Sam Mendes will begin filming the 24th James Bond film on Dec. 6, with the main cast members meeting for a table read that date at Pinewood Studios.
Daniel Craig will return as the iconic British spy for his fourth Bond movie. Also reprising their roles will be Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner and Ben Whishaw as Q.
Mendes, who directed the last Bond pic,”Skyfall,” is helming from a script by John Logan that was rewritten by the team of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The three scribes collaborated on “Skyfall.”
MGM, Sony and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced last summer that they had locked in release dates for the film, setting the U.K. launch for Oct. 23, 2015, and U.S. for Nov. 6, 2015.
“Skyfall” is the top grosser in the franchise with $1.1 billion worldwide, the best DVD/Blu-Ray seller and the all-time best performer at the U.K. box office. It also won Oscars for Adele’s original song and sound editing.
Source: Variety
With time ticking down until the launch of 88 Films’ SLASHER CLASSICS COLLECTION – kicking off with GRADUATION DAY on October 13th (a packed BluRay that comes with the feature length documentary SCREAM QUEENS: HORROR HEROINES EXPOSED) the label is pleased to announce the continuation of this crimson-caked line of slice and dice shockers. On 5th January MOTHER’S DAY will arrive on UK shelves, uncut and in HD, followed by the video nasty classic DON’T GO IN THE WOODS on February 9th. But if you thought that these initial three titles were as far as the weapon-wielding terror went… well… think again!
88 Films is proud to announce four worldwide BluRay premieres as part of the SLASHER CLASSICS COLLECTION – each debuting with new HD scans from the original materials approved by the directors themselves!
First up is 1984’s SPLATTER UNIVERSITY. Unavailable in the UK since the glory gory days of VHS tapes, this satirical campus-set sickie is one of the bloodiest and barmiest slasher-shockers ever made. Headlining the feisty Forbes Riley as a teacher trying to work out why her classes are featuring increasingly less students, SPLATTER UNIVERSITY picks up the pace with a succession of superb sanguine-packed massacre-moments. A maniacal murder-mystery that is not afraid to crack out the crimson, SPLATTER UNIVERSITY turns up the suspense en route to an outrageous conclusion. From the maniacal mind of director Richard Haines (CLASS OF NUKE ‘EM HIGH), this exercise in horror insanity graduates with full honours. Take it from us: this is one lacerating lesson that you will never forget!
Also forthcoming from 88 Films is another much-missed rental shop splatter-satire – 1987’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE. Indeed, if you ate-up THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE then you are sure to pig-out with the flesh-filleting fun of this immortal fright-favourite. SLAUGHTERHOUSE introduces one of the screen’s most memorable madmen in Buddy – a cleaver-wielding backwoods baddie who, along with his father Lester, doesn’t take too kindly to anyone infringing on his weirdo way of life. Buddy was brought up killing and packing meat, and even lived among his family’s livestock, but now his rage turns to trespassing teens and market-capitalists seeking to buy-out his dad’s property! The end result is a tongue-in-cheek terror totem that is finally back on the shelves and ready to menace an all new-generation of gore-junkies!
Next-up is a creeper that proved to be a cut above its contemporaries - namely 1983’s corpse-ridden romp SCALPS. Directed by B-movie master Fred Olen Ray, SCALPS mixes arterial-opening action with the supernatural when a group of college kids begin digging around an old Native American burial ground. Unfortunately for our intrepid explorers, a spirit by the name of Black Claw was enjoying his sleep and he is none too happy about receiving a premature wake-up call. A slaughter-thon that does not skimp on the genre-essential plasma-spillage, the long-awaited re-emergence of SCALPS on home video is sure to have tribes of horror fans hollering in happiness!
