News

45 series will play in the festival’s official selection across five different sections

Migration drama La Ley del Mar, starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, is to open the first edition of the South International Series Festival in Cádiz, which run from October 6-12.

45 series will play in the festival’s official selection in five different sections. Another 60 titles, spanning both fiction and non-fiction, will have previews and screenings.

See below for full line-up

Based on a true story, La Ley Del Mar is about the first European fishing boat that in 2006 rescued 51 sub-Saharan immigrants adrift in the Mediterranean. The...

Iron Man 3 writer and director Shane Black is moving into animation with a new comedy project at Fox. Black, who also wrote the first two Lethal Weapon movies, is developing Crag Banyon P.I., based on James Mullaney’s book series.

Black and Mullaney will write and exec produce the project, which will also be exec produced by Stampede Ventures’ David Silverman, Greg Silverman and Paul Shapiro; Greenlit’s David Greenblatt; and Vinson Films’ Tripp Vinson.

If the project receives a presentation order at the network, David Silverman, who helmed The Simpsons Movie, will direct. It currently has a script commitment with Fox Entertainment as the studio with Bento Box producing the animation.

Crag Banyon P.I follows the supernatural adventures of Banyon, an alcoholic ex-cop and current private investigator, as he solves cases in an alternate noir, otherworldly reality. Mullaney has written seven books in the series including...

Both the movie business and the actor’s fans are still mourning the loss of Chadwick Boseman following his recent passing at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, and tributes have been pouring in from all over the world. Black Panther has enjoyed a huge resurgence in popularity as audiences rush to check out the career-defining role of a talent that had barely entered their prime, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be able to bid one final farewell to T’Challa next year.

Leaked concept art from upcoming animated series Marvel’s What If…? hinted that one episode could follow what would happen if T’Challa had become the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill, in what would bring Boseman’s connection to the franchise full circle after he revealed that his first audition for the studio was for Drax the Destroyer.

(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.) The Movie: The Destroyer Where You Can Stream It: Hulu The Pitch: A near-unrecognizable Nicole Kidman is a hard-boiled cop haunted by a violent tragedy in her past. Why It’s Essential Quarantine Viewing: It still boggles […]

The post The Quarantine Stream: ‘Destroyer’ is an Vastly Underrated Neo-Noir Flick appeared first on /Film.

Two footprints – one human, one something else – meet in moon dust on the enigmatic poster for new found footage film Apollo 18. Though it’s due out Stateside as early as March 2011, next to nothing plotwise is known about the movie. What we do know is that it’s based around a secret mission to the moon that ends with humans coming in contact with aliens. Considering it’s all reportedly relayed to us as found footage, we can guess the encounter doesn’t go well. Wanted and Night Watch director Timur...

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An interesting development is taking place this year with regard to the "Black Friday" shopping experience. In many instances it's expanded and will be taking place on days other than just the Friday after Thanksgiving. Case in point: Fox Connect is holding a Black Friday Blu-ray/DVD sale from November 22nd to December 5th.

Fox Connect, which handles Blu-rays and DVDs for both 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment, will be offering up to 70% off on your favorite movies and TV shows, some for as little as $4 for select titles!

Now we're not sure exactly what will be included, but with titles like the following in their catalogue, genre fans will surely want to hit up the Fox Connect site to see what they're offering during their Black Friday Holiday Blowout:

Misery

Troll 2

Carrie

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Amityville Horror

The Return of the Living Dead...

It's been officially announced that recently, at the Astana International Action Film Festival screenplay competition, The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to a movie called Apollo 18, written by Brian Miller.

The movie tells the story of Nasa's Apollo 18 mission to our moon, which was actually one of the many canceled missions in reality...or so we've been told. In the movie, the idea that the mission actually went ahead as planned is presented. It will be shot documentary style, to look as if it is proof of the mission actually happening and showing undiscovered footage from what the crew on that mission found, including "disturbing" proof of other life forms.

Apollo 18 is set to be produced by Timur Bekmambetov, the Russian director responsible for movies like Wanted and stylized vampire films, Night Watch and Day Watch. Bekmambetov is the one who founded the Astana International Film Festival screenplay competition at...

