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Jim Dandy Dec 9, 2019

The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal has a big role in Wonder Woman 2. But who’s he playing?

Maxwell Lord is a fascinating inclusion in the cast of Wonder Woman 1984. The character has a...let’s just say troubled...history with Diana Prince in the comics, but he’s filled many roles in DC Comics continuity over the years. His presence in this movie possibly signals a bunch of different directions the film and the Dceu could take, and with the movie coming at us quickly, we figured it would be a great time to take A Good Look Around at what Maxwell Lord has meant to the DC Universe.

ahem...

History With the Justice League

Maxwell Lord was originally introduced to the comic world by J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, and Keith Giffen as part of their beloved Justice League run. anera now generally referred to as...

The Arrowverse’s most ambitious crossover is almost upon us, with “Crisis on Infinite Earths” set to kick off Sunday, Dec. 8 at 8/7c on The CW. But before we partake in that five-part event, TVLine is looking back at the franchise’s previous intra-show adventures and ranking them from ordinary to super.

We limited our list to only major crossovers that were a significant focus of their respective episodes. (Meaning, Felicity’s occasional trips to Central City didn’t make the cut. Ditto for when Lyla and/or Dig came to visit, or when Wally West sped over to help out the Legends of Tomorrow.

This year, 831 Loews is home to the “Created in Moscow” brand, which allies 17 Russian companies. The branding is supported by the Moscow Export Center, which recognizes the contribution made by the creative industries to the Russian economy. The “Created in Moscow” lineup will be featured in a presentation on the Venice stage at the Loews building on Nov. 7 at 10 a.m.

Although Russia has many fine arthouse auteurs, at Afm buyers can find a strong selection of commercial, mainstream titles from Russia, including many genre pics and CG animated features.

Eugenia Markova, director of industry relations at Russia’s Expocontent, says: “Russia is facing year-on-year 20% sales growth on the global market. The local film industry is not only about art-house and animation – although these two are traditionally strong. Russia is producing more and more original content of all types and genres, targeting wider audiences.”

Art Pictures Studio is selling helmer Fedor Bondarchuk’s “Invasion,...

Caroline Preece Oct 29, 2019

Arrow will take its final bow this year, but not before one hell of a crossover with Crisis on Infinite Earths.

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

This year will see Arrow end its eight-year run with a bang, as it once again teams up with The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and many, many more for Crisis on Infinite Earths - surrounded by the expansive TV universe it helped create.

It may seem strange given that we're now in 2019 looking back on a TV-altering franchise, but circa 2012, the odds weren't necessarily stacked in Arrow's favor. Its predecessor, Smallville, had wrapped up its 10-year run just one season earlier and, with the term "dark and gritty" already leading to rolled eyes rather than piqued interest, a grim, grounded crime drama centring on DC's Green Arrow wasn't exactly a guaranteed smash hit.

Many wrote...

Panama’s internationally best-known helmer, Abner Benaim (“Ruben Blades Is Not My Name”) has just completed the shoot for his second fiction feature film, “Plaza Catedral,” starring Mexico’s Ilse Salas (“The Good Girls”), and Manolo Cardona (“Narcos”).

Salas plays a 42-year old grief-stricken woman, Alicia, who has severed her ties with married life and society. Her life is turned upside down when a 14-year old boy, “Chief,” who looks after people’s cars, comes bleeding into her house.

The boy is played by first time actor, Fernando de Casta, who was chosen from over 250 kids who came in for open casting in the same neighborhoods in Panama´s old town where the film’s plot takes place.

“What started out as a very small production quickly turned into medium-size, and sometimes large for Latin American standards,” explained Benaim.

“We had a very demanding schedule, many locations, and Panama’s tropical weather to deal with.

Here’s the story of a rock star obsessed with the Bradys.

No kidding. Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 got to live out a childhood fantasy when he attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly revealed Brady Bunch house on Hgtv’s “A Very Brady Renovation.”

John 5, who has collaborated with a diverse array of musicians — from David Lee Roth to Ricky Martin to Steve Perry — had an “in” for the invite-only unveiling: Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady in “The Brady Bunch,” was featured in the video for the guitarist’s song “Zoinks!” from his new album, “Invasion.”

“It was like taking a little boy to a toy store,” Olsen tells Variety of her friend’s reaction to the house. “When people walk into the house, they magically turn into children, and John is just the kind of child you want to spoil rotten because he’s so lovable.

