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JUNE 4 |
POLTERGEIST Turns 43
43 years ago today, the Cinema Summer of 1982 in North America was called Steven Spielberg's One Two knock-out punch, as his two movies dominated the summer. They knocked out other major movies that would come to be regarded as better movies like Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER and John Carpenter's THE THING.
But how could a PG Horror movie with a cast of nobodies overwhelm everything else? Welcome to the dawn of fan power and the blockbuster summer. Steven was hot, coming off of wildly successful movies like JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Spielberg was coupled with his director Tobe Hooper, still hot among Horror fans for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, as together they were creating the cinema's decade that would come to be known by unborn generations as the ultimate era for Horror movies.
This is how audiences felt when they sat before massive screens, surrounded by giant theater speakers, and were lured into the world of POLTERGEIST.
And -
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN is Old Enough to Legally Buy a Beer
By 2004 there were two great fantasy franchises and Warner Bros. had them both! THE LORD OF THE RINGS through WB's company, New Line, had finished its run in 2003, the previous year, but H.P. had another 5 novels to go and the next one was HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.
Plus -
SPLICE Turns 16
When SPECIES came out it was largely sold on the fact that the Oscar winning artist of the still mega-popular ALIEN movie, H.R. Giger, was the designer here as well. Advanced sales of Giger art books on the movie were sold ahead of release. What's more, Oscar winning actors, Ben Kingsley and Forest Whitaker were also in it. It was directed by Roger Donaldson. Finally, it was sold on its R rating and promised the nudity of its star, Natasha Henstridge.
Unfortunately SPECIES was Produced, and written entirely by Dennis Feldman (VIRUS).
Giger soon realized that MGM (wallowing in the dregs of their SUPERNOVA era) didn't want a great Science Fiction Horror movie like ALIEN, they wanted Giger's name on a cheap movie so they could sell it as if it was the next ALIEN.
"Well what does all that have to do with Vincent Natali and Guillermo Del Toro's movie?"
you may ask.
Because while it was in production, it was decided that this movie would be sold like it was an heir, not to a great movie like ALIEN, but a dreary ALIEN wannabe that had already sank and died in the diminishing returns of Direct To Video land sequels. Compounding the bad marketing was the fact that original Canadian distributor, Entertainment One, was going to give up and dump it direct to video, which probably didn't help the first weekend box office returns on SPLICE.
Also -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Keith David (John Carpenter's THE THING [1982], THEY LIVE, LADY KILLERS [TV], FINAL ANALYSIS, NAILS [TV], THE PUPPET MASTERS, GARGOYLES [voice], THE GRAVE, SPAWN [TV], PRINCESS MONOKE [voice], PITCH BLACK, FINAL FANTASY [voice], 29 PALMS, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, DIRTY, SPAWN: The Animation, CHAIN LETTER, NOW HERE, SAMUEL BLEAK, THE INHERITANCE, SMILEY, CLOUD ATLAS, UNION FURNACE, SONS OF LIBERTY, IF I TELL YOU I HAVE TO KILL YOU, RANGE 15, RICK AND MORTY [TV], TALES FROM THE HOOD 2, YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER, LIVERSPOTS AND ASTRONOTS [TV], KIDS VS MONSTERS, THE SEVENTH DAY, FINAL SPACE [TV], BLACK AS NIGHT, THE GATEWAY, NOPE, FROM THE SHADOWS, TIM TRAVERS AND THE TIME TRAVELERS PARADOX, SHELBY OAKS) is 69.
Look for Keith's upcoming 2025 Horror, PORTAL TO HELL.
Writer Joe Hill (Books: HEART-SHAPED BOX,
20th CENTURY GHOSTS, HORNS, NOS4A2, THE FIREMAN, STRANGE WEATHER, WRAITH, FULL THROTTLE. Movies: LOCKE & KEYE, HORNS, Joe Hill's TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, NOS4A2 [TV], CREEPSHOW [TV], THE BLACK PHONE, LOCKE & KEYE [TV]) is 53.
Actor Angelina Jolie (CYBORG 2, HACKERS, THE BONE COLLECTOR, Laura Croft: TOMB RAIDER, ORIGINAL SIN, LAURA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: The Cradle of Life, TAKING LIVES, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, THE GOOD SHEPHERD, CHANGELING, WANTED, SALT, THE TOURIST, MALEFICENT [all], THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD, THE ETERNALS) is 50.
