Horror Films Coming to Tribeca 2013

In it's 12th year the Tribeca Film Festival in New York is doing good things for horror.  Along with several world premieres, the festival will also be highlighting a few highly anticipated films that have already debuted in other countries.  Horror enthusiasts attending the festival have a lot to look forward too. Me? I'm not going to New York, so I don't have much to look forward too.  

Journey past the break to get a breakdown of the horror films that'll be playing at this years Tribeca, which starts April 17th and lasts till the 28th

Knights of Badassdom Getting the Shaft?

When Knights of Badassdom made a huge splash at Comic-Con 2011, most thought a studio would quickly pick the film up and run with the major publicity it was receiving at the time.  However, two years later and not a peep has been heard about the film. 

Had Director Joe Lynch been working on Badassdom this whole time?  Was IndieVest (the investment group that funded the film) just sitting on their hot new property?  Nobody outside the project really knew what was going on.  So imagine the surprise that came when it was discovered that IndieVest was holding a secret screening on Tuesday March 5th to try and sell the movie off to a potential buyer.

Now imagine the surprise and disappointment that came when this site appeared with accusations that IndieVest CEO Wade Bradley had stolen the film away from Director Joe Lynch and made drastic changes to Joe's cut, essentially altering the story and feel of the original movie and cutting it down to 70 minutes from it's initial 90 minutes. 

Badassdom goes on to make some heavy claims about the way CEO Wade Bradley conducted business with Joe Lynch and the films original creators.  Supposedly Wade Bradley was able to accuse Producer Mark Burton and writer Matt Wall of going over-budget and remove them from their positions, even though Bradley had approved the new budget.  

What's more troubling is that the Knights of Badassdom is being used as a way to help support Wade Bradley's new venture, according to Badassdom.  Once he's able to sell off the film to a buyer, he's supposedly going to close down IndieVest and move on to Media Society.

In 2012 Wade Bradley delivered a rebuttal to an anonymous accuser on the website Ripoff Report in which he had this to say about the state of Knights of Badassdom:

"Regarding IndieVest Picture's feature film Knights of Badassdom, this compelling feature film project did incur schedule delays, as it was deemed necessary to make significant changes to the post-production, producer and personnel to fully achieve the original vision of the movie.  These changes were discussed throughout quarterly reports and other updates.  Our investors agreed wholeheartedly that every change that occurred was in the best interest of the film, even though it did indeed consume additional time.  nobody ever enjoys delays, though they are a factor at one point or another in everyone's personal or professional life, and certainly the entertainment industry is not immune to the occurrence   The film is now readying for it's final mix and is on schedule to be released (by IndieVest Pictures) in the first half of 2013."

If this was indeed Wade Bradley than it seems to match up with some of the claims being made by Badassdom.  Of course, Bradley has a different take on how things ultimately turned out.

At this point, it doesn't seem like much can be done to stop these proceedings.  Ideally someone will buy Knights of Badassdom and allow Joe Lynch to put out the film he intended to make.  However, it would be a tragic end to this story if the film was purchased and quickly rushed out to DVD in it's heavily edited state.  

I reached out to both IndieVest and Joe Lynch, but have yet to hear back from either party at this point.  I imagine that both have good reasons to remain quiet at this point. 

Walking Dead on SNL

Let's just be honest.  Saturday Night Live just isn't what it used to be. I probably didn't even have to say that, it's just a given that if you're watching a SNL clip it'll probably range from mildly amusing to bad. 

With that being said, here's a clip from last night's SNL in which Bill Hader as Daryl and several other SNL cast members come across a zombie bitten Kevin Hart.  There's some groan inducing racial humor, but if you're jonesing for a little Walking Dead while you wait for tonight's episode...you should probably look elsewhere. 

The Great Horror Campout

I grew up loving the camping experience.  My dad was an "outdoors man" so I naturally gravitated towards wanting to be a part of the things he enjoyed, as most young boys are want to do when it comes to their fathers.  I joined the Boy Scouts, went on countless camping trips, and generally enjoyed my time in the wilderness.

Then I saw the Blair Witch Project and that fucked everything up for me.  While Jaws scared people away from the water, Blair Witch took me out of the woods.  Since then I have overcome my hesitation to return to the forest, but there was a good chunk of my life where I couldn't be bribed to go camping again.

I guess it's a good thing I got over all that, because now I can be attacked by real terrors in the Los Angeles State Historic Park this summer.  Time to relive some childhood trauma! 

Calabrese's "Ghostwolves"

The newest music video from Calabrese tackles the difficult subject of Ghostwolves.  Neither wolves or ghosts, Ghostwolves struggle to find their place in a world that is increasingly dependent upon labels.  Because of this, many Ghostwolves leave the safety of their ghost dens and become vagrants, selling their precious ectoplasm just to get by. 

Okay, none of that is true.  However, there is in fact a new music video from Calabrese and in typical Calabrese fashion, it's pretty awesome.  Check it out and enjoy. 

New Haunted Mansion Merch

I've often wondered just how much of a moneymaker the Haunted Mansion is for Disneyland.  Obviously Pirates of the Caribbean is probably the most profitable Disney ride thanks to the movies and merchandise, but the Mansion has to be in a close second. 

