Icons news from June

12/29/05: Icons Of Fright presents the first ICONS OF HORROR ROCK 2005 AWARDS!!! Our buddy Adam has taken it upon himself to launch a sub-section of Icons Of Fright dedicated strickly to Horror Rock. He's been doing a great job so far with the 'My Space' profile. (Check it out at www.myspace.com/iconsofhorrorrock) And last month, he submitted a great interview with Horror High Record's own Jon Nelson. He follows up with an awards poll which will be decided by YOU!!! Go check it out now and VOTE!!! More in a few! -robg.

12/7/05: WOW! We were named SCIFI.COM's website of the week!!! Check out the write-up right HERE! Special thanks for the mention. For anyone who came over from the sci-fi site, welcome aboard!

In other news, Icons Of Fright own staffer Jsyn and his WICKED FX team, consisting of Marissa Masella & G. Ed Melamed are on board for Dante Tomaselli's THE OCEAN. The team assures us that ALL of the films effects will be done practically and in "old-school" fashion. When asked, Dante had this to say, "I was blown away by Jay's passionate presentation. I know he'll be absolutely perfect for the job, and it'll be a very intense job! THE OCEAN will contain no CGI whatsoever. I'm 100% against computer generated effects in horror movies. They are ruining our beloved genre. I like to work with a special make up fx craftsman - not just someone with a mouse and keyboard." Congrats to WICKED FX & Dante! His latest 'SATAN'S PLAYGROUND' will be put out Summer 2006 by the fine folks at Anchor Bay!!!

Folks, check out the official PULSE website. More soon! -rg.

12/6/05: Ah, 'tis the season!!! And we've got an amazing new edition of Icons Of Fright for you. Can you believe we're up to December 2005 already!?

First up, FRIGHT exclusive interviews!!! We've got a special treat for all your readers out there. This month, we've got an exciting new edition to the Icons Of Fright site. Our good buddy filmmaker Christopher P. Garetano (HORROR BUSINESS) has submitted to us some never before published interviews with two fan faves, Eli Roth and Lucky McKee!!! These were both intended for Issue #6 of 'Are You Going?' magazine, which Chris put on hold to complete his first documentary. He caught up with both filmmakers on the cusp of the releases of Cabin Fever and MAY (respectively). In honor of 'Are You Going?' magainze and all of Chris's hard work, we plan on re-printed and presented one interview from his magazine per month on the site!!!

Don't forget to also check out a FRIGHT exclusive interview with local filmmaker Gregory Zymet, who wrote and directed the short film 'APARTMENT 206'.

Mike C. steps up to the plate and gives us plenty of new reading material!!! First up, two new articles!!! Mike C. gives us his thoughts on where he thinks both the 'HALLOWEEN' and the 'FRIDAY THE 13TH' could, might, and most likely WILL go in the future. Could this be the fate of these franchises? Read for yourself with 'HALLOWEEN: WHAT NOW?!' and 'FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE REMAKE?!'. Also, Mike's got you covered with this month's trilogy picks. This month's theme? 'WHEN GORY THINGS HAPPEN TO ADORABLE LITTLE CHILDREN!!!'

Our buddy John Torrani launches HIS new addition to the Icons Of Fright site, with his monthly exploitation showcase 'MOVIES THE BAD KIDS LIKE'!!!

More articles! More reviews! More of everything to come within the next few days!!! We'll have an extensive look at a few books that'll make perfect holiday gifts, including Peter Bracke's Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th!!! More soon!!! -robg.

11/25/05: Happy Thanksgiving weekend, horror fiends! Here's some news for ya! We all love clips & trailers, no? Well, here's a sneak peek at PULSE - the sci-fi thriller staring Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder (LOST), Christina Milian and Jonathan Tucker. It hits theaters on March 3, 2006. Click HERE for a look!!!

A few month's back, Icons Of Fright caught a peek as some clips from the movie 'TAMARA' at the Burbank Fangoria Weekend Of Horror's. Well, we were just informed that the official TAMARA site is active! Check out www.tamaramovie.com! Also, Tamara herself is on My Space at www.myspace.com/iamtamara. Add her, if you dare!

