Movies
Katherine Heigl Joins Puppet Thriller, ‘The Happytime Murders’
Katherine Heigl is going full circle. Having kicked her movie career off with Bride of Chucky (among others), the starlette was just attached to Face Blind and is now in final negotiations to star in the Jim Henson Co.’s The Happytime Murders, which Stuart Ford’s IM Global will launch to buyers at the European Film Market next week, says Variety.
Directed by Brian Henson (A Muppets Christmas Carol) and penned by Todd Berger (Kung Fu Panda 2) from a story he wrote with Dee Austin Robertson, “the pic takes place in a world where puppets and humans live together, but the puppets are viewed as second-class citizens. When the puppet cast of an 1980s kids TV show gets murdered one by one, a disgraced detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.”
The film noir puppet comedy has been in development at the Henson Co. since 2008.
Movies
Jessica Rothe Keeps the Hope Alive for Third ‘Happy Death Day’ Movie
It’s now been five years since the release of sequel Happy Death Day 2U, Christopher Landon’s sequel to the Groundhog Day-style slasher movie from 2017. Both films star Jessica Rothe as final girl Tree Gelbman, and director Christopher Landon had been planning on bringing the character – and the actor – back for a third installment. So… where is it?!
We’ve been talking about a potential Happy Death Day 3 for several years now, with the ball in producer Jason Blum’s court. Happy Death Day 2U scared up $64 million at the worldwide box office, a far cry from the first film’s $125 million. But with a reported production budget of just $9 million, that first sequel was profitable for Blumhouse. So again… where is it?!
Chatting with Screen Geek this week while promoting her new action-thriller Boy Kills World, franchise star Jessica Rothe provided a hopeful update on Happy Death Day 3.
“Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out,” Rothe explains. “We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row.
Rothe continues in her comments to Screen Geek, “But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”
Back in 2020, Christopher Landon had revealed that the working title for the third installment was Happy Death Day to Us, said to be “different than the other two films.”
In the meantime, Christopher Landon is directing a mysterious thriller titled Drop for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, along with a werewolf movie titled Big Bad for Lionsgate.
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