I am crushed to learn of the passing of actor James Caan.  Not because he was a great actor (he was), but because he leaves us without the recognition from his industry he so greatly deserved.  Mr. Caan passed away today at the age of 82.

My first recollection of seeing James Caan on screen is of watching the television film “Brian’s Song.”  The story of terminally ill Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo (Caan) and his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), the 1971 film would be the start of what became an amazing decade for the actor.  The next year he starred as Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather,” earning him his first -and, criminally – only Academy Award nomination.  The role made him a star!  Caan used to joke that Sonny Corleone made such an impact on people that, for two years in a row, he (Caan) was named Italian American of the year, even though he was Jewish.

Among his other great performances in that decade:  “The Killer Elite,” “Rollerball,” “Cinderella Liberty” and “Harry and Walter Go to New York,” a musical comedy that showed Caan was more than a tough guy.    Films like “Funny Lady,” “Chapter Two,”“Kiss Me Goodbye” and “Honeymoon in Vegas” showed a gentler side with a good sense of humor to boot.  He still excelled in dramatic roles, of course, among them “Gardens of Stone,” “Alien Nation” and “The Program.”

But there are two performances I want to highlight, both of which should have earned Caan Oscar nominations.  The first is “Misery.”  As an author who is taken in and nursed back to health by and overzealous fan after an auto accident, Caan matches Kathy Bates, who won the Oscar that year for Best Actress, stride for stride.  The second is “For the Boys,” a period musical that teamed Caan up with Bette Midler.  As song and dance man Eddie Sparks, Caan takes the character from 35 to 85, living his life with no apologies, even when those apologies may have made that life better.  Midler earned an Oscar nomination for her work but, again, Caan’s performance was ignored.

I’ll close this with a few lines from Eddie Sparks’ signature tune:

When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all,
Then i will tell them i remember,
Tell them i remember you.

Rest in Peace, sir.  I’ll always remember you.

Will Smith received his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of boxer Muhammad Ali in the film “Ali.”  At last nights presentation of the 94^th Annual Academy Awards, Smith seemed to channel the boxer when he slapped presenter Chris Rock, who had make a joke about the bald head of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.  This incident added a pall to an already uneven show, taking some of the pomp away from the annual celebration of the best films and performances of 2021.

“CODA” took home three awards, including the big one, Best Picture.  It also received Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, the second deaf actor to win an Oscar, following Marlee Matlin’s win as Best Actress in 1987 for “Children of a Lesser God.”

After largely ignoring such female film directors as Lina Wertmuller, Penny Marshall, Barbra Streisand and others for 81 years, the Academy awarded the Best Director prize to Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog.”  Campion becomes the thirds woman to win the Best Director award in the past 13 years.  A female director has taken home the Oscar in this category for two years in a row.

An apologetic Will Smith took home the Best Actor award for his role as Richard Williams in “King Richard,” while Jessica Chastain was named Best Actress for her portrayal of Tammy Faye Baker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”   These wins make a total of 79 acting awards that have been given for portrayals of real-life characters.

Ariana DeBose was named Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of “West Side Story.”   She joins Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro (Vito Corleone) and Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix (the Joker) for winning an Oscar in a role in which another actor also won an Oscar, joining Rita Moreno, who won for portraying Anita in the original “West Side Story.”

“Dune” took home the most awards, winning a total of (6) Oscars, including Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects.

Below is a complete list of winners:

BEST PICTURE

“CODA”

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Troy Kotsur, “CODA”

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

“Drive My Car” *WINNER

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

“The Queen of Basketball”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“Summer of Soul”

ORIGINAL SONG

“No Time to Die”

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

“Encanto”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“CODA”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Belfast”

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Will Smith, “King Richard”

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

DIRECTOR

Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”

PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Dune”

CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Dune”

COSTUME DESIGN

“Cruella”

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

“Dune”

ANIMATED SHORT FILE

“The Windshield Wiper”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

“The Long Goodbye”

ORIGINAL SCORE

“Dune”

VISUAL EFFECTS

“Dune”

FILM EDITING

“Dune”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

“Power of the Dog” lead the pack when the nominations for the 94^th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.

Among the films nods:  Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay – both for Jane Campion, and acting nominations for Benedict  Cumberbatch (Actor) and supporting performances for Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Other films earning multi-nominations include “Dune” with 10 and “Belfast” and “West Side Story”, which each received 7 nominations, including Best Picture.  Other Best Picture nominees:  “CODA,:” “Don’t Look Up,’ “Drive My Car,” “Licorice Pizza” and “Nightmare Alley.” 

Though it received 10 nominations, “Dune” failed to earn a nomination for director Denis Villeneuve.  First time nominee Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) joins previous directing nominees Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza) Jane Campion (Power of the Dog), and Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) in that category.  Of the nominees, only Spielberg has won the award – twice – for “Schindler’s List” and “saving Private Ryan.”

Unlike last year, many of this year’s nominees were from more mainstream, studio pictures, including “West Side Story” that, while it didn’t do the box office predicted, was a return to the glory days of the big Hollywood musical.

Here is a complete list of this year’s nominees:

Best Picture

• “Belfast,” Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, producers 
• “CODA,” Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, producers
• “Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers 
• “Drive My Car,” Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer 
• “Dune,” Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, producers
• “King Richard,” Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, producers 
• “Licorice Pizza,” Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers 
• “Nightmare Alley,” Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, producers 
• “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, producers
• “West Side Story,” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers.