Panama’s internationally best-known helmer, Abner Benaim (“Ruben Blades Is Not My Name”) has moved into pre-production on his second fiction feature film, “Plaza Catedral,” which is set to star Mexico’s Ilse Salas, who has just won Mexican Academy’s Ariel Award for best actress for her performance in Alejandra Marquez’s Toronto hit “The Good Girls.”

Salas has also starred in both movies to date from Alonso Ruizpalacios, with Marquéz Mexico’s fasting-rising new director, whose “Museum”proved a standout at the Berlin and Toronto Festivals last year.

“Plaza Catedral” is scheduled to begin its six-week shoot in Panama City in August. In it, Salas plays a 42 year old grief-stricken woman who has severed her ties with married life and society.

“This complex, melancholy character finds herself in the tropical paradise that Panamá pretends to be, with its primary colors and a society obsessed with economic success and having a good time,...

American Animals and Three Identical Strangers outfit Raw has hired Sara Murray from UK producer Studio Lambert to serve in the newly created role of head of scripted TV.

Murray will be tasked with growing the company’s TV scripted division. At Studio Lambert, which like Raw is owned by All3Media, she was an executive producer on upcoming ten-part Amazon/Virgin Media series The Feed by Channing Powell

(The Walking Dead), and worked on shows including Girl On A Wire by Thomas Martin (Tin Star).

Raw’s TV scripted development slate includes projects with Clio Barnard, Lucy Kirkwood, Tom Edge and Juliette Towhidi, alongside Bart Layton’s first scripted TV commission. The firm is also currently in production on factual series for Netflix, CNN and Discovery.

Murray was previously script editor on Andrew Davies’ ITV drama Dr Zhivago, TV development producer on hit Channel4 series Top Boy by Ronan Bennett...

When you see in the description of a film that it is a dystopian, detective/horror story with vampires, presented in a single unedited shot, and from Iran, well, if you are a true film buff, you will feel the urge to watch it. “Invasion” definitely stays true to its description, but the film is even more extreme than that, since Shahram Mokri wrapped it in an art-house package that also defies the “normal” perception of time and space. Let us take things from the beginning though.

“Invasion” is screening at the 27th Art Film Fest Kosice

Evidently, writing a synopsis about a film like this is not the easiest thing to do. The central point, however, is that a body has been found in a stadium where a sport that is never revealed in the film is taking place. The police has already determined the culprit, and has come...

ABC has unveiled its fall 2019 schedule, along with previews for its upcoming series, including black-ish prequel series mixed-ish.

Here at TVLine, we immediately jumped at the chance to screen each trailer — some of which are available here — and we’re ready to tell you exactly what we think about each of them. (Fwiw: Trailers for midseason entries The Baker and the Beauty and United We Fall have not yet been made available to anyone — not even us.)

Below, Michael Ausiello, Matt Mitovich, Kimberly Roots, Andy Swift, Dave Nemetz, Vlada Gelman and Ryan Schwartz share their gut reactions to each new...

UK funding stalwart Film4 held its annual pre-Cannes bash last night in London where it teased footage of projects in production and whetted industry appetite for films in development.

Film4 is a perennial presence during the awards season and at major festivals. The Favourite and Cold War scored 13 nominations with the Academy this year. At Cannes next week, the Daniel Battsek-led funder will be represented by Asif Kapadia’s anticipated soccer doc Diego Maradona as well as a host of projects in the market such as Olivia Colman starrer The Father.

Last night industry saw impressive sneak peaks of upcoming projects including Justin Kurzel’s The True History Of The Kelly Gang, Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History Of David Copperfield, Sarah Gavron’s Untitled Girls project and first-time filmmaker Rose Glass’s Saint Maud.

Steve Coogan’s thinly veiled Philip Green satire Greed drew laughter and there were...

Ah yes, lightning in a bottle – that elusive moment when the stars align with the zeitgeist, where talent meets opportunity in the arts and a work is forever cherished through time. And then there’s Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972), Ed Adlum’s magnum opus of killer druids draining the blood supply of a group of rural New Yorkers in search of the right host to resurrect their long dormant queen. But for fans of schlock and hilarity, Invasion is that lightning, and Severin Films has captured it with their beautiful Blu of this epic oddity.

