James Wan to direct Aquaman

This might be the one movie so far that Warner Bros. has done right regarding the new DC Universe. The studio has brought on horror director James Wan to direct Aquaman starring Jason Momoa.

Wan is coming straight off an overwhelming success of Furious 7 along with the lingering success he had with the 2014 horror hit, The Conjuring. He is also well known and respected among moviegoers for the Saw franchise as he co-wrote and directed the first film and co-produced all seven as well as the Insidious trilogy. Wan is currently in pre-production for The Conjuring 2, but he is up for the challenge of joining the DC Universe.

Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that Warner Bros. snagged him and not Marvel. I think he fits in better with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I won't count him out. I've been a fan of his since the beginning of his career and I definitely know he can do great things. Whatever he does will be better than the bullshit Zack Snyder pumps out.

So far Aquaman is set to make a cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and it's assumed he will appear in the Justice League films. 

Insidious: Chapter 3 poster debuts; Trailer hits tomorrow

We got our first poster for the third chapter in the Insidious trilogy and also learned that the first teaser for the film will hit the internet tomorrow.

Insidious: Chapter 3 follows a new family as Elise (Lin Shaye) tries to help a teenager rid herself of a paranormal entity. This marks the directorial debut of Insidious co-creator, Leigh Whannell, and also stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott. The film is set for theaters on May 29, 2015.

The Conjuring 2 delayed until 2016

New Line has moved the sequel to James Wan's The Conjuring from October 23, 2015 to 2016 and have replaced the slot with an untitled horror film. Warner Bros. and New Line had announced the sequel for 2015 and said that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were expected to return as Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Conjuring was a surprise smash at the box office as it brought in a total of $320 million and only carried a $20 million budget. Set in 1971, the film followed the acclaimed paranormal investigators as they were called to investigate a home in Rhode Island where a family of seven experienced hauntings and paranormal entities.
Annabelle, the film's spin-off, made somewhat of a dent at the box office with $166 million on just a $6 million budget.

Saw re-release gets a new poster and trailer

Just in case you've never seen Saw, you might want to skip the trailer. The 10-year anniversary trailer not only features the classic moments of the original Saw, but it spoils the ending. Just a heads up.




But anyway... the 10th anniversary re-release of Saw also comes with a new poster which looks pretty cool. You can catch it in theaters once more for a week this October beginning at 10pm on the 30th. It's also worth mentioning that if you catch a screening of Annabelle this weekend, some theaters are giving away free posters for the re-release.

Lionsgate to re-release Saw

This Halloween viewers will have a chance to experience Saw in theaters all over again, or for the first time, as Lionsgate is re-releasing the 2004 horror hit. Saw will be shown at select theaters for midnight screenings on October 30th with a full release on October 31st.

Saw was released on October 29, 2004 and it went on to gross a total of $55.2 million and spawned a franchise with seven films which grossed $874 million worldwide. The top earning Saw film was Saw II in 2005 which brought in $87 million at the box office. The Saw franchise was a key moment in Lionsgate's history as it was the studio's first major franchise and paved the road for their global growth.
James Wan directed the first Saw film and co-wrote it with Leigh Whannell. The film starred Whannell, Cary Elwes, Shawnee Smith, Michael Emerson, and Danny Glover. Although Wan only directed one film, he stayed on as a producer for the following six films as did Whannell.

First image for Insidious 3 confirms it is a prequel

We have the first image of Insidious Chapter 3 and it also comes with confirmation that the third installment will serve as a prequel.

The third film in this low-budget franchise will follow a teenage girl and her family as they dabble in the world of the supernatural and the other realm, The Further. The film stars Dermot Mulroney, Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Stefanie Scott, and director Leigh Whannell. A new release date is set for May 29, 2015 with production currently underway.

Annabelle - First Trailer

Annabelle is not the official sequel to The Conjuring, but we have the first teaser for the horror spin-off set to hit theaters on October 3rd. It looks pretty crazy, too.




The only thing I will say, so far, is it definitely doesn't look like a prequel. It looks very modern. Either way I think this looks pretty promising. I will definitely see it.

Fast & Furious 7 release date changes again

Fast & Furious 7 has had yet another schedule change along with a couple other movies that already had dates set. It will now open a week earlier than planned on April 3, 2015. As a result, Insidious: Chapter 3 will now open later than expected on May 29, 2015 as F&F has taken the April 3rd date.

After an unfortunate delay, the street racing film has wrapped shooting and is now in post-production. The film was indefinitely delayed after the unexpected death of Paul Walker in November. 

Leigh Whannell to direct Insidious: Chapter 3

After director James Wan decided to step away from the horror genre, Focus Features has settled on another director for the third installment of Insidious. They have decided to give Wan's longtime screenwriting and producing partner, Leigh Whannell. This will be his directorial debut.

Whannell is already writing the third installment and has written and acted in the previous two Insidious films as well. Whannell has pretty much been paired with Wan since the two hit the horror scene with Saw back in 2004. This will be a rare occasion where we see Whannell without Wan present.

Production is set to begin on Insidious: Chapter 3 this July with a projected release date of April 3, 2015.