Best Director

• Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
• Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”) 
• Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) 
• Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
• Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)

Best Lead Actor

• Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) 
• Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”) 
• Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”) 
• Will Smith (“King Richard”)
• Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)

Best Lead Actress

• Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) 
• Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
• Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)
• Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) 
• Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)

Best Supporting Actor

• Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”) 
• Troy Kotsur (“CODA”) 
• Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”) 
• J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)

 Best Supporting Actress

• Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”) 
• Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) 
• Judi Dench (“Belfast” 
• Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) 
• Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)

Best Adapted Screenplay

• “CODA,” screenplay by Siân Heder 
• “Drive My Car,” screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe 
• “Dune,” screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth 
• “The Lost Daughter,” written by Maggie Gyllenhaal 
• “The Power of the Dog,” written by Jane Campion

Best Original Screenplay

• “Belfast,” written by Kenneth Branagh 
• “Don’t Look Up,” screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota“King Richard,” written by Zach Baylin 
• “Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson 
• “The Worst Person in the World,” written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Best Cinematography

• “Dune,” Greig Fraser 
• “Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen 
• “The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner 
• “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel 
• “West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski

Best Animated Feature Film

• “Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer 
• “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie 
• “Luca,” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
• “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht 
• “Raya and the Last Dragon,” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

Best Animated Short Film

• “Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills 
• “Bestia,” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz 
• “Boxballet,” Anton Dyakov 
• “Robin Robin,” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please 
• “The Windshield Wiper,” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

Best Costume Design

• “Cruella,” Jenny Beavan 
• “Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran 
• “Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan 
• “Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira 
• “West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell

Best Original Score

• “Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell 
• “Dune,” Hans Zimmer 
• “Encanto,” Germaine Franco 
• “Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias 
• “The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood

Best Sound

• “Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri 
• “Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett 
• “No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor 
• “The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb 
• “West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

Best Original Song

• “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter 
• “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda 
• “Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison 
• “No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell 
• “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Diane Warren

Best Documentary Feature

• “Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell 
• “Attica,” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry 
• “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie 
• “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein 
• “Writing With Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

Best Documentary Short Subject

• “Audible,” Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean 
• “Lead Me Home,” Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk 
• “The Queen of Basketball,” Ben Proudfoot 
• “Three Songs for Benazir,” Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei 
• “When We Were Bullies,” Jay Rosenblatt

Best Film Editing

• “Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin 
• “Dune,” Joe Walker 
• “King Richard”, Pamela Martin 
• “The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras 
• “Tick, Tick…Boom!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

Best International Feature Film

• “Drive My Car” (Japan) 
• “Flee” (Denmark) 
• “The Hand of God” (Italy) 
• “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan) 
• “The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• “Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer 
• “Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon 
• “Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr 
• “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh 
• “House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

Best Production Design

• “Dune,” production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos 
• “Nightmare Alley,” production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau 
• “The Power of the Dog,” production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards
• “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh
• “West Side Story,” production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo

Best Visual Effects

• “Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
• “Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick 
• “No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould 
• “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Christopher Townsend, JoeFarrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver 
• “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

Best Live Action Short Film

• “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger 
• “The Dress,” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki 
• “The Long Goodbye,” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed 
• “On My Mind,” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson 
• “Please Hold,” K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

The 94^th Academy Awards will be presented on March 27^th.

If you are looking for that special gift for that special someone or maybe your favorite family member…then look no further. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing the ultimate gift set for any “Sex and the City” fans. See below for full details around this amazing new release. (And don’t get scared off by the MSRP price below, you can find it on Amazon for under $100, see here)

BURBANK, CA (September 2, 2021) — Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release all six seasons of the groundbreaking HBO comedy series Sex and the City plus both Sex and the City feature films on Blu-ray for the first time on November 2, 2021. Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, Sex and The City: The Complete Series + 2 Movie Collection will feature 96 unforgettable episodes of the iconic series plus Sex and the City: The Movie and Sex and the City 2 in one, elegant must-own box set. It’s the ultimate collection for any Sex and the City fan! Experience the friendships and the fashion in gorgeous high-definition and catch up on all the episodes and films before the highly anticipated next chapter, And Just Like That…, debuts on HBO Max later this year. Sex and The City: The Complete Series + 2 Movie Collection is priced to own at $179.99 SRP ($194.99 Canada). Sex and the City: The Complete Series, Sex and the City: The Movie and Sex and the City 2 are also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers, and to stream on HBO Max.

Winner of seven Emmy® Awards, and the first cable show to win Outstanding Comedy Series, Sex and the City celebrates the bond of female friendship. It’s a salute to New York City, and a celebration of fashion and style.  It’s a revolutionary series that broke boundaries, changed television and liberated women. Sex and the City set cultural and fashion trends, taught women to have honest conversations about relationships, and showed viewers how to express their individuality through fashion and style. Now fans can re-live every iconic scene of the trail blazing series and films in dazzling, eye-catching high-definition.

Sex and the City stars Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, a New York-based writer who explores and experiences the unique world of Manhattan’s dating scene, chronicling the mating habits of single New Yorkers. The series also stars cast regulars Kim Cattrall as PR executive Samantha Jones, who’s seen — and done — it all; Kristin Davis as Charlotte York, still trying to hold on to the idea of happily ever after; and Cynthia Nixon as corporate lawyer and mother Miranda Hobbes, a pragmatist trying to balance the idea of love with the realities of life. 

Special Features*

Includes over 3 hours of previously released special features.

• Inside Sex and the City
• Meet the Cast of Sex and the City
• The Writers of Sex and the City
• The Fashion of Sex and the City
• Sex and the City: Real New Yorkers
• Episode Commentary by Executive Producer, Michael Patrick King
• Behind-the-Scenes with Patricia Field
• Farewell Tributes
• Alternate Series Finale Endings
• Deleted Scenes
• Museum of TV & Radio Seminar Series
• USCAF Writer’s Panel Discussion

*Special features may not be in High Definition.

Digital

Sex and The City: The Complete Series, Sex and the City: The Movie and Sex and the City 2 are now available to own on Digital.  Digital allows consumers to instantly stream and download all episodes to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital is available from various retailers including Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, PlayStation, Xbox and others.       

