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Universal To Take On ‘Demonologist’ With Robert Zemeckis

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on February 23, 2012 @ 1:23am
Category: Movies / News

Zemeckis22212 Universal To Take On Demonologist With Robert Zemeckis

Universal and Robert Zemeckis’ Imagemovers just found their next project together, an adaptation of the (apparently) highly-sought-after Demonologist. Adaptation? Yes. But the book isn’t out yet so don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar.

Per Deadline, “Universal has acquired ‘Demonologist’, a novel manuscript by Andrew Pyper. The book will be sold at auction shortly, but most important the film project will be produced by ImageMovers partners Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey. The studio made a preemptive deal for the rights.”

In the book, “When a professor who studies “Paradise Lost” accepts a free trip to Italy, a demonic spirit appears to kill his daughter, and he must go on a dark journey of discovery in hopes of getting her back.”

No word yet on if Zemeckis is planning to direct or if he’ll stick to the producing side of things. READ MORE

Universal Flatlines With ‘Thirteen’

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on January 21, 2012 @ 10:38pm
Category: Movies / News

Hitting theaters sometime in 2013 will be Thirteen, a new horror film from Universal, Strike Entertainment and Energy Entertainment.

Ostensibly it’s supposed to be in the Flatliners mold, but I’m not sure how a found-footage possession film can really compare. We’ll see soon enough though!

Per Variety, “Universal has pre-emptively bought ‘Thirteen,’ a spec by Benjamin Magid, and set it up with Uni-based Strike Entetrainment and Brooklyn Weaver at Energy Entertainment.

‘Thirteen’ centers on possession and is understood to utilize a mixture of found-footage point of views. The story is reminiscent of 1990′s ‘Flatliners’, which starred Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland as medical school students experimenting with the line between life and death.

Magid penned ‘Pan’, a supernatural take on J.M. Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’, which is scheduled to go into production later this year with Chris Tuffin, Renee Tab and Weaver producing and Ben Hibon directing.”

It doesn’t sound immediately off the wall interesting, but I suppose there’s always room to be pleasantly surprised. READ MORE

Universal Snags ‘Daughter Of Smoke And Bone’ Away From Paramount!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on December 14, 2011 @ 10:34pm
Category: Movies / News

Earlier this month we reported that Paramount was all set to acquire the rights to Daughter Of Smoke and Bone, the Laini Taylor novel that was published late September by Little, Brown Books For Young Readers.

Now it appears they’ve been outbid by another major studio.

Per Variety, “Universal Pictures has acquired the worldwide rights to Laini Taylor’s popular young-adult tome “Daughter of Smoke and Bone.””

In the book, ““The protagonist is a 17-year old art student who is sent by her awful father on travels across the globe to collect teeth for an unspecified but creepy purpose. This leads her to an encounter with an angel and revelations about her family that lead her into adventures involving otherworldly beings.” READ MORE

Universal Crash Lands on ‘Asteroids’ Idea

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on November 10, 2011 @ 1:53am
Category: Movies / Videos

I still don’t understand studios remaking movies that nobody has ever heard of, nor do I get adapting games with a vague (or no) plot. Such the case with Asteroids, which is to be a feature film version of the classic Atari videogame. Is there a reason it needs to be connected to the 1979 8-bit game? (See the above image; apparently that translates into a movie…) From my perspective, it’s just a ~~transparent~~ lame plot to cash in on the game’s popularity…

Universal is heading down that path with Asteroids and has tapped Evan Spiliotopoulos (Snow White and the Huntsman) to give story to the simple game. The plotline for the film adaptation has evolved into the story of two estranged brothers that must team up to save Earth from an alien race. Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) originally worked on the script.

I still think if they’re going to waste time on this, they may as well deal with real alien sh*t (literally) and remake the 1990 Spaced Invaders. READ MORE

Universal Chief Calls ‘The Wolfman’ “One of the Worst Movies [They] Ever Made”!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on November 03, 2011 @ 10:42pm
Category: Movies / News

Universal Chief Calls The Wolfman One of the Worst Movies [They] Ever Made!

This is some really juicy stuff that comes via Movieline. The site reports on Universal Chief Ron Meyer‘s recent trip to Savannah College of Art & Design where he spoke to students on VOD, while also admitting that Cowboys & Aliens, Land of the Lost and The Wolfman all suck ass!

