Connect with us

News

Star Wars and Horror

Published

on

Star Wars and Horror

In celebration of May the 4th, let’s look at some of the connections between Star Wars and Horror.

Casting Carrie and Star Wars

Brian De Palma and George Lucas held auditions for Carrie and Star Wars at the same time. A lot of the young actors’ auditioned for both films. According to Carrie Fisher, De Palma interviewed the actors instead of Lucas. It has been long rumored that De Palma wanted Carrie for Carrie. But she would not do the nudity, Carrie Fisher denied this rumor. William Katt (Tommy Ross) almost got the part of Luke Skywalker. But the role went to Mark Hamill instead.

Frankenstein and the Monster

Star Wars, not the first time Peter Cushing and David Prowse worked together. They had both been in Hammer Studio’s Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)  Cushing portrayed Frankenstein and David Prowse was the monster.

Exorcist II and Star Wars

1977 was the same year James Earl Jones did his first voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and portrayed Older Kokumo in Exorcist II. Now imagine James Earl Jones in the recording studio doing his voiceover in Star Wars in the Kokumo costume. Scary!

“When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no, I’m just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I’ll let them put my name on it.” James Earl Jones

Star Wars got Alien made

Riding high off the success of Star Wars 20th Century Fox needed a Sc-Fi follow up and the next script on the table was Alien. Ridley Scott himself revealed how Star Wars forced him to make Alien.

“I never saw or felt audience participation like that, in my life. The theater was shaking. When that Death Star came in at the beginning, I thought, I can’t possibly do Tristan and Isolde, I have to find something else. By the time the movie was finished, it was so stunning that it made me miserable. That’s the highest compliment I can give it; I was miserable for week. I hadn’t met George at that point, but I thought, Fu*k George. Then, somebody sent me this script called Alien. I said, wow. I’ll do it.”  – Ridley Scott – Deadline 

Count Dooku, Count Dracula

Christoper Lee turned down the role of Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, that went to his good friend Peter Cushing. The both of them starred in Hammer Horror films together as  Count Dracula and Van Heising. It is clear George Lucas was a fan of their work.

Star Wars and Horror.

Phantasm, Captain Phasma

When J.J  Abrams first saw Captian Phasma’s design, he felt it reminded him of the 1979 horror film Phantasm. Going so far to name the character in reference to the movie. Abrams being a fan actually helped with the 4k restoration of Phantasm.

Closing thoughts

It was a blast to look at some of the connections between Star Wars and Horror and if you think we missed something. You would be wrong we got lots more for another time. May the 4th be with you!

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

on

Scooby Doo Live Action Netflix

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Scooby-Doo

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading

News

BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

on

The Deadly Getaway

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway
The Deadly Getaway

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading

News

‘Talk To Me’ Directors Danny & Michael Philippou Reteam With A24 for ‘Bring Her Back’

Published

on

A24 didn’t waste any time snatching up the Philippou brothers (Michael and Danny) for their next feature titled Bring Her Back. The duo have been on a short list of young directors to watch for since the success of their horror film Talk to Me

The South Australian twins surprised many people with their debut feature. They were mostly known for being YouTube pranksters and extreme stuntmen. 

It was announced today that Bring Her Back will star Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Willy Wonka) and begin filming this summer. No word yet on what this film is about. 

Talk To Me Official Trailer

Although its title sounds like it could be connected to the Talk to Me universe this project doesn’t appear to be related to that film.

However, in 2023 the brothers revealed a Talk to Me prequel was already made which they say is a screen life concept. 

“We actually shot an entire Duckett prequel already. It’s told entirely through the perspective of mobile phones and social media, so maybe down the line we can release that,” Danny Philippou told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “But also while writing the first film, you can’t help but write scenes for a second film. So there’s so many scenes. The mythology was so thick, and if A24 gave us the opportunity, we wouldn’t be able to resist. I feel like we’d jump at it.”

In addition, the Philippous are working on a proper sequel to Talk To Me something they say they have already written sequences for. They are also attached to a Street Fighter film.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading