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Brian Taylor Goes All In with “Mom and Dad”

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Brian Taylor, the man who brought us Gamer and Crank, has a brand new film hitting theaters and Video On Demand January 19, 2018. It’s called Mom and Dad and it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

The film begins on a morning just like any other morning. Brent and Kendall Ryan get their kids ready for the day and head off to work never realizing that the world is about to go insane.

For the next hour and 23 minutes, we watch as parents are overtaken by a blind rage that makes them want to kill their children. Not children in general…only their own.

The film is an action packed, darkly hilarious roller coaster ride, and I jumped at the chance to talk to writer/director Brian Taylor.

My first question? Where did this idea come from?

“Yeah, well, I’m a parent, right? So, really, it’s all there,” Taylor laughed in reply.

From the spark of that idea, Taylor was intent on telling an original story, something he’d never seen before on film.

“Sometimes, when you do that, you find out why no one has ever done it before,” he explained. “It just seemed like this was a universal theme, though. The moment you fulfill your purpose as a human being is the moment you become obsolete, and that’s something that is difficult to resolve.”

This universal theme actually helped Taylor as they were searching for filming locations for the movie. They were in a very conservative part of Kentucky, and he was afraid to tell people what the movie was about when he was asking for permission to use their homes, many of which were decorated with religious iconography.

“That moment always came, though, and I’d have to, somewhat hesitantly, tell them what we were making,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, they’d respond ‘Oh, I’d see that movie! I want to kill my kids ten times a day!'”

That was when he knew he was really onto something. Now all he needed was a stellar cast to bring it to life.

Enter Nicholas Cage and Selma Blair as Brent and Kendall, the murderous parents in question.

“Nick and Selma are punk rock, man, and they really got the satire and humor right away,” Taylor explained. “They really personalized it and brought their own anxieties and frustrations to their roles.”

Selma Blair in Mom and Dad via Momentum Pictures

Both actors played their roles to the hilt, but Blair, especially, seems to offer the audience a glimpse of internal conflict over her murderous rage, even when it is in its highest gear. She’s our broken moral compass, so to speak, and she inhabits her role beautifully.

The films two younger stars, Anne Winters and Zackary Arthur, offset their adult counterparts perfectly working together as only a brother and sister can to stay alive.

Mom and Dad is a movie that begs to be seen with a group of friends. Check out the trailer below and be sure to look for it in theaters and VOD on January 19 2018.


Featured image via Momentum Pictures

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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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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

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.

Blair witch
The Blair Witch Project Cast

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.”

The blair witch project

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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