“We make a lot of shitty movies. Every one of them breaks my heart,” Meyer said. “We set out to make good ones. One of the worst movies we ever made was ‘Wolfman.’ ‘Wolfman’ and ‘Babe 2′ are two of the shittiest movies we put out, but by the same token we made movies we believe in,” he states quickly covering his ass. “We did ‘United 93,’ which is one of the movies I’m most proud of. It wasn’t a big moneymaker, but it’s a film I believe every American should see and it showed you what people can do in the worst of times and how great the human spirit is and all that, so there are moments that can make up for all the junk that you make.”

This is just a taste of a pretty fantastic article that can be enjoyed at this link. Do you guys think The Wolfman is one of the worst Universal movies ever made? What’s WORSE? Talk below! READ MORE

[Contest] WIN One Of Three Copies Of ‘War Games’ (Region 2) On DVD

Movies
Posted by David Harley on October 04, 2011 @ 6:53pm
Category: Movies / Home Video

IndiVision, a branch of Universal Pictures UK, has given us three copies of War Games for a giveaway. The film, inspired by true event, tells the story of an innocent group of friends who are hunted down by psychopathic ex-soldiers, turning their country break into a bloody nightmare. Check past the break for your chance to win!
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The Spirits Tells Universal To Pass On ‘Ouija’

Movies
Posted by David Harley on August 24, 2011 @ 3:41am
Category: Movies / News

Passing on At The Mountains Of Madness earlier this year and recently squashing the multi-film and TV Dark Tower series, it looks like Platinum Dunes’ Ouija is the latest casualty in Universal’s project slashing war.

The studio has put the property – which has McG directing and Michael Bay producing – into turnaround, despite their costly deal with Hasbro and Milton Bradley to develop their properties for the big screen. Universal is so uninterested in the project that they’re willing to pay the $5 million penalty for dropping it, a stipulation laid out in their development deal.

This comes three weeks after Uni passed on rebooting Clue. The studio is either afraid to develop Hasbro and Milton Bradley properties until they see how Battleship does (maybe it’s as god awful as the trailer makes it look) or doesn’t want to take any costly risks after Cowboys And Aliens tanked at the box office.

Bay and McG are supposedly shopping the project around, with Paramount already passing on it.
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Howard And Grazer Explain State of ‘Dark Tower’ Franchise

Movies
Posted by David Harley on June 21, 2011 @ 3:31pm
Category: Movies / News

Back in May, Universal put Ron Howard’s three film and TV miniseries Dark Tower plans on hold so they could address budget concerns. The studio proceeded as if nothing was wrong, in hopes that they could work this out (there was even some speculation that they were looking for a second studio to help foot the bill), but nobody has really said too much about since. Until now.

In a recent interview with Deadline for Imagine Entertainment’s silver anniversary, Ron Howard and producing partner Brian Grazer chatted about the current state of their Stephen King franchise, which they are still going ahead with, despite the hold-ups.
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Breaking: ‘The Wolfman’ Returns in Home Video Reboot!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on March 10, 2011 @ 8:27pm
Category: Movies / News

Maybe it’s because Rick Baker and Dave Elsey just won an Oscar for “Best Makeup” at this year’s Academy Awards, or maybe the home video sales alone were through the roof, but Bloody Disgusting exclusively learned that Universal Pictures’ is planning to retool The Wolfman yet again.

Universal is out to writers for what they’re calling a period piece reboot (again) of George Waggner’s classic 1941 film starring Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man.

The only details I have is that it’s supposed to start a fresh direct-to-disc franchise like what they’re doing with Death Race, although their direction is still unconfirmed.

The 2010 Joe Johnston-directed remake starring Benicio Del Toro took in $140 million worldwide. Not all that impressive.

Breaking: The Wolfman Returns in Home Video Reboot!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on March 09, 2011 @ 4:30pm
Category: Movies / News

Video game adaptations are still hot as ever, so why wouldn’t a studio revisit their archives for a potential reboot?

Our friends at What’s Playing are reporting that Universal Pictures is out to writers to pen Doom, a 3-D redo of the 2005 adaptation that starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a Space Marine sent to investigate strange events at a research facility on a distant planet but find themselves at the mercy of genetically enhanced killing machines.