The official website for Ethan Dettenmaier's SIN JIN-SMYTH has been updated with a new design and some cool productions photos! Check it out at www.sin-jinsmyth.com! More in a bit! -rg.

11/21/05: Good mornin', folks! We've got TWO contests running on the site! Make sure to enter for your chance to win a copy of Lars Von Tiers original miniseries 'THE KINGDOM: SERIES ONE' on DVD. All you have to do is send us an email with your full name & mailing address to contest@iconsoffright.com. Make sure to include 'KINGDOM' in the subject header. For details, click HERE!

Also, there's still time to enter our Fangoria Blood Drive Volume 2 contest!!! We're giving away 3 copies of Fangoria's latest disc, which features THE best shorts from some of our up & coming genre filmmakers. To top it off, we're in the process of getting them signed by the filmmakers! All you have to do is send us an email with your full name, mailing address & your favorite feature on Icons Of Fright to contest@iconsoffright.com. Click HERE for FULL details and to read some of our FRIGHT exclusive interviews with some of the filmmakers!!!

Special thanks to Koch entertainment for supplying the DVD's for these contests. More in a bit!

11/8/05: Whew! Another month gone by and another edition up! Welcome to the November edition of Icons Of Fright!!!

We've got plenty of new features for you to check out this month! Jsyn checks in from October's annual NYC HORROR FILM FESTIVAL!!! He caught a slew of new promising films during the weekend. So, check out his thoughts and the most worthwhile movies from the festival!!! While, Jsyn was in NYC, Robg. took a trip to Austin, Texas for 2 screening's of Christopher Garetano's HORROR BUSINESS with special guest Joe Bob Briggs!!! While there, he spent some time with the original Hitchhiker, Mister Edwin Neal of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and ate at the original Texas Chainsaw house, now a restaurant! Read all about it as ICONS OF FRIGHT GOES TO TEXAS!!!

Don't forget, Jsyn's got NEW Vault picks, Vin's ranting over on the Techno Weenie page, Mike c. contributes this month's Trilogy picks, and the other Myk has got plenty of reviews pouring in, including one of the new KONG book King Of Skull Island!!! More updates in a few!!!

10/28/05: HALLOWEEN FANS!!! CHECK THIS OUT!!! We've got a FRIGHT exclusive first look at 'DEAD CALLING'!!! The project (formally known as 'The Second Line') is a horrorific ghost story which features various alumni from the entire Halloween series!!! On board is PJ Soles, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers (Halloween 1), Ellie Cornell (Halloween 4), Marianne Hagan (Halloween 6) & Dean Winters ('OZ', 'Rescue Me', Hellraiser: Hellseeker). You can expect to see tons of cameo's from other members of the Halloween family. We were on set for the shooting of the upcoming trailer. Icons own Jsyn & his make-up crew WICKED FX handled the gory special effects. Here's a quick peek of PJ Soles!!! We'll have a full article with tons of pics from the shoot in our upcoming November edition of Icons Of Fright!!!

Also, remember Jake Kennedy? The filmmaker we interviewed a few months back whos short film 'We All Fall Down' was featured on Fangoria's Blood Drive Volume 2? Well, there's some GREAT pictures posted from the shoot of his full length debut 'Rise Of The Flesh Eaters' on the official site. Visit the direct link at: http://www.riseoftheflesheaters.com/stills.html

More soon! -rg

I spoke briefly with director Don Coscarelli (super nice guy) who said he was really sorry he didn’t have scoops for me, then went and old me this:

-The widely reported rumor that New Line is going to be producing a new Phantasm trilogy is NOT true! Apparently, it was a premature leak and the deal did not pan out for whatever reasons. Coscarelli said he would definitely like to do them because he loves working with Reggie and Angus, but wants to wait for the right studio that will treat the franchise respectfully. Good for you, Don!

