Screen Rant (via The Wrap) is reporting that Bad Seeds musician Nick Cave will be rewriting the reincarnation of The Crow, the 1994 gothic action film starring Brandon Lee.
Based on James O'Barr's comic book series, the original film revolves around murdered musician Eric Draven who is resurrected as a spirit of vengeance. The reboot, which is supposed to be more realistic but mysterious than the Alex Proyas-directed original, is slated to begin filming this summer for a 2011 release date, but that's looking unlikely. Last word on the project came from producer Ed Pressman, who told MTV director Edward Norrington (Blade,The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) had completed a "terrific" screenplay set in either the southwest or an urban city. But Pressman is now saying Cave will work his magic on the script.
Cave, already considered an iconic musician, has earned much respect as a screenwriter over the last few years. Cave wrote Australian Western The Proposition in 2005 after getting his feet wet with his first screenwriting foray, 1988's Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead. Among a few other projects, Cave has also written The Promised Land, an adaptation of the bootlegging novel The Wettest County in the World. His talents as a writer even earned him the honor of being one to watch in 2006 by Variety.
So can Cave pull off a good Crow script? The guy can certainly operate across several musical genres, and The Proposition is an excellent flick, so he has my ticket money. In other Nick Cave news, his "solo" quartet Grinderman is releasing their new album on Sept. 14. Check out the album trailers below (directed by Proposition director John Hillcoat).
CMJ reports that the album was recorded last spring in Los Angeles and is produced by Ted Hutt (Flogging Molly, Gaslight Anthem). "It features guest appearances from friends of the band and, randomly, stars of the classic television show Arrested Development Mae Whitman and Alia Shawkat."
The band is known for it's energetic tunes with catchy hooks, and it sounds like they'll be staying true to that based on the new paranormalesque single off Ghosts called"Soulless". which you can listen to on their MySpace page or download for free through their site.
Each week artist Howie Noel, creator of online comic heroine and savvy paranormal pop-culture investigator Tara Normal, checks in with a "making-of" blog entry about his upcoming graphic novel, Tara Normal and the Case of the Boyfriend Robbers From Outer Space. Howie uses this space to give a first look at artwork and to update readers on the pain and suffering of writing a full-length comic book. When not blogging, Howie also contributes a special edition of the Tara Normal strip to TAPS Paramagazine and spends way too much time on Twitter @hcnoel.
'Tara Normal' gets graphic: The cover
So, I recently became represented by the awesome literary agent Bree Ogden of Martin Literary Management. She's currently helping me bring my creation Tara Normal to the literary world in the form of a cool series of paranormal graphic novels. Right now Tara investigates with TAPS, the stars of SyFy's Ghost Hunters, in her own comic in their Paramagazine.
But my graphic novel series will explore how she became a professional paranormal investigator in the first place. I'm really excited to share her backstory and all of her supernatural adventures with you. Along the way, I'm going to offer some behind-the-drawing desk information about my journey in making my paranormal comics, and I"ll give you a sneak peek on how I create my art.
So the best place to start with the artwork of the first book is the cover. I had several thumbnail sketches and my wife Shelley helped me choose the one that had the most exciting composition. From there I penciled and inked it. The coloring stage, which I do in Photoshop, is always an exciting step in creating my comic art. I get to do cool effects and lighting and in this series, I'm really going to try and push the moodiness factor more than I have in other artwork.
The cover for Book 1: Tara Normal & The Case of the Boyfriend Robbers From Outer Space features my version of aliens, and on this cover, they have red eyes to make them appear creepier and help them stand out on the blue background. I went with a more painterly approach when I colored Tara than I usually do when I work on the webcomic.
I'm really happy with the result and I'm looking forward to continuing to color the rest of the book this way.
My wife helped me revamp the Tara Normal logo for the cover. I wanted it to be more slimy and realistic so an actual photographic of slime makes up the 3D effect on the logo. I also reworked the shiny highlights. She also worked on the placement and design of the subtitle text creating a very cool lightning graphic to go behind the words to add an extra element to the cover.
I really hope you enjoy this look behind-the-scenes and I can't wait to share more art of Tara Normal next week! In the meantime, please check me out tonight (Tues, July 27) at 8 p.m., ET, as I join Jeff Belanger on his show, 30 Odd Minutes to discuss all things Tara.
True Blood, S3, ep. 6: 'I Got a Right to Sing the Blues'
Like last week, a lot of tonight’s action took place at King Russell’s Mississippi mansion. This was a week for bloodletting and cowboying up. Many of the characters channeled their pathos into a kickass strength.
