News

While Adam Sandler’s production company Happy Madison is very successful, their first foray into horror derailed what could have been an ingenious career move for the star. Adam Sandler’s screen CV features a surprisingly diverse range of roles. While the actor is mostly known for his goofy comedies and occasional dark dramas, Sandler has starred in everything from the intense buddy cop thriller Bulletproof to the bizarre magical realist dramedy The Cobbler. However, the output of his production company Happy Madison is another story entirely, with almost all the company’s projects fitting Sandler’s early reputation.

From gross-out comedies like Joe Dirt and Jack & Jill, to more family-friendly but still straightforwardly comedic offerings like the long-running sitcom The Goldbergs, Happy Madison’s output is reliably broad and comical. The production company rarely strays from the comfortable constraints of Hollywood comedy and, on the rare occasions that...

HBO’s latest hit series The Last of Us now officially has a soundtrack for its first season, a massive, 66-song compilation of all the music scoring the post-apocalyptic tale. Check it out below.

After working on the original The Last of Us video game, composer Gustavo Santaolalla returns for the HBO series, joined by fellow artist David Fleming. In an upcoming interview with Consequence, Santaolalla describes his approach to the soundtrack, saying, “The process of adapting, it was more in a way like craftwork than actually a new creation, because the themes were there, those things are there, like the characters, it wasn’t about creating a new job, it wasn’t about finding what is interesting. For example, in seeing how Pascal and Bella, they’re different than the actors that played the voices, but at the same time, they keep the soul of the characters intact.”

While...

Director Alessio Liguori shoots the Italian setting of this teen horror with skin-prickling intensity, though its zany charm undercuts any real tension

Shot in Italy, with an English cast, there’s a crisp, almost fairytale levity to Alessio Liguori’s horror adventure that sits oddly but not unworkably with its gorier elements. It’s not quite clear exactly where it is set: perhaps actually in Italy, as the group of five youngsters being escorted on a red vintage bus are from an international school. Bantering with their driver, the party are jumped by a gun-toting convict when they stop to clear a dead deer off the road. But when the bus halts in a tunnel, with a shrouded shape huddled in front of them on the tarmac, they realise there’s worse out there.

Liguori and writer Daniele Cosci don’t do much more than establish the character types of...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #208: Matthew Modine on Stranger Things, Wrong Turn, Acting, Directing and working with legendary filmmakers.

The adventure-thriller Shortcut will hit all VOD & all digital platforms on December 22nd. Check out the terrifying trailer:

Shortcut follows a group of five classmates trapped inside their school bus after a mysterious creature invades the road. Every passing minute decreases their survival chances against the constant threats of that unknown entity. 

Shortcut stars Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, and Terence Anderson 

The post The Horror-Adventure Shortcut to Hit VOD/Digital on December 22nd appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Italy’s Minerva Pictures — the company specialized in genre fare such as teen chiller “Shortcut” that recently made a U.S. splash — is launching world sales at AFM on “Mondocane,” a dystopian drama about the struggle of two 13-year-old orphan boys in a Southern Italian gangland.

“Mondocane” toplines Alessandro Borghi (“Devils”).

In “Mondocane,” Borghi (pictured) plays the leader of one of two gangs vying for control of the Southern Italian port city of Taranto which in a dystopian near-future that has become a no man’s land surrounded by barbed wire and abandoned by police. The film is being marketed as an “Oliver Twist tale in a ‘Mad Max’ setting,” Minerva Pictures international sales chief Francesca Delise told Variety.

Delise noted that for Minerva, “Mondocane” segues from the international success it saw with Alessio Liguori’s “Shortcut,” which despite the pandemic recently went out theatrically on almost 700 U.S. screens via Gravitas Ventures.

As 101 Studios’ family comedy The War With Grandpa dominated the box office with an estimated $3.6 million in 2,250 theaters, Diane Paragas’ Yellow Rose starring Eva Noblezada, Lea Salonga and Princess Punzalan made its debut at theaters and drive-ins to earn an estimated $150K from 900 locations, bringing its total domestic cume to $170K through Sunday.

Sci-fi specialty titles continued to maintain at the box office with Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s sci-fi comedy Save Yourselves! starring Sunita Mani and John Reynolds netted an estimated $62K this weekend to bring its cume to over $269K while the Neon’s sci-fi thriller Possessor Uncut from Brandon Cronenberg and starring Andrea Riseborough added over $163K to its till which brings its cume to $530K.

As expected, box office numbers aren’t skyrocketing out of control in the specialty space, but we are seeing life considering the circumstances — and that’s a good thing.