-He fully intends on doing a sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep, it’s just a matter of “when”. He said Bruce loved being Elvis and he’s rarin’ to go again! He also told mea fact involving The King and kung-fu! Did you know that he was like an 8^th Degree black belt in karate and he sparred in dojo’s with the Memphis Mafia, who let him kick the crap outta them because, after all, he’s The King? All true!

-Don also told us that right after the premier of his Master of Horror episode (which totally rocked by the way, more on that later) entitled “Incident On and Off A Mountain Road”, he has to go and shoot a few additional scenes to round out the running time for the Asian market. These additional scenes will only air in

Japan

. Konichiwa!

My head is still reeling from the whirlwind of good stuff at the NYC Horror Film Festival…full report to come in a few days. Wait until you guys hear about Shadow: Dead Riot! Amazing!

10/21/05: BOB CLARK PLAYS WITH DEAD THINGS AGAIN!: Director Bob Clark is making steady progress with his Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things remake. Actor Adam Beach, previously seen opposite Nick Cage in Windtalkers and recently cast in the new Clint Eastwood WWII movie, has been confirmed as the male lead. Clark intends on remaining true to the original movie’s spirit, while updating it slightly with a few interesting twists for today’s audiences. This time around, a group of filmmakers head out to shoot at an old mansion on an island with a bizarre past. Ghouls show up, calamity ensues with a heapin’ dollop of humor.

“Other films have handled zombies with comedy before, but in those movies it’s the humans that are comedic in the way they react to the zombies. Well, we wanted a fresh approach, so in this one I want to show our ghouls living it up, doing the funny stuff while the people run around horrified! It’s going to be outrageous and frightening, but we’re also having fun with the genre. Think Monty Python with zombies!” says Clark.

An important role yet to be cast is Orville the ghoul, played in the original by the versatile Alan Ormsby. Bob dropped a few names, off-record of course, and if ANY of them sign on for Orville it’s going to make fans very, very happy!

Shooting begins early next year, mostly in Vancouver. This marks Bob Clark’s return to the genre since his classic Black Christmas in 1974, which incidentally is getting its own remake treatment (fully approved by Bob) by Glen Morgan and James Wong of Final Destination fame! Icons of Fright is going to be following this one right up to completion, so check back often for exclusive coverage.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our previous interview with Bob Clark right here.

First up... since Halloween is right around the corner, we knew we had to step up and have a 'HALLOWEEN' related interview for this October edition. Who better then a former Michael Myers!!! This month, we spoke to actor/stuntman Don Shanks who portrayed "the shape" in 'Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers'. He gave us the story on how he got into the biz, what Halloween 6 MIGHT have been like, and he reveals that there may be another "killer" role in his future! Check out our FRIGHT exclusive interview with Don Shanks now!!!

Second, we spoke to actor Paul Kratka, who played the lovable lead Rick in 'Friday the 13th Part 3'. After a lengthy hiatus from acting, he's back in Scott Goldberg's zombie epic 'The Day They Came Back'. We caught up with him at last month's Fangoria Weekend Of Horrors show and he told us about all his experiences from Friday the 13th and on! Check it out!!!

While you're at it, you might as well check out our SALUTE pages with more FRIGHT exclusive interviews. Icons Of Fright Salutes HALLOWEEN and Icons Of Fright Salutes FRIDAY THE 13TH! And don't forget our complete coverage of the NY/NJ FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS show!!! It's broken down into two pages - The Vendor's Room and The Panels! Enjoy!

Oh, reminder! Congrats to those of you who won the 'Land Of The Dead: Uncut' tickets! The show is TONIGHT!!! We'll be there to cover it, so say hello!!!

Tim Sullivan reminds us that his premiere screening on '2001 Maniacs' is coming up at SCREAMFEST on October 21st at 9:30 PM. Tickets are available to the public and can be purchased HERE. Cast and crew will be in attendance!!!

More updates in a few days, which include Vault picks, Trilogy Picks, Techno Weenie rants, complete coverage of August's MONSTER MANIA show (sorry 'bout the delay) and pictures from last weekend's 'HORROR BUSINESS' screening in NYC. I'm off to Texas this weekend for some great write-ups for November's editions which SHOULD be on time!!! -rg.