The lightning starts with Cashbox magazine employee Ed Adlum raising money through his contacts to make a horror film. He raises $24,000, and he and fellow Cashbox-er Ed Kelleher set out to write the film with the title as inspiration. Except their plan for aliens becomes cost prohibitive, so they change it to druids, because...

Baobab Studios, the Vr startup best known for its 2016 animated short “Invasion,” has won 2 Daytime Emmys for outstanding individual achievements in animation for its latest Vr short “Crow: The Legend,” the Television Academy announced Wednesday morning. Baobab character designer Kal Athannassov won the individual achievement award for character design, while Baobab art designer Cody Gramstad was recognized for production design.

The startup won the two Emmys alongside 2 outstanding individual achievement awards in animation given to Disney Channel, as well as one each to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

“We are just really honored to be recognized alongside so many companies that we love and look up to,” said Baobab CEO Maureen Fan in an interview with Variety. “We are proud of Baobab’s passionate and dedicated artists and engineers who have pushed the artistry of using real-time rendering, and enormously gratified by these Emmy wins.”

So why do the Emmys...

Now that Us is in theaters, we're officially terrified of any noises, shadows, music, and, quite frankly, family members. While we spend the next few nights trying to unravel Jordan Peele's ending, we are also spending a good deal of time marveling at how this all-star cast created one of the scariest films we've seen this decade.

We're sure you recognize Elisabeth Moss from her starring role in Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale and AMC's late, great Mad Men, but Moss has been showcasing her acting abilities since the '90s. She landed her first TV credit playing Robin in the 1990 TV movie Bar Girls. After that, she lent her vocal talents to animated TV series like Animaniacs, Batman: The Animated Series, and Freakazoid!. One of her first major film roles came when she played Harvey Keitel's daughter in the 1994 film Imaginary Crimes, but you...

Hey,Riverdale and Luke Perry fans. Today is a very sad day as we've just learned that the current Riverdale Fred Andrews and former Beverly Hills 90210 Dylan McKay star Luke Perry did not recover from the massive stroke that he suffered this past Wednesday morning, February 27, 2019. According to the folks over at TMZ, Luke sadly passed away earlier today, March 4, 2019 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California. TMZ was able to get some information from Luke's rep. The rep told them that Luke was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiance Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends. TMZ supplied some other details about what happened during Luke's stroke. He was responsive and talking when the EMTs arrived to take him to the hospital. However afterwards, his condition deteriorated. Luke's rep said...

Incredibly tragic news to report as actress Lisa Sheridan, who starred in the mid-2000’s drama horror series Invasion and last year’s eco-horror film Strange Nature, passed away this past Monday at 44, according to People. Sheridan’s manager, Mitch Clem, has made it clear that her family, “…unequivocally confirmed that this is not a suicide.” “We […] The post Rest in Peace: Lisa Sheridan of Strange Nature and Invasion Has Passed Away at 44 appeared first on Dread Central.

Sad news out of Hollywood today.

Lisa Sheridan, a popular actress who is probably best known for her stint on Halt and Catch Fire, passed away on Monday.

She was 44 years old.

The heartbreaking news was confirmed to People Magazine by Sheridan's manager, Mitch Clem.

“We all loved Lisa very much and are devastated by the loss we all feel,” Clem revealed, adding:

“She passed away Monday morning, at home, in her apartment in New Orleans. We are waiting for a coroners report on cause of death.”

There's no word yet on the cause of death, but Clem went on to state that the actress did not take her own life.

“The family has unequivocally confirmed that this is not a suicide. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely, 100% unfounded," he said.

Sheridan is a seasoned TV veteran who has appeared in many hit series over the years.

She appeared on shows such as Invasion,...

Lisa Sheridan, an actress who appeared on a numerous top TV shows including “Halt and Catch Fire,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Invasion,” has died. She was 44.

Sheridan passed away at her New Orleans apartment on Monday, according to her manager, Mitch Clem.

“We all loved Lisa very much and are devastated by the loss we all feel,” Clem told People. “She passed away Monday morning, at home, in her apartment in New Orleans. We are waiting for a coroners report on cause of death.”

However, Clem said that Sheridan had not taken her own life: “The family has unequivocally confirmed that this is not a suicide. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely, 100 percent unfounded.”

Actress Donna D’Errico paid tribute to her “Only God Can” co-star in a Facebook post Wednesday night, writing: “I just received news that my dear friend,...

“Halt and Catch Fire” actress Lisa Sheridan, who also worked on numerous other series like “Invasion” and “CSI,” died in her New Orleans apartment Feb. 25. She was 44.

