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Big Theater Chains Ban Universal Films: ‘Halloween Kills,’ ‘Candyman’

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Halloween Kills and Candyman

AMC and Regal Theaters will be social distancing their customers from Universal films once the pandemic rules are over. The chains are the biggest movie houses in the country and executives aren’t too happy with Universal’s decision to release Trolls World Tour to home audiences before a traditional theatrical run. The animated film earned over $100 million since it dropped, making it the highest-grossing first-run film in digital release history.

That’s good for Universal’s revenue but bad for theater owners, and consequently movie ticket buyers. On Tuesday NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell spoke to the Wall Street Journal saying future films will be available on multiple formats, something that provoked both AMC and Regal to respond saying all future Universal releases would be banned from their screens.

If you’re keeping score that means Candyman which has already been moved from a summer to a fall release, Halloween Kills, and an untitled Purge sequel will not be shown in the country’s biggest movie houses.

Cineworld, Regal’s owner, called B.S. on Universal’s decision to traverse a formal theatrical window with Trolls, saying it made no economic sense. They added that the move was inappropriate and showed the absence of good-faith and transparency.

AMC CEO and President Adam Aron said his hand was forced and followed suit soon after Regal’s decision.

“It is disappointing to us, but Jeff’s comments as to Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice,” Aron said in an open letter. “Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theaters in the United States, Europe or the Middle East. This policy … goes into effect today and as our theaters reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat.”

Aron doubled-down and added, “any movie maker who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us.” Perhaps that was a barb at Warner Bros. whose Scoob! is going straight to digital on May 15.

If Warner does indeed embrace PVOD and the chains are serious, films such as Godzilla vs. Kong, Wonder Woman 1984, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Witches have uncertain places among the cineplex.

Today, in the wake of the heated flourishes among the Hollywood power teams, Jeff Shell said Universal’s commitment to releasing movies theatrically is still solid, however, they are also making PVOD a part of the equation.

“The question is when we come out of this (pandemic), what is going to be the model? I would expect that consumers will return to the theaters and we will be part of that. And I also expect that PVOD is going to be a part of that in some way. It’s not a replacement, it’s going to be a complementary element. We’re just going to have to see how long that takes and where it takes us,” Shell said.

He added: “There’s no question that theatrical will some day be a central element to our business and film business, it’s how people make their movies and how they expect their movies to be seen.”

While all this infighting is going on, the question remains, will fans opt to stay at home to watch first-run movies bypassing the theater if that option is available?

Releasing a kid’s movie during a quarantine is one thing since they seem to be the ones who have nothing to do during isolation, and it keeps them occupied while work-at-home parents are busy.

Adult themed blockbusters are a different matter especially to genre-specific fans who enjoy an immersive experience only a dark theater can provide.

The truth is, the big business shareholders can argue amongst themselves all they want, it’s the customer who will ultimately affect their bottom lines and if the person buying the tickets isn’t happy, then no one wins.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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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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Movies

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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