Out Of The Ether 11/8/09

Time for the second edition of Out Of The Ether. YEAH!!!

First, I'd like to introduce to you to........

Yes. This is the poster for the new Wolfman remake/reboot/reimagining starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt. If you're really excited, and want an image large enough to use as a wallpaper, head on over to the original posting on AICN. As you can see on the poster, you can catch this in February of next year. If you head on over to Cinematical, there's another, less interesting poster.

One of the more anticipated films of the upcoming holiday season is the new Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. There's a new trailer. Click HERE to see trailer #3 for what's basically guaranteed to be one of the biggest movies of the year.

Another name connected with another mega-franchise of late is J.J. Abrams. The man who brought us a hugely successful (and really damned fun) new Star Trek is trying to get a film off of the ground based on the Japanese toy Micronauts. That, and other bizarre news popped up in the Wall Street Journal of all places. Thanks to AICN for the heads up. 

The new trailer for Season of the Witch has many things going for it. It also has one thing working against it. Can you tell who it is? 

One of the films more or less guaranteed to be a big splash next year, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, has released the trailer. It's not looking too bad.  I'm not sure what to make of this. Most of the video game to film adaptations have been horrible, in the just poor, poor quality way, not the fun way. It gives me some hope to see Jake Gyllenhaal taking on the role of the Prince in question, because the guy can more or less do what he wants these days, and he has a reputation for taking on films with a weightier script, but we'll see. He was also in The Day After Tomorrow whose date is apparently, 2012. 

In news related to 30 Days Of Night: Dark Days, the sequel to 30 Days Of Night, the first image from the film has emerged over at Bloody Disgusting. I can only hope the sequel matches the original in ferocity, even if they're doing that most horrible thing of changing actors for a main character between films. Melissa George didn't die, as is the most acceptable reason for this, she just didn't want to come back for the sequel. Over at Dread Central, they've got a few on set pictures, and will have some on set coverage coming in the future.

Here's one I'm excited about. I've particularly liked to two original films Eli Roth has directed so far, Hostel, and Cabin Fever. Here's a look at the first images from Cotton, his newest project. Expect a good deal more news in connection with this one as we get closer to release. Eli is not what you would call "press shy".

Also in the category of someone who isn't press shy, rapper Eminem has signed on to produce and star in a 3-D horror anthology (a la Creepshow, Trick 'r Treat, Tales From The Darkside), apparently to be titled Shady Talez. Some of you might be wondering why on earth I'd be posting news of this. I honestly think Mr. Mathers might have what it takes to recognize a strong horror story, and though there was probably little acting at all involved, 8 Mile was a much better film than any of us had reason to hope for. IGN has the story.

John Landis has a new feature on the way entitled Burke and Hare. This sounds like it could be the perfect project for someone with Landis's absolutely perfect ability to mix scares, chills and humor. Apparently based on the true story of 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business in providing cadavers for a medical school in Edinburgh, the casting news has been great so far. Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and David Tennant (the latest Syfy channel incarnation of Dr. Who), have previously signed on. Now, a legend of supernaturally comedic films, Dan Akroyd has been announced as joining the cast. Landis is someone I have seen and read a few thousand interviews with, and from the kind of impression he leaves, I love seeing him succeed, so I'm pushing for this one.

How about news of the "are you talking about the same movie?" variety. Apparently both of the films Seven Days and The Tortured have stories that revolve around parents who decide to take justice into their own hands in dealing with their child's murderer. I've honestly gone back twice in the last two days to make sure both of these announcements had to do with different films.

The struggling Dimension Films is still trying beyond hope to revive their planned Hellraiser remake. I have a deep and abiding love for the original film, though I can see where some things may be fleshed out (unintended pun stays) given a more substantial budget and the right creative team. Do I for one second believe Dimension will be able to bottle the kind of lightning necessary to pull that off? No. I have no confidence in that possibility. Apparently they are trying to do this one in 3D. Need I say more?

It seems Moonstone Entertainment is trying to resurrect another horror franchise as well. According to ShockTillYouDrop.com, they are touting the hiring of a writer/director at the AFM. The Howling Reborn is the title their working with right now. It's not absolutely clear as to whether this is going to be a sequel or a remake/reboot to the series. Joe Dante's original was a fun, film, specifically for adults. The sequels were fun for those of us who can stomach bad horror films and have fun with them, but no cinematic gems.

I am interested in the French zombie film The Horde which has apparently been picked up by IFC films. I guess they don't want to miss out on the explosion of interest in foreign made horror films that Magnet Releasing, Anchor Bay and a few other distributors have been capitalizing on. This one was apparently produced by the Xavier Gens, director of the worth seeing The Frontier(s).