But it all began with Sookie and Bill being hauled into Russell’s house. Russell notes he’s finally found out Bill’s true character, and Mr. Compton responds by finally growing a pair and staking one of Russell’s goons. The pile of goo the vampire is reduced to looked like a pile of organs and gristle. Delish!
I don’t know, but the whole exchange where Russell and Eric referred to Sookie as “it” made me more than giggle. Eric said, “I wouldn’t let go of this. I don’t know what it is, but it’s quite valuable.” But I’m not buying Eric’s unaffected attitude towards Sook as has to pretend he doesn’t care for her to exact revenge on Russell (for probably killing Eric’s Viking fam).
Lorena, Lorena, Lorena. This was her week for emoting. Russell commands Lo to kill Bill and Sook threatens to kill her if she touches him. "Oh please, please try,” says Lorena. “Without that sanctimonious little prick Godric to save you, I would just love to rip you open and wear your ribcage as a hat."
Just as Agent Mulder believed, the truth is out there, but one often has to see through falsehoods to get to that truth. In that spirit, The FauX-Files is a collection of intentionally faked (or debunked but convincing) paranormal "evidence." The purpose of The FauX-Files is to serve as a tutorial of how to spot doctored images, videos, etc. so everyone is less likely to get suckered by them. If you'd like to be submit your own FauX-File, email TheFauXFiles AT gmail DOT com with a description of the "evidence" and under what circumstances it was captured/created. Please be as specific as possible (camera models, software, lighting conditions, location).
This image comes courtesy of parapsychology researcher Sarah Harmon taken at the Old South Pittsburg "haunted hospital" in Tennessee. Harmon shot the image using a Canon Rebel Xti with a 5-second shutter speed in natural light. She had a guest stay still the entire five seconds and an assistant stand still for three seconds before running towards her. As Harmon shows, it's quite easy to show a "shadow person" cast as a see through image without post-edited layers or fake lighting. Thanks for the fake Sarah!
We caught up with psychic/medium Chip Coffey, currently filming the next season of Psychic Kids, to weigh in on the "Awakenings" event happening in Minneapolis next month. Last week we reported on the event which boasts three days of seminars and meet-and-greets with celebrity psychics.
Coffey is the headliner of the event and says, "What I love about this sort of gathering is the chance to see old friends, and meet new ones and share ideas or theories."
He says he's excited by this event because of the size and scale of it.
"It’s like having access to a giant braintrust in a very positive environment," he adds.
In other Coffey news, the Australian Today show just interviewed him at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Sadly, we can't embed the video, but check it out here to watch Chip playing around with a very enthusiastic reporter.
Space for "Awakenings" is extremely limited and tickets can be purchased at www.darknessevents.com.
The Night Shift is the on-set diary of Fighting Owl Film's new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in pre-production in Mobile, AL. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, you'll get an insider's peek at what it's like for filmmakers to craft a new entry of paranormal pop culture from Erin Lilley, a producer and actress on the film.
Ghost sightings and Trailer madness
"Seen any ghosts?"
That's probably my number one most-asked question. Considering we shot The Night Shift in two cemeteries, at night, over the course of two months, it's also a completely understandable question. Of course, we're not ghost hunters. We didn't have K2 meters or night vision goggles, or any of that other high-tech, fancy equipment Jason and Grant have at their disposal. We just had our eyes and ears, so anything out of the ordinary could only be chalked up to personal experience, and nothing scientific or definite.
So, did we see any ghosts?
Well...maybe. There were some oddities, that's for sure. One night we were setting up lights, and one rig was set a tad too close to a headstone. Just as I started to tell the crew member who had placed the rig that maybe he should move it - just to make sure we didn't get in any trouble with the cemetery - all of our lights went out. All of them.
The crew member moved the rig, and everything came right back on. Now, it's possible a circuit was tripped, or maybe a wire was loose somewhere, but it was awfully coincidental, and it didn't happen anymore after that instance. There were also times I was sure I'd seen an actor standing in the cemetery - once, so positive I'd actually started to walk over to them - only to be distracted for a second, then turn around and find that area empty, and the actor in question on the other side of the cemetery. That will make you think you're well on the road to crazy.
No one ever mentioned anything during filming, but I thought I'd ask around and see if anyone had any stories to share. I was a little surprised, to be honest, when a couple popped up.