The Basics

Sex and The City: The Complete Series + 2 Movie Collection

LOS ANGELES, (October 14, 2021) – RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release the action-adventure thriller PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD/Blu-ray SteelBook on November 16, 2021. The film made its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

<>Directed by the acclaimed Japanese director, Sion Sono (Why Don’t You Play in Hell), the film was written by Aaron Hendry and Rexa Sixo Safai (Western Wonderland). The film stars Nicolas Cage (Mandy), Sofia Boutella (The Mummy), Nick Cassavetes (Face/Off), Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Franchise), Tak Sakaguchi (Tokyo Tribe) and Yuzuka Nakaya (The Forest of Love). Joseph Trapanese (Tron: Legacy, The Raid: Redemption, The Greatest Showman) composed the original score. The DVD will be available for an SRP of $29.96, the Blu-ray for an SRP of $29.97 and the 4K UHD/Blu-ray SteelBook for an SRP of $35.97.

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND is set in the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town where a ruthless bank robber (Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor (Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Boutella) has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within three days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman—and his own path to redemption.

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND DVD, Blu-ray and UHD/Blu-ray SteelBook includes the bonus feature, “The Making of Prisoners of the Ghostland.”

ABOUT RLJE FILMS

RLJE Films’ recent and upcoming features include the critically acclaimed horror film The Dark And The Wicked from director Bryan Bertino; David Oyelowo’s directorial debut The Water Man; the intense PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby from director Amber Sealey; and Sion Sono’s 2021 Sundance Film Festival premiere Prisoners of the Ghostland starring Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella. us.rljentertainment.com <about:blank>

ABOUT AMC NETWORKS

AMC Networks is a global entertainment company known for its popular and critically-acclaimed content. Its portfolio of brands includes AMC, BBC AMERICA (operated through a joint venture with BBC Studios), IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, IFC Films, and a number of fast-growing streaming services, including the AMC+ premium streaming bundle, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK. AMC Studios, the Company’s in-house studio, production and distribution operation, is behind award-winning owned series and franchises, including The Walking Dead, the highest-rated series in cable history. The Company also operates AMC Networks International, its international programming business, and 25/7 Media, its production services business.

Easily one of my favorite films to come out of 2012 is a probably one you haven’t heard of called “Strange Frame”. This movie is brilliantly animated and directed by GB Hajim, co-written by Hajim and musician Shelley Doty, and co-stars voice talents including Tim Curry, Cree Summer, Juliet Landau, Ron Glass, Alan Tudyk, Michael Dorn, Claudia Christian and George Takei. It centers around the theme of the transformative power of love between two women. It is definitely a trippy fun beautiful film that needs to be seen by everyone!

Well, after that long intro, the reason we are here is that GB Hajim is back with a new feature film that is currently in production called “Mermaids’ Lament”. The film is a psychological drama with elements of fantasy. According to the director it pays homage to an 1986 foreign film titled “Man Facing Southeast” and deals with the issues of depression, anxiety, and trauma. It follow a woman drowning in trauma who takes a therapist beyond her own depth into the darkness and together they find the surface and the sun.

Here is the film official synopsis from the director: “It’s about two women: One who suffered an incredible trauma that left her mute and she may or may not be a mermaid. The other, a therapist who has crippling anxiety, is trying to help the first woman overcome her delusions of being a mermaid and fit better in the world. They end up helping each other out and finding a middle ground because the world is crazy and we need a little mermaid inside each of us to cope.”

Hajim has gathered together another amazing collection of creatives to bring this project to fruition which is apparent in these first official images:

To find out more about GB Hajim’s first film “Strange Frame” and how to watch it, click here. I honestly cannot wait to see what he puts together for this next film. I am sure it is going to be something very special. Be sure to check out the film’s official Facebook page here to follow the film’s production and plans for release, which the director mentions he is aiming for 2022 release.

Well, thank God that’s over. The final film award ceremony of 2021 is over, and not a minute too soon.

Viewers who tuned in to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony (guilty, but I have a website. What’s your excuse?) were treated to un-enthusiastic presenters, amazingly long speeches (I’m guessing Questlove wasn’t told he could play people off) and an “In Memoriam” segment that looks like it was thrown together at the last minute. And can someone tell me how a show with no host, opening monologue and zero musical numbers – unless you count the embarrassing “Oscar Music Trivia” game that featured Glenn Close shaking her ass to E.U.’s “Da Butt” – ran almost 3 1/2 hours??

On a positive note, there were some great achievements rewarded. A woman of color (Chloe Zhao) was named Best Director, only the second time a woman has won that Award. Think about that. Out of 465 nominees only SEVEN women have been nominated: Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, Sophia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow (who won), Greta Gerwig, Ms. Zhao and Emerald Fennell, who with Ms. Zhao was nominated this year. Which means such female directors, like Penny Marshall and Barbra Streisand, have been totally ignored, even though in the past they had directed films nominated for Best Picture!

Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jing took home the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards, respectively, putting a slight dent into the #OscarSoWhite reputation.

Frances McDormand became the second actress to receive (3) Best Actress awards when her name was announced last night, putting her right behind the immortal Katherine Hepburn, who won (4). Meryl Streep does have (3) Oscars, but one was for Best Supporting Actress. Ms. McDormand picked up a 4th Oscar as one of the producers of the evening’s Best Picture, “Nomadland.” And whose idea was it to give the Best Picture award out early? Normally it’s the last award of the night, but on this night it was awarded before Best Actress and Actor were named. My hunch is that the producers assumed the late Chadwick Boseman, who was nominated for his final performance in the film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” would win, which would have made for a nice emotional way to end the evening. Instead, Joaquin Phoenix sheepishly announced Anthony Hopkins as the winner of the Best Actor award, and that was a wrap!

My beef with the “In Memoriam” segment was that, for some reason, the Academy figured if you were watching you knew who everyone was and what they did. An introduction that took u 1/3 of the segment, no film clips and, while known talents like Christopher Plummer, George Segal and Wilford Brimley got a few seconds of screen time each, others – among them Marge Champion (a great dancer), Shirley Knight (a fine actress), Kelly Preston (same) and Michael Chapman (an amazing cinematographer whose credits include “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” and “The Fugitive”) whizzed by in a blink.

The fact that only nominees and presenters were allowed to be in the venue also made for dull television. Smatterings of applause signaled that the guests in the theatre were apparently as bored as the ones at my house.