Sheridan’s “Only God Can” co-star Donna D’Errico shared the news on Facebook.

“It’s so rare to find kind, gentle souls like hers in this industry, this city…even this world,” she wrote. “Truly one of the most genuinely sweet and gentle people I’ve ever come across in my life.”

Sheridan’s manager told People that they are still waiting on a coroner’s report for cause of death, and that the family insists she did not take her own life.

Sheridan, who attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburg, Penn., has more than 30 television credits to her name, including appearances in “CSI: NY,” “The Mentalist,” “The 4400,” “Without a Trace,” and “Diagnosis: Murder.” She most recently starred...

Actress Lisa Sheridan, who appeared in Invasion and Halt and Catch Fire, has died. She was 44.

Sheridan’s manager, Mitch Clem, confirmed her death to People on Wednesday.

“We all loved Lisa very much and are devastated by the loss we all feel,” Clem tells People. “She passed away Monday morning, at home, in her apartment in New Orleans. We are waiting for a coroners report on cause of death.”

Clem denied Sheridan had taken her own life: “The family has unequivocally confirmed that this is not a suicide. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely, 100% unfounded.”

Some friends of...

The Annie Awards, recognizing a need to celebrate all the animated content being made these days in virtual reality, has created a category this year to honor that work.

Until now, Vr content had to create a 2D version and, in some cases, play in theaters, in order to become eligible for awards recognition, which can be a time-consuming and costly process. So Asifa-Hollywood, the organization behind the Annies, set up a Vr lab at the Burbank HQ so that judges could view the content as it was meant to be seen.

“A flat version of Vr is one thing,” Asifa-Hollywood exec director Frank Gladstone notes. “Vr itself is something different.” Making sure the judges saw the content as it was meant to be seen was paramount. “It should be seen the way it was produced,” he says.

The setup at the Asifa-Hollywood offices was costly. “It’s a big expense,...

Nightmare Monkeys is the craziest thing Young Justice ever put on television.

This Young Justice: Outsiders review contains spoilers.

Young Justice Outsiders Episode 12

"Nightmare Monkeys" is Young Justice at its best: a deep dive into a character and the show's mythology. It's also Young Justice: Outsiders at its best: a show that is doing a bunch of crazy shit that it would never get away with on broadcast or cable tv. If Yj was still on Cartoon Network, they would have been canceled the second the showrunners put the words "Doom Patrol Go!" on paper.

Beast Boy is a surprisingly integral character to Young Justice: Outsiders. He showed up late in the first season and wound up as Miss Martian's semi-brother (it's complicated) by the end of the episode. Then he came back as a semi-regular character in season two, developing his powers and being a solid all around character.

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.

1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.

1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.

1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged...

Jim Dandy Jan 13, 2019

Young Justice: Outsiders packs the "Rescue Op" with almost as many Robins as they could find.

This Young Justice review contains spoilers.

Young Justice: Outsiders Episode 6

It's a small thing to focus on, but as a moderate-to-hardcore Robin fan, it's hard not to get Really excited about a show that has Nightwing, Tim Drake, and Spoiler; has acknowledged Jason Todd in the teen hero cemetery in Mount Justice in Invasion; and now has Talia walk into a scene holding a baby and a "Red Hooded Ninja" (according to the credits) whose memory is slowly coming back and making him remember who "Gray...son" is. I mean, it's only a matter of time before we see Carrie Kelly somewhere and Stephanie shows up in a different Robin outfit, right?

But here's the thing about Young Justice: Outsiders they have yet to let the fanservice get in the way...

For those looking to add some horror into their rock, John 5 and the Creatures – which obviously features John 5 of Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie fame – are going to be releasing their new album Invasion sometime this Summer. While that may seem like it’s a ways away, those who are interested in […] The post John 5 And The Creatures’ Latest Video is a Loving Homage to Scooby Doo and Metalocalypse appeared first on Dread Central.

Virtual reality has been making inroads in the entertainment business for several years, but 2018 has been an especially big one for animated projects.

This year, there are at least two Vr-animated shorts vying for Oscar nominations: Google Spotlight Stories’ “Age of Sail” and Baobab Studios’ “Crow: The Legend.” Disney has created its first Vr animated project (“Cycles”) and is also using Vr to help market its animated feature “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” Earlier this year, Nickelodeon’s Entertainment Lab created a real-time Vr experience for the studio’s “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to promote the series’ reboot at Comic-Con. And the players in all of these ventures say that the landscape for Vr animation can only get better.