Here's a story from Production Assistant Genna Hebert:
Late at night during shooting, all the extras had left for home, and it was just the core group there and the caretaker. All the lights were focused on the next scene being shot and I happened to look behind me for something. I saw a figure in the distance, a bulky male figure just standing in the back of the next plot of headstones - just standing there, arms loose at his sides. I thought at first it might have been the caretaker, since the rest of the people there were all next to me, but I looked further down the road between the plots and there was the last member of our human group. I looked back where I saw the figure and it was gone. Out of all the nights in the cemeteries, that is the only time I ever saw anything, but never once did I feel spooked or unwelcome.
From Director Thomas Smith:
After filming in a cemetery for several weeks, you start to forget you're actually in a cemetery and get used to your surroundings, even at night. On the last night of filming in our main cemetery location, I was pretty well adjusted to being there at night - not terribly creepy or scary. I've kept my eyes open the whole time we've been in the cemetery for anything ... unusual. The whole time we were filming, I never saw anything that fit into the criteria, possibly because I was so darn busy and concentrating on other pressing matters.
Until the final night of shooting.
Around 11 p.m., things were beginning to wind down. We had a couple of shots left and I needed something, can't recall what exactly, from my car which was parked a hundred feet away. I ventured across the darkened cemetery, somewhat relaxed, and noticed something unusual out of the corner of my left eye. In between two headstones, there appeared to be a woman sitting with her back to me. She was dressed nicely, as best I could tell, and appeared to have her hair in a bun.
We hung around this area the most during filming - it was essentially our base camp because of a pavillion and trashcan a few feet away that made our lives a little easier - so I knew the area pretty well and was sure what I was seeing wasn't a headstone. I looked behind me to make sure everyone was in the filming area and they were.
That's when I got a cold chill down my spine and realized something wasn't quite right. I hurried to my car, constantly glancing out of the corner of my eye at the headstone and possible figure. It never seemed to move and I didn't say a word. As soon as I pulled whatever I needed from my car, I walked very quickly back to the filming locale. Later that night, when we were packing up, I walked back to the area, this time with people, and looked the area over. Whatever was there earlier was gone, and the place I saw the "figure" was an empty space between two headstones. It was a little weird.
So, did we see any ghosts?
In other news, we have a trailer! It's online at http://www.thenightshiftmovie.com/sizzle.html, but also embedded below. We're really thrilled with how it looks. The footage is raw - no color correcting or special effects - and the music is just a temporary track, but it should still give you an idea of what's in store for the finished product.
For now, Thomas is furiously editing away, and our effects and sound editors are anxiously awaiting the footage. Kyle is painting away on the poster. Soren, our composer, is working on an ambitious and frankly, freaking cool score, and I'm embossing folders and putting together press kits. It's all so excit ... er, stressful. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Stressful.
On that note, I'm off to pick out pictures (such as this one?) to go in the press kits. If Thomas finds anything "interesting" caught on film, you'll be the first to hear. You never know who (or what!) might make a cameo.
Next Week: Still putting it together. That is, after all, the art of making art (thank you, Mr. Sondheim). Follow Fighting Owl Films on Facebook. New friends are always welcome. And please visit the official movie site, www.thenightshiftmovie.com (where you can also pick up some neat-o merch). You can also check out Fighting Owl Films' other work at www.fightingowlfilms.com and keep up with the movie's progress on Twitter at @NightShiftMovie. Yes, we're very social
A ghost, werewolf and vampire sharing an apartment does sound like the setup for a joke, but the actual funny part about the scenario is that the trio on BBC America's supernatural soap opera Being Human exhibits some of the most believable interactions amongst friends on television.
While I am still making my way through the Season One Blu-Ray, it has already sold itself to me as a charming, witty and sometimes freaky paranormal pop culture that is, well, really human. As if I wasn't already excited for the stateside premiere of the second season on June 24 at 10 p.m., ET, now the fine folks at BBC America have provided me with this cast interview and sneak peek. Take a gander and tune in on Sat. to see how the season plays out.
In its recent August "Comedy Issue," GQ lands an interview with Bill Murray to discuss his approach to comedy, his place in the movie business and his new indie film, Get Low. But no good features writer can interview Murray without getting the latest news on the ever-evolving Ghost Busters 3 story. Thankfully, Dan Fierman is a good writer and gets some nice quotes out of Murray in a piece accompanied by a Daniel Clowes (of the non-paranormal, but excellent, Ghost World) illustration.
To recap on the GB3 drama, Dan Aykroyd told me the movie was on. Harold Ramis said the same thing, and that the film would be out in Dec. 2012. However, it was Murray who said it was a no-go (to David Letterman), then said, "maybe."