Actor Sean Pertwee (EVENT HORIZON, TALE OF THE MUMMY, FIVE SECONDS TO SPARE, SEVEN SECONDS TO LIVE, DOG SOLDIERS, EQUILIBRIUM, THE PROPHECY: Uprising, RENAISSANCE, WILDERNESS, BOTCHED, DOOMSDAY, MUTANT CHRONICLES, 4.3.2.1., DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND, FOUR, ULTRAMARINES, LIEN UPRISING, HOWL, GOTHAM [TV], THE PALE HORSE [TV], THE RECKONING, THE INVITATION, YOU [TV], THE NIGHT CALLER [TV]) is 61.
Actor Bruce Dern (MARNIE, "HUSH ... HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE", THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT, FAMILY PLOT, BLACK SUNDAY, "AFTER DARK, MY SWEET", THE HAUNTING [1999], THE GLASS HOUSE, SWAMP DEVIL, THE HOLE, CHOOSE, TWIXT, TOOLBOX MURDERS 2, THE HATEFUL EIGHT, FREAKS, SWING LOW, MR. MERCEDES, BUCK ALAMO, HELLBLAZERS, MID-CENTURY, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, BUCK ALAMO OR, BLOODLINE KILLER) is 88 and the only living actor who can claim roles in 2 Alfred Hitchcock movies.
Look for Bruce in the upcoming 2023, 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller THE DEVIL'S TRAP. Also in 2025, CATnip and FRACTURED.
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JUNE 3 |
PSYCHO II Turns 42
It's 42 Years Later, and we're still talking about PSYCHO II.
It took 22 years to make the sequel that no one thought could work. You can't follow an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Preposterous! It's foolish to even try. But there were hundreds of big name PSYCHO fans living in Hollywood who worked in the industry. They were among the tops in their field and they would love to give it a shot.
Except for Universal Pictures who held the rights.
In 1983 sequels had to be made quick and cheap. Unless your name was George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, nobody should risk spending more on the sequel than was spent on the original. And even those two came with doubts that they could equal the master, Hitchcock himself.
Then Hitchcock himself recommended a Director. With that blessing, actor Anthony Perkins, who uniquely made Norman Bates all his own, said he'd do it.
The rest, as is said, is the history of PSYCHO II.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Bonnie Aarons (CAGED HEAT 3000, MULHOLLAND DR. [TV], MULHOLLAND DR., SPECTOR'S ROCK, WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY, I KNOW WHO KILLED ME, INALIENABLE, HELL RIDE, DRAG ME TO HELL, DAHMER VS GACY, THE CONJURING 2, THE NUN [all], JAKOB'S WIFE, FRANK, I LIVE ALONE, THE BELL KEEPER, CAMP PLEASENT LAKE, LITTLE BITES) is 47.
Look for Bonnie in the 2023,
2024, 2025, Horror Mystery, MARTINEZ MARGARITAS AND MURDER. Also expected in 2025, IF IT BLEEDS and EVER AFTER.
Writer/bookstore owner/Actor Del Howison (Books: DARK DELICACIES, DARK DELICACIES II, DARK DELICACIES III. Movies: THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS CLUB, HORRORVISION, SCARLETT COUNTESS, B-MOVIE MONSTER, BOOGIE WITH THE UNDEAD, COUNTESS DRACULA'S ORGY OF BLOOD, THE VOID [2016], EVIL BONG 888: INFINITY HIGH, TRANSMISSION [2023]) is 73.
Look for Del in the 2023, 2024, 2025, Horror Thriller, THE SALEM CHRONICLES.
Writer, Producer, and Feo Amante's Horror Thriller, alumni, Kelly Parks (UNIVERSAL DEAD, DEMON PROTOCOL) is 64.
Actor James Purefoy (THE CLONING OF JOANNA MAY, FEAST OF JULY, BRIGHT HAIR, LIGHTHOUSE, RESIDENT EVIL, BLESSED, BLACKBEARD: TERROR AT SEA, FRANKENSTEIN [2007], SOLOMON KANE, JOHN CARTER, THE FOLLOWING [TV], HIGH-RISE, ALTERED CARBON [TV], HAP AND LEONARD [TV], LIMBO, EL CANDIDATO, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES [TV], PENNYWORTH [TV], A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES [TV], THE VEIL [TV]) is 56.
James shares a June birthday with fellow THE CLONING OF JOANA MAY alumni, Brian Cox.
Horror Artist Mike Soznowski (SATAN'S 3-RING CIRCUS OF HELL) is 63.
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