“I don’t think anyone doubts that Vr is going to become a thing,” says Maureen Fan, co-founder and CEO of Vr studio Baobab, which has already won Emmys...

Jim Dandy Mike Cecchini Dec 12, 2018

We're hunting for all the DC Comics easter eggs in Elseworlds, this year's DC TV Arrowverse crossover.

This article consists of nothing but Elseworlds spoilers.

The 2018 DC TV Arrowverse crossover was a big one! While Legends of Tomorrow didn't join the party this time, The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl took us to multiple (if not quite infinite) Earths to take on The Monitor, Dr. Destiny, Amazo, and other foes. Oh, and we got to meet Batwoman, too. And did we mention Superman and Lois Lane?

Let's get to work on this. If you spot anything we missed, drop it in the comments, or give Mike a shout on Twitter, and we'll update this with more!

But let's just start with the name, shall we? "Elseworlds" was the name of a line of DC Comics that told stories outside the normal continuity. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight,...

When 10.3 million people tuned in to NBC’s “Manifest” this fall, they likely did so because of solid advertising and an intriguing one-line premise: A plane vanished five years ago, only to mysteriously reappear with everyone on board as if no time had passed. The idea set up both clear human stakes as well as an overarching mystery.

But as noted from the beginning, what the show actually aimed to be wasn’t clear, especially since the character stories almost seemed at war with the mystery aspect. Which means that nine episodes later, 5.9 million people tuned in for “Manifest’s” fall finale, watching a show that still has yet to find an identity beyond “kinda like ‘Lost,’ I guess?”

It’s not that nothing has happened on “Manifest” over the past few weeks — sister and brother Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and Ben (Josh Dallas) have worked steadily to try to figure...

It feels like just yesterday that Arrow aired its 100th episode, a milestone which actually arrived midway through the “Invasion!” crossover during the fall of 2016. And as memorable as that night was, a double-edged sword of sorts came along with it. In other words, the writers were tasked with honoring the 99 chapters to have preceded it, yet also had to make it a coherent part in a crossover.

Well, as it turns out, the 150th episode is almost upon us now. This time, though, the creative minds won’t have to worry about factoring Dominators into the story, as it looks to focus squarely on the heroes of Star City. In fact, we already have the title at our disposal.

You see, last night, executive producer and showrunner Beth Schwartz posted a picture of the script on Twitter (seen below), thereby letting us know how the episode in question will be titled “Emerald Archer.

For the fourth installment of Daily Dead’s 2018 Holiday Gift Guide, we’re celebrating all the great horror and sci-fi Blu-rays and DVDs that have been released throughout the course of the year that any fan would love to find under the tree or in their stockings this December. And because there have been so many killer releases in 2018, I’ve gone ahead and broken up the titles into various categories like Seasonal Horrors, Classic Horror, three different decades—the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s—modern horrors, science fiction, TV series, box sets, and more. Chances are, if you have a genre fan on your holiday list, you’re bound to find something they’ll love right here.

And because it’s become our annual tradition, Daily Dead will once again be giving away a prize pack of movies and goodies for 10 lucky readers, thanks to this year’s Hgg sponsor,...

Emma Hockley, Beth Leigh named as first recipients.

The Barry Norman Bursary, an award launched earlier this year to enable recipients to pursue a career in media, journalism or film, has awarded its first grants to two first-year university students.

The award, created in tribute to film broadcaster and journalist Barry Norman who passed away in June 2017, was given to Emma Hockley, a student in film-making at Bristol, University of the West of England; and to Beth Leigh, who is studying Combined Honours in Japanese and Film Studies at Newcastle University.

Bursary applications were reviewed by a judging panel including...

Details under wraps on sci-fi that will shoot in 2019.

Michael Pearce, the director of 2017 breakout Beast, has been tapped to direct sci-fi Invasion for production outfit Raw and Film4.

Pearce will direct from a script by Joe Barton, the writer whose credits include features The Ritual and iBoy, as well as Channel 4 series Humans. Plot details for Invasion are largely under wraps but the film is a Us-set sci-fi thriller.

Katherine Butler, who runs Raw’s Film and TV Drama team, will produce the feature, which has been developed with Sam Lavender at Film4. Production is gearing up for...