As Regal Theaters in the U.S. and U.K. parent Cineworld weigh closing their cinemas, this weekend’s box office offered little encouragement as this weekend’s top 10 came to about $8.2 million, and could be $10 million-$11 million for all films. That’s down from $9.6 million for last weekend’s top 10, which saw about $12 million overall. By comparison: This weekend in 2019, with the opening of “Joker,” brought in $150 million overall.

“Tenet,” by far the biggest contributor to domestic returns since it opened a month ago ,held well again, down 21 percent with $2.7 million. It has reached $45.1 million domestic so far, for $307 million worldwide.

The only country that is not reliant on “Tenet” is China, where local titles have driven the grossed to over $1 billion in the last six weeks. This weekend (a holiday there) showed two titles both gross over $150 million with “My People My Homeland” and the animated “Jiang Ziya.

It will be many months before exhibitors might expect to see box-office returns that resemble the norms we once took for granted. In the meantime, a different metric has taken hold: Is there proof that domestic theaters are gaining traction against the audience’s pandemic resistance? Does it makes sense to go for broke with a high-end domestic release?

This weekend did not offer that evidence. The top 10 titles took in around $10 million, with somewhere under $12 million all told. This weekend saw perhaps 3 percent more theaters open over last weekend, which totaled a little over $11 million. All told, a little over 75 percent of all U.S. complexes are open; the total percentage for North America is a bit higher since nearly all Canadian theaters are now open.

There were four new entries, which included two reissues; they brought in less than $2 million. The overall take for the weekend is likely to be somewhere under $12 million,...

Tenet is the number one movie in North America for the fourth consecutive week. The latest offering from Christopher Nolan brought in an additional $3.4 million domestically, which is pretty dismal when compared to this time last year. Rambo: Last Blood debuted on September 20th, 2019 with $18.8 million domestically, for comparison. Internationally, Tenet was able to earn an additional $15.8 million, which brings its grand global total to $283.2 million.

With a reported $200 million price tag, Tenet still has a long way to go before making any money back for Warner Bros. Generally, a movie is set to turn a profit when it makes it's the bulk of its money domestically, but that has not been the case with Tenet, since not all theaters in the major markets are open. Even so, people are going to the movie theaters less due to the public health crisis, which is still raging on. However, Warner Bros.

Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” has topped $280 million worldwide, dominating a mild U.S. box office with $3.4 million at 2,850 locations in its fourth weekend to go past $41 million domestically in four weeks.

The Warner Bros. tentpole, which carries a hefty $200 million price tag, took in a weekend total of $19.2 million worldwide in 58 markets. The U.S. posted the top number with a 26% decline, followed by Japan with $3 million in its second weekend and a 30% decline.

“Tenet” is the first major studio release to launch during the pandemic, and its small-ish numbers underline the industry’s challenge of attracting customers amid a worldwide health crisis and social distancing restrictions. Disney’s “Mulan”– which isn’t getting a theatrical release in the U.S. — grossed $3.4 million in 20 markets to lift it to $64 million world wide. Its fifth weekend of “The New Mutants” took in $2.5 million worldwide, including $1.1 million at 2,305 domestic sites.

The seventh...

All paths lead to an unavoidable outcome, at least that’s the conclusion demonstrated by the teenage motley crew facing a nightmarish problem in director Alessio Liguori’s “Shortcut.” If only someone had course-corrected the filmmakers on their own route to making this letdown of a horror road-movie, which gets off to a good start before losing its way. With lackluster character development, a few ill-conceived situations in the second half and dialogue that sounds like it’s been run through Google Translate, there’s only a modest amount of entertainment value found therein.

It was supposed to be an average bus ride home from school for shy high-schooler Nolan (Jack Kane) and his classmates artistic Bess (Sophie Jane Oliver), loudmouth Karl (Zander Emlano), intelligent Queenie (Molly Dew) and rebellious Reggie (Zak Sutcliffe). The kids razz each other, trade prophetic riddles and discuss the rare lunar eclipse happening that night.

Shortcut is a horror fantasy from Italy. Daniele Cosci (The Binding) wrote the screenplay for this feature, which debuts this week across North America. Alessio Liguori (In the Trap) directed this film. And, Shortcut focuses on five classmates, trapped inside a school bus as a creature lurks outside. Gravitas will handle the film's theatrical release across Canada and the U.S., with some showings taking place in drive-ins. The film's latest theatrical details are here. The trailer shows the five students surrounded by something dangerous. Trapped in a tunnel, they must find a way to survive the night, until help can arrive. Drive-ins and indoor theatres will begin showings this September 25th. A digital release will take place on December 22nd. Rated Restricted for bloody images, this title has a short runtime of eighty minutes. The trailer, in case you missed it, is below. Release Date: September 25th, 2020 (Limited Theatrical...

