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Director Josh Boone Can’t Wait for You to See ‘The New Mutants’

Published

4 years ago

August 24, 2020

For the cast of The New Mutants, August 28, 2020 is the fulfillment of a journey they began together three or four years ago. For director Josh Boone, however, that journey began when he was a kid.

“I got to write [the movie] with my best friend who I’ve known almost since the day I was born,” Boone explained in a recent interview with iHorror. “Our moms were best friends. And we read Marvel comics religiously together all through the 1980s when we were kids. It’s been a dream our whole life to do something like this, but we wanted to do something different than your typical superhero movie.”

For the writer/director that meant writing a character-driven story, less focused on adult superheroes who have come into their own as people who also have powers. What they created was a movie with a John Hughes cast–if Hughes had been a little more diverse in his casting–set within the world of a 90s horror film.

To create that kind of film, they returned to their childhoods and dug into the Demon Bear saga of The New Mutants. It was during these issues that Bill Sienkiewicz’s artwork came to the foreground and brought a new kind of hero with it.

“We were so inspired by Bill’s work,” Boone said. “It’s like that comic for me wasn’t much before he came onto it. I liked it but it wasn’t special for me or groundbreaking until he became involved.”

With the story locked in place, it was just a matter of finding the right cast to take on these roles.

Early on, they had discussions with Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The VVitch) and throughout the writing process, they kept the two actresses informed with new drafts so they could stay in the loop on how their characters were evolving.

Other actors were not so easy to find at least in part because Boone was dedicated to finding talent who were correct, ethnically, for the roles.

“We spent a lot longer looking for Henry Zaga because we wanted a Brazilian actor for that role,” the director explained. “With Blu Hunt, we wanted a real Native American who had real ties to a reservation. We wanted to hopefully bring authenticity by doing that. So that was more like looking at 300 people and trying to find the person that, to you personally, exemplified the character you wrote. Somebody else might have chosen somebody else but they, for me, exemplified most what I needed from the cast. ”

That streak of authenticity runs throughout The New Mutants, and some of it drew direct parallels to the director’s own life.

Boone was raised in an oppressive Christian home which led him to a whole host of mini-rebellions as he grew up, and he says, he can entirely relate to the Rahne Wolfsbane, played by Williams in the film, with her strict upbringing by priests who go so far as to brand her for her “sins.”

Thankfully, Boone’s own childhood didn’t go that far. Instead, he held his own rebellion which manifested in his love of comic books and bands like Pantera and Nine Inch Nails.

“One of the cool things I got to do through this is that I got to meet Marilyn Manson,” he said. “He did the voice of the Smiling Men. So anytime during the movie that you hear the Smiling Men going crazy, that’s Manson in a microphone going nuts. He did a cover of ‘Cry Little Sister’ from Lost Boys, which is one of the greatest movies ever, and we used that in all the ads for the movie. I had some of my rock and roll dreams come true making the movie.”

The director was also proud to be able to bring the love story between Williams and Hunt’s characters to the screen in a way that, he says, might be the first time that a Disney or a comic book actually passes the Vito Russo test for LGBTQ inclusion.

“Their love story is sort of the spine that the whole thing hangs on,” he pointed out. “When I was young I loved My Own Private Idaho; it was one of my favorite movies. I was raised in a household where like, Christians really did believe in preaching in church that gay people went to hell. I mean, it’s no joke. That’s what they said. That’s what I was told is that they were sinners and everything. Movies gave me a real window into the real world to kind of understand what reality was.”

Boone is hoping his own film will do that for young LGBTQ people, as well, as their release date for the film is finally here. It’s a date that has been a long time coming.

The film was in full post-production when Disney and Fox merged which put everything on hold for a full year. Despite rumors of massive reshoots , it was this delay that held the film back for the longest time. They were set to release earlier this year. Then, of course, there were delays due to Covid-19.

As far as Boone is concerned, however, now is the time, and honestly, we can hardly blame him.

“People need to start going back to movies,” he said. “I think it is an essential part of life, especially when it’s done safely with masks and everything. There is a safe way to do this. It’s safer than restaurants. It’s safer than an airplane. I still just feel like I’m ready to go back to the movies. I’m also excited for kids to get to see it. I don’t think there’s many movies nowadays that represent them very much.”

The New Mutants opens this Friday, August 28, 2020. Check your local theaters for listings, and let us know if you’ll be watching on opening day!

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Movies

‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

Published

18 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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Movies

‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

Published

20 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

^{Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott}

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

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The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

_{Alien Romulus}

^{Alien (1979)}

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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News

Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween

Published

21 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Cameron McFarland

Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.

The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.

This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.

This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.

“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”

But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.

This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.