HollywodoNews.com: With the recent discovery of Russian film footage that suggests that America’s Apollo 18 space mission actually did occur, despite being canceled by President Nixon in the early 1970s, The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired the rights to a provocative new film project, titled Apollo 18. To be directed by Trevor Cawood from a screenplay by Brian Miller, the documentary-style sci-fi thriller will be produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Behmambetov (Wanted, 9, The Darkest Hour) and Michele Wolkoff, president of development for Bekmambetov Projects, Ltd. Production has been fast-tracked to begin in December, with a wide release planned for March 4.

A quintessential Cold War story, Apollo 18 casts light on the covert and undocumented lunar mission that officially “never happened.” Bekmambetov, hired by Russia to shoot a documentary about the Russian space station, recently came across footage in its space archives that bolsters the idea that an Apollo 18 mission did,...

Watching John Carpenter's original and highly influential 1978 film Halloween (or any of its sequels) on Halloween has become almost as big of a cliche as virginal, Jamie Lee Curtis-like final girl. If, by chance, you are looking for a few films to watch during your Halloween party that may not be as well-known or you might now associate with Halloween, but will successfully pack the punch your looking for and actually just may scare you a little bit......

Session 9 (2001)

Some may consider this film a slow-burn, but there is an undeniably creepiness and tense atmosphere present throughout almost the entire film's running time, mainly do to the film's malevolent looking setting---a massive, abandoned insane asylum. The film centers around a group of assiduous worker who are contracted to remove the asbestos from the facility; while working, one of the men discovers a box of old audiotapes (labeled "session 1," "session 2," etc.

I'm not sure why, but all the news coming from the movie studios today involves announcing major release dates. Universal secured a big batch of 2012+ dates for their projects, including The Bourne Legacy, Snow White and the Huntsman, 47 Ronin, Ouija and The Dark Tower, but that's not the only news. 20th Century Fox set a June 22nd, 2012 release for the upcoming Timur Bekmambetov directed adaptation Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Yes this is that awesome revised classic written by Seth Grahame-Smith (also of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) that the guy of Wanted and Night Watch is directing. Sounds great to me! The Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter story kicks off with the revelation that Lincoln's mother was killed by a supernatural creature, which fueled his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. The book depicts the 16th Us president as an axe-throwing highly trained vampire killer. Awesome. Casting ...

Stephen K Amos, Wallace and Gromit, Armstrong and Miller, Brimstone and the Psychoville Halloween Special. Plus great movies too in the coming week on UK TV!

This week, naturally, it's all about the scares and there are plenty of films and shows to provide the shivers for Halloween and the next seven days or so.

But the scheduling genies have also managed to squeeze in the laughs among the shrieks this week, for those too squeamish for the scream-inducing telly treats.

We start off with a newcomer to the eponymously named stand-up comedian sketch show club with The Stephen K Amos Show airing tonight, Friday, October 29th at 10:00pm on BBC2. There's plenty of room for series of this sort and we look forward, with a warm welcome, to Mr Amos' particular brand of funny stuff.

Those UK fans of the world's first loveable serial killer who managed to...

It's October, the weather is changing, the leaves are starting to turn and the moon is glowing bright orange. If you're a horror fan chances are the fall and a little pagan holiday known as Halloween is one of your favorite times of the year. With that in mind we are taking a look at 10 of the craziest, most terrifying haunted attractions in the country. Because after all, October isn't October without checking out at least a few haunted places...

What got us on this subject was a story we heard a few days ago about the quote "scariest" haunted house on the planet. The rumor was of this place called the Seven Layers of Hell....somewhere in Ohio? Apparently you have to pay $50 to get in and sign a waiver, and they actually get to touch you, and shove you (with no intention of harm) they use real snakes,...

It’s a difficult time in American history. Political instability, economic uncertainty, war, populist outrage… The time is right for a movie that dares to explore the trials and tribulations of Abraham Lincoln, one of our country’s greatest and most tormented Presidents. Unfortunately, that movie is probably not happening anymore. But don’t worry, America, we’re getting the Lincoln biopic we really deserve. According to Variety, the Tim Burton-produced adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is going to begin pre-production, with Wanted/Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov helming the movie. Since the material is so over-the-top, and...

20th Century Fox has acquired the rights to the Seth Grahame-Smith fantasy graphic novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The project is apparently the most sought one as other studios which bid for it included Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Summit Entertainment.