Blame it on COVID. Blame it on the fact that none of the films nominated were “NAME” films – no “Titanic,” “Avatar” or “Lord of the Rings” in the bunch. Blame it on bad television. There’s plenty of blame to go around.

For those of you who went to bed early, here is a list of the winners:

Best Picture – Nomadland 

Best Actor in a Leading Role– Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

Best Director – Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Father, Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller

Best Original Screenplay – Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell

Best Animated Feature Film – Soul 

Best International Feature Film – Another Round (Denmark)

Best Sound – Sound of Metal, Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Carolina Santana

Best Costume Design – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, Larry M. Cherry

Best Live Action Short Film – Two Distant Strangers

Best Animated Short Film – If Anything Happens I Love You 

Best Documentary Feature – My Octopus Teacher 

Best Documentary Short Subject – Colette 

Best Original Song – ‘Fight for You,’ (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Visual Effects – Tenet, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher, Mike Chambers

Best Cinematography – Mank, Erik Messerschmidt

Best Production Design – Mank, Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale

Best Film Editing – Sound of Metal, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

Best Original Score – Mank, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

THIS COULD BE THE STRANGEST OSCAR CEREMONY EVER

In its 93 years the Academy Awards have seen some strange occurrences.

In 1973, Marlon Brando, who was announced as the winner of the Best Actor Award, sent an actress pretending to be a Native American up to the podium to refuse the award, citing the way Native American’s were portrayed in films.

The next year, David Niven was startled when freelance photographer Robert Opel decided to “streak” across the stage behind them.  I always thought that this was a set-up.  The camera angle was such that none of Mr. Opel’s nether-region was shown and Mr. Niven was awful quick and his quip: “The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is from stripping off and showing his shortcomings!” 

And, of course, who could forget the 1989 ceremonies when Rob Lowe and Snow White engaged in a musical number?  Only months before a sex-tape with Lowe and two women (one underage) had been released, which I’m sure upset the folks at Disney, who were already upset because they hadn’t given their permission for the character to appear.

But this year could be the strangest and most unpredictable ceremony ever.

Tonight, for really the first time since last year’s Oscars, nominees have been encouraged to be in attendance.  In the past year, shows like the Emmys have had a minimal crowd (usually first responders) and the awards have been “delivered” to the winner via Zoom.  Tonight we could actually see people walk across the stage to give their acceptance speeches.

Tonight also notes the first time that a streaming service has received more total nominations than any of the established studios.  NETFLIX leads the way with 35 total nominations, followed by Amazon with 12.  The highest number of studio nominations is 8, shared by Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Company.

Streaming has been the thing this year.  Though theatres are now open again, very few people are going.  The one closest to me, and 18 screen mega-plex, is showing films that range from current (GODZILLA vs KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT) to titles that are months old.  They are even trying to fill their screens with Bollywood features.

In the past year, I have seen three films in a movie theatre.  The aforementioned GODZILLA vs KONG and MORTAL KOMBAT, both in the last 2 months.  Before that, the last film I saw on the big screen was TENET.  And I LOVE going to the movies.

With the exception of TENET, every other Oscar nominated film or performance I have seen this year has been either on a streaming platform or a DVD screener.  A nice way for a critic to binge on what they need to see but also a way that takes the fun out of the movies. 

I enjoy going to the theatre.  Getting my popcorn and sitting in a room with 250 strangers who are about to share an experience with me.  I like hearing others laugh along with me and I like sitting in the silence and hearing if anyone else is crying at the incredibly sad scene I just witnessed.  And I like talking to people as we exit the auditorium, discussing what we saw and whether or not we liked it. 

I should note that there were no more than four other people in attendance at the three films I have seen in a theatre.  Which makes for a lonely exit conversation.

Hopefully after the awards some of the winners will be released to theatres.  That is how Hollywood makes a little more money off of their films – re-releasing them to theatres after the awards to get a post-Oscar push at the box office.  I, for one, would love to see MANK on the big screen.  It’s impeccable recreation of 1940s filmmaking would be glorious to take in on a screen 40 feet high.

However, there are also good reasons to watch the Awards this year.  Many of the nominees are a “pick-em” – there are no such things as “Titanic” nominated tonight.  But my fingers are crossed for two awards and the reaction they will receive. 

The late Chadwick Boseman is nominated as Best Actor for his amazing performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”  It is his last film performance and it is brilliant.  A victory here would not only honor a talent gone much too soon but will surely bring the house to it’s feet.

Secondly, tonight Glenn Close is nominated (for the eighth time) for her Supporting turn in “Hillbilly Elegy.”  Not only is she the best thing in the film, she is so overdue for a win.  Should she not win tonight, she will tie the late Peter O’Toole as having the most acting nominations without a win.  O’Toole did receive an Honorary Oscar in 2002.  A win by Close would surely trigger and emotional standing ovation.  It certainly will at my house.

• PSYCHO GOREMAN
• Starring: Nita-Josee Hanna, Owen Myre
• Directed by: Steven Kostanski
• Rated: Unrated
• Running time: 1hr 39 mins
• RLJE Films

     As the mark of a full year of shutdowns and quarantines goes sloth-crawling by and we begrudgingly re-examine (for the thousandth time) the trials we’ve survived (however barely) … there’s still a piece of us constantly looking for a beacon of hope. There’s questions to be asked. Will you continue to mask up and socially distance or are you moving to Texas? Will you be getting the vaccine or waiting it out? If you’re a monster kid… you have one more important question: are you going to rent Psycho Goreman or buy the damn thing and watch it on loop until you break your Blu-ray player?  Your answer better be BUY because this movie is that good. Except Psycho Goreman ‘PG for short!’ isn’t a blinding beacon of hope… he’s a foul-mouthed alien overlord sent here to destroy the universe and resurrect the creature feature genre.