Ahead of Shortcut's North American theatrical release on September 25th, we have an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers!

"Directed by Alessio Liguori and written by Daniele Cosci, Shortcut stars Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, Terence Anderson. The film is produced by Simona Ferri, Marco Tempera and Robert Cipullo. Shortcut will open nationwide across North America (USA/Canada) at drive-in’s and indoor theatres on September 25th (with Thursday night previews), followed by a VOD & digital release on December 22nd.

Shortcut follows a group of five classmates trapped inside their school bus after a mysterious creature invades the road. Every passing minute decreases their survival chances against the constant threats of that unknown entity."

Directed by Alessio Liguori and produced by Simona Ferri, Marco Tempera, and Roberto Cipullo, Shortcut stars Andrei Claude, Zak Sutcliffe, Sophie Jane Oliver, Terence Anderson, David Keyes, Jack Kane, Molly Dew,...

Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired the North American distribution rights to the horror-adventure film Shortcut. Directed by Alessio Liguori and written by Daniele Cosci, Shortcut stars Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, and Terence Anderson. The film is produced by Simona Ferri, Marco Tempera, and Robert Cipullo. Shortcut will open nationwide across North America (USA/Canada) at […]...

Gravitas Ventures Aquires North American Rights To Horror Adventure Film ‘Shortcut’ Film starring international cast from Rome-based Minerva Pictures; Theatrical date set for Sept. 25th with traditional 90-day window until digital release Dec. 22nd Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired the North American distribution rights to the horror adventure film Shortcut. Directed …

The post Trailer: Shortcut, horror adventure hitting drive-ins Sept 21 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

"It won't stop until it's finished." Gravitas Ventures has released an official US trailer for an indie horror thriller titled Shortcut, made by Italian filmmaker Alessio Liguori. This premiered at a festival in Italy last month, and opens on VOD this month in the US, if anyone is interested in giving it a watch. A group of five classmates is trapped inside their school bus after a mysterious creature invade the road. Time runs and every passing minute decreases their survival chances against the constant threats of that unknown entity. This sounds a bit like Jeepers Creepers, but looks entirely different. Starring Jack Kane, Andrei Claude, Zak Sutcliffe, Zander Emlano, and David Keyes. This looks a bit strange and isn't entirely set on the bus, but seems like a solid atmospheric horror with a creepy monster in the shadows. Here's the official US trailer (+ poster) for Alessio Liguori's Shortcut, direct...

Gravitas Ventures Aquires North American Rights To Horror Adventure Film ‘Shortcut’ Film starring international cast from Rome-based Minerva Pictures; Theatrical date set for Sept. 25th with traditional 90-day window until digital release Dec. 22nd Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired the North American distribution rights to the horror adventure film Shortcut. Directed …

The post Upcoming thriller ‘Shortcut’ debuts trailer ahead of Sept 25 theatrical release appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired the North American distribution rights to the horror adventure film Shortcut. Directed by Alessio Liguori and written by Daniele Cosci, Shortcut stars Jack Kane, Zak Sutcliffe, Andrei Claude, Sophie Jane Oliver, Terence Anderson. The film is produced by Simona Ferri, Marco Tempera and Robert Cipullo. Shortcut will open nationwide across North America (USA/Canada) at drive-in’s and indoor theatres on September 25th (with Thursday night previews), followed by a VOD & digital release on December 22nd.

The Trailer looks terrifying:

Shortcut follows a group of five classmates trapped inside their school bus after a mysterious creature invades the road. Every passing minute decreases their survival chances against the constant threats of that unknown entity.

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Brett Rogalsky on behalf of Gravitas Ventures and by Monica Ciarli on behalf of Minerva Pictures International.

“Gravitas is thrilled...

In a second helping of today's Horror Highlights, we have details on the Pet Sematary collection from Vixen by Micheline Pitt and the trailers for Shorcut and Anonymous Killers:

Pet Sematary Collection from Vixen by Micheline Pitt: Paramount Pictures and Los Angeles-based apparel company Vixen by Micheline Pitt have announced a licensing partnership for Stephen King’s Pet Sematary property for apparel and accessories, which kicks off today with an exclusive collection.

“We have an amazing collection of apparel and accessories inspired by both of the feature films which are based on the iconic 1983 Stephen King novel Pet Sematary,“ said Vixen CEO & Designer Micheline Pitt. “Each collection, like the films on which they are based, has its own story to tell, and its own style, and as the first female owned horror/genre company to have ever licensed a horror property, we’re excited to celebrate Pet Sematary through fashion.