The novel reimagines the 16th President of the United States as a secret vampire killer after he discovers his mother was killed by a dose of vampire blood. The “new” history finds Lincoln discovering that Southern plantation owners aren’t using slaves for labor, but blood as they are actually evil creatures of the night. This causes Lincoln to become an Abolitionist and the true motives for the Civil War are born (sort of). And yes, no surprise, there is room for a sequel.

Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) will direct and Tim Burton will produce. Seth Grahame-Smith is hired to adapt his book into a screenplay.

A bidding war recently commenced for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and 20th Century Fox came out the victor. The film is an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith's novel of the same name, from a script also written by Grahame-Smith. Tim Burton is producing, and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) is directing. More updates after the break. Variety says pre-production is already underway, as Fox hopes to get this one out in time for a 2012 release. The film is budgeted at $69 million, and will be released in 3D. (No word on whether it's being shot in 3D, or post-converted like Burton's Alice in Wonderland.) Fox did all they could to win this one, presenting a detailed pitch for the production, marketing and release of the picture. Beyond that, they one-upped other studios by putting on an elaborate presentation to impress the filmmakers: huge banners hung...

Horror spoofs are all the rage - just as with Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith's novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is headed for the theater for real.

As silly as it all is, the project has already attracted some big money attention. Twentieth Century Fox won the bidding war for the project, and likely paid a hefty price for the honors. Night Watch and Day Watch director Timur Bekmambetov has been tapped to direct, and mega-name Tim Burton is producing the feature. The script will be adapted by novel author Grahame-Smith himself.

Going with current trends, the project is planned to be shot in 3D with a rather staggering $69 million dollar budget. I realize that's just a nice solid budget for films these days - but, given this particular film is a spoof involving one of the country's most beloved presidents hunting down vampires and sending them back to the grave,...

A long and vicious bidding war ensued after Timur Bekmambetov and Tim Burton used their own funds to buy the rights to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter from author Seth Grahame-Smith.  Everyone and their mother seemed to be involved from Sony, Paramount, Universal and Summit. 

Twentieth Century Fox has acquired the rights to make the live-action 3D film about the 16th President as an expert vampire killer.  The story goes that when Lincoln was a child, vampires took the life of his mother and that ever since he has made it his mission to hunt and kill all vampires and their protectors. 

Bekmambetov has been on my radar since his film Night Watch.  He proved with Wanted that his directing style was compatible with Us audiences.  Granted, having Angelina Jolie in your film never hurts.  Burton and Bekmambetov sound like a match made in heaven with this project.  It is almost...

There is a heated auction around the live-action adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”. Director Timur Bekmambetov (“Night Watch”, “Day Watch”, “Wanted”) and producer Tim Burton spent their own money on the rights earlier this year, and have been shopping the film around Hollywood. Sony, Universal, Paramount, Summit, and Fox are all reportedly in the running to land the much sought after project. However, Fox apparently really wants the movie, according to Deadline. When Tim and Timur and their entourage of reps came to the Fox lot to present the project … they were met with a huge banner at the gate. It had the title treatment of the script and was emblazoned, “Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov present ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’”. At their parking spot were signs saying “Parking For Vampire Hunters Only: park at your own risk,” and so forth. There were bloody footprints...

Milla Jovovich in a romcom. Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't happened - and happened a lot - before now. And I'm even more surprised that for it to happen she had to go to Russia.

Jovovich is starring opposite Night Watch and Wanted star Konstantin Khabensky - who is looking increasingly weird as he ages - in Russian language romantic comedy Vikrutasi. Jovovich stars as an already engaged woman who attracts the eye of a lonely, single school teacher (Khabensky). And hilarity ensues. Check the trailer - Russian only - below.

Word on Monsters, the very low-budget film from director Gareth Edwards, has been generally very positive as the film plays festivals and starts to make its way out into the world of regular audiences. Now, in advance of the film's opening, Edwards already has a follow-up project in the works: a sci-fi epic set in a futuristic world. We don't know much about the project at this point, but it is said to be a science fiction tale that Wanted and Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov will produce. Edwards is writing and will direct. What's the story? All we've got is that it will be an "epic human story, set in a futuristic world without humanity." If anything, it's a surprise that something like this took this long to happen. Edwards has already been called 'the next Neill Blomkamp,' which might be premature, but certainly shows the general enthusiasm...

