Movies
[TV] Next On “Penny Dreadful”: Promo and Clips
For those of you who are waiting until the television debut, we now have two clips and a sneak preview of the first episode from the show that features some of literature’s most frightening and iconic figures as they grapple with alienation in Victorian London.
I watched the episode immediately and am happy to report it’s pretty solid. I love that it’s grounded in a believable world, and it’s awesome to see Josh Hartnett in our genre. He’s sort of a device that moves the story in the pilot, but I’m really hoping he becomes more immersive in the future. There’s also some pretty awesome effects work, it’s bloody, and we also get to see the birth of Frankenstein. Cool stuff!
Timothy Dalton, Reeve Carney, Josh Hartnett, Harry Treadaway, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, and Eva Green star. Dalton will be playing African explorer “Sir Malcolm,” while Carney has snapped up Dorian Gray. Hartnett will play the role of “Ethan Chandler,” a charming American who finds himself trapped in the darkest corners of Victorian London. Green will play “Vanessa Ives,” a seductive and formidable beauty full of secrets and danger. Treadaway will be assembled as “Victor Frankenstein.”
Oscar-nominee Logan created and wrote the series with the first two episodes to be helmed by The Orphanage and The Impossible director Juan Antonio Bayona.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.