The Legends of Tomorrow may not be a part of this year’s Arrowverse crossover event, but they’re going to serve up something extra-special that week nonetheless.

As previously reported, The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl will meet Batwoman as part a crossover event that is titled “Elseworlds” and airs on consecutive nights Sunday, Dec. 9 through Tuesday, Dec. 11. Legends, which got folded into the previous crossovers (“Invasion!” and “Crisis on Earth-x”), is sitting out this time around (as detailed in the cast video Q&A below).

But as Legends showrunner Keto Shimizu told TVLine at The CW’s Fall Launch...

Earlier this week, The Flash made its triumphant return with what no doubt had to be its finest season premiere in years. Don’t forget, not only did I give it five stars in my review, but a fair amount of fans also expressed similar sentiment with numerous glowing social media posts.

That being said, one can only hope for such a level of quality to carry over into the rest of the season. I don’t know about you, but I’m currently experiencing the same sense of excitement I felt during the first two years of the show.

If anything, the cast and crew should be giving the extra effort because, believe it or not, The Flash will hit the 100 episode milestone later this fall. Giving early commemoration of this was actor Tom Cavanagh with a picture posted over on Instagram showing that he is, in fact, directing said installment,...

Strange Nature, the feature length debut of James Ojala, known primarily for his vfx work in film and television, opens in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Glendale Theatre on September 22nd. Billed as an eco-thriller Strange Nature is reportedly based on 'true unsolved outbreaks of wildlife mutations. It stars Lisa Sheridan (“Invasion”), Stephen Tobolowsky (Memento), John Hennigan (Minutes to Midnight), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Carlos Alazraqui (The Funhouse Massacre). Screen Anarchy has been given an exclusive clip to share with you below. We have also included the trailer and the long synopsis for futher context. A children’s hiking group in rural Minnesota discover several live, mutated frogs along a pond. In the same area, a single mother, Kim, and her 11-year-old...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Director eliza McNitt’s first virtual reality (Vr) experience back in 2013 was not particularly pleasant. The simulated roller coaster ride, viewed through a development kit version of Oculus Rift, made her feel sick and disconnected. But she saw the glimmer of possibility.

“I thought, give this a few years and people are really going to be embracing this as a new medium for storytelling,” recalls McNitt.

Five years later, many filmmakers have tried their hand at Vr, from big name directors such as Doug Liman (“American Made”), who released the five-part Vr series “Invisible” in 2016, to relative unknowns like McNitt, whose Vr docuseries “Spheres” will be among the more than two dozen works presented as part of the Venice Film Festival’s virtual reality section. But they’re still working out the bugs, both technological and narrative.

When writer-director Eric Darnell first took the plunge into Vr with his Emmy-winning short “Invasion!

As documentaries and true-event based movies deliver many of the highlights and some news at the Santiago Int’l Film Festival (August 19-26), Abner Benaim’s much-lauded music documentary “Ruben Blades is Not My Name” is getting a rare multi-territory release across Latin America.

By the end of August, “Ruben Blades…” will have opened in Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Chile, Argentina and the Caribbean are likely to follow. HBO has picked up the docu for the U.S. next year.

A co-production between Benaim’s Apertura Films, Gema Juarez Allen’s Gema Films of Argentina and Ciudad Lunar, Colombia, “Ruben Blades…” has been reaping multiple awards on the festival circuit.

The music docu received its world premiere at SXSW where it proved its commercial appeal by nabbing the 24 Beats Per Second audience prize. It closed Panama’s Iff festival and went on to key fest events across the region,...

Nne Ebong is exiting her role as the senior vice president of drama development at ABC Studios, Variety has learned.

There is no official word on where Ebong will land after her exit, but sources say that she could be joining former ABC Entertainment head Paul Lee at his independent studio, wiip, which is supported by CAA.

Ebong has been in her current role with the studio since 2013. She first joined the studio in 2006 as director of current programming. She became vice president of drama development in 2008 before taking over drama development as senior vice president following the departure of Michael McDonald. During her tenure at ABC, Ebong has worked on shows like “Lost,” “Brothers & Sisters” “The Ghost Whisperer,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Agents of Shield,” “Designated Survivor,” and “Once Upon a Time” among many others.

Prior to ABC Studios, Ebong headed up series development at Shaun Cassidy Productions,...

