| The Rise of AMICUS and HAMMER | ||||||||
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Everything Buried Rises Again
With the Return of AMICUS and HAMMER, can RKO Radio Pictures be far behind? It's the final day of Summer and August was nuts! Worldwide it was a month of Hellacious tragedies, Ugly politics - both government and corporate - yet Unbelievable positives. Focusing on the positives - The last weekend of August saw the Houston Media Conference, the first of its kind, come together with over 200 talented people and vendors in the local music and video industry, turning their attention toward cinema in both documentary and narrative fiction. This whirlwind weekend saw people discussing the pros and cons, problems and solutions in not just bringing outside studios to make movies in Houston, but even more important, building our own engines of creation. In the Summer of the WGA Writer's Strike and the SAG Actor's strike, this was not an outlier. After all, it was only two weeks ago that Scotland's Hex Media Ltd., under the direction of CEO Lawrie Brewster, announced the rebirth of Milton Subotski's Amicus studios under his guidance and blessed by the Subotski family. "Together with Sergei Subotsky, Dmitri, their mother, and Milton's widow, Dr. Fiona Subotsky, we've devised a plan to rejuvenate an institution that holds a cherished place in all our hearts." Brewster said. Further, Lawrie announced that they already had a movie in development, "The first Amicus Film we intend to make shall be titled 'In the Grip of Terror', a portmanteau feature film comprising four segments based on classic horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, and E.F. Benson, all centered around the theme of medical macabre. "In the Grip of Terror" was, in fact, a title shared with me by Sergei, from a list of contenders compiled by his father decades ago. It is fitting that we are building upon the foundation of his imagination and genius. Interestingly, three out of the four stories we are adapting were suggested by none other than his wife, Dr. Fiona Subotsky – a renowned and accomplished author, known for her work "Dracula for Doctors: Medical Facts and Gothic Fantasies.
While Brewster revs up his latest Kickstarter, today its been announced at SciFiNow, that '22-time Tony-winning, Emmy and Olivier-winning British entertainment producer,' John Gore 'will lead a new Hammer team as Chairman and C.E.O.' Judging from the various Hollywood press, it's long been recognized that crumbling, stumbling Big Hollywood studio system is spinning out and the recent WGA Writer's Strike and SAG Actor's strike has underlined the dearth of vision smoking from the ruins of the major studio bosses as they appear to feverishly try to stuff as much lucre in their pockets before jumping ship, while apparently AMPTP lusts for the idea of ruling over the ashes. Now, seemingly out of nowhere, comes the rise of two former British powerhouse Horror studios, both with a movie in the works. New Hammer Films CEO John Gore is preparing a remake of DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Can this really be the successful return of Independent, AMICUS and HAMMER Studios? Adding to what we have with Blumhouse and A24, the Golden Age of Horror may be lurking around the corner. And seriously, at this rate I'm expecting a buyout of RKO Pictures any day now.
E.C. McMullen Jr. is the creator of Feo Amante's Horror Thriller, with work published by Easy Rider Magazine, Charles Scribner's Sons, Harker Press, Crystal Lake Publishing, and Feo Studios. |
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| FEO'S BRAGGADOCIO | ||||||||
INTERVIEWS Matt Jarbo's interview with Feo Amante at The Zurvivalist. James Cheetham's Q&A with Feo Amante at Unconventional Interviews *. Megan Scudellari interviews Feo Amante and Kelly Parks (of THE SCIENCE MOMENT) in The Scientist Magazine. Check out our interview at The-Scientist.com. REFERENCES Researcher David Waldron, references my review of UNDERWORLD in the Spring 2005, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture entry, Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic (downloadable pdf). E.C. McMullen Jr.
*Linked to archive.org |
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