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INTERVIEW: Writer/Director Richard Stanley on ‘Color Out of Space’

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Color Out of Space

Richard Stanley has been on the path to adapt H.P. Lovecraft’s Color Out of Space since he was a child in South Africa when his mother, an ardent fan of the author, would read the macabre tales of terror to him.

“By the time I was 13 years old, I wanted to adapt Color Out of Space mostly because it’s one of the most accessible of the Lovecraft stories,” he told iHorror in a recent interview. “It was Lovecraft’s favorite and out of all his material, it’s the one story that isn’t set in Antarctica or on some other planet. That fact that it concerns one family on a farm meant that even as a kid mucking around with a Super 8 camera, I could imagine attempting to adapt it in some way.”

At 53 years old, those childhood dreams became a reality with a film starring Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, and Julian Hilliard as a family forever changed after a meteorite carrying a mutant extraterrestrial organism lands in the front yard of their farm.

Even as an adult, however, adapting Lovecraft is no walk in the park. The author often dealt with indescribable horrors, a plot device which is perfect for sparking the imagination of readers but makes bringing the stories to film nearly impossible. Describing the indescribably terrifying almost always diminishes its inherent horror, after all.

As Stanley points out, however, science has caught up to Lovecraft in many ways since Color Out of Space was first published in 1927.

“Lovecraft talks about non-Euclidean geometry in his writing,” the director explained. “I remember when I was at school I used the phrase “non-Euclidean geometry” and I got marked down on my paper by the teacher with a big red ring around it saying there was no such thing. Now in the 21st century we have chaos science and fractal geometry. In fact we use fractals to create VFX in films like Color. Now we know that non-Euclidean geometry is actually a thing.”

In fact, it was science that gave Stanley the visual language necessary to create the color mentioned in the title which Lovecraft described only in analogy.

“We also realize now that the human visual spectrum basically runs between ultraviolet and infrared,” he said. “If something is invading our three dimensional space, it would have to come in between those two. If you take the halfway mark between the two, you end up with magenta which is the default color for the film.”

With his ideas for the visual storytelling in place, the director had to assemble a cast willing to take on the arduous journey that Color Out of Space demanded of them.

Nicolas Cage came aboard the project early in its development. As a lifelong fan of Lovecraft’s storytelling, he was excited to be a part of a film with so much potential and was happy to add his own twist to certain elements within the story.

They toyed with the notion that there is a point where, if a young adult doesn’t separate from their mother and father in some way, then they are sort of destined to become them. This absorption into the family unit takes on a very literal meaning in the film, but Cage had his own way of approaching those themes.

“Nic sort of based parts of this on his own father and there’s also, in a crazy way in the second half of the movie, an element of his character that begins to resemble Trump,” the director said, laughing. “This idea of becoming his own father, becoming this crazed character. Nic highlighted certain things and figured there were areas where we could push it further. It wasn’t quite as much a surprise to me on set as it was to the producers when we went off-book.”

The idea worked extremely well for Cage but other cast members were not so certain when approaching their roles, Stanley recalls. Joely Richardson, especially, was a bit of a hard-sell.

“One of the reasons it’s hard to cast is because there’s no such thing as a happy ending in a Lovecraft film,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a positive arc in the Lovecraft universe. We had a hard time casting Joely’s part as the mother, Theresa, for the particularly cruel arc that she’s subjected to. Joely was brave to come aboard, but we had to have a lot of conversations before she took on this task.”

Then there was the pivotal role of Lavinia, Cage and Richardson’s daughter in the film, played by Madeleine Arthur. The actress did not join the cast until three days before principal photography was set to begin, and the director admits he was reaching the point of desperation before Arthur came aboard.

“I was pretty much ready to go ashore and ask the first teenager I met if they wanted to be in this new Nic Cage movie that was about to start filming,” he said.

Arthur entered the fray with a dedication that impressed the director when she arrived on-set for rehearsal/costume fitting then left immediately afterward to work with a horse trainer to prepare for her riding scenes in the film.

All of this happened directly from the airport before even visiting her hotel room, mind you.

“We were absolutely graced,” the director said of her commitment. “I think Maddie, for me, was almost the best performance in the work.”

Color Out of Space is headed to theaters this Friday, January 24, 2020. Check local theater listings for showtimes and in the meantime, check out the trailer below!

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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