And the good news just keeps coming as one of the most controversial classics in BBFC history comes to BluRay in Fred Olen Ray’s HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS. Heavily censored upon its original UK release – presumably after the British censors failed to appreciate the movie’s mix of macabre gore and limb-lopping laughs – HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS is finally unleashed in all of its uncensored glory! This colourful bout of carnage brings together two of cinema’s most beloved scream queens in Michelle Bauer (NIGHTMARE SISTERS) and Linnea Quigley (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD). Quigley plays a stripper that is being tracked by a sleazy private investigator (played by B-movie veteran Jay Richardson) who suspects she might know something about a slate of citywide murders. Meanwhile Bauer essays the prostitute-servant of a sinister cult-leader. Her shady sect worships the chainsaw and likes nothing better than to sacrifice a few new victims during a bit of power-tool fuelled bump and grind (with the emphasis on the grind!). Packed with babes, boobs and blood, and also highlighting a standout performance from Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen, HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS belongs in the collection of any self-respecting splatter movie buff.
States Richard Elliot: “We could not be happy with the four new additions to our ‘Slasher Classics Collection’. I hope that this quartet of horror gems, which are all receiving their worldwide BluRay premieres as part of this line, will reassure fans of our absolute dedication to genre cinema – in particular those movies that we all grew up loving on VHS. I am also thrilled that each title will have a new scan overseen and approved by the respective directors.”
Adds James Blower: “It has been a long process in trying to sort out the titles for wave two of our ‘Slasher Classics Collection’. The bar was set high by the first line of films and we really did not want to disappoint. However, we are thrilled that four great movies are now ‘out of the vaults’ and coming back to UK shelves in great-looking editions. It is madness to think that SPLATTER UNIVERSITY, SLAUGHTERHOUSE and SCALPS have not even had a DVD release in Britain yet! And as for HOLLYWODO CHAINSAW HOOKERS… well, who doesn’t want to see Linnea and Michelle in HD?”
As with the first wave of 88 Films’ “SLASHER CLASSICS COLLECTION”, wave two will come with collector’s booklets from film critic Calum Waddell, numbered spines, reversible cover art and special features to be confirmed.
On 26th November Transformers: Age of Extinction will be out on Blu-ray.
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsy Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor
Also out will be a complete box containing the four movies and 3 hours of bonus material.
Bay On Action—In-depth interview with Michael Bay about his vision and approach to the film’s mind-blowing action sequences.
Evolution Within Extinction:
Generation 2—A look at where the fourth film picks up as we meet new faces—both man and machine—and a Transformers world after the Battle of Chicago.
Drive Like Hell—Two entirely re-envisioned models of OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE appear in the film, along with an intimidating new nemesis, LOCKDOWN, as a Lamborghini Aventador plus other incredibly cool cars including a sophisticated Bugatti Veyron and a sleek Pagani Huayra. Check them out and see how actor Jack Reynor learned how to drive his Sonic rally car for the intense chase sequences.
Small Town, Big Movie— When Transformers rolls into some small Texas towns, the normally quiet and picturesque countryside is suddenly alight with explosive action. Explore the different locations with members of the show’s art department and hear from robotics students whose designs appear as part of Cade’s lab.
Shadow Protocol Activated— Follow the production to Detroit with unprecedented access to GM’s Lansing plant and Milford Proving Grounds test track; watch an impressive indoor car chase created in an auto parts factory; return to Chicago where location managers discovered a historical movie theater that served as the backdrop for Cade’s fateful first encounter with OPTIMUS PRIME; and finally travel to Washington state and the unlikely site of a never-used nuclear power plant.
The Last Stand—A vacant lot in downtown Detroit is turned into a square block of Hong Kong. Watch as it literally takes shape from the ground up—then marvel as the crew blows it up piece by piece.
The People’s Republic— China plays an extremely prominent role in the film both on-screen and behind-the-scenes; in fact, four Chinese actors were chosen from thousands of applicants on a reality TV show to appear in the movie. In addition, the production traveled to Hong Kong, the beautiful valley of Wulong Karst National Park in Chongqing and the Great Wall in Beijing to capture breathtaking footage.
