The King of the Zulus has declared that he is bringing back circumcision to his people. This alarms South Africa because the Zulu process includes a month long seclusion in nakedness which comes with a high death rate. Among other maladies there have been many reported cases of rotting penises, hypothermia, and HIV due to doctors using the same knife on large groups of boys.
Derek Mears, your current "Jason Voorhees", joins the cast of Robert Rodriguez's "Predators". Which makes sense, because he's just about the most terrifying human being I've ever seen. In real life that is, not so much in "Friday the 13th".
Scott Derrickson, director of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", has signed on to direct the supernatural thriller "The Living".
Follow me on this one. A script that's been floating around called "Nightcrawlers", has officially gotten a director in Mike Mitchell. It also has a new name... "Monster Squad". Apparently the horror/comedy is being turned into a psuedo/not really remake of Fred Dekker's 80's classic. Here's more info.
In Real People News:
I always felt a little uncomfortable during drunk taxi rides. Now I know why.
1982: Maverick carmaker John DeLorean is arrested in Los Angeles with $24M worth of cocaine in his suitcase. The case is later thrown out of court when a judge rules that the FBI sting operation constituted entrapment.
If "Survival of the Dead" goes well, George Romero plans to make more sequels. At this point, "beating a dead horse" doesn't even apply anymore.
Early concept art for "Night of the Living Dead: Origins", the so-called "3D American Anime" remake of the Romero classic. Although, someone a lot nerdier than me is going to have to explain to you what the hell that means.
Danny Trejo scores a role in Robert Rodriguez's "Predators".
1978: A nun at the Vatican discovers the lifeless body of Pope John Paul I, formerly Albino Luciani, in bed. The pontiff had been on the job only 33 days before unexpectedly dying in his sleep, after having taken some sort of pills with dinner. The church refuses to grant an autopsy.
This news was from Friday... Robert Downey Jr. is rumored to be in final talks to play the Vampire Lestat in a reboot of "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice. This had the web abuzz late last week. Since I have no attachment to the stories and have a man-crush on Downey, I'll pretty much be watching this no matter how it turns out.
Robert Rodriguez produced "Predators" (directed by Nimrod Antal) will officially begin shooting in September. The story centers on a group of people stuck on the Predator's homeland, which as you can guess doesn't go very well.
New "Zombieland" poster. Saw this trailer again this weekend in front of "District 9". Still looks fun.
In Real People News:
So ya, as your kids prepare to go back to school, don't forget to teach them the intricacies of anal beer-bongs and snorting vodka shots. Oh you've never done that? Okay well maybe they can teach you then. That should be a fun conversation.
1896: Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year-old mother of two, becomes the world's first automobile fatality when she steps in front of a car outside the Crystal Palace in London. At the coroner's inquest, Arthur Edsall states he had been driving at only 4 mph. The motorist also claims that when he saw the pedestrian, he rang his bell and shouted "Stand back!"
We'll be recording this week's podcast tonight, with the topic of choice being David Lynch's cult classic "Eraserhead". If you have any last minute thoughts, be sure to hit us up on the contact page or send us a message on Twitter.
The release date for the "Hellraiser" remake has been changed from 2009 to "To Be Announced". According to Box Office Mojo, the official title is "Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser". At least I like the title. Now we'll just have to wait and see how the movie turns out.
Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2" is a little less than a month away folks. Up on Zombie's blog today is a still of Sheri Moon Zombie with the new boyhood Michael Myers, Chase Wright Vanek. I haven't been paying that close attention but I believe this is really the first time we've seen this new Myers in an official still... so, there it is.
New stills for "The Final Destination". See that last one there in the theater... how meta! It's like you were murdered in your seat while you were watching the movie in 3D. Get it?
All you need to know about this fight is that at one point someone crapped on someone's back as an offensive move. I smell a new fighting style. Zing!
You know when you pass out drinking with your friends, and when you wake up they've drawn a penis somewhere on your face? this is kind of like that, only it's in prison... and permanent. Ouch.
On this day in history:
1535: Sir Thomas More, an English politician, is sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. King Henry VIII takes pity on him and changes the sentence to beheading. Said head is hung on display from London Bridge before being rescued by his daughter a month later.
More pics from Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2". I only post them because the director's cut of "Halloween" is our topic for discussion next week on the podcast, so I have to subject myself to it this weekend. I'm currently devising ways to try and stop the pain while it's playing. Suggestions welcome.
Some bloody "Piranha 3D" pics. I'm marginally excited for this. I would say "really excited", but let's not forget that "Mirrors" wasn't supposed to be the funniest film of last year. It's hard to tell what will happen when Aja actually tries to be funny... he is French after all.
Guy's arm gets cut off in bakery machine, employers make him work the rest of the day. When authorities finally found out, it was too late to attach the arm. Looks like someone's got some 'splainin to do.
1994: Nicole Brown Simpson and her male friend Ronald Goldman are savagely murdered in front of Simpson's condominium complex in Brentwood, California. The most plausible suspect turns out to be Nicole's estranged husband O.J., who is arrested for the crime a month later. We all pretty much know what happened after that.
It's Eric here, back on the news beat after taking a few days off. My apologies if I end up covering a story that Casey did last week... but if I do, you'll just have to deal with it. That's called "character building", folks.
Word from Robert Rodriguez's camp is that "Predators" will be a sequel and not a remake. There are also rumblings that they're trying to get Arnold Schwarzenegger back in some type of extended cameo, but we'll see how that turns out.
Not sure this is good news, but "Saw VI" director Kevin Gruetert calls his post production experience "mind numbingly complex". Ya, this should be interesting.
1986: Former UN Secretary General and Nazi war criminal Kurt Waldheim is elected president of Austria. One year later, the U.S. Justice Department places him on a watch list of undesirable aliens, making Waldheim the first foreign head of state legally forbidden from visiting America.
Robert Rodriguez has found a writer for "Predators". His name is Alex Litvak, and he has never written a film that has actually been completed, with only one screenplay to his credit which is "currently in production". Um... sweet?
The full list of MTV Movie award nominations is out, and the biggest winner is "Twilight", which somehow garnered more nominations than "The Dark Knight". Also in the "huh?" category, "Prom Night's" Jonathan Skaech nominated for "Best Villian". If all it took for the nomination was to have five o'clock shadow and wear a baseball hat, I should be nominated like, every day.
The official plot synopsis for Rob Zombie's "H2" has been released, and while it's not a whole lot of new information, it does mention "an unlikely new hero", something which has not been discussed up until this point. My guess? He's referring to the now damaged Laurie Strode, who I can only expect Zombie is going to have go all "70's revenge movie" on Myers, because you know, that's what he does.
A Chinese woman accidentally bit her bosses penis off while giving him oral sex in a car recently. While engaged in the act, their car was hit by a reversing van, causing the ensuing jaw-clench. I'm guessing she might as well throw any hopes of a positive review out the window right now.
I knew cats were evil. Apparently half the world has been infected by the cat-parasite "Toxoplasma gondii", and it's affecting our personalities. Little bastards.
On this day in history:
1937: Zeppelin Hindenberg explodes at Lakehurst NJ, leaving 36 dead and others seriously burned. A reporter witnessing the carnage coins the phrase "oh, the humanity!"