10/14/05: Sorry again about the extreme delay in October's edition. It's difficult when you're practically running a one man show! But TWO new interviews will be up by this weekend!

New scoops? Head on over to SleepawayCampMovies.com to see a sneak peak of trailer & behind the scenes footage from the upcoming 'Return To Sleepaway Camp'. They've posted some footage from the presentation of last weekend's ROCK & SHOCK Horror convention. Both the trailer and behind the scenes clips should be popping up on there soon!

Also, it seems there's more & more talk about this potential HALLOWEEN remake, which if you recall, we first mentioned in our article 'HALLOWEEN: SEQUEL OR REMAKE?!' Well, we just heard an interesting rumor in regards to the remake.

BEN KINGSLEY AS DR. SAM LOOMIS!!!

What do you guys think of that?! If it proves to be true, then the idea of a remake has just become a hell of a lot more intriguing. More this weekend! -rg.

10/11/05: Interesting how news gets around! Well, first Variety reports the HALLOWEEN remake, and now THIS article popped up saying that Charles Cyphers may return in the next Halloween. ALL of this was already written about in our 'HALLOWEEN: SEQUEL OR REMAKE?!' article from over a month ago.

Just to clarify, to our understanding, Charles Cyphers is being talked to about returning in Halloween 9 as Sheriff Brackett. (The role he played in Halloween 1 & 2). There's nothing official about the Halloween remake, except that it's being considered as a possible option to revive the franchise. Also, The Second Line, a project written by Tony Masi & Paul Swearingen and featuring a cast of Halloween alumni, such as PJ Soles, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, Ellie Cornell, Brad Loree, & more has undergone a name change & is now going under the title of 'DEAD CALLING'. We'll keep you posted on the progress of that project and more when we hear it!

A few new links have been made active in the past few days on the web. The new trailer for, "LovecraCked! The Movie", the H.P. Lovecraft inspired feature anthology from BiFF JUGGERNAUT Productions, is now available for download/stream at the film's official site:
http://www.biffjuggernaut.com/lovecrackedthemovie.htm

An eclectic mix of horror and comedy, "LovecraCked! The Movie" is an international effort with directors from the UK, Sweden & Texas to name a few. The film also features, amongst others, an appearance by B-Horror film guru, Lloyd Kaufman, and offers a little something for Lovecraft and Horror fans alike.

"LovecraCked! The Movie" is currently in the final stages of postproduction. For more info, news and pics just go to the film's official site, or http://www.biffjuggernaut.com, home of BiFF JUGGERNAUT Productions.

THREE new SAW II trailers are up and running. Here's the links!

SAW II: MADNESS: Full Screen - Large - Medium - Small
SAW II: GAME: Full Screen - Large - Medium - Small
SAW II: PUZZLE: Full Screen - Large - Medium - Small

Check out the spine-tingling trailer for Lions Gate Films' new release THREE EXTREMES in theaters October 28th!! Exploring the outer limits of the macabre, Lions' Gate Films THREE EXTREMES is a bracing triptych of horror stories uniting three of East Asia's most compelling directors - Japanese cult figure Takashi Miike, Hong Kong's Fruit Chan, and Korea's award-winning Park Chan-Wook. Here are the links:

THREE EXTREMES TRAILER - Large - Medium - Small

We'll be announcing a GREAT new contest for FANGORIA'S BLOOD DRIVE VOLUME 2 DVD right after the Land Of The Dead screening passes. In the meantime, check out THIS clip. And these outtakes from Mistress Juliya. (I'm sure Techno Weenie Vin can't wait to see these!)

Naughty version: Large - Small

Nice version: Large - Small

Sorry for the delay in October's edition. We decided at the last minute to put together some more great content, so hopefully it'll be worth the wait! Check back with us by the end of the week! -rg.

