News Shotgun 8/17/24
Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week; it’s the News Shotgun.
Spookies sequel in development: Cult 80s horror movie Spookies has a sequel in development as the original screenwriter, Frank Farel, is currently working on a script for a sequel. The original movie was shot initially as Twisted Souls, but producers took the film from the original directors and had a new director shoot new scenes and edited the whole thing into an entirely different movie that became Spookies. The movie follows a group that becomes trapped at an old mansion where all manner of demonic creatures attack under the command of a warlock.
RIP Corey Yuen and Rachael Lillis: Sad news this week, as it was officially announced by the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers revealed that action director and choreographer Corey Yuen had died in 2022. The news was kept private at the request of his family. Yuen trained with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung and became a member of The Lucky Seven, acting alongside them and contemporaries like Michelle Yeoh in Hong Kong martial arts and action movies. He became a fight choreographer, and in Hollywood, he worked on films like The Expendables, X-Men, Kiss of the Dragon, and The Transporter. Rachael Lillis was a staple of anime English dubs, most famous for voicing Jessie and Misty on Pokemon. She also worked on Hunter x Hunter, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and more. Lillis died from breast cancer at age 46.
John Slattery stars in The Rainmaker series: John Slattery stars as John Grisham’s famous lawyer, Leo F. Drummond, in USA’s new series based on The Rainmaker. Jon Voight portrayed the character in the 90s movie adaptation from Francis Ford Coppola. The series received a complete order on USA Network.
Ghostbusters animated series coming to Netflix: A new animated series in the world of Ghostbusters is coming to Netflix. The new series will be a 3D animated series similar in tone to the two most recent movies. Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan are on board as executive producers. Elliott Kalan, the head writer for The Daily Show with John Stewart, is also on board as a writer and executive producer.
Midnight casts trio of lead actresses: Upcoming action thriller Midnight has cast its trio of stars with Rosario Dawson, Alexandra Shipp, and Milla Jovovich. The movie follows Shipp, who plays a blind woman who is hunted by a gang of international criminals led by Jovovich. The criminals believe she received a package from her federal agent sister, played by Dawson. The movie will be Joshua Otis Miller’s directorial debut.
James Wan is developing a Creature from the Black Lagoon movie: James Wan is bringing a Universal Monster to the present day, and he’s signed on to direct and produce a new take on Creature from the Black Lagoon. It will be the first movie Wan has directed since he merged his Atomic Monster label with Blumhouse. The new movie will be a modern, visceral horror movie paying homage to the original 1954 film.
Nicolas Cage playing John Madden in biopic: Nicolas Cage signed on to play John Madden in a biopic about the famous football coach, video game icon, and commentator from director David O. Russell. Madden will focus mainly on John Madden’s time as the coach of the Oakland Raiders in the 70’s, where he led the team to a Super Bowl victory and several championship game appearances. Amazon MGM is backing the project, and Russell is writing, directing, and producing the film.
Masters of the Universe cast Teela: A live-action Masters of the Universe movie is one step closer as Riverdale’s Camila Mendes was cast this week as Teela. Nicholas Galitzine, most recently seen in The Idea of You and Red, White & Royal Blue, was previously cast as Prince Adam/He-Man. Travis Knight directs this new attempt to bring the toy line to live-action for Amazon, MGM, and Mattel. Sony and Netflix were previously trying to get a live-action Masters of the Universe movie going, but both attempts fizzled out.
The Gentlemen and Dark Matter renewed for second seasons: Two recent streaming hits are getting second seasons as Netflix has renewed The Gentlemen and Apple TV+ has renewed Dark Matter. The Gentlemen is a spin-off of the Guy Ritchie movie, with Ritchie back directing and executive producing the series. Theo James stars as Eddie Horniman, who inherits his father’s estate and title as the Duke of Halstead and discovers the estate is part of an illegal weed farming operation. Kaya Scodelario, Ray Winestone, and Daniel Ings co-starred in the first season. Dark Matter is based on the Blake Crouch novel, with Crouch showrunning and writing the series. Joel Edgerton starred as a college professor kidnapped by a double from a parallel universe who wants to steal his life and family. He has to transverse the multiverse using a device called The Cube to try to get home. The show told the entire story from the novel, so season 2 will be uncharted and completely original territory. Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi, and Oakes Fegley co-starred in the first season.