Exclusive: Fox International Productions is developing another project with actor-turned-filmmaker Yuri Kolokolnikov. Irokez, which translates as “Mohican”, is a $10 million period comedy written by Yaroslav Chevazhevsky (Kuka), who is already making Victory Day for Fip. Victory Day is a Harold and Maude-style road comedy about a Russian teenager on a road trip with his Babushka grandmother to the famous Red Square May parade. Pushkin hopes to begin shooting next year in Moscow. Fip is also developing a Russian-language remake of Working Girl, the 80s comedy which starred Melanie Griffith as a secretary who rises through the ranks of corporate Manhattan, and Tony Scott’s action movie Man On Fire, which starred Denzel Washington. Rezo Gegenieshvil, who’s Heat (Zhara) remains one of Russia’s highest-grossing local films, is directing this Russian Working Girl remake. Currently shooting is We Are Family, a comedy about a hapless manager desperate to impress his fiancée,...

David Slade and Robert Schwentke are the two frontrunners to direct 20th Century Fox's Wolverine sequel, according to New York magazine's Vulture blog.

Slade directed Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, while Schwentke helmed Flightplan, The Time Traveller's Wife and upcoming spy thriller Red, based on a comic book.

Vulture says Wolverine star Hugh Jackman will meet both filmmakers next week before a final decision is made but a source inside the production has indicated Slade is the preferred choice.

The two names have come out of the blue. Last month it was reported that the final contenders to direct the film were Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) and Tony Scott (Top Gun, Enemy of the State, Man on Fire). Other filmmakers who had previously been approached included Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch/Day Watch, Wanted) and Daniel Espinosa (Snabba Cash).

In what was,...

Universal Pictures International Entertainment have announced the UK DVD and Blu-ray release of Black Lightning, on September 6th 2010. Presented by Timur Bekmambetov (the genius behind Wanted and Night Watch), the film features one of Russia’s greatest superheroes:

When student Dima is bought a car for his birthday he thinks the answer to all of his problems has finally arrived. But when the car turns out to be a beaten up old Volga his excitement turns into embarrassment until he discovers the car’s flighty secret. Armed with the car’s hidden technology that harks back to the Cold War, Dima revels in his new-found power of flight and reinvents himself as the mysterious Black Lightning, crime fighter, Moscow’s saviour and arch-nemesis of a corrupt industrialist with his eyes on domination at any cost…

Special Features:

•Making Of (24:42),

•Deleted Scenes (8:55)

Black Lightning is released on Dvd and Blu-ray on September 6th.

Timur Bekmambetov, previously attached only as producer, has announced his intention to direct "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in an interview with Empire. Describing the film as being in a similar vein as "Night Watch", Bekmambetov says that production will ideally begin this winter and that the property is being looked at as a potential franchise. Perhaps a tongue-in-cheek comment, the director claims that the film is in no ways comedy but is, instead, "a very entertaining, epic history lesson." The article also offers updates on a number of other films Bekmambetov has been connected to, including a mention that he would like to direct the Fox version of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", to be produced alongside Ridley Scott. Unlike the competing Disney version, this version will...

Since directing 2008's Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov has remained pretty quiet. Bekmambetov's keen visual sense was a huge part of Wanted's success, and plans were set in place for the Russian director to work on a sequel. Those plans hit a snag when Angelina Jolie dropped out, rather ironic since Bekmambetov had devised a plan to resurrect Jolie's deceased character, even after the actress insisted her character be killed in the original. With Wanted 2 moving on without Jolie, not much news around the movie has surfaced, besides casting rumors. While Bekmambetov is still hoping to direct Wanted 2, it looks like he has another project lined up beforehand.

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 8/10/2010 by Ryan

Timur Bekmambetov | Wanted 2 | Night Watch | Day Watch...

"Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov has been linked to numerous projects as his potential next effort. This week, Empire spoke with him about every single one of the projects he's been linked to and cleared up where they all stand as of now.

Most likely to go is "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which he is prepping to direct himself and describes the tone in the vein of his Russian hit "Night Watch". In fact he has franchise plans for the property - "there will be many opportunities to develop and explore this world if we get to do sequels. I hope we will start this winter. We are shooting in America."