10/9/05: Howdy, folks. THIS just in! Any of you want FREE ticket's to see the UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT of George A. Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD on the big screen!?!?!?! Well, we're giving away 5 pairs of FREE tickets for those of you in the New York area for a special screening on October 17 at 8:00 p.m.!!! All you have to do is write to me (via robg@iconsoffright.com) with you name, address and number. And name any 3 non-zombie related George Romero flicks. (We wanna make sure you're a real fan here!) Put Land Of The Dead tickets in the subject header. The screening is coming up fast, so we're going to be selecting people by Tuesday morning to insure your tickets are mailed to you in time. So, enter now!!!

Don't forget -

Subject: Land Of The Dead tickets
Name 3 non-zombie Romero movies
Include your Name, Address & number

Here's a quick press release on this exclusive theatrical screening. (brought to you by none other then Fangoria!) “Why does George A. Romero maintain his latest in the series of 'Dead' movies is deeply political? Which of the four 'Dead' films is his personal favorite? The one he believes is the darkest? How does LAND OF THE DEAD relate to 9/11? What's the story of how the famed director got LAND OF THE DEAD made? This and many other insights will be shared one night only when an exclusive interview with George Romero is shown just before the screening of the unrated Director's Cut of LAND OF THE DEAD in 36 Regal, United Artists and Edwards movie theatres across the country on Monday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m. local time. Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release GEORGE A. ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD on DVD the following day, October 18."

Also, our buddy Tim Sullivan wrote in with an update on '2001 Maniacs' and he sent us this great exclusive pic. (Tim, you da' man!) "In conjunction with the film's upcoming 35mm premiere at ScreamFest on October 21st, the trailer has been made available on both the ScreamFest website and the below IFILM link. http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2681397.

"2001 Maniacs", the long awaited remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis' cult horror classic "Two Thousand Maniacs!", is set to make its U.S. premiere at Los Angeles' Screamfest on Friday, October 21st at 9:30 p.m. at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas at Universal CityWalk. "2001 Maniacs" stars Robert Englund (a.k.a Freddy Krueger) as the Mayor of Pleasant Valley, a small Southern town whose residents rise from the dead once a year seeking revenge for the atrocities they faced at the hands of Northern troops during the Civil War. Lin Shaye ("Detroit Rock City"), Giuseppe Andrews ("Cabin Fever") and swimsuit model Christa Campbell also star alongside country music star Travis Tritt and the ever eerie Peter Stormare ("Fargo").

We'll be back on Monday with the October edition of Icons Of Fright, which will include brand new FRIGHT exclusive interviews with Don Shanks (Michael Myers - Halloween 5) and actor Paul Kratka (Friday the 13th Part 3)!!! -rg.

9/30/05: Well, we launched our complete coverage of the FANGORIA Weekend Of Horrors from NY yesterday! And there's plenty of scoop worthy material that no one's picked up yet. So, let's break down all the facts and be the firsts to break the news!