     Canadian Director/Writer Steven Kostanski, who previously delivered the Lovecraftian THE VOID in 2016, clearly has a tremendous affinity for practical effects and eccentric storytelling. Psycho Goreman takes us onto the battlefield in a crazy war of good vs. evil and evil vs. evil — with blood, guts and meme-worthy Gigaxian one liners flying everywhere. Ninety nine minutes  that plays like an R-Rated visit with Power Rangers in the most hilarious and bonkers capacity imaginable. Psycho Goreman drop kicked exactly what I needed into my lap when I genuinely COULD NOT handle a single extra day of “2020 Part 2″‘s regularly scheduled SNAFU lineup.

I hereby present to you…my wish list for movies from BEFORE Psycho Goreman came to earth:

[✓] A resurgence of credit-roll theme songs. This was one of the greatest things about the 80s and 90s. Remember when they commissioned artists to write completely asinine lyrics and roll them into absolute BANGERS? It’s musical slapdash that I’m, honestly, 105% here for. Calling it now — this will be the next thing to make a comeback in cinema of a certain brand.

[✓]  Millennial 80s/90s nostalgia vibes…with heart. Not something that feels like a filmmaker googled ‘what were the late 80s like?’ and used an immersion blender to make an on screen disaster. I’m honestly so exhaustively far past being done with branded cookie cutter faux 80s-kid content. I want someone and something to bottle the feelings I felt watching shows after school but bigger, grosser and more fucked up… because I’m not six, I’m thirty six. I’ve humbly traded in Pogs and Gushers for IcyHot and Tums and so NOW I want to see body parts flying. I want kids using bad language and monsters who talk dirty. I want to root for a kid who is authentically and effortlessly cooler than I ever was and a monster who is sexier than I’ll ever be able to be.

[✓]  Practical effects out the yinyang. I don’t care what the story is… CGI in horror, generally, should be outlawed. Go big. Then bigger. Keep going. Did everything explode all over the place? Turn it up to eleven. More alien guts! Look at these costumes! We’re almost there. Make me look up who did the fx work. “Give ALL these people a raise!”  Ahhh. That’s perfect. If this is the only redeeming element then so be it… but if it works in tandem with a story that makes me want to suspend disbelief in every capacity then all the better. I’m in.

[✓] A soundtrack that I need to buy, like, yesterday: I consume a lot of tunes and I appreciate the greatest cinematic needle-drops as much as the next dweeb but good lord, there is something to be said about an original score that lets me live my own personal version of on screen adventures with outrageously, bombastic earworms. I’m there. You wanna release it on vinyl in deluxe packaging? Take my money. I want you to deliver to my ears… big hair, big drums, big synth, big aural explosions and none of this Stranger Things nonsense. I don’t like being manipulated. Bring those things and mean it because I very much am paying attention to the man and the noise behind the curtain.

(https://waxworkrecords.com/collections/all/products/pg-psycho-goreman in case you want to buy your own.)

[✓]  Yo, literally just anything to be excited about? I don’t have the mental or emotional bandwidth anymore to recreationally consume anything that requires work. I want something that’s easily digestible and leaves me feeling amazing. I’m just getting back to the point where I’m willing to roll the dice and try to connect with something media-wise but, directly, I’m telling you that I’m looking for lightning in a bottle. So much of what we’re getting now is just more of the same thing we’ve just recently seen: major IP fatigue up in my brain. Show me something new and weird and make him ugly but charming so I can do a hard swipe right. Give me light and snappy. Let me cheer for and also laugh at and with him. Anything that makes me feel bad is getting turned off.

[✓] Make me want a whole line of action figures and a series of school supplies. I need a trapper keeper with gay-friendly alien monsters and a thermos to take soup to work in. Why are things meant for adults never flashy or covered in drippy, neon, monster madness? I’m sad that I’m not represented.

[✓] Give me a monster-kid I identify with and hey… it’s 2021 so it better be a girl and no one better be sexualizing her. We’re done being here for that purpose. I want a little girl on screen who I believe, with every fiber of my being, could save or destroy the universe with her death-glare and smart mouth alone. Not a single super power required.

[✓] Make me LOVE this movie. I want to authentically insist that the people I care about see this movie so they’ll be able to have the same magical feelings I did. I’ve spent much of my adult film-watching experience itching for just one more opportunity to dip my toes into the syrupy pool of Spielbergian kid-adventure but that’s not really where I’m at anymore. You never TRULY outgrow the things you loved in your formative years but now, as a parent, I think I’ve dropped the desire for a newly packaged version of that.  I want to see what someone like MY kid would do with an E.T. like experience. My daughter isn’t the Elliot type and, if we’re being honest, I never was either.  Maybe if an alien comes to earth, I don’t want it to be a sob fest. Maybe I want it to be a party. Maybe I want to see aliens play rock music? Quick…add that to the list.  [✓]

     There’s a fine line when you expect originality. There’s formulas that flourish because they’re dependable. The Hero Cycle’s Call to Action will forever exist because deep down most of us want to be emotionally guided to a promised feel-good moment. We want to feel like our however-fleeting emotional investment to characters and their story has contributed to our own personal journey… and temporarily that’s totally fine.

     For those of you who find your viewing habits to be influenced by the current social atmosphere, there’s absolutely something to be said about returning to things-familiar. Sharing a moment, or ninety, with characters who are in the time of their lives before developing a sense of reflexivity is really comforting. Envy inducing. I think we’ve all had many moments during this past year where we wish we were in our childhood and entirely unconcerned with adult stressors or problems. Re-examining things we loved as children seemed right and safe because we knew what to expect. However as movie fans we have to encourage the continuation of new storytelling. Steven Kostanski had the opportunity to go big and went huge. I think someone must’ve told him to go nuts and he really went for it. In a time when so many things within the genre lean hard into serious, dark and emotionally exhaustive arthouse-horror… this was a bold move that at this moment in time I’m incredibly grateful for. He made something new and he made it really damn fun. Fun: Little word. Means everything in this moment.

     The world is seriously scary enough right now but that doesn’t mean we can’t still like horror. I’m happy someone lightened things up by making it weird, gross and thrilling. Go watch Psycho Goreman and keep an eye on Steven Kostanski. And Steven, (if you see this) can we make sure this toy line happens? We’re all here for tiny, plastic hunky boys!

