News
Review: Women in Horror Film Festival
Filmmakers from around the globe converged on Peachtree City, Georgia this weekend to celebrate the second annual Women in Horror Film Festival.
After an opening night VIP party and their official “Dead Carpet” ceremonies, screenwriters, directors, and fans filled the auditorium at the Crowne Plaza hotel to settle into the first day’s festivities.
Co-founders Samantha Kolesnik and Vanessa Ionta Wright put together a fantastic roster of unforgettable films and panels designed to entertain, terrify, and in many cases, provide fodder for deeper discussions about gender, race, sexuality, and so much more.
In fact, one of the crowning achievements of the Women in Horror Film Festival was that discussion often spilled out of the theater and into the hallways, and it was fascinating to watch filmmakers become fans of other filmmakers and the seeds of future partnerships and collaborations planted.
It would be impossible to review every single film and its effect, but certain moments stand out in my memory…
Young Farrah Martin, not yet a teenager, representing the film Blood Runs Down, with an effervescent grace and a wide-eyed untainted joy that people loved her work in the haunting film.
A room full of people laughed until tears ran down their faces at Brendan Pollecutt’s revenge-horror-comedy, Keloid, when his leading lady Libby (Taylor Cathcart) decided to take back everything she’d given her ex-fiance.
The laughter continued as Sarah K. Reimers showed us what could happen if a dog was bitten by a werewolf and the effects of that transformation.
That hysterical laughter turned to utterances of “hell yeah” and “damn right” as Laura Vail’s character, Jo, in What Metal Girls are Into tells a man “You are not entitled to our attention.”
An entire audience sat enraptured at the almost painful beauty of an entire block of science fictions films, a new addition at WIHFF this year, that challenged notions of what it meant to be a woman or man, what it means to fight even when you no longer feel you can, and how we must evolve and change in order to survive as a species.
A panel on diversity and visiblity spoke about the inherent need for equal representation in filmmaking to a crowded room where no eyes were rolled and no dismissive attitudes pervaded.
But even more palpable as the weekend grew was the feeling of belonging and acceptance that each and every participant felt. It was a privilege to feel completely safe to be one’s self in this carefully cultivated environment where women, people of color, LGBTQ folks, and straight male allies could share their stories with each other and find common ground.
It’s a feeling that can be sorely lacking at many festivals and conventions, and I hope that they’re paying attention to what Sam, Vanessa, and the entire crew at the Women in Horror Film Festival are doing..
Submissions are already open on FilmFreeway for next year’s Women in Horror Film Festival and I cannot encourage female genre filmmakers enough to enter their work so that you too can experience everything that this one of a kind festival has to offer.
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News
Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel
Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.
According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.
Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.
As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:
“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “
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Movies
New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie
Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.
This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.
Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.
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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film
Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.
This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.
However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.
Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”
At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.
The full statement made by the cast can be found below.
OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):
1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.
2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.
Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!
3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.
A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:
As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.
While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.
We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.
Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello
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