- During the John Landis/Mick Garris panel, they let us know that the John Landis episode of MASTERS OF HORRORS is titled Deer Woman and stars Brian Benben (of 'Dream On' fame)
- The duo confirmed that GOBLIN will in fact be scoring the Dario Argento episode of MASTERS OF HORROR
- Plans are underway for Season 2 of MASTERS OF HORROR with Roger Corman on board to direct an episode!
- Despite the on-set tragedy during the production of the original Twilight Zone movie back in 1983, John Landis is fairly confident that Universal will eventually make another Twilight Zone movie.
- 'We All Fall Down' - the short written & directed by filmmaker Jake Kennedy for the Fangoria Blood Drive Volume 2 DVD, is the first amongst this years Blood Drive winners to be getting a full length adaptation. Word has it that Paul Solet & Jake Hamilton's 'Means To An End' might get the full length treatment too. A script is circulating.
- Although nothing is official, Emily Perkins mentioned that the producers of the Ginger Snaps films are in talks to possibly spin off a Ginger Snaps television series.
- FANGORIA TV is still in talks to secure a deal with a cable network, but they confirmed that next month, they will launch FANGORIA TV via the world wide web! Watch their official site (www.fangoria.com) for the details.
- Fan reaction for the 'FEAST' trailer at the convention was very positive. Director John Gulager mentioned that he's in talks to helm the video game adaptation 'THE SUFFERING'.
- According to SAW creators James Wan & Leigh Whannell, SAW II will rock and will satisfy audiences of the first. The new DVD release 'SAW: REBIRTH' is in fact a different cut of the film, supervised and color corrected by James Wan.
- Anchor Bay Entertainment picked up the distribution rights for Dante Tomaselli's 'SATAN'S PLAYGROUND'. It will see a limited theatrical run before getting the special edition treatment on DVD later in the year.
- Three flicks to look for are Larry Fessenden's The Last Winter, Ti West's The Roost, and James McKenney's Death To The Automatons, all being released by Larry's Glass Eye Pix production company. Larry Fessenden's The Last Winter features HELLBOY'S Ron Pearlman in the lead.
- Clive Barker is releasing an extensive hardcover coffee-table book, which features a slew of his original paintings called 'Visions Of Heaven And Hell' in October.
- Clive Barker's next novel will be 'The Scarlet Gospels' and it combines two of his mythologies - the Harry D'Amour character (Lord Of Illusions) and Pinhead from Hellraiser. In fact, Clive plans this book to chronicle the graceful death of Pinhead. ("...he'll be somewhere where not even Dimension Films can get a hold of him...")
- Clive Barker mentioned that the continuing volumes in the Arabat books will continue to get darker and darker, despite them being labeled as children's book. Although he won't have much control over the movie version (coming to you from Disney!), he mentioned Kelly Asbury, director of Shrek 2 will be directing it.
- The first film from Clive Barker's newly formed production company will be a film called 'The Plague', followed by the first adaptation of his Books Of Blood - 'THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN'.
- Clive Barker would consider returning to the world of Cabal (Nightbreed) but not in a film - possibly in a television series.
- The big screen edition of TORTURED SOULS has been delayed (because of DOOM) but will go into production next year under Universal.
- Sage Stallone's GRINDHOUSE productions company are putting out a slew of fully uncut & restored special edition DVD's. The first titles amongst his roaster are 'CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST', 'PIECES', 'SCUM OF THE EARTH', & 'THE TOUGH ONES'.
- Full Moon head honcho Charles Band is prepping to release 'THE GINGERDEAD MAN' starring Gary Busey on DVD next month. In regards to re-releasing older Full Moon titles on DVD, apparently Paramount still hold most of the rights. The import versions are still available on his site. The rights issue is also why we won't see a Subspecies box set anytime soon, but there is a great script for Subspecies 5 in existence. At the moment, it'd be too expensive to produce. -rg.

9/29/05: Whew! We finally got our Fango coverage up as of today!!! We just want to thank Tony Timpone and Adam Malin for putting on such an amazing show as always. And of course, thanks to all the wonderful fellow FRIGHT fans that we had the chance to meet, greet, hang out and drink with. We had a blast!

Now, onto the coverage! I'm amazed no one else has picked up on any of the scoops from this past weekend's convention! The Clive Barker stuff alone is priceless!

We've divided the convention review into two sections. Being that this was Icons Of Fright first appearance as a vendor, we have one page of all the antics from the vendor's room. Including plenty of pics of Jsyn and his WICKED FX crew doing FREE make-up demonstrations on fans! Check it out on PAGE ONE of our Fangoria Weekend Of Horror's coverage!!!

Then, there was the convention itself. PAGE TWO covers all the panels, and features plenty of exclusive pics & scoops! We've got the first word on a slew of new Clive Barker projects, including his new novel 'The Scarlet Gospels' (which will see both Harry D'Amour AND Pinhead) and the long awaited adaptations of his Books Of Blood! (Starting with THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN!!!) We've got John Landis & Mick Garris talking about the upcoming MASTERS OF HORROR series. And plenty of pics of Ginger Snaps' Emily Perkins, James Wan & Leigh Whannell from the SAW II panel, Dante Tomaselli and his Satan's Playground cast (Anchor Bay picked up the distribution rights for Satan's Playground!!!), and much, much more!!! Go check it all out now, exclusively here at Icons Of Fright!!! -rg.

