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‘Beyond Skyline’ Interview with Director/Writer Liam O’Donnell

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KM: Going back to the scene in Beyond Skyline where they’re all meeting up at the temple and there’s a great 360 shot, I got this great vibe with Bojana Novakovic, it’s such a Ripley moment to me. I don’t know if that was intentional…

LD: Absolutely, I’m glad you mentioned that. Bojana, I just think she’s due! She’s been putting in a lot of great work for a lot of years and she’s just a super solid actress who can get really intense. She’d never really done anything quite like this and I think she said in an interview, “I never thought how empowering it would be to hold this child in my arms and be firing weapons at aliens”. So yeah, I’m glad that connected. One of the questions in a post-screening Q&A was “what movies inspired this”, and it’s like “you couldn’t tell?”. It kind of wears it on its sleeve, what I love, and Aliens is obviously way up there.

via Vertical

KM: And working with Iko Uwais, he did the action choreography on the film as well, right?

LD: Right

KM: What was that like, going in as a first time director having this really ambitious, intense, action-heavy movie? I know you’ve got a background in visual effects which I’m assuming must have helped with knowing what you wanted to do and how you wanted to do it, but how did you consolidate those ideas of having this big crazy action sequence and having the big visual effects, how did that all come together?

LD: I had been storyboarding, and even in the script, that big end battle was like one or two paragraphs, it was pretty short, and then we did like 200-something setups on it. We had it storyboarded and laid out with the general beats and what the escalation was going to be and the fights. But when Iko and his team and Yayan came on board it was more of an Aliens/Starship Troopers type of movie. There was going to be more gunfire and that sort of stuff, and I had that they were going to fight them but I didn’t know what that really looked like. It would have been more of a typical Hollywood hack and slash, with a sword here with a double-cut, but once they came aboard they just, like, go into their gym and send you these videos and they did all this great stuff! And you just kind of look at it, like, “oh, I didn’t even think that would be possible”.

So it became a conversation between them and my suit builders, because they had built these creatures to be big, imposing, predator with frog legs type of things that weren’t supposed to be doing martial arts fights. So then they kind of shit their pants when they saw the choreography. And then when Iko and his guys saw the suits, they were also like “ooooh”, because they had these different moves where they were picking the aliens up and throwing them into the wall, and it’s like, “oooh that’s not going to quite look great”.

The other thing that we had in discussion with – the slang in Indonesia for white people is bule, which I love – so they had Frank doing a lot of kicks, and I was like “bules don’t kick!” [laughs] I’m already kind of stretching his character, he obviously goes to the gym and he’s a boxer and he looks it, he sells it, but if he starts doing back kicks and all this stuff, I don’t know that that’s going to 100% work. And then we tried one of them anyways, and Frank actually badly pulled his hamstring… it was mainly just because the suit performer wasn’t close enough. So when he went to hit back his impact point, his leg just extended and there was nothing there for him to hit to. So this is, like, day two in Batam that he badly pulls his hamstring, and he goes down. I remember Iko’s advice just before he does the kick, he’s like, “just snap it, just snap it”. And I’m like, “okay!” but I was on the fence about this actually working! So we actually had a different fight for Frank at the end than what we used. It was more of a wide, kind of a different angle with Iko in the background, and, you know, he pulls his hamstring there, that didn’t work.

He had to rest and then had to go really slow, and then later towards the end of that schedule, we had shot stuff, and thankfully I realized as we had been cutting together that we had too much into the back lot in one direction and I was just going to have to eat the cost of using green screen and get him with a different view the other way. So yeah, that definitely just added this whole new dimension, but I think it’s just what puts this movie in a different category. If I had gone ahead and just made that, and didn’t have the luck of the century with getting those guys in the right place at the right time, I think, you know, it’s a serviceable sequel instead of something that’s surprising.

via News24xx

 

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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