CGI doubles for Paul Walker to be used in Fast and Furious 7

When Paul Walker passed unexpectedly in November, a lot were wondering if CGI was going to be used to fill the void in Fast and Furious 7. There is now a report stating that Universal will indeed utilize CGI and body doubles in place of Paul Walker in certain scenes that had not been filmed at the time of his death. The report states that four actors similar to Walker's height and features have been hired to fill the void.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Ridley Scott and the production of Gladiator did the exact same thing in 1999 when Oliver Reed passed away during the production. Fast and Furious 7 is set to resume filming in April.

Fast & Furious 7 to resume in April

After taking an extended hiatus after the sudden death of Paul Walker, Universal announced their intent to pick production back up on Fast & Furious 7 in April. There is an estimated 6-8 weeks left of filming and the hiatus, so far, has lasted almost three months. Production will pick up in Atlanta which is where it was scheduled to go after Thanksgiving.

They also announced their intent to use the footage of Walker that had been filmed prior to his death in a tasteful way to "retire" his character, not kill him off. Fast & Furious 7 is being directed by horror director James Wan and received a new release date of April 10, 2015. It was originally set for release this July.

The Conjuring 2 gets a release date

Warner Bros. is moving pretty fast with the potential future of The Conjuring franchise. In addition to the Annabelle spin-off, we have a release date for the direct sequel to James Wan's 2013 film.

The Conjuring 2 is currently scheduled for October 23, 2015. With that weekend, it is expected to directly compete with the assumed sixth Paranormal Activity installment. Warner Bros. currently has a slot reserved for an untitled horror film on October 3rd of this year, so some are speculating on if that might be Annabelle. It was announced as a VOD release, but with the success of The Conjuring they might decide to put it in theaters after all.

James Wan has departed from the franchise after the first film, but the sequel is being written by Carey and Chad Hayes. 

EDIT - Universal confirmed the October 2014 slot is not for Annabelle.

The Conjuring spin-off moving forward

We got news a couple months back that after the major success of The Conjuring, New Line Cinema announced their intent to move forward with three spin-offs. The main one mentioned was a spin-off about the Annabelle doll. We now have official confirmation that New Line is moving forward with the Annabelle spin-off and it's assumed it will focus on the origins of the doll's possession before the Warrens obtained the object.

Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton will lead the low-budget film and it will be directed by John Leonetti. Leonetti served as the main cinematographer for The Conjuring. James Wan, who directed The Conjuring, will serve as an executive producer.

Paul Walker to "retire" from Fast & Furious

It seems that Universal has made up their minds on the fate of Paul Walker regarding the Fast and Furious franchise.

Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, will be retired from the series. He had already filmed scenes for the seventh installment and it seems that instead of "killing off" the character, he will be retired in a way that they hope will please the fans. Screenwriter Chris Morgan stated that Walker's character will still be an important part of the film and will not be omitted in any way. Here's to hoping Morgan and director James Wan have come up with something respectful and fitting to the story.

Fast & Furious 7 recently received a new release date of April 10, 2015. 

Fast & Furious 7 pushed to 2015

I figured this was coming.

Vin Diesel announced via Facebook that Fast & Furious 7 has officially joined a very crowded release year as it has been moved to April 10, 2015. This is almost a full year after the original planned release of July 11, 2014.

The move comes after Paul Walker's unexpected and sudden death on November 30th. Universal delayed production indefinitely to give all cast and crew, along with the fans, proper time to grieve the loss. There was some speculation that with fast work they could still make the release date because they were reportedly halfway done with filming, but in the end it seems they figured the best thing to do would be to delay. I think this is for the best because now they have enough time to fix what needed to be fixed and to figure out how to move forward.
Despite the news of the new release date, there is still no explanation on plot details or what will become of Walker's character, Brian O'Conner.

Fast and Furious might start from scratch

In addition to the grief around Paul Walker's unexpected death, there is a problem due to the fact that he was in the middle of filming a movie. Previously it was announced that Fast and Furious 7 had been put on an indefinite hold, but there is now some talk that the film may be scrapped and started from scratch with a new script that excludes Walker's character.

Fast and Furious 7 was already halfway finished filming, but most of the key scenes involving Paul Walker were not completed yet. The big concern by Universal and director James Wan is how to move forward without tarnishing Paul Walker's memory and disrespecting the fans. In addition to the production indefinitely stopping, another option being explored is to restart and basically cut out Walker's character altogether. Personally, I find that the most disrespectful option.
The other option is to do rewrites and try and work around the scenes that were not filmed yet. There is a big possibility of body doubles, like what they did when Brandon Lee died during filming of The Crow, so fans can kind of feel like they are saying goodbye to Walker while seeing him on-screen one more time. One minor detail with this thought is the potential for CGI to be introduced and have Walker's face digitally placed onto a double.

The bottom line is there is no getting around that Walker starred in a franchise about street racing and died in a fiery car crash. It is very sad, don't get me wrong, but it is just a fact. I think the best thing they could do would be to just move forward. It isn't disrespectful to, for lack of a better way, kill off Walker's character. If they still want to make the July 11th release date they are going to have to make some decisions fast.

Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul’s immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew and filmmakers.   At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise.  We are committed to keeping Fast & Furious fans informed, and we will provide further information to them when we have it.  Until then, we know they join us in mourning the passing of our dear friend Paul Walker.
Read more at http://collider.com/fast-furious-7-decisions-paul-walker/#8c7leVfTeSXGbsP8.99

Paul Walker dead at 40

Paul Walker, most known for his role in the Fast and Furious franchise, as reportedly died in a car accident at the age of 40. He leaves a 15-year old daughter behind.
Walker was in Santa Clarita, CA when his Porche GT spun out of control and crashed into a tree. TMZ is reporting the vehicle caught fire and burst into flames. They also included that Walker was in the vehicle with an unidentified passenger and it is unclear on which person was driving at the time. Walker's rep confirmed he had been at a car show and was taking individuals on test drives of the vehicle to raise money and awareness for the recent typhoon that hit the Philippines. Walker was leaving said charity event at the time of the crash.

This is a surprise and rather sad. It's always unfortunate to see someone pass at a young age like 40. In case you never saw a Fast and Furious movie, Walker had also starred in Pleasantville, She's All That, Varsity Blues, and The Skulls. Walker was currently filming Fast and Furious 7 where he was reprising his role as Brian O'Conner, so I would expect some sort of delay on that one due to this. Universal has not yet commented regarding the status of Fast and Furious 7 or the tragedy.

[Update] Universal released the following statement:

"All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family."

It was also released via Walker's official Facebook that he was a passenger in the vehicle and was attending an event for his charity, Reach Out Worldwide, when the vehicle lost control and struck a light post.  Police included that high speed was a factor in the crash.

“All of us at Universal are heartbroken.  Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans.  We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.”
Read more at http://collider.com/paul-walker-dead/#OjCFwXejzeZEA7AG.99

“All of us at Universal are heartbroken.  Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans.  We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.”
Read more at http://collider.com/paul-walker-dead/#OjCFwXejzeZEA7AG.99

“All of us at Universal are heartbroken.  Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans.  We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.”
Read more at http://collider.com/paul-walker-dead/#OjCFwXejzeZEA7AG.99

“All of us at Universal are heartbroken.  Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans.  We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.”
Read more at http://collider.com/paul-walker-dead/#OjCFwXejzeZEA7AG.99

Insidious: Chapter 3 set for 2015

The third chapter in the Insidious story has its release date. Insidious: Chapter 3 is set for release on April 3, 2015. This is yet another addition to a very crowded 2015 release year. With this date it will be in direct competition with Passengers which stars Keanu Reeves and Rachel McAdams.

As of right now we know that Leigh Whannell is set to return to write the script and possibly re-appear as Specs. However, we have no potential plot and it is extremely unlikely that James Wan will return to direct. Wan is currently directing Fast and Furious 7 and announced this summer that he wants to move away from the horror genre. Wan had two horror releases with Insidious: Chapter 2 and the record breaking film, The Conjuring.


I feel like this is both good and bad news. I think Whannell and Wan know better than anyone how far a horror franchise can go. Look at what happened with Saw. I don't want the same to happen with Insidious.

Three spin-offs for The Conjuring planned

In addition to the news of the Annabelle spin-off to James Wan's The Conjuring (read about it here), we now have learned that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. is planning three spin-offs total.

It was announced that the companies are prepping the projects based off The Warren Case Files. The projects will be micro-budgeted and most likely fast-tracked. Rumors are circling that the Annabelle spin-off may enter production as soon as December for a 2014 release.
There is no further info on exactly which cases the other two projects will focus on, but the Warrens certainly have a decent archive with potentials. In my opinion, if these projects are going to be considered "spin-offs" they should be based off cases from within the room at the Warren's house. Maybe a project exploring Bathsheba Sherman a bit more in depth or something like that. Hopefully this isn't going to mean loose, low-budget reboots of The Amityville Horror or Haunting in Connecticut. Amityville has been done to death and Haunting in Connecticut didn't come out that long ago.

Leave it to Hollywood. They never know when to stop while they are ahead.

The Conjuring to get Annabelle spin-off

Director of photography John R. Leonetti is hopping into the director's chair for Annabelle, an upcoming spin-off from James Wan's The Conjuring. Leonetti served as the DP for five Wan films including The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2, Insidious, Death Sentence, and Dead Silence. It will be his third time directing a film as he previously directed The Butterfly Effect 2 and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

Annabelle will be a prequel and is apparently going to begin filming by Spring 2014.

We also got some news about The Conjuring 2 along with the news of Annabelle. The Hayes Brothers are also penning the second movie and the studio has made it clear they will move forward without James Wan. Wan has previously stated his intent to move away from the horror genre and pretty much made it clear that The Conjuring and Insidious: Chapter 2 were going to be his last horror movies. The studio is probably using the threat technique to try and get Wan to return in the end, but I don't think it will work.

[UPDATE] New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. are planning three spin-offs total, including Annabelle. Read about it here.