Movies
Ridley Scott Already Hunting Strong Female Lead for ‘Alien’?
For some reason I figured it would be a couple of years before we heard that Twentieth Century Fox was pulling the plug on the Ridley Scott-directed Alien prequel. It appears I was terribly wrong as Scott, director of the original ’79 sci-fi chiller, is already casting up a strong female lead. The film will pre-date the existence of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), so a new tough hottie must be found. According to the Playlist (via the Sunday Times), The Disappearance of Alice Creed‘s starlet Gemma Arterton is meeting with Scott. “Ridley Scott saw ‘Alice Creed’ and loved it. He wants me to meet for Aliens: The Remake, or something,” Arterton told the paper. Obviously, this is quite early in the casting process and nothing is official until the name is on the dotted line. Penned by Jon Spaihts, the film follows the crew of a commercial towing ship returning to Earth that is awakened and sent to respond to a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. The crew discovers too late that the signal generated by an empty ship was meant to warn them.
Movies
‘Boorman and the Devil’ Documentary Trailer Chronicles Complicated Relationship with ‘Exorcist II’
Critically acclaimed documentary Boorman and the Devil chronicles how one of the world’s greatest filmmakers made one of the most hated movies ever: Exorcist II: The Heretic. A new trailer highlighting some of the troubled production woes has arrived.
Boorman and the Devil opens at The Quad in NYC on August 28 before opening wider in various cities on September 4, including: Los Angeles, Columbus, Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and more.
After the success of Point Blank and Deliverance, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, The Exorcist. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history. A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career… but to be an artist is to be a risk-taker.
Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.
“I am beyond thrilled that Yellow Veil has come on board to help us share this story with a larger audience,” said director David Kittredge. “Like myself and the rest of our team, they’re huge cinema-lovers. It’s so exciting that a film which is not only a love letter to John Boorman, but also to ambitious filmmaking, will be handled by people who share the same passions that our team shares.”
“I first saw the film at an early festival screening and the post-screening buzz was just electric. Everyone was loving Boorman and the Devil,” added Yellow Veil co-founder Justin Timms. “To be able to team up with David and the filmmaking team on this release is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait to spread that post-screening electricity with audiences across the country.”
Boorman and the Devil is produced by Kittredge’s Triple Fire Productions, Travis Stevens (Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes) of Snowfort Pictures, and Jim Fall (The Lizzie McGuire Movie), with Alan Koenigsberg of Milton Ventures Media serving as co-producer.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “Boorman and the Devil goes above and beyond to be the definitive text on Exorcist II. This documentary will delight horror and Exorcist fans alike, but it also provides incredible insight for anyone who is just marginally interested in film production.”