Movies
‘The Craft’ Could Have Starred Alicia Silverstone, Scarlett Johansson, or Even Angelina Jolie!
Also, the studio regretted the film’s “R”-rating…
EW just published a lengthy oral history of the making of Andrew Fleming‘s classic 1996 The Craft that has all sorts of juicy nuggets of info. While we’ll always remember Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True as the quartet of teen witches, there were some huge names in contention.
“We tested Alicia Silverstone, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, but Neve came in and she was really, really good,” casting director Pam Dixon revealed.
Yes, the “Party of Five” star gave Silverstone, Johansson, and Jolie a run for their money, but it’s damned interesting to try and imagine the film with any of those future stars in an early witch-y role.
Fleming also revealed that he had penned a “Craft” pilot for Fox. The story takes an interesting turn:
“I wrote a pilot of ‘The Craft’ for Fox,” said Fleming. “The WB wanted to take it and Fox wouldn’t let it go. And then the next year, ‘Charmed’ came out.”
Tunney added: “‘Charmed’ is a rip-off of ‘The Craft’. It was completely obvious to the point that people would think I was on ‘Charmed’ for years after.”
Another bombshell was writer Peter Filardi‘s reveal that the studio regretted the “R”-rating. “I wasn’t surprised that the film found an audience, but the studio was. They called me in weeks later and said, ‘We underestimated this film. If we had known we might have marketed it differently.’ It should have never been rated R.”
Added Flemming: “[The rating] was a surprise because we actually sent the script to the MPAA for rating in advance, and we had held off on any really hard language or nudity or graphic violence because we wanted a PG-13. They said, ‘This is an R.’ When we asked why, they said, ‘Because it’s about devil worship and teens and we don’t want to encourage that.’ I told them Paganism is not devil worship; it’s actually a line in the movie.”
Producer Douglas Wick has a different take: “[The rating] was all about teen suicide. There was an idea that if you never talked about it, teens wouldn’t think about it. That’s where we got punished for a certain level of reality.”
You can read the entire article over here.
Movies
SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!
As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.
Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:
Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.
Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.
Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.
Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.
Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?
Also check out:
The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.
Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.
And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.
These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.
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