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MegaCon Orlando Brings Horror and Geekdom Together!

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I have attended many, many conventions all over the East Coast, and as a new resident to sunny Florida I just had to check out the notorious MegaCon Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center.  To say the least, I was not disappointed from what this convention had to offer.

Enthusiasm and passion kept everyone in good spirits, even as they stood in the long lines to see celebrity guests such as James Marsters, Eliza Dushku, and Nicholas Brendon who were celebrating their 20 years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame that launched them all into the Whedonverse hall of fame.  Equally long lines snaked their way to the autograph tables to see Rocky Horror Picture Show veterans Patricia Quinn, Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell, and Meatloaf and of course the infamous Tim Curry in his private photo op!

Cosplayers made up almost half of the attendees, and many of them were nearly screen accurate!  While many of the cosplayers were super hero related you can’t keep the horror fans down!  Fans of the macabre came out to support their favorite genre characters as well.  Jasons, and Michaels, and Freddys, oh my!  There were also many cosplayers paying tribute to their favorite Walking Dead characters, with an overwhelming proportion of them as the infamous baseball bat wielding Negan.

horror cosplayers at MegaCon Orlando

However, one cosplayer in particular made my blood run cold; Samara from The Ring.  This cosplayer fully committed to her character.  Not only did she look the part with her entire body fully airbrushed in a shade of corpse white, but she also conducted terrifying poses.  This girl contortioned her entire body into the ungodly positions as Samara did crawling out of the television screen!  It still gives me chills just thinking about it!

Samara cosplayer MegaCon Orlando

Professional cosplayers Cecil Grimes and Richard Dixon took the act of cosplaying to a new level.  In an experience affectionately called ‘set play’ cosplay actors Grimes and Dixon invited you into their zombie infested world inside a ‘Mega Con Safe Zone’ fort surrounded by barbed wire and completed with a lookout tower where you can take preparations to fend off the walkers.  Once inside you choose your weapon to join Rick and Daryl as you fight off the zombies who broke through their safe zone in your photo!

Cosplayers Cecil Grimes and Richard Dixon at MegaCon Orlando

This year for the first time Sinners and Saints, a horror film festival which began as a staple in Tampa in 2002, partnered up with MegaCon Orlando to show this year’s movies.  Panels hosted by the independent filmmakers were showcased alongside their films.   Fear Film Studio Fest also screened independent horror films as well as shorts over the course of the weekend and gave fans the opportunity to meet with the people behind the movies.

While horror merchandise was in short supply in the vendor room, it is a mostly a comic convention after all, the dedicated could find some fantastic discoveries!  Local 13x Studios owner Rick Styczynski had his booth in its full glory, showcasing masks from the comic book world as well as the horror genre!  Drop Dead Bizarre showcased a beautiful cabinet filled with hand painted machetes featuring who else but Jason Voorhees.  I

13x Studios booth at MegaCon Orlando

f you were looking for something a little more cute and cuddly, Horror Show Jack’s booth had some adorably twisted stuffed bears in the likenesses of Sam from Trick ‘R Treat and Chucky from Child’s Play.

Bears from Horror Show Jack’s booth at MegaCon Orlando

As a first time attendee of MegaCon Orlando I was not disappointed, and I will surely be returning next year!  In the meantime the convention is gearing up for their next convention; MegaCon Tampa September 29 – October 1!  It has already been announced Kevin Smith of Tusk and Red State will be in attendance.  Check out MegaCon Tampa’s website here as their guest list grows for their September show!

Be sure to follow iHorror for upcoming news on horror guests at their next show, and keep up with our Twitter here and Instagram here to see our pictures as we attend the shows in real time!

Read more about MegaCon Orlando horror vendor Rick Styczynski in iHorror’s interview with him here!

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

Blair witch
The Blair Witch Project Cast

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

The blair witch project

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello

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