Exclusive: ABC Studios’ Svp Drama Development Nne Ebong is leaving the studio after 12 years, the last five as head of drama development, I have learned.

I hear Ebong is leaving for another opportunity. No one would confirm where she is headed but there has been increasing speculation that she may reunite with former ABC boss Paul Lee and join his independent studio wiip,, which is backed by CAA. For the past couple of months, Ebong had been rumored for a number of high-profile jobs, including running Barack and Michelle Obama’s Netflix-based company, filling the vacancy at the helm of Paramount TV and joining Apple. Reps for wiip declined comment.

There is no word yet on Ebong’s replacement but ABC and ABC Studios are known for promoting within, as was the case with her five years ago. Right now, there is some uncertainty at ABC Studios and 20th...

If we’ve learned anything about Stephen Amell, it seems like he’s among the first to hear of cool things about what’s in the pipeline for Arrow, after producers and network executives, of course. Don’t forget, he’s the one who broke the news this past May confirming that Batwoman will debut in the next major crossover, and may have very well seen Ruby Rose in full costume already.

That said, it’s only natural that he know what’s going down in said crossover, and while recently speaking with Digital Spy, Amell teased what’s in store this time around, saying:

“Because we went so big with the crossover last year, you can’t go bigger, so you have to go more about the characters and the story.”

To be honest, that’s pretty much what I’d figured. After the Dominators’ appearance in “Invasion!” and...

Hey "Grey's Anatomy" fans. Wow, the new season 15 reports just keep on flowing these days. We've got another brand new piece of intel to share with you guys for the upcoming season. It turns out that the producers are bringing back someone who is pretty close to Meredith. In fact, this person is family to Meredith. According to recent report from the folks over at Entertainment Weekly, They are bringing back Meredith's father Thatcher Grey. He will be played by the same actor Jeff Perry. This couldn't come at a better time for Jeff because he just recently become unemployed from the now defunct "Scandal" show. He played character Cyrus Beene in Scandal. It's currently not yet known how many season 15 episodes Thatcher will appear in, or what his storyline will entail. However, the folks over at TV Line have a theory that Thatcher could be in a very emotional...

A Savant Article

CineSavant shows off an arcane observation: in 1957, scenes from a glossy CinemaScope Fox production directed by Raoul Walsh, were almost immediately re-purposed, with grandiose special effects added, for a landmark science fiction fantasy. It’s an opportunity to admire the resourceful artistry of Jack Rabin, Louis DeWitt and Irving Block, special effects professionals that did fine work but were seldom if ever considered for industry awards.

Back in the 1970s I picked up from Larry Edmunds’ Bookstore a copy of a one-shot special effects fan magazine that I think had been put together by the effects master/researcher Robert Skotak. The photo magazine lauded the efforts of a Hollywood effects partnership consisting of Jack Rabin, Irving Block and Louis DeWitt. Their names appeared on dozens of 1950s films, for their creative optical work — whatever enhancements might be needed, from simple title sequences to matte shots and even stop-motion animation when required.

The Flash is entering its fifth season this fall, which means the Scarlet Speedster’s show will be reaching its 100th episode very soon. And sure enough, during The CW series’ panel at this past weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, some juicy new details about the milestone arrived which help give us a taste of the overall structure of the upcoming season.

First off, it’s been revealed that Tom Cavanagh – who’s been a part of The Flash since the beginning in his ever-changing role as Harrison Wells – has been given the honor of directing the hugely significant episode. Though primarily known for his work in front of the camera, Cavanagh has previously helmed a couple of outings before this, one for each of seasons 3 and 4, so he’s a safe pair of hands to shepherd this important installment to the screen.

What’s more, it’s been confirmed that the 100th episode,...

After witnessing Dominators bombarding Earth in “Invasion!” and Nazi doppelgangers crashing Barry Allen and Iris West’s wedding in “Crisis on Earth-x,” one can only ponder how the next Arrowverse crossover can possibly go bigger than those two events. Plus, there’s also the fact that Legends of Tomorrow will sit out this year’s outing, as Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash will be the only DC TV shows invited to the party.

Well, according to actor David Ramsey, his character of John Diggle has some exciting days ahead. Here’s what he had to say to ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con when it came to discussing this fall’s monumental mashup:

“How do you go bigger? Like, every single year they do these crossovers, it’s like it’s bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger so it’s just, I have no idea how they do it.