The "Wanted" sequel is still being discussed but will likely go after 'Lincoln' due to star James McAvoy's commitment to "X-Men: First Class". He has penned a treatment for "Red Asphalt", a 3D horror film about drunk driving for...

Timur Bekmambetov has been feeling particularly chatty recently, so we have a nice update on his upcoming films, particularly the adaptation of Seth Grahame Smith's novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which Bekmambetov has confirmed that he will direct, as well as co-produce with Tim Burton.

Apparently Bekmambetov is hoping to begin filming on Lincoln this winter in the States, and told Empire: "That one I'm prepping to direct myself. It is not a comedy at all - it is a very entertaining, epic history lesson for millions and millions of teenagers. If you remember Nightwatch, it is maybe in the vein of that kind of movie. We are keeping the traditional look of Lincoln - the big hat and the beard. He has to be historically correct, but with a few special weapons." Well as long as they're keeping it historically accurate...

Bekmambetov has also been loquacious about a sequel to Wanted,...

I find these rehashes of classic literature and melding of history and comedy lame. I’ve yet to read one and who knows, maybe some are good but when you go out of your way to ruin a classic, I’m writing you off as an unimaginative twit.

So what do I do when Timur Bekmambetov and Tim Burton, two guys whose work I like and respect (even if Burton has been producing more misses than hits lately) buy the rights to Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” days after it’s published and hire Grahame-Smith to adapt the book to screenplay? Well, I ignore it and pray that it gets buried in pre-production shenanigans. Turns out I didn’t pray hard enough.

In a chat with Empire, Bekmambetov confirmed rumours and hopes (from others obviously) that he would step behind the camera for the production. And his take on it?...

Over the weekend, I finally got around to listening to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. So far, it's a bit slow. I like the writing more than the reading, which I don't think is particularly imaginative.

Well, days after its publication, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov scooped up the rights and hired the novelist, Seth Grahame-Smith, to adapt his book. When we last discussed it, it seemed most logical that Bekmambetov would wind up being the director. And now:

"That one I'm prepping to direct myself," Timur tells Empire. "It is not a comedy at all - it is a very entertaining, epic history lesson for millions and millions of teenagers. If you remember Night Watch, it is maybe in the vein of that kind of movie."...

Although I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Wanted, my excitement for any future projects from director Timur Bekmambetov (of Night Watch, Day Watch as well) certainly hasn't waned. As a matter of fact a new bit of news has just turned it up to 11 as Empire spoke with the filmmaker who revealed that in addition to sharing producing duties with Tim Burton, Bekmambetov will also direct Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. On top of that, the director also shared some information on Wanted 2, a forthcoming 3D project called Red Asphalt; another 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and a very odd new take on Moby Dick. Previously, adapted from Seth Grahame-Smith's novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter reveals that the 16th president's mother was killed by a supernatural creature, which fueled his passion to kill vampires and their slave-owning helpers. Timur talks about the tone of the film and even the potential for...

When we first watched Night Watch, we knew then that director Timur Bekmambetov was someone to keep our eyes on. It just took a little while for the rest of the world to catch up, but now that they have ... wow, this dude's plate is Full! Speaking of which ...

In an interview with Empire Online Timur dropped the skinny on several projects his name has been attached to. Dig a sampling from it below, and hit up the link for more.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: "That one I'm prepping to direct myself. It is not a comedy at all – it is a very entertaining, epic history lesson for millions and millions of teenagers. If you remember Night Watch, it is maybe in the vein of that kind of movie."

He continues, "We are keeping the traditional look of Lincoln – the big hat and the beard. He has to be historically correct,...

Will Abraham Lincoln throw axes around corners to kill vampires?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith's second novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter had its rights purchased for a feature film adaptation in March. Directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch, Day Watch) were set to produce the project, but Bekmambetov may be pulling double duty.

Deadline reports that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter could be  the next directing project for Bekmambetov, though little else was mentioned. It would be the first film Bekmambetov has shot since the bullet-bending of Wanted.

Good idea or bad idea? Sound off!

Source: Deadline...

With his films Night Watch, Day Watch, and even Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov has proven to be a visionary director. Recently the filmmaker had several projects on his plate that he was set to produce, but now it seems as if he may be at the helm of one of them ... Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!