With all the iconic imagery surrounding the Mansion and it's ties to "The Nightmare Before Christmas," it has to be a pretty successful moneymaking machine.  It certainly helps that they make some wonderfully detailed merchandise perfectly suited for reflecting the Gothic nature of the ride. It's hard to look at some of these items and not instantly crave them.  I mean, coasters?  I don't need that! But I want it so bad, I'd cut you for some. 

Journey past the break to see some of the new Haunted Mansion merchandise coming out this year and when it's coming. 

Walking Dead Season 4 Hints

We may be struggling to survive till the end of season three, but the Walking Dead crew already has their collective eye set on season four which starts production on May 6th. What's in store for our favorite zombie killing crew?  Producer and VFX maestro Greg Nicotero talked with Entertainment Weekly about the future of the Walking Dead:

“I think there may be a wee bit less of the run and gun. And [we'll] get a little more into some of our characters. The challenge with a show like this, when you have a big ensemble, is you don’t want any of the characters to get lost; it’s important that we know what Carol’s story is and that we know what Beth’s story is. And when you’re trying to service a lot of characters, it becomes challenging. Watching the first season of Walking Dead and seeing how grounded it was, that’s really important to all of us. Andy Lincoln and I spent a lot of time going through the scripts and making sure we feel that they’re grounded. Because that’s what keeps our audience coming back. The walkers and the gore and the action and stuff, that’s fun, that’s the popcorn part of it. But if you don’t have characters that people are invested in, you lose your audience.”

So it sounds like things are going to get a bit more intimate before they get explosive again.  Which is fine, this show thrives on it's characters and while everyone loves zombie gore, I think most of care more about whether or not Andrea will kill the Governor or if Daryl will finally hook up with Carol.  As in any good story, zombies serve as the canvas for which a greater image of the human condition is painted upon. 

Oh and if you're curious as to how season three will end, Laurie Holden has a little teaser for you:

“I would say [the Season Three finale] is the opposite of last year. In every way,”

Ominous!

Lucky Bastard Coming to L.A.

Want to jump on the chance to see a found footage horror film based around the porn industry?  If you live in California you'll have that opportunity on April 5th when Lucky Bastard has a special screening in Los Angeles at the Vintage Cinemas' Los Feliz 3 Cinemas which is located at 1822 N. Vermont Avenue.

Just what is Lucky Bastard and is it in fact porn?  Lucky Bastard  is the product of a collaboration between Robert Nathan (writer on the Law and Order series) and Lukas Kendall (Founder and Publisher of Film Score Monthly).  The film stars David McManus (The Shawshank Redemption) as Mike, a porno producer who comes up with the idea of giving one lucky fan the chance to have sex with Ashley Saint who is played by Betsy Rue (Halloween).  Jay Paulson (Castle) plays Dave, who wins the contest and gets the chance to have sex with Ashley on camera for the world to see.  However, things go horribly wrong and Dave turns out to be a bit of a psycho.  

The film is rated NC-17, but don't think you're going in to see a softcore porno.  The porn just serves as a basis for the story, while the drama between Dave and the porn crew takes center stage.  Beyond that, I can't tell you much else about the film.  There are a couple of reviews out there, but I'm avoiding them for now as I plan on seeing this one when it comes to Los Angeles.  However, you can watch the trailer which is located below the break.

You can also visit the film's official site here and follow them on Facebook. 

Make a Zombie You Can Drink

It's almost that time of the year where it's socially acceptable for me to be drinking on my porch early in the morning cause it's so damn hot.  However, I like to make my rampant alcoholism look classy, maybe have some fun with it.  So this is the perfect opportunity to teach you all how to make a "Zombie." 

This drink recipe requires that you shake it, so if you don't have one of these you can make do with two cups.  Just don't blame me for the mess.  

First pour in one ounce of Jamaica Rum then one tablespoon of finely granulated sugar.  Cover that in two and a half ounces of White Rum.  Next pour in one ounce of Apricot Brandy and one ounce of Orange Juice.  Follow that up with one ounce of Vodka, then drop in a singular red cherry and a slice of lime.  Be sure to squeeze the lime in the drink first.  Finally put in an ounce of Unsweetened Pineapple Juice and an ounce of Passion Fruit Juice.

Shake that concoction with a bit of ice and then pour it into a glass.  Next, pour a bit of De Merara Rum on top of that.  You only need to pour enough to cover the top layer of the glass.  Finally throw in a mint sprig and enjoy.

Oh and be at least 21 years old or whatever your local drinking law requires you to be. 

Last Exorcism 2 Prank Promotion

Remember the great fun we had when The Last Exorcism invaded Chatroulette for a bit of hilarious viral marketing?  Weren't those good times?  Those were days when being the last of a thing truly meant something.  There wasn't a Last of the Mohicans Part 2 or a sequel to The Last Starfighter. 

Yet, here we are.  Trampling all over the meaning of the word "last" so that we can have a sequel to a film that did moderately well.  At the very least, the good people behind the promotion of The Last Exorcism Part 2 went out of their way to do another viral prank, this time taking place in a beauty shop. It's clever, but not as fun as the first.  Which could coincidentally be what I say about the upcoming sequel.