Few actors get to star in a monster commercial smash that is also a zeitgeist hit, but that was Joshua Leonard’s experience with “The Blair Witch Project,” which turned a meager $60,000 production budget into almost $250 million in worldwide theatrical receipts, and owned the summer of 1999 (and beyond, in the form of countless spoofs, homages and far less inspired rip-offs) like no other indie movie of its time. Leonard continued to act over the years, and achieved a second peak of artistic acclaim two years back in Lynn Shelton’s “Humpday,” in which he and a fellow heterosexual friend (Mark Duplass) find themselves locked in a pact/dare to make  [ Read More ]

Director Craig Gillespie has had an interesting career. After making his debut with “Lars and the Real Girl,” episodic television work ensued, followed by a contretemps over the comedy “Mr. Woodcock,” starring Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon and Billy Bob Thornton that saw him removed from the project. His latest film is the adaptation/reboot of 1985′s horror-comedy “Fright Night,” starring Anton Yelchin as a Las Vegas high school kid who finds out his new neighbor (Colin Farrell) is actually a vampire. ShockYa recently had the chance to talk to Gillespie one-on-one about what attracted him to “Fright Night,” what he thought about shooting the movie in 3-D, and his next film, the genre  [ Read More ]

If one constructed in their mind a picture of German-born director Marcus Nispel based solely on his filmography — which includes grisly reboots of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Friday the 13th” franchises, plus the R-rated “Pathfinder” – it could not possibly be more different from the reality of the man, who abhors shoes, probably owns no black clothes at all, and in person favors pastel cargo pants and billowing, open-necked cotton painter’s shirts. Looking more like a Venice Beach artist than a brooding purveyor of brutal horror and head-hacking action, Nispel has a gregarious personality seemingly at odds with his knack for wringing catharsis out of grim places. With his latest big screen  [ Read More ]

A television writer nominated for five Emmy Awards, Michael J. Weithorn has had a successful career dating back to the early 1980s — mostly in sitcoms, from “Family Ties”, “The Wonder Years” and “True Colors” up through “Ned and Stacey” and “The King of Queens”. For his feature film debut as both a writer and director, however, Weithorn toned down the overt laughs, and instead took aim at something a bit more melancholic, and laced with a quieter humor. Set in suburban Long Island in the summer following the September 11 attacks, “A Little Help” centers on a dental hygienist and mother, Laura (Jenna Fischer), whose marriage has become tense  [ Read More ]

Ain’t It Cool News has some information garnered at the Writer’s Panel of the Santa Barbara Film Festival from Andrew Stanton. Stanton, the director of the critically-acclaimed 2008 Pixar flick “Wall-E”, talked about his upcoming project tackling the pulp classic “John Carter: Warlord Of Mars”. He said that despite his past work “Carter” would not be a Pixar movie, but instead come out under the regular Disney banner. Already in a second script draft, Stanton, who claims to have been planning this film since a small child, says that the story will be sticking very closely to the origins of the character, created by “Tarzan” author Edgar Rice Burroughs. He  [ Read More ]

Oracle Pictures, Blue Brick Productions and actor/director Sid Haig are delighted to announce Sid’s feature film directorial debut! The film, entitled Last Door, has already been in pre-production for several weeks, and Sid will be joining the team on Friday, October 5th. With principal photography slated to begin on October 15th, Sid and the team are working hard nailing down cast and crew for this incredible story. Last Door is the remarkable account of a family’s battle to save their son from a secret society. Based on actual events, this supernatural psychological thriller unfolds the story of a troubled teen’s reunion with his father. The boy’s aberrant behavior leads his  [ Read More ]

1. Tell us a little about your background, where are you from and when did you decide that you wanted to become a filmmaker? I grew up in New Jersey– That’s right, a Jersey boy. One day I when I was five year’s old, my mom accidentally put on DRACULA with Bela Lugosi. Even at that age, it did something to me. I knew it was “forbidden fruit”, so to speak. Pandora’s box. Well, I opened that box… Next week I found my first copy of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine at the local grocery store (issue #82 to be exact!), starting watching DARK SHADOWS, painting Aurora monster models- and  [ Read More ]