According to an article over on Deadline New York Bekmambetov could end up directing the toothy flick with the honest president! Dig on the linkage for the whole story. We'll keep an eye on things.

Timur would be shooting from a script penned by author Seth Grahame-Smith himself.

Book Synopsis

"When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment called the "milk sickness." Only later did he learn that his mother's deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to collect a debt owed by Lincoln's father. When Abe learned the truth,...

X-men: First Class begins shooting in London next month so, understandably, there is a great thirst for information on who exactly is in the film and what story it will tell.

There have been no new casting revelations - despite fans waiting to hear which actors will play Cyclops, Storm and Jean Grey - but Jennifer Lawrence has spoken a little about her recently-announced role as the young version of Mystique.

Lawrence told the Orlando Sentinel she was "ignorant of the whole fanbase behind these films" and had to devote a day to watching the existing X-Men trilogy. Even after that, she admitted: "I was still a little worried because I didn't really understand the whole mutant thing."

The 19-year-old - who revealed she faces 12 hours of prosthetics work to become the scaly, blue-skinned shapeshifter played in older form by Rebecca Romijn - added: "I have to take Mystique back to the beginning,...

Apparently no one in Moscow looks up either. Or at least they don’t for a while. That is, until a series of heroic deeds around the city (rescuing children from burning buildings, depositing bank robbers in front of police stations, etc.) are performed by someone in a flying 1951 black Volga. Certainly it is the unlikeliest of cars for such bravery (the Volga being the “people’s car” of the Soviet era), but the hero and driver is Moscow’s version of Peter Parker, a young man from a working family just trying to earn some cash and win the heart of a beautiful girl, while maybe stopping some bad guys along the way. Black Lightning is a refreshing and fantastically executed action-adventure film.

Producer Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) knows what makes superhero movies fun. A young man struggling with his identity, a decent badass enemy out to destroy for his own gain,...

[Our thanks to Shelagh Rowan-Legg for the following review.]

Apparently no one in Moscow looks up either. Or at least they don't for a while. That is, until a series of heroic deeds around the city (rescuing children from burning buildings, depositing bank robbers in front of police stations, etc) are being performed by someone in a flying 1951 black Volga. Certainly it is the unlikeliest of cars for such bravery (the Volga being the "people's car" of the Soviet era), but the hero and driver is Moscow's version of Peter Parker, a young man from a working family just trying to earn some cash and win the heart of a beautiful girl, while maybe stopping some bad guys along the way. Black Lightning is a refreshing and fantastically executed action-adventure film.

Producer Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) knows what makes superhero movies fun. A young man struggling with his identity, a decent badass enemy out to destroy for his own gain,...

Alright fanboys, don't get too excited. There is no movie based on the DC comic book character Black Lightning in development yet as far as I know. However, Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) is apparently in the process of bringing another movie called Black Lightning to North American theatres, and you'll be happy to hear that it is also about a superhero of sorts. Bekmambetov is in talks with Universal to direct an English language remake of the film Chernaya Molniya, a Russian sci-fi thriller that he produced last year that is described as "Transformers meets Batman". The original movie was a big hit in Russia, grossing more than $20 million, and is expected to spawn a sequel. It revolves around a gearhead university student who comes across an old Soviet car that can fly, inspiring him to become a crimefighter. Although reviews criticized the shoddy effects work, this...

Last year, Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted) produced Black Lightning in Russia. The movie was directed by Alexander Voytinskiy and Dmitriy Kiselev, the latter of whom edited Night Watch and Day Watch and pulled second-unit directorial duty on Wanted. The original Black Lightning looked like a slick, commercial adventure about a student whose fortunes turn around when he acquires a flying car. Bekmambetov called it "the Russian response to Transformers and Batman." Now Bekmambetov is talking to Universal (which co-financed Black Lightning in Russia) about a Us remake. Variety merely says that the director is talking with Universal about the remake, and at this point there's no indication that he would do more than produce. After working with so many possible future directorial projects in the last few months, to settle on a remake of a film like this would be crazy. Here are the not entirely kind words I...