9/23/05: This is it, folks!!! FANGO is THIS weekend!!!!

Icons Of Fright will be on hand!!! Come visit our table and meet the crew. Myself, Jsyn, Mike C. and Vin (Techno-weenie) will be on hand! Writer/Director Stevan Mena (MALEVOLENCE) will be by our table on Saturday. Dante Tomaselli & some of his cast from Satan's Playground will be signing and hanging out at our table on Sunday.

We'll have the Fangoria Blood Drive crew also hanging at our table. Adam Barnick, Christopher Garetano, Paul Solet & Jake Hamilton, John Torrani and many, many more.

FREE demo make-up curtosy of Jsyn's WICKED FX crew!!! Come on by to be made up like a zombie, ghost of ghoul!!!

Trailers, candy, guests and free giveaways will be at the Icons Of Fright table!!! Stop on by!!! -rg.

9/19/05: This upcoming weekend is the Fangoria Weekend Of Horrors convention!!! The event is this Sat. & Sun. September 24-25, 2005 at the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands located at 2 Harmon Plaza in Secaucus, NJ 07094. Guest just added: Selma Blair (Hellboy, The Fog) and Michael Rooker (HENRY: Portrait Of A Serial Killer)

Other guests include: Clive Barker, directors John Landis, Mick Garris, Kelly Stables (The Ring), Elizabeth Banks, Dee Snider, Larry Fessenden, Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps), James Gunn, Charles Band (Full Moon), Linnea Quigley, Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead), Dante Tomaselli, Debbie Rochon and many, many more!

Icons Of Fright will not only be covering the event, but we'll have a table set up with Christopher Garetano. (Who's latest documentary 'HORROR BUSINESS' will be screening at Fango!) We'll have plenty of guests that we've profiled on the site dropping by our table, we'll have some freebies & giveaways, and Jay & his 'Wicked FX' team will be on hand to make people up into zombies, ghouls and ghosts for free!!! Come on down and say hello!!!

Click HERE for details!!!

Also, new DVD reviews are up for 'The Boogeyman: The Original 1980 Version', Anchor Bay's 'Dead & Breakfast', 'Irreversible', and 'Sin City'. -rg.

9/16/05: Another FRIGHT exclusive!!! Jsyn and I take 'A Trip To 'SATAN'S PLAYGROUND'!!! Read our review of the latest Dante Tomaselli flick!!! -rg.

9/12/05: Finally, another brand new month of Icons Of Fright!!! Welcome to our September 2005 edition! There's plenty of NEW content lurking thru-out these pages. Jsyn adds to 'The VAULT of the Forgotten & Obscure'. Mike c. brings us 3 demonic Trilogy picks! The Techno Weenie returns after a 3 month hiatus! New contributor Chris Huziak chines in with an article on the 80's cult classic 'Morgan Stewart's Coming Home'. (With an afterwords by yours truly).

But what's an Icons edition without some FRIGHT exclusive interviews??? Continuing our Salute to Local Independent Horror Filmmaking, we've got 4 BRAND NEW interviews with some extremely talented filmmakers that you WILL be hearing about in the not-too-distant future!

Worry not! We'll have plenty of reviews and new features within the next few days, including an EXCLUSIVE review of Dante Tomaselli's latest - SATAN'S PLAYGROUND!!! Next month is Halloween! So, we'll be bringing you a FRIGHT exclusive interview with Don Shanks (Michael Myers - Halloween 5). We'll also be talking to Friday The 13th Part 3's Paul Kratka and local filmmaker Scott Goldberg! Check back in a few! -rg.

