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Writer/Director Preston DeFrancis and the Road to “Ruin Me”

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For Preston DeFrancis, the road to creating a fantastic horror film has been anything but conventional.  Oh sure, he was in the grad program at USC studying direction when his co-writer Trysta A. Bissett was studying screenwriting.  They wrote his thesis film together.  They wrote two feature films and a TV pilot together.  It just so happens that all four of those films were comedies or romantic comedies, however.  With that kind of background, audiences might be surprised that their first filmed feature, Ruin Me, is not only a horror film, but also one of the best of its kind I’ve seen in years.

“The thing is, with romantic comedies, unless you have huge stars in them no one cares,” DeFrancis explains.  “Trysta and I were both, independently, horror fans, and all of our friends kept telling us we should make a horror film.  We never had an idea that clicked and really worked for us, though.”

Then, they visited one of the most famous extreme haunts in the country.  I won’t name the event here, but needless to say, they were…underwhelmed.

“We had a cookout before we went and we were totally psyching ourselves out about it, coming up with scenarios,” he says.  “Don’t get me wrong, the production values were great, the sets were great, but the ideas we were pitching beforehand were much scarier.  It suddenly occurred to me that the reason was because there was always a sense of safety no matter how wild things were inside there.”

And with that, they were off to the races.

Ruin Me is a horror film with a classic feel.  DeFrancis and Bissett took some of their favorite tropes and turned them on their head creating a film that is familiar but still able to catch its audience off guard.  Not only is that a good thing, but necessary if you want your first film to stand apart and if we are to avoid the atrophy we’ve seen in our genre before.

Alex, played beautifully by the talented Marcienne Dwyer, reluctantly tags along with her boyfriend Nathan (Matt Dellapina) to a combo extreme haunt, escape room, and camping trip called “Slasher Sleep-Out”.  She doesn’t want to be there.  She doesn’t like her fellow campers, and she’s currently recovering from a serious drug problem.

Dwyer and Dellapina are surrounded by an impressive supporting cast of players including a stellar turn by John Odom as the living, breathing personification of every internet horror troll that you’ve ever seen comment online.  His name is Pitch and he walks a razor wire between eager contestant and dangerous wildcard.  Likewise, Chris Hill offers much needed comic relief as the bumbling Larry with brilliant comic timing.

And the ending?

Well, anyone who has read my work knows that I don’t do spoilers, but in DeFrancis’ own words, “We wanted to make sure our ending was 100% organic and necessary.  We wanted to craft an ending that when you see it, you realize this movie couldn’t end any other way.  We were collision course from the first moment of the film.”

Ruin Me has deservedly been picking up awards all over the country and was even the recipient of the iHorror Award for Excellence in Horror at the recent Nightmares Film Festival.  The film also picked up the Nightmare Award for Best Horror feature at that same festival.

The film is currently winding up its festival tour and seeking the right distributor to bring Ruin Me to an even broader audience.  Meanwhile DeFrancis and Bissett are already preparing to begin filming their next film which will take them back to Muskegon, MI which provided the beautiful settings for this film.

To keep up with the latest information on Ruin Me, you can follow them on Facebook and on Twitter @RuinMeMovie.

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The Original ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Had an Interesting Location

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beetlejuice in Hawaii Movie

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s sequels to hit movies weren’t as linear as they are today. It was more like “let’s re-do the situation but in a different location.” Remember Speed 2, or National Lampoon’s European Vacation? Even Aliens, as good as it is, follows a lot of the plot points of the original; people stuck on a ship, an android, a little girl in peril instead of a cat. So it makes sense that one of the most popular supernatural comedies of all time, Beetlejuice would follow the same pattern.

In 1991 Tim Burton was interested in doing a sequel to his 1988 original, it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian:

“The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it’s quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day.”

Burton liked the script but wanted some re-writes so he asked then-hot screenwriter Daniel Waters who had just got done contributing to Heathers. He passed on the opportunity so producer David Geffen offered it to Troop Beverly Hills scribe Pamela Norris to no avail.

Eventually, Warner Bros. asked Kevin Smith to punch up Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, he scoffed at the idea, saying, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Nine years later the sequel was killed. The studio said Winona Ryder was now too old for the part and an entire re-cast needed to happen. But Burton never gave up, there were a lot of directions he wanted to take his characters, including a Disney crossover.

“We talked about lots of different things,” the director said in Entertainment Weekly. “That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted MansionBeetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up.”

Fast-forward to 2011 when another script was pitched for a sequel. This time the writer of Burton’s Dark Shadows,  Seth Grahame-Smith was hired and he wanted to make sure the story wasn’t a cash-grabbing remake or reboot. Four years later, in 2015, a script was approved with both Ryder and Keaton saying they would return to their respective roles. In 2017 that script was revamped and then eventually shelved in 2019.

During the time the sequel script was being tossed around in Hollywood, in 2016 an artist named Alex Murillo posted what looked like one-sheets for a Beetlejuice sequel. Although they were fabricated and had no affiliation with Warner Bros. people thought they were real.

Perhaps the virality of the artwork sparked interest in a Beetlejuice sequel once again, and finally, it was confirmed in 2022 Beetlejuice 2 had a green light from a script written by Wednesday writers  Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The star of that series Jenna Ortega signed on to the new movie with filming starting in 2023. It was also confirmed that Danny Elfman would return to do the score.

Burton and Keaton agreed that the new film titled Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice wouldn’t rely on CGI or other other forms of technology. They wanted the film to feel “handmade.” The film wrapped in November 2023.

It’s been over three decades to come up with a sequel to Beetlejuice. Hopefully, since they said aloha to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian there has been enough time and creativity to ensure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not only honor the characters, but fans of the original.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will open theatrically on September 6.

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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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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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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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.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

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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