Flying Cars!! The good folks of Grand Britannia will soon have themselves the chance to see Timur Bekmambetov's (‘Night Watch,’ ‘Wanted’) Russian superhero/action genre mashup Black Lightning, on DVD. Look at the storyline - a student discovers his car has super powers and heads off to patrol the night skies of Moscow, fighting evil - with even the minimum of a critical eye and yes the premise is more than a little dodgy, but since when has that stopped us wanting to see before? Black Lightning goes on sale on UK DVD and Blu-ray in September.

Yet another cast member has signed on to experience a round of extraterrestrial induced carnage deep within the heart of mother Russia. That's right, kids! Time for another update on The Darkest Hour!

According to Variety Max Minghella, along with his really friggin' serious eyebrows (pictured right), is set to topline The Darkest Hour, the latest New Regency-Summit supernatural project. He'll be joining the previously announced Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman, Emile Hirsch, and Olivia Thirlby in Chris Gorak's alien chiller.

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) will be serving as producer, and the film will be shooting in Russia this summer at Bekmambetov's own personal facilities.

More on this one soon!

- Uncle Creepy

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UCLA alumna Laeta Kalogridis Mfa ’94 (screenwriter and producer of Shutter Island and Avatar) will be honored during the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (Tft) Festival of New Creative Work 2010. She will be presented with the Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting Award during the Screenwriters Showcase on Monday, June 7 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

As one of Hollywood’s leading and in-demand screenwriters and producers, Kalogridis has penned the scripts of the sci-fi, fantasy and horror films Avatar, Scream 3, Tomb Raider, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Night Watch and Alexander. She has also served as executive producer on television series including Birds of Prey and Bionic Woman...

Born in Florida, Kalogridis attended Davidson College and University of Texas at Austin, prior to UCLA. She is currently working on an adaptation of Ghost in the Shell for DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg.

With all the controversy and mystery surrounding Jj Abrams' latest alien flick Super 8, let's not forget that another film filled with extraterrestrial related carnage is also on the way -- The Darkest Hour!

According to What's Playing Rachael Taylor (pictured right; Transformers, Shutter) and Joel Kinnaman (Snabba Cash) have joined the previously announced Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby in Chris Gorak's alien chiller The Darkest Hour. The film finds New Regency partnering with Summit Entertainment to bring us a 28 Days Later-like thriller about a group of kids struggling to survive in Russia after an alien invasion.

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) will be serving as producer, and the film will be shooting in Russia this summer at Bekmambetov's own personal facilities.

More on this one soon!

- Uncle Creepy

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It's useless to search her, because she doesn't have anything. She is a bitch. She is Stranger.

That's briefly what teaser says about her with heavy criminal slang that I don't even know how to translate. In the teaser the man also calls her Oyster, I don't know what it means in criminal slang. I also don't know how to translate the title, because Чужая means Female Stranger as well as Female Alien, Female Foreigner, etc.. So I chose Stranger.

Producer of Chuzhaya (Stranger) is Konstantin Ernst, the most influential media producer in Russia. He was behind of such well-known titles as Night Watch, Day Watch, Turkish Gambit, Admiral, Hipsters (Stilyagi), Irony of Fate 2 with its record box-office, and several notable, popular and sometimes controversial TV-shows and series. He is a king of Russian TV. His movies hit the record of Russian box-office several times. So his name in the trailer promises decent show.

After Bryan Singer dropped out of X-Men: First Class, I expected the rumor machine to kick into high, high gear. But things have remained relatively quiet until today, when Deadline Hollywood Daily and Entertainment Weekly reported that Matthew Vaughn had been offered the director's chair. As geeks remember, Vaughn was once offered X3: The Last Stand, and once held Thor in the palm of his hand. Losing the latter was a huge reason as to why he chose to do Kick-Ass.

However, Dhd and THR's Heat Vision are already saying Vaughn has passed. Reportedly, Fox is now looking at Louis Leterrier (who could use it to nurse his wounds over not getting The Avengers), Jonathan Mostow, Daniel Espinosa, and Rupert Sanders. Timur Bekmambetov, David Slade, and Carl Erick Rinsch are also in consideration. Perhaps it might be easier to make a list who isn't up for the job!

The...

With roles in such films as Milk, Taking Woodstock, and Into the Wild, young actor Emile Hirsch has established himself as a reliable option for dramatic fare. But despite one semi-questionable foray into genre work with 2008’s Speed Racer, he has yet to tackle anything to specifically please us monster fans.

