Movies
RUMOR: ‘Halloween 3D’ Director Name Being Thrown Around
I don’t like to post rumors that we haven’t checked out yet, but other websites are already reporting the rumor, so we might as well too. A reader by the name of “The Egg Man” e-mailed all of us claiming that they know who is directing Halloween 3D, which was just announced yesterday after a less than stellar opening weekend for Michael Myers. Read on to see what our reader has heard and remember to keep this filed under rumor until we confirm.
From THE EGG MAN:
“I figured I would let you in on a little info that came my way via my agent. I don’t know if this is 100% accurate, but if it is, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Word is, that the person who will be directing this next film, not only has horror experience, but also has experience with Michael Myers, and 3-D films as well.
I heard that Dimension is in negotiations with STEVE MINER to come back to the franchise. Steve directed Halloween:H20, as well as Friday the 13th parts II and III. Do whatever you want with this info. If you choose to use it, feel free to call me THE EGG MAN.”
Well, we’ve got an e-mail out to Mr. Miner and will let you know what he says as soon as he returns. Miner also directed the Day of the Dead direct-to-DVD release from First Look.
The reason I DON’T believe this rumor is that I’ve been doing some heavy digging since it was announced and have learned that Dimension Films might have actually jumped the gun on the announcement, and still have yet to decide if they’re doing it or not.
As always, we’ll keep you posted, and remember RUMOR, RUMOR, RUMOR.
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
You must be logged in to post a comment.