Movies
Sony Pictures Shows Their Big Balls, Nabs Controversial ‘Detention’!
It’s nice to see a studio take a risk, especially on something that’s so far out there it’s going to be nearly impossible to promote. Sony Pictures Worldwide has picked up worldwide rights to the Joseph Kahn-directed Detention, which is billed as an apocalyptic teen romantic comedy. The film preemed at the SXSW Film Festival where Bloody’s David Harley raved of its lunacy. There is a mass amount of pop culture references, so a release is pretty timely…
The movie, starring Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook and Shanley Caswell and directed by Joseph Kahn, claimed the Youth Jury prize for best FutureWave Feature Film at the just-concluded Seattle International Film Festival. “It concerns a group of students dealing with a slasher killer as they navigate their last year of high school.”
“The pace, energy and awesomeness Kahn has achieved in ‘Detention’ are completely mind-blowing in the best way possible,” said SPWA vp production Scott Shooman, who announced the acquisition along with SPWA senior vp business affairs Michael Helfand and Detention Films’ Abramoff and Weager.
Detention is going to split audiences into a strong love/hate relationship — get ready for controversy and plenty of theater lobby chatter. Uber awesome festival trailer inside.
Movies
‘Werewolf By Night 2’? Michael Giacchino Says It’s Being Talked About But “Everything Takes Forever”
It was Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino who sat in the director’s chair for Marvel’s Disney+ Halloween special Werewolf by Night back in 2022, which was released in both throwback black & white as well as full color. But are we ever getting a sequel?
Giacchino tells Screen Rant in a new chat this week that he remains hopeful.
“We’re talking about it,” Giacchino explains. “Everything takes forever to do. There’s a lot of planning that has to happen. Everything has to fit in a particular place at a particular time.”
He adds, “So, nothing moves as fast as we’d like it to. But I hope one day that you will be sitting there watching another Werewolf by Night. That’s my hope.”
Inspired by horror films of the ’30s and ’40s, Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night takes place on a dark and somber night as a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader.
In a strange memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for BD, “The MCU kicked the horror into overdrive with Werewolf by Night. The nearly hour-long feature presents as a classic horror movie, dropping viewers into the middle of a secret world of monster hunters. Film composer Michael Giacchino directs the special, penned by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron. Giacchino focuses on evoking the classic horror vibe to assist in the initial worldbuilding. The events play out in monochrome, save for the vibrant red glow of the Bloodstone. Cigarette burns and film grain get added for that retro look. The rules of the hunt get relayed to the cutthroat candidates by way of reanimated dead, albeit in a much campier and family-friendly way via animatronics.”
“Aside from the aesthetics, Werewolf leans heavily into the mysterious,” Meagan continued. “The black and white cinematography more than sets the retro vibe; it allows the feature to remain accessible to a wider audience even as it lets its monsters and monster hunters spill plenty of blood. Toss in a Jack Pierce-inspired beast with practical application, and you’ve got a modern superhero story with a classic Universal Monsters makeover.”