PSYCHO GOREMAN, available on DVD and Blu-ray starting March 16. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Panic Fest kicks off two weeks of genre packed programming as the ninth annual festival begins April 8, 2021, virtually and in person at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, MO. 

“We are absolutely thrilled to be able to offer Panic Fest as both in-person and virtual experiences. It’s important that we allow for all comfort levels and situations. The prospect of bringing Panic Fest to the entire country is unbelievably exciting for us,” says Panic Fest Co-Founder Adam Roberts. 

This year’s lineup includes over 25 feature films and 40+ short films from around the world in addition to signature podcasts, special events, and virtual meet-ups via the Gather platform. 

Panic Fest Co-Founder Tim KC Canton says, “We know that our festival is built upon networking and a sense of community. We wanted to ensure that when people attend virtually that it feels like our festival. That they walk away with new relationships as well as discovering new, emerging voices through our unparalleled programming.”

For the first time in fest history, all films will be in contention for awards picked by audience members. “Each year we assemble a panel of judges to decipher the awards. This year we’re putting that in the hands of our attendees,” says Canton.

Panic Fest continues their partnerships with IFC Films, Shudder, Dark Sky Films, Epic Pictures, Dark Star Pictures, and Fangoria. New this year as presenting sponsors are 4 Hands Brewing Company and Logboat Brewing Company. 

“Horror movies and great beer. It’s one of the all-time great matches and we couldn’t be happier with our new partners,” says Roberts.

The festival will utilize the latest in networking applications to bring the fest experience into your home with meet-ups, happy hours, and more over the Gather platform and special events via Clubhouse. 

Panic Fest kicks off April 8, 2021, as one of the leading genre festivals in the world. Don’t miss what MovieMaker Magazine and Dread Central have named one of the best genre festivals in the world for three years running.

Get your tickets here.

Feature Film Programming

An Ideal Host
D: Robert Woods
Regional Premiere, 1h 25minLiz just wants to host the perfect dinner party but an unexpected guest sends the evening into chaos, with potentially apocalyptic consequences.

An Unquiet Grave
D: Terence Kray
Regional Premiere, 1h 12min
A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back.

Below the Fold
D: Clayton Scott
World Premiere, 1h 32min
Without a trace, Susie Potter vanished from her home in the quiet town of Skidmore, Missouri. Ten years later, two reporters uncover a harrowing new detail, which leads them on an obsessive hunt for the truth through the dark labyrinth of rural northwest Missouri.

Benny Loves You
D: Karl Holt
Regional Premiere, 1h 34min
Jack is desperately trying for a new start in life, but when he throws away his childhood bear Benny, it’s a move that can only end in death.

The Blazing World
D: Carlson Young
Regional Premiere, 1h 41min
Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.

Blood Conscious
D: Timothy Covell
North American Premiere, 1h 46min
A vacationing family turns the tables on a mass shooter who claims to be fighting demonic forces.

Caveat
D: Damian Mc Carthy
Regional Premiere, 1h 28min
A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.

Censor
D: Prano Bailey-Bond
Regional Premiere, 1h 24min
After viewing a strangely familiar video nasty, Enid, a film censor, sets out to solve the past mystery of her sister’s disappearance, embarking on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality.

The Carnivores
D: Caleb Michael Johnson
Regional Premiere, 1h 17min
Alice and Bret’s dog Harvey is dying, and he’s ruining everything. What had been a bright little family is quickly getting consumed by clouds of self-doubt, suspicion, and a disturbing amount of ground beef.

The Djinn
D: David Charbonier, Justin Powell, Clayton Scott
North American Premiere, 1h 22min
A mute boy is trapped in his apartment with a sinister monster when he makes a wish to fulfill his heart’s greatest desire.

Duncan
D: John Valley
Regional Premiere, 1h 31min
A dark social satire inspired by the real-life conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate. An amateur journalist and a far-right militiaman team up to expose the ugly truth behind rumors involving sex cults, a pizza place, and the lizard people.

Honeydew
D: Devereux Milburn
1h 46min
Strange cravings and hallucinations befall a young couple after seeking shelter in the home of an aging farmer and her peculiar son.

Jakob’s Wife
D: Travis Stevens
Regional Premiere, 1h 38min
Anne, married to a small-town minister, feels her life has been shrinking over the past 30 years. Encountering “The Master” brings her a new sense of power and an appetite to live bolder. However, the change comes with a heavy body count.

Katherine’s Lullaby
D: Savvas Christou
Regional Premiere, 1h 29min
A teenage runaway who’s trapped by a delusional man, pretends to be his daughter in order to escape.

Keeping Company
D: Josh Wallace
Regional Premiere, 1h 22min
A fateful chain of events begin to unravel after two brash insurance salesmen go knocking on the wrong door and find themselves trapped in a stranger’s basement.

The Last Matinee
D: Maximiliano Contenti
U.S. Premiere, 1h 28min
It’s a soaking wet day with rain pouring down and one of the best things to do is to go seek refuge in a great old cinema. There’s only one problem: A scary murderer is on the loose and he also has taken refuge there.

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It Too
D: Jonathan Cuartas
Regional Premiere, 1h 30min
Two mysterious siblings find themselves at odds over care for their frail and sickly younger brother.

Night Drive
D: Brad Baruh, Meghan Leon
Regional Premiere, 1h 22min
A rideshare driver’s life is turned upside down after an unexpected series of misfortunes.

The Old Ways
D: Christopher Alender
Regional Premiere, 1h 30min
Cristina, a journalist of Mexican origin, travels to her ancestral home in Veracruz to investigate a story of sorcery and healing. There, she is kidnapped by a group of locals who claim she’s the devil incarnate.

Parallel Minds
D: Benjamin Ross Hayden
Regional Premiere, 1h 26min
In the near future, an A.I. called URM is investigated by a detective and researcher for a lab about to release a contact lens with the power to record what the eye can see to re-create memories.