Rise of the DINOBOTS—Several new TRANSFORMERS characters make their live-action debut in this film. Get a brief history of the new recruits and then go inside Industrial Light & Magic to see how they were designed and conceptualized for the film.
The Finishing Touch— Watch Michael Bay work like you’ve never seen him before. The director connects virtually with his Santa Monica headquarters, visits the editing bay and then checks in on the visual effects house in San Francisco—all from the comfort of his Miami home office. Also, get an in-depth look at the music contributions of Imagine Dragons as they collaborate with the film’s composer Steve Jablonsky. Finally, get exclusive red carpet access to the film’s world premiere in Hong Kong.
Just Another Giant Effin’ Movie—Discover the fun, frenetic and amazing way a movie like Transformers: Age of Extinction gets made.
A Spark of Design— Enjoy an exclusive look inside Hasbro’s creation of TRANSFORMERS: Age of Extinction Stomp and Chomp Grimlock action figure from concept and development to sculpting and painting, and then ultimately to the assembly line.
J. Miller: Farm Hippie — Actor/comedian T.J. Miller never imagined he’d be part of a massively successful franchise like Transformers so he sets off to personally thank the people who made it possible. Come along as he visits Bay Films, gets some pointers from Kelsey Grammer, and even stops by
Mark Wahlberg’s house in this funny piece.
DUTCH VERSION
Actie avontuur, Sciencefiction
Regie: Michael Bay
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsy Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor
Transformers: Age of Extinction is de vierde film in de Transformers-reeks van regisseur Michael Bay.
In de spectaculaire 3D actiefilm Transformers: Age of Extinction zijn de Autobots en Decepticons vrijwel allemaal van de aarde verdwenen, nadat ze vervolgd werden door de overheid. Een automonteur (Mark Wahlberg) en zijn dochter (Nichola Peltz) doen echter een bijzondere ontdekking. Ze krijgen nu niet alleen te maken met Autobots en Decepticons, maar ook met de overheid die hen op het spoor komt.
Ook de box met daarin de vier Transformers komt uit in box (details zie boven).
Tevens beschikbaar een spectaculaire Transformers-box met daarin de 4 films.
MGM and Paramount have found Ben-Hur. The studios are setting Jack Huston, and you just knew he was going to get a big, star-making film role after his portrayal of the masked, war-scarred assassin Richard Harrow on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. It would be hard to imagine a bigger-scale picture than Ben-Hur, with Timur Bekmambetov directing the epic remake in Europe next year. Huston joins Morgan Freeman, whom Deadline broke will play the role of Ildarin, the man who teaches the slave Ben-Hur to become a champion-caliber chariot racer.
MGM and Paramount still have to find their Messala, Ben-Hur’s former close friend-turned-bitter rival. Actors have been circling both parts, and it looked for a while there like Huston might have played the latter. He read for that role, but Bekmambetov decided instead he had the sympathetic manner and grit to play the title role, the one that brought a Best Actor Academy Award to Charlton Heston for the 1959 William Wyler-directed pic that won 11 Oscars in total. They’ve set a February 26, 2016, release date on the epic film, which has a script by Keith Clarke that John Ridley rewrote. This one hews closely to the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ – the biggest-selling novel of its time until it was eclipsed by Gone With The Wind. Mark Burnett, Sean Daniel and Joni Levin are producers, with Clarke and Jason Brown exec producing with Roma Downey.
Messala will be the next major role to be filled.
Source: Deadline
Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the UK Blu-ray and DVD release of Mark of the Devil, once proclaimed as “positively the most horrifying film ever made”, Mark of the Devil finally arrives uncut in the UK on 29th September 2014 with both English and German audio tracks.
With Mark of the Devil, writer-director Michael Armstrong created a bloody and brutal critique of state-funded brutality and religious corruption with a doomed romance at its centre. The use of real torture implements, which Armstrong had found in the Mauterndorf Museum, added to the realism of the picture and made it all the more shocking and the violence unpalatable. In America Mark of the Devil was distributed with the marketing gimmick of a free sick bag provided for every patron.