The site adds that Universal has always been keen on doing another Doom movie sometime, and that the success of Paramount’s G.I Joe : Rise of Cobra piqued their interest even more.

Think they can get it right this time?

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 31, 2010 @ 5:39pm
Category: Movies / Editorials

My favorite of the preview pieces is always the random studio releases. This year there are so many crazy films getting limited releases, courtesy to IFC Films and Magnet Releasing/Magnolia Pictures. Then we’ve got Mother’s Day and the remake of Fright Night from other studios, not to mention 11-11-11, The Troll Hunters, A Horrible Way to Die, The Howling Reborn and MANY more! What are you most excited for?
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2011 HORROR MOVIE PREVIEW: SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 30, 2010 @ 7:40pm
Category: Movies / Editorials

Summit Entertainment is making a rise to the top of my favorite studio list as they’ve been pushing various genre pics through the system. While they’re best known for the Twilight franchise, I think we can thank to tween vamp series for giving the mini the ability to make movies we want. Is anyone else as excited as I am for Drive Angry 3D?
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2011 HORROR MOVIE PREVIEW: WARNER BROS./NEW LINE CINEMA

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 29, 2010 @ 6:38pm
Category: Movies / Editorials

Warner Bros. Pictures has always been good to us horror fans, and now that they dragged New Line Cinema under their umbrella things are getting pretty serious. While last year was a completel disaster with the releases of both Jonah Hex and A Nightmare on Elm Street, this coming year is jam-packed with genre films from The Rite to Final Destination 5.
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2011 HORROR MOVIE PREVIEW: LIONSGATE & AFTER DARK FILMS

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 28, 2010 @ 3:49pm
Category: Movies / Editorials

We always smoosh Lionsgate’s film releases with After Dark Films’, specifically because Lionsgate distributes the titles on home video. If you were to remove After Dark from the following, Lionsgate’s 2011 is pretty weak, unless they can get the new Silent Hill in production for release this year. And who knows if ATM will even get a date? Yikes. They need a new franchise badly.
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2011 HORROR MOVIE PREVIEW: PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 22, 2010 @ 1:05am
Category: Movies / Editorials

While Paramount Pictures isn’t known for horror, they always find a way to squeeze in one quality pic around their new franchise, Paranormal Activity. Most of that can be attributed to J.J. Abrams, who after producing Cloverfiled, is set to unleash Super 8 this summer – this time taking on directing duties! Thankfully Paramount finally got Case 39 out of their system, I’d like to forget it even exists.
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2011 HORROR MOVIE PREVIEW: DIMENSION FILMS

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 21, 2010 @ 12:08am
Category: Movies / Editorials

And so it begins, the first of our many “2011 Horror Movie Preview” pieces that will unroll through the New Year! Kicking everything off are the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, who after nearly closing their doors, have risen from the grave prepared to take over the horror world by the end of 2011. The year sees the release of the hotly anticipated Scream 4, along with the eerie found footage sci-fi thriller Apollo 18, and a new low budget Hellraiser movie (while we wait for the big budget remake). What else do they have cooking? Read on and see. What most excites you?
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Have You Captured a Troll? Fill Out These ‘Troll Hunter’ Forms!

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on November 27, 2010 @ 7:00pm
Category: Movies / News

While Magnet Releasing teases us with a 2011 release, the international publicity for Andre Ovredal’s The Toll Hunter is in full effect. The Norwegian PR team has uploaded a slew of viral documents that appear to be for those whom have captures said Troll. I don’t speak the language, so hopefully one of you guys can translate what’s being said (if it’s at all interesting). Shot in a vérité style, The Troll Hunter is the story of a group of Norwegian film students that set out to capture real-life trolls on camera after learning their existence has been covered up for years by a government conspiracy.
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Universal Owns Remake Rights for ‘The Troll Hunter’

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on November 03, 2010 @ 3:48am
Category: Movies / News

In an article over at the LA Times they reveal that universal Pictures now hold the remake rights to Andre Ovredal’s The Troll Hunter, described as The Blair Witch Project meets Men in Black meets The Host. Shot in a vérité style, the Norwegian original is the story of a group of Norwegian film students that set out to capture real-life trolls on camera after learning their existence has been covered up for years by a government conspiracy. Magnet Releasing holds the domestic distribution rights for the original. Plans are to release it theatrically in 2011.
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