Prisoners of Ghostland
D: Sion Sono
Regional Premiere, 1h 40min
A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.

Red Snow
D: Sean Nichols Lynch
World Premiere, 1h 20min
A struggling vampire romance novelist must defend herself against real-life vampires during Christmas in Lake Tahoe.

She Watches From the Woods
D: Beau Ballinger
World Premiere, 1h 19min
A troubled artist with a dark past attempts to make peace with her dying mother while investigating the mysterious death of her teenage sister.

The Stylist
D: Jill Gevargizian
1h 45min
A lonely hair stylist becomes obsessed with the lives of her clients and descends into murderous madness.

Threshold
D: Powell Robinson, Patrick Robert Young
Regional Premiere, 1h 30min
A sister claims to be cursed and persuades her brother to embark on a cross-country road trip to break her spell.

Vicious Fun
D: Cody Calahan
U.S. Premiere, 1h 36min
Joel, a caustic 1980s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in or risk becoming the next victim.

The Whooper Returns
D: Samuel Krebs
U.S. Premiere, 1h 24min
Following the death of their mother, four estranged siblings find themselves fighting for their inheritance and their lives when an eccentric stranger arrives, claiming their famous haunted childhood home was left to her.

Short Film Programming

“Aftertaste” D: Chloe Wicks
“Bloodshed” D: Paolo Mancini, Daniel Watchorn
“Body of Mined” D: Eric Jungmann
“Coil” D: Spencer Ryerson
“Crock Pot” D: Ty Jones
“Death Scene” D: Mando Franco
“Deep Learning” D: Andrew Laudone
“Diabla” D: Maya Korn
“Diving Bell” D: Kyle Brewis, Josh Klaassen
“Dystopia” D: Laura Ugolini
“Gastral Projection” D: Zachary Eglinton
“Green Cobra” D: Sigurd Culhane
“Hare Hunt” D: Ken van Mierlo
“Hey, It’s Me.” D: Courtney Sposato, Mark Sposato
“Koreatown Ghost Story” D: Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum
“Lake Forest Road” D: Ashton Avila
“Late Night” D: JJ Pollack
“Love Bite” D: Charles de Lauzirika
“Make A Wish” D: Dinh Thai
“Mourn” D: Joanna Tsanis

“New Not Normal Trilogy Supercut” D: Ryan Oksenberg
“No One is Coming” D: Matthew Barber, Nathaniel Barber
“Occurrance” D: Deb 
“Pare” D: Lauren Sick
“Pirouette” D: Peter Howard, Glenn Delaney
“Strayed” D: Sarah Bonrepaux
“Stuck” D: David Mikalson
“Suspense” D: Jacob Burghart, Ben Burghart
“Sweet Nothings” D: Christian Klein
“The Good Samaritan” D: Jonathan Norberg, Maria Forslin
“The Occult Son” D: Patrick Murphy
“The Rage” D: Steven DeRock
“The Relic” D: J.M. Logan
“The Rule of Three” D: Elwood Quincy Walker
“The Snoop” D: Tom Hipp, Scott Hipp
“There’s Someone in the Garden” D: Nicholas Cole
“Watcher” D: Meg Swertlow
“Who Wants Dessert?” D: Venita Ozols-Graham
“Witches Midnight” D: Lisa Ovies

Event Programming

A Puff of Smoke Short Film Special Presentation Presented by Yellow Veil Pictures
Clubhouse Weekend Hangouts
Colors of the Dark Podcast
Final Exam (Horror Trivia) FREE hosted by Ted Geoghegan
Frightday Podcast
Gather Fandom Weekend Happy Hours
Gather Weekend Filmmaker Networking Happy Hour
Knight Light Podcast
Nightmare on Film Street Podcast
Nightmare Junkhead Podcast
Screen Drafts Podcast with Rebekah Mckendry & Graham Skipper

Feature film will be coming down the chimney in 2022

Orwo Studios and Black Hanger Studios (JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN) announced today that they have acquired the remake rights to the seminal slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night. The original film’s producers Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead of Wonderwheel Entertainment will join Orwo in bringing an exciting new vision of this cult classic to modern movie audiences in 2022. 

The project was brought to Orwo by producer Anthony Masi of MasiMedia. Schneid, Whitehead, and Masi will produce along with Jake Seal, Terry Bird, and Jamie R. Thompson of Orwo Studios/Black Hangar. Orwo Studios is financing and representing the film for worldwide sales rights. 

Declared as the most controversial film of the 80s – Silent Night, Deadly Night tells the story of a child who is traumatized after seeing his parents killed by a man dressed as Santa Claus. Years later, he dons a Santa suit himself and gets bloody revenge on the naughty list. 

Wonderwheel says, “The continued desire for horror content and the ongoing success of the genre meant it was the perfect time to be able to offer up this chilling revival of the iconic title.” Masi adds, “We are thrilled to be working with the original producers as well as Orwo and Black Hangar and are committed to honoring nostalgia for the original while offering surprises for new audiences to discover and embrace.”

• FROZEN (2010)
• Starring: Emma Bell and Shawn Ashmore
• Directed by: Adam Green
• Anchor Bay Pictures

Certainly not to be confused with Disney’s animated musical, this is easily one of the most intense films I’ve ever seen and guaranteed to stay with you FOR-EVER!

A must see for all horror fans, a weekend ski party at a lodge goes terribly wrong. Look for Kane Hodder, better known as Jason Voorhees, in a cameo, My favorite horror movies are the ones that feel real and that possibly could happen, no matter how unlikely. This movie is raw, nerve-wracking and one of the most gut wrenching films I’ve ever seen!

• TAXI DRIVER
• Starring: Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel and Jodie Foster
• Directed by: Martin Scorsese
• Columbia Pictures

 
You’ll find one helluva cab ride here!

Scorsese’s mesmerizing film is so low-key it might put you to sleep. Not because of boredom though – it’s combination of a soothing jazz score (the final one by the great Bernard Hermann, who died 24 hours after delivering the score to Scorsese) and DeNiro’s narration will definitely relax you.

