan. He was 75. His daughter, Rima Akkad Monla, 34, also was killed.

The two were at the wedding celebration at the Radisson SAS Wednesday night when suicide bombers struck it, the Grand Hyatt and the Days Inn in downtown Amman, killing at least 59 people including the three attackers. Rima Akkad Monla, who lives in Beirut, Lebanon, was killed immediately.

He was best known for producing all eight "Halloween" films, starting with the 1979 "Halloween" directed by John Carpenter and starring then-unknown Jamie Lee Curtis. That movie — and the ones that followed — sparked the teen-slasher-horror genre that led to franchises including "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street."

For more information click here.

- The Monster

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comics and More

From Whedonesque.com:
Joss Whedon had this to say about the comics, picking up where the Buffy and Angel television series left off.

"Speaking of Dark Horse Comics, they are starting a new Buffy comic, and as I understand it, it will take place after the end of Buffy and Angel and be canon in the Buffy world. And I understand it that way 'cause I'M WRITING IT. I'm kicking off the book with a four issue arc that finds Buffy -- you guessed it -- living in Italy with The Immortal. (Scott [Allie] -- don't be mad I spoiled the announcement -- saying it means I have to finish it.) Then I'll be overseeing the book more closely, to make sure it remains true. Gonna be interesting."

Whedon adds that the four-issue mini-series may tie into that long-rumored Spike TV movie.

- The Monster

Saw III Confirmed

From the keyboard of producer Greg Hoffman on the House of Jigsaw boards as of 11/4:

”Yes, there's going to be a Saw III, and yes, we will do our best not to ***** it up. We're going to try for next year, but if it's not right when we'd have to start shooting, we'll wait. There are NO CONFIRMED cast members for Saw III yet. There is no director confirmed yet.”

- The Monster

'Creature Feature' pitch is coming to life

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Gold Circle Films has bought Greg Erb and Jason Oremland's pitch "Creature Feature." Described as being in the light horror genre, the story centers on Kevin Ackerman, a 13-year-old budding Wes Craven. Together with his crew of small-town friends, he has made dozens of low-budget horror films featuring his monster props. But after he finds and uses a mysterious old camera, the monsters spring to life. Craig Mazin is producing. Paul Brooks will oversee for Gold Circle Films.

- The Monster

Castlevania Movie News

Variety.com reports:

Steven Paul's Crystal Sky Pictures has bought the rights to long-running Konami vidgame franchise "Castlevania" and has set helmer Paul W.S. Anderson ("Alien vs. Predator") to adapt and direct.

Paul and Crystal Sky president Benedict Carver will produce along with Anderson and Jeremy Bolt, who are partnered in Impact Pictures.

The movie will focus on the origins of Dracula and the uprising of the Belmont Clan, a vampire-slaying family who supposedly become humanity's last hope.

Production is slated to start in mid-2006; no casting has been set.

- The Monster

The Living Dead - DVD Sequels

Chud Reports:

We were all sad when George Romero’s Land of the Dead – a fierce and brilliantly good entry in his Dead series – didn’t do as well at the box office as the current crop of crappy horror films. I worried that this would be the end of the series – not because I wanted to see an endless rehash of the same stuff but precisely because Romero does the opposite, bringing new themes and ideas to each of his films.

The Dead films could be continuing, though, in a whole new way – as a series of direct to DVD releases.

Today I spoke with John Harrison, who has worked with George Romero throughout his career as assistant director, composer, and even as the Screwdriver Zombie in Dawn of the Dead. I was talking to John about the recent DVD release of the lost horror classic Effects (starring Tom Savini and Day of the Dead’s Joe Pilato – click here to buy the excellent new Effects DVD from CHUD!), and he mentioned that he had been working with Romero on some new projects.
“I can’t talk about them too much because they’re in the nascent stages,” he told me. “There are a couple of smaller projects, including one that could be really fun. I can’t talk too much about it, unfortunately, but what I can say is that it remains in the world he is known for and it would be a new DVD franchise.”

There’s more – including talk about Romero’s Dracula film, upcoming Clive Barker movies, and the possible future of the Dune franchise, as well as lots of great information about the lost classic Effects – in my full interview with Harrison, which should run in the next day or so!

- The Monster

Jason Vs. Jason X Comic

From Comic Book Resources:
Avatar are publishing a Jason Vs Jason comic, featuring the character from "Friday the 13th" facing off against the character from "Jason X" - the far future self. Two issues, written and drawn by Mike Wolfer ("Strange Killings"), starting in February.

- The Monster

Night Of The Living Dead Remake in 3D

Well, here is another remake for you....

Night of the Living Dead in 3D

Fangoria reports director Jeff Broadstreet and scribe Robert Valding have wrapped principal photography on a 3-D Living Dead redux for Movies Entertainment and Lux Digital Pictures GmbH. Utilizing the Natural Vision 3D process and appropriate cameras needed for the job, Broadstreet hopes to get his effort in theaters early next year.

The new Night Of The Living Dead 3D will star Sid Haig (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS).

Check out the two links above for more information about the movie.

- The Monster

Dimension Films - Black Christmas Remake

Variety announced that Dimension Films has picked up the distribution rights to James Wong and Glen Morgan’s Black Christmas remake. Morgan, will start production in January for a Christmas 2006 release.

"Black Christmas" is about a killer who terrorizes a sorority house with phone calls before he begins to murder various sorority sisters during the holiday break.

Check out the original 1974 Black Christmas DVD here.

- The Monster