News

‘Brightburn’ Director Believes Superheroes Are Evil

Published

5 years ago

April 1, 2019

The world has been trained to believe that when an otherworldly being, like E.T. or Superman, arrives on Earth in a spaceship, it’s a good thing. The upcoming superhero horror film Brightburn has a much darker view of superheroes and their intentions.

The director of Brightburn, David Yarovesky, believes that the training the public has received over the years regarding superheroes is dangerous and wrong. “If a baby arrived on Earth in a spaceship, most people would think, ‘Oh, this is wonderful,”’ says Yarovesky. “If that happened in real life, most people, because of how they’ve been trained by what they’ve seen in comic books and films and on television, would think, ‘This must be Superman.’ I would call the police and tell everyone. To me, this would be a clear sign of an upcoming disaster.”

What if Superman came to Earth to destroy mankind, instead of help it? This scenario provides the basis for Brightburn, which tells the story of a husband and wife, Kyle (David Denman) and Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks), who decide to raise an otherworldly baby as their adopted son, whom they name Brandon. “This is a very bad decision,” says Yarovesky “They raise Brandon to be a decent, good young man, and his childhood is fairly uneventful except for the superpowers that he demonstrates, which Kyle and Tori, much like we saw with Superman and his adoptive parents, urge him to use for good purposes.”

When Brandon reaches his early teens, the temptation to use his powers for evil purposes becomes overwhelming for him. Brandon’s dark transformation is accompanied by the ominous-looking cape and costume he wears in the film. “Again, we’ve been trained, with Superman and so many other superheroes, to look at a cape as a symbol of goodness,” says Yarovesky. “In this film, it’s a symbol of evil, which I think is really going to be a shock to audiences. With this film, we wanted to redefine the reality of what superpowers represent in our world. When you see the cape in this film, it means that you need to run. A cape is bad.”

Yarovesky says that his mistrust of superheroes was born at an early age. “I look at this film as being my story, in a way, because I’ve always been so pessimistic about the concept of superheroes,” says Yarovesky. “This set me apart from the kids at school, who believed in and loved superheroes when I was growing up. I’ve always found the idea of superpowers, and especially the image of a superhero in a cape and costume, to be very scary, and that’s represented in this film. I’ve always had a difficult time accepting the idea that an otherworldly figure with superpowers was likely to be altruistic. I think people, especially those who have grown up believing in superheroes, are going to lose their minds when they watch this film and see how we’ve taken the concept of the cape and costume and turned it into something so dark and evil.”

Brightburn arrives in theaters on May 24, 2019.

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News

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.