Travis Bickle has a deep concern. He feels the need to be a hero in a society that’s gone wrong. In fact, he’s just an extraordinary person in normal circumstances.

“You talkin’ to me??”

As Media Mikes celebrates their 11th Anniversary, we are proud to welcome Keith Stevenson to our stable of writers.

Keith has been a lover of cinema since he was a young man and runs almost 20 film pages on Facebook, with a total membership of almost a quarter-of-a-million fans. His pages include tributes to JAWS, the ALIEN anthology, Directors Ridley and Tony Scott, Spike Lee and Black Cinema and Filmology – A Cinema Group, in which he writes about films of all genres. Give the page a look by clicking HERE

Look for his first essay, on the film TAXI DRIVER, later this week!

Welcome aboard, Keith!!

KEY INTERNATIONAL SALES RACK UP OUT OF AFM

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 13, 2021) — Voltage Pictures has sold US rights to writer-director Will Wernick’s (Follow Me) upcoming pandemic thriller Safer at Home to Vertical Entertainment, it was announced today by President and COO Jonathan Deckter. Vertical has set the release for February 2021.

Voltage first introduced the film to buyers at the recent American Film Market. Key international deals include Falcom in German speaking Europe, Eone in Canada, The Searchers in Benelux, Sun Distribution in Spain and Latin America, Central Partnership in Russia, Signature Entertainment in the UK, Madman in Australia, Cinemundo in Portugal, Front Row in the Middle East, and Filmfinity in South Africa.

The film, which was one of the first projects to go safely into production during the Covid-19 pandemic, stars Alisa Allapach, Adwin Brown, Jocelyn Hudon, Dan J. Johnson, Michael Kupisk, Emma Lahana and Daniel Robaire. The film might seem like a gamble but it more seems like a sure bet, so be sure to check out this page.

Safer at Home was produced by Bo Youngblood and John Ierardi of Showdown Productions, and Will Wernick under his 7930 Entertainment banner. Executive producers are Voltage’s Nicolas Chartier, Jonathan Deckter and Babacar Diene.

The film was written by Will Wernick and Lia Bozonelis, from a story by Wernick, Bozonelis, and John Ierardi. The score was composed by Genevieve Vincent. The film was shot by DP Jason Goodell. Jason Phillips and Lia Bozonelis served as co-producers.

Set in 2022, the Corona Virus pandemic has created mass chaos in Los Angeles and turned the city into a police state.  To escape the grim reality of life, a group of friends get together for an online party: a night of music, drinking, games…and drugs. To kick off the party, they collectively take a hit of what they think is molly.  At first, the night is an exciting departure from the boredom of isolation, but as the drug kicks in, things go terribly wrong and the safety of their home becomes more terrifying than the raging chaos outside.

“Follow Me was a strong success for many of our international partners, so when the chance came to partner with Will for the third time was a no brainer,” said Deckter. “He’s created a whip-smart, edge of your seat thriller that will speak to audiences worldwide, as they simultaneously experience the varying stages of the pandemic.”

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Will and Voltage this year following the domestic success of No Escape (AKA Follow Me),” said Rich Goldberg, co-president of Vertical Entertainment. “Safer at Home provides exciting twists and turns at every moment and we can’t wait to share it with US audiences.”

Safer at Home joins the robust Voltage sales slate including the political biopic Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid, the action-thriller The Marksman starring Liam Neeson, the upcoming third and fourth installments of the After franchise, the horror-thriller The Seventh Day starring Guy Pearce and the YA romance Finding You. 

ABOUT VOLTAGE PICTURES

Voltage Pictures, established in 2005, is a privately held, film and television production, financing and sales entity. Voltage has won six Academy Awards including Best Picture for The Hurt Locker, and three Academy Awards for Dallas Buyers Club.

The current Voltage sales slate includes the highly anticipated action-thriller The Marksman starring Liam Neeson, the gangster crime biopic Lanksy starring Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington and Annasophia Robb and the horror thriller The Seventh Day starring Guy Pearce.  

Voltage represented worldwide rights on After, based on the internationally best-selling series of books by Anna Todd, debuted number one at the box office in 17 international territories including Germany and Italy when released in April 2019 and grossed over $70m worldwide. The highly anticipated sequel, After We Collided, recently opened number one in Italy, Portugal and Spain. The third and fourth films in the franchise are currently shooting in Eastern Europe.

Voltage also produced the blockbuster comedy I Feel Pretty starring Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, and Naomi Campbell, which generated nearly $100m in worldwide box office. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jim Parsons, and John Malkovich premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim.

ABOUT VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique combination of full-service marketing and sales services. Dedicated to providing highly-effective and collaborative solutions, Vertical leverages unparalleled relationships to maximize revenue across all streams. The marketing and sales expertise from Vertical’s seasoned team gives content partners a wealth of experience minus the studio costs.

Vertical won a Gotham Award for Best Actress for Nicole Beharie’s role in “Miss Juneteenth“ this year. Additionally, the company won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for Molly Shannon’s role in “Other People” and the film won a GLAAD Award for “Outstanding Film Limited Release” as well. Vertical also had four other Indie Spirit nominations – three more for “Other People” (Best Lead Actor for Jesse Plemons, and Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for filmmaker Chris Kelly) and one for Best International Film for Babak Anvari’s “Under the Shadow,” which was also the official UK submission for the 2017 Oscars, in addition to winning one BAFTA Award and three British Independent Film Awards as well. 

Notable Vertical releases include “Shadow in the Cloud” starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Nick Robinson; and “Skylines”, the third installment of the Skyline franchise;  “The Informer” starring Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Clive Owen, and Ana de Armas;“ “Miss Juneteenth”, the directorial debut of filmmaker Channing Godfrey Peoples starring Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, and Alexis Chikaeze; “Robin’s Wish”, the powerful true story of actor/comedian Robin Williams’ final days; “Yes, God, Yes” starring Natalia Dyer, Timothy Simons, Wolfgang Novogratz and Alisha Boe; and “Capone” starring Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, and Kyle Maclachlan.