So where does the third movie stand now?
Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?
It's all a bunch of crock. It's a crock. There was a story—and I gotta be careful here, I don't want to hurt someone's feelings. When I hurt someone's feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs] Harold Ramis said, Oh, I've got these guys, they write on The Office, and they're really funny. They're going to write the next Ghostbusters. And they had just written this movie that he had directed.
Year One.
Year One. Well, I never went to see Year One, but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporized. That was gone. But it's the studio that really wants this thing. It's a franchise. It's a franchise, and they made a whole lot of money on Ghostbusters.
Oh, sure, I remember. The soundtrack. The lunchboxes. The action figures.
Right. And it's still one of the biggest movies of all time. And ever since that story broke, everywhere I go people are like, "So are you gonna make that movie?" I was down in Austin at South by Southwest, and you go at it hard down there—fun but, man, you need to sleep for days afterwards. Anyhow, I got into it one night with a bunch of younger people who were like, Oh, I love Peter Venkman! I grew up with Peter Venkman! We got to talking, and the more we talked about it, the more I thought, Oh Christ, I should just do this thing.
A generation awaits, for sure. You weren't even supposed to play that role, right?
Yeah. Originally it was Belushi. Like a lot of my movies. [beat] God, John died, what was it, twenty-five years ago?
It was '82, right?
Yeah, I think it was '82. I dunno. That part of life is getting fuzzy.
I read that you wanted to play a ghost in the movie. That's kind of brilliant.
Well, I hadn't wanted to do the movie. They kept asking, and I kept saying no. So once upon a time I said, just joking: "If you kill me off in the first reel, then fine, I'll do it." And then supposedly they came up with an idea where they kill me off and I was a ghost in the movie. Kinda clever, really.
But has the Zombieland cameo stolen that gag?
[genuinely confused] But that was a zombie. Not a ghost.
Later on in the interview, Murray tells Fierman he remains friends with Aykroyd, and that it was the Ghost Busters creator who got him studio backing for his first dramatic film, The Razor's Edge.
Everyone says Danny is the nicest guy on the planet.
Danny is…Canadian. [laughs] No, he's the only one I see much of. He's great. And I owe him. Back when I wanted to make The Razor's Edge, he sent me the first twenty-nine pages of Ghostbusters to read. And you know, they were great, even better than what we filmed, so I said, "Okay, okay, gotta do it." And Danny said, [pitch-perfect, like crazily eerily perfect Aykroyd impression] "Uummm, okay. Where should we, uh, er, do it?" And I said, "Well, I'm trying to get this movie made over at Columbia [Pictures]." And he said, "All right, well, you tell 'em that they do your movie there and they'll have the GBs." We had a caterer for Razor's Edge in forty-five minutes. Hell of a guy.
Call me delusional, but I'm one of those kids who "grew up with Peter Venkman," and I read Murray's comments about Ghost Busters 3 in a positive light. He maintains good relationships with most of his old costars, and he seems up for doing it for a laugh. If anything, Murray just sounds like he has no faith that everyone will get their act together enough to do it, so let's hope he's wrong.
Zac "oh so dreamy" Efron's supernatural-tinged flick Charlie St. Cloud opened in L.A. last night and MTV was there for red carpet duty. Based on Ben Sherwood's 2004 novel (The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud), the film is about - can you guess? - Charlie (Efron), who makes a promise to his brother, who then dies in an accident. So Charlie is faced with the dilemma of moving on with his life and pursuing a relationship with a girl, or keeping his promise to his ghost bro.
Because of the paranormal subject matter, MTV asked the movie's principles about their own ghostly experiences.Video is below, and just 'cause we like you, we threw in the St. Cloud trailer down there as well.
As far as the film goes, the theme of keeping a promise to the dead is a classic one that goes back to folk tales like "Sweet William's Ghost" and "The Unquiet Grave" - but it's not exactly the first trip to that well.
, the 1994 gothic action film starring Brandon Lee.
Cave, already considered an iconic musician, has earned much respect as a screenwriter over the last few years. Cave wrote Australian Western The Proposition
in 2005 after getting his feet wet with his first screenwriting foray, 1988's Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead
. Among a few other projects, Cave has also written The Promised Land, an adaptation of the bootlegging novel The Wettest County in the World
. His talents as a writer even earned him the honor of being one to watch in 2006 by Variety.
. Hitting Sept. 21, this is the band's third studio outing after 
and 
. 
Mae Whitman and Alia Shawkat."
, in her own comic in their Paramagazine.