In the UK the BBFC were obliged to sit through the entire uncut film and deemed it “vicious and disgusting.” They recommended that a certificate be refused entirely and provided a list of required cuts to make the film acceptable for an X certificate.
Altogether the required cuts amounted to 2,100 feet of film; approximately twenty-four minutes running time. However, despite being awarded an X certificate, Mark of the Devil never received a theatrical release in the UK. In 1993 Redemption Films resubmitted the uncut film with cuts still demanded which amounted to more than four minutes. Described by the BBFC as a film whose “primary urge is with the dynamics of inquisitorial torture”
Another ten years later a DVD was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment which was also cut, although by only 38 seconds. Three cuts were made to the scene in which the blonde woman is tortured on the rack. The cuts removed her naked breasts as it was an unacceptable combination of sexually titillating and violent images under the BBFC guidelines at that time.
This means that finally, after more than forty years, the full-blooded, full-frontal version of Mark of the Devil can be released onto an unsuspecting UK public making its UK Blu-ray debut on 29th September 2014 in a newly restored transfer with a host of extra features including an audio commentary by Michael Armstrong, moderated by Calum Waddell, an exclusive feature-length documentary, Mark of the Times, which looks at the emergence of the ‘new wave’ of British horror directors that surfaced during the sixties and seventies. The documentary will feature contributions from Michael Armstrong, Norman J. Warren (Terror), David McGillivray (Frightmare), Professor Peter Hutchings (author of Hammer and Beyond) and famed film critic Kim Newman.
Other special features included on the disc include, Hallmark of the Devil, which sees author and critic Michael Gingold looks back at Hallmark Releasing, the controversial and confrontational distributor that introduced Mark of the Devil to American cinemas and Mark of the Devil: Now and Then which looks at the film’s locations and how they appear today.
The disc will also feature interviews with composer Michael Holm and actors Udo Kier, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schöner and Herbert Lom. Alongside this, the Blu-ray will also feature outtakes, the original theatrical trailer, a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys and a sizable collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Anthony Nield, plus an interview with Reggie Nalder by David Del Valle, all illustrated with original stills and artwork.
Synopsis
A bloody and brutal critique of religious corruption, Mark of the Devil sees horror icon Udo Kier (Flesh for Frankenstein, Suspiria) play a witchfinder’s apprentice whose faith in his master (Herbert Lom) becomes severely tested when they settle in an Austrian village. Presided over by the sadistic albino (a memorably nasty turn from Reggie Nalder), the film presents its morality not so much in shades of grey as shades of black.
Written and directed by Michael Armstrong, who would later pen Eskimo Nell, The Black Panther and House of the Long Shadows, this classic shocker has lost none of its power over the years – especially now that British audiences can finally see it in one piece.
Special Features
· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements – available uncut in the UK for the first time!
· Optional English and German audio
· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
· Newly translated English subtitles for the German audio
· Audio commentary by Michael Armstrong, moderated by Calum Waddell
· Mark of the Times – exclusive feature-length documentary from High Rising Productions on the emergence of the ‘new wave’ of British horror directors that surfaced during the sixties and seventies, featuring contributions from Michael Armstrong, Norman J. Warren (Terror), David McGillivray (Frightmare), Professor Peter Hutchings (author of Hammer and Beyond) and famed film critic Kim Newman
· Hallmark of the Devil – author and critic Michael Gingold looks back at Hallmark Releasing, the controversial and confrontational distributor that introduced Mark of the Devil to American cinemas
· Interviews with composer Michael Holm and actors Udo Kier, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schöner and Herbert Lom
· Mark of the Devil: Now and Then – a look at the film’s locations and how they appear today
· Outtakes
· Gallery
· Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
· Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Anthony Nield, plus an interview with Reggie Nalder by David Del Valle, all illustrated with original stills and artwork