After Greg Berlanti and company began these Arrowverse crossovers a few years back with what were once two-show affairs, they soon blossomed into something greater than any of us could imagine. In the seasons to follow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow joined forces with Arrow and The Flash to create prime time epics such as “Invasion!” and “Crisis on Earth-x.”

Well, as it turns out, this year’s monumental mashup will afford the cast and crew at least some relief, as only three shows will be participating in the event set to introduce Batwoman and Gotham City to the Arrowverse. Believe it or not, it’s Legends of Tomorrow that didn’t get invited to the party this time around.

Right now, no specific reason for the exclusion has been given, but it makes sense to this writer. If you think about it, whatever’s going on over in Gotham...

Panama is a tiny slip of land with a surprisingly giant place in the natural, commercial, and human history of the Western Hemisphere. Now, it hopes to enlarge its influence in film and TV, addressing its own complicated history with notable projects while spotlighting the best of a Spanish-language industry that reaches three continents.

I was in Panama City recently for the Panama International Film Festival, held a few miles from what for 85 years was fortified U.S. territory, the Canal Zone. The festival featured Oscar-winning Best Foreign-Language Film A Fantastic Woman and Abner Benaim’s loving documentary about Panamanian actor and musician Ruben Blades.

Other films – further displaying the diversity of projects – included Devil’s Freedom, Everardo Gonzalez’ bleak and chilling documentary about Mexico’s murderous kidnapping culture, and the sweet lesbian relationship comedy, Anchor and Hope, from Barcelona-based Carlos Marques-Marcet.

Perhaps most haunting was Diciembres, Enrique Castro Rios’ fictional take on the 1989 U.

Ready Player One star Tye Sheridan and YouTube personality-turned-actress Liza Koshy will voice-star in Crow: The Legend, an ambitious animated virtual-reality short from Boabab Studios, the company behind Vr movies Invasion! and Asteroids!

Native Americans in Philanthropy CEO Sarah Eagle Heart is also joining the cast of the project, which is being executive produced by John Legend.

Eric Darnell, the Boabab co-founder who previously co-directed the Madagascar movies, wrote the script and is helming.

Crow: The Legend is inspired by the Native American folktale of the origin of the crow. Legend will voice the titular character, a brilliantly plumed bird...

Abner Benaim, one of Panama’s leading helmers – whose recent features include 2009 comedy “Chance” and 2014 docu “Invasion” – is attending Iff Panama for the fest’s closing film, “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” which world premiered in South by Southwest (SXSW) where it won the audience prize, in the 24 Beats Per Second section.

The trailer, launched in March, has been a viral hit, with over 1 million views on Facebook.

Benaim reveals that the picture has already secured a wide theatrical release in Panama, with distribution deals covering Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia and Argentina and is about to close with Mexico. He says that the producers are currently considering offers from U.S. distributors and digital platforms and from international sales agents.

“Ruben Blades” is a co-production between Benaim’s company, Apertura Films, and Argentina’s Gema Films, run by Gema Juarez Allen, together with Ciudad Lunar in Colombia (“Embrace of the Serpent...

It appears that Arrow will close out Season 6 with a return visit from Sara Lance.

Legends of Tomorrow star Caity Lotz is set to bring Sara back over to present-day Star City in time for Arrow’s season ender, airing Thursday, May 17. Collider was first to report on the encore, after which Lotz herself tweeted about it. (I still get the vapors from that workout scene.)

Guess who’s coming back for #Arrow season finale? https://t.co/CkkdwOJI7l pic.twitter.com/xACtnYnxsi

— Caity Lotz (@caitylotz) March 29, 2018

Lotz last appeared on Arrow in a non-crossover episode in November 2015, not...

Although it introduces a new horror villain, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon also co-stars Robert Englund, the actor behind one of the genre's most influential icons, and in a bonus feature clip from Scream Factory's recently released Collector's Edition Blu-ray, actress Angela Goethals discusses what it was like to work with a living legend on the 2006 film.

In case you missed them, check here to watch more clips from the new Behind the Mask Blu-ray, and visit here to enter our Collector's Edition contest.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "You know legendary maniacs Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger. Now meet Leslie Vernon, the next great psycho-slasher. Nathan Baesel (Invasion) stars as Vernon, a good-natured killing machine who invites a documentary film crew to follow him as he reminisces with his murder mentor (Scott Wilson, The Walking Dead), evades his psychiatrist/nemesis (Robert Englund,...