Until now, that is. Variety reports that Hirsch has joined the cast for Chris Gorak’s extra-terrestrial thriller, The Darkest Hour. He joins a cast that already includes Olivia Thirlby.

Plot details are slim at this juncture, but the film is said to be a “28 Days Later-like thriller” about a renegade group of young adults scrabbling for survival in an alien-stricken Russian landscape.

This is one of the many projects currently underway for Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch), who is on board as producer. The film will also be shooting at Bekmambetov’s personal facilities in Russia this summer.

The next acting job for Speed Racer star Emile Hirsch doesn't require racing goggles or a crash helmet; instead, he gets to pick up a gun and fight back alien invaders in Russia.  The 25-year-old has landed the top role in The Darkest Hour, a sci-fi action movie about a group of young American tourists visiting Moscow when an alien invasion force attacks Earth.

Stranded in a foreign land and cut off from what's happening to their families back in America, the displaced visitors try to gather their wits, overcome the local language barrier and stay alive as the dangerous ETs rampage through Moscow. The movie is being directed by Chris Gorak with filming commencing in June. Night Watch/Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov is one of the movie's producers, with Summit Entertainment distributing. The rest of the film's cast hasn't been announced yet.

One up and coming actor we are always happy to see getting work is Into the Wild's Emile Hirsch. The guy brings a real believability to his roles, and to have him treading around our genre can only lead to good stuff.

According to Variety Hirsch has joined the previously announced Olivia Thirlby in Chris Gorak's alien chiller The Darkest Hour. The film finds New Regency partnering with Summit Entertainment to bring us a 28 Days Later-like thriller about a group of kids struggling to survive in Russia after an alien invasion.

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) will be serving as producer, and the film will be shooting in Russia this summer at Bekmambetov's own personal facilities.

More on this one soon!

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Fend off all manner of critters in the Dread Central forums!

Timur Bekmambetov, he of Russian descent and hard-to-pronounce last name, has been circling a few projects as of late. It appears as if a strong contender has emerged. According to sources, Lionsgate last year quietly acquired a pitch titled "Red Asphalt" and brought Timur on to direct. A writer named Andrew Baldwin, who, a quick scan of the 2008 Black List shows, wrote a Depression-era drama titled "The West Is Dead," is writing the script."Asphalt" is described by insiders as an edgy 3-D thriller. Its larger plot details are murky (though knowing Timur's work, a simple logline wouldn't accurately describe the final product anyway). But Timur, who's also attached to produce, is keen on the film, and the project has momentum at Lionsgate.Wow, 3D. Awesome. I'm sure you all are sick of hearing bloggers complain about the overuse of 3D nowadays, but I shall now vent if you care to read along.

Has Russian director Timur Bekmambetov bitten off more than he can chew? The short answer is yes, but who cares? The FX madman is attached to so many badass projects it's going to be hard to throw a foul ball. The director of Wanted, Night Watch and Day Watch is currently lined up to potentially get behind the camera for Moby Dick, Wanted 2 and The Witch Hunter, while he's also producing The Darkest Hour and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter alongside Tim Burton. To add more to that pile, the La Times is reporting that he's seriously considering Red Asphalt, a screenplay acquired by Lionsgate penned by Andrew Baldwin, who, a quick scan of the 2008 Black List shows, wrote a Depression-era drama titled The West Is Dead. Unfortunately, no details are available (welcome to the norm), although it's said to be another 3-D project. Whoopie!

Since Wanted 2 fell into development heck a couple months back, Wanted/Night Watch helmer Timur Bekmambetov has been searching for his next project. Last week we reported that William Morris was going out to various studios with a big screen adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's novel Casebook of Victor Frankenstein with Bekmambetov attached to direct. The Los Angeles Times has learned of another project the filmmaker is eyeing: Red Asphalt, an "edgy 3-D thriller" pitch which was quietly acquired by Lionsgate last year. Timur is attached to produce and is interested in possibly directing the project. Sadly, not much information is known about the story. Andrew Baldwin, who appeared on the 2008 Black List (an insider listing of the best unproduced scripts of the year) with a Depression-era drama titled The West Is Dead, is currently writing the script. I'm sure we'll learn more about this project in the coming weeks.