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$900 Million Lawsuit Conjured Up Against Warner Bros.

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Still reeling from the success of The Conjuring 2, it would seem as if nothing can stop the Warner Bros. Horror Train. Until today, that is.

Gerald Brittle, who told Ed and Lorraine Warren’s tale in his 1980 book The Demonologistis seeking nearly one billion dollars in damages against Warner Bros. His case? The Conjuring 2 and all related tales stole from his book. This includes both Annabelle and the original The Conjuring film. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to break this story earlier today.

One may think this is a ridiculous claim – after all, how could you steal from a true story? – but that’s exactly where things start to get tricky. First, you have the statement that in 1978, Ed and Lorraine Warren agreed on a non-competition provision. In short, this means that they signed over their stories to him. He has exclusive rights to any story involving their paranormal work.

 

The production team behind the films got permission from Lorraine Warren to do the film – but that doesn’t mean squat, according to their agreement, which still holds today.  And it gets even more sticky. Remember that whole “true story” thing? Brittle no longer believes the Warrens.

If The Conjuring was based on a true story, the Warner Bros. fate would be less cut and dry. But Brittle does not claim that The Demonologist is a true story. Instead, he believes that the Warrens made up the whole tale. If that’s the case, he believes his book to be a work of fiction, which he, not the Warrens, owns the rights to.

Brittle also has confirmation that his book was read before the first film was written, as proven in a tweet by James Wan, which took only a quick Google search to reveal. This was Tweeted in 2011. The Conjuring entered pre-production the same year. This confirms that the director had prior knowledge of The Demonologist.

Yet, despite Brittle’s new claims that the book is now a work of fiction, the website for his book states the exact opposite. From the site:

The Demonologist is a nonfiction title that was first published in 1980 and has remained in print ever since.

It’s worth noting that at the bottom of the page on the site for the book, the copyright is up to date. Meaning that the book is still being marketed as a work of nonfiction.

Neither James Wan nor Warner Bros. has issued a comment yet.

I’m just here to report the news, not to tell you what to think. But if you want my opinion, something seems a little funny about this lawsuit. Brittle’s claim seems a bit excessive, and it doesn’t seem right to still have your name on something that is your intellectual property and to market it as a true story but to then to claim that you no longer believe in the factuality of it. However, I’m not a judge. I don’t know how this will play out in the legal system. I have a feeling that we will be hearing more about this story soon, so keep an eye out.

And for what it’s worth, I love The Conjuring, and frankly, I would still enjoy it even if it was all rooted in fiction.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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