Movies
Sony Pictures Locks Down ‘Dance Of The Dead’ Team For ‘Lockdown At Franklin High’
First of all, if you’ve never seen Dance Of the Dead that’s a situation you should remedy quickly. Director Gregg Bishop and Screenwriter Joe Ballarini fashioned a great, fun gory and touching John Hughes influenced yarn out of a meager budget. I recommend it highly.
Not they’re back with Lockdown At Franklin High, “about a straight edge teen girl and her rebellious, socially outcast brother as they try to escape from their prison-like high school which has been locked down and plunged into anarchy and pandemonium due to the attacks of a ravenous, supernatural monster. The inspiration is real high school lockdowns and tragedies and the intention is to use that for a dark and visceral roller coaster of intense fear and emotion.”
Platinum Dunes’ Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are also in the mix. Per Deadline, “Sony Pictures ended the week by closing preemptive deal for Lockdown At Franklin High, a spec script by ‘Dance of the Dead’ team of Greg Bishop and Joe Ballarini. The bidding was competitive and Sony’s plan is to move quickly to get a director and put the film into production. Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form also in conversations to produce.”
It’s interesting that they’re looking for a director, since Bishop directed Dance with Ballarini getting sole writing credit. I assumed he would be directing this project as well. Looks like they collaborated on the script and are looking for someone else to helm. We’ll see how this plays out. Either way? It’s good news.
Movies
‘Ebenezer’ Official Trailer – Ti West Turns Johnny Depp into ‘A Christmas Carol’ Icon Scrooge
Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) is back with the upcoming Ebenezer starring Johnny Depp, a fresh new take on the classic tale of A Christmas Carol from Charles Dickens.
Johnny Depp will play Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s Ebenezer, and Paramount is bringing the film to theaters on November 13, 2026. Watch the official trailer down below.
The tagline? “The name you know. The story you don’t.”
Andrea Riseborough (Possessor), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Tramell Tillman (“Severance”), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars franchise), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games franchise), Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”), Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and Ellie Bamber (“Willow”) also star.
Deadline had detailed in a recent report, “This version, a thrilling ghost story set in Dickens’ London, follows one man’s supernatural journey to face his past, present and future and fight for a second chance. Stephen Deuters and Jason Forman to executive produce.”
Nathaniel Halpern wrote the adaptation for Ti West to direct.
Written by Charles Dickens, the classic tale of A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the screen countless times over the years, with notable film adaptations including Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, Scrooge (1970) starring Albert Finney, A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) starring Michael Caine, and A Christmas Carol (2009) starring Jim Carrey.
A Christmas Carol is classically a period piece ghost story. As Luiz H.C. wrote here on Bloody Disgusting, “Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol paved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade.”
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