9/8/05: There's plenty of fantastic screenings on the way! Our buddy Cathy wrote in with info on this weekends Evil City Filmfest: "Hey guys! Just inviting everyone who's interested to join us in some fun... The schedule is posted on our website at www.evilcityfilmfest.com please note that some of these venues are booze friendly, so drink up. Even if your not a fan of low budget and/or independant films you can still support the punk and rock n' roll... Come see the story of the legendary band, the Minute Men... "We Jam Econo" (Sept 11th @ the Downeast Arts Center). How about "69 Minutes of Fame", the Two Man Advantage flick... Action packed with Punk, Beer, Hockey, Rabits, Jews and Mexicans! (Sept 10th, Orchid Lounge) and ah... the well known "Bellmore: the Unscene" Winner of Best Documentary, Kansas City Film Fest (Sept 10th Downeat Arts Center) Or if you ever wondered what the hell all that "OBEY" stuff was all about you might want to check out a screening of "Propaganda: the Art and Crimes of Ron English" (Sept 8th, Pioneer Theater). Hope to see everyone there! Remember... this is more punk rock then warped tour... no corporate sponsors here!"

You've read our interview with Christopher Garetano. Now, check out his documentary 'HORROR BUSINESS'! 'Horror Business' will be screening at Fangoria's Weekend Of Horrors convention on September 24-25th @ Crowne Plaza Meadowlands - 2 Harmon Plaza in Secaucus, NJ. Then, at the Long Island Film Festival, Friday September 30th (9:45pm) in Glen Cove Cinemas in Long Island NY. Followed by a screening at the Eerie Horror Film Festival in Eerie, Pennsylvania on Friday October 7th with Mark Borchardt's 'SCARE ME'. On Sunday, October 9th, you can catch a double feature of 'HORROR BUSINESS' & 'ZOMBIE HONEYMOON' in NYC at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater located at 155 East 3rd Street. Advance tickets are available for that show HERE. Last but not least will be a screening at the end of October at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek in Austin, Texas!

Speaking of screenings, ticket's are now available for Dante Tomaselli's soon to be cult classic 'SATAN'S PLAYGROUND ', playing October 1st at Two Boots Pioneer Theater in NYC as a double feature with 'The Evil Dead'!!! The Icons staff were lucky enough to catch an early screening of 'Satan's Playground' (review to come!) and we can assure you, it's not only a great homage to late 70's/early 80's horror, but it's Dante's best & most polished film yet! Buy a ticket NOW! It WILL sell out!!!

Also, writer/director Ethan Dettenmaier wrote in with the latest on his upcoming 'SIN-JIN SMYTH'. The Cult's Billy Duffy is definitely on board the project. Duffy will contribute original guitar work to the Score, (Collaborating with the orchestral work of MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE), serve as Music Supervisor and lock and load for a part in the film as a rogue government agent who specializes in interrogation and torture! Moviehole.net is reporting that Roddy Piper (They Live) has also been added to the cast!!!

Freeze Dried Movies.com is reporting that the official villians for Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man 3' will in fact be Venom (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), and Hobgoblin (James Franco). There was a rumor that Church might actually be playing Spidey villian The Chameleon, and that his brother Kraven would be introduced for future films. This seems like an ideal choice considering Raimi made Darkman. But I guess we'll have to wait on the official word from Marvel or Sony.

The latest edition of Icons Of Fright will be up within the next day or two. So, check back with us in a bit!!! -rg.

8/29/05: Your Icons of Fright staff attended this weekend in Cherry Hill, NJ and have we got news for you! Special guests were Wes Craven, Sean S. Cunningham, R. Lee Ermy, and Chris Sarandon. We've got full convention coverage with the usual loads of pictures and run down of all the other guests we met, but we wanted to share a few HOT AS HELL NEWS ITEMS.

Big news for "Scream" fans from Wes Craven. During his panel discussion Craven revealed that he had recently had breakfast with Neve Campbell. He told us that she had recently spoken with the Weinsteins about coming back for "Scream 4". Wes made it clear that this was the first he'd heard about it, but Campbell seemed to be seriously considering another stab at Sidney Prescott.

R. Lee Ermy annouced that he is working on an animated series starring, basically, himself. He hopes to get it FOX, "I think we'll qualify" he said. He also mentioned that the script for the upcoming "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" prequel was full of problems. "It was a tough read", he said, and originally refused the role until he could personally re-write his own dialogue.

We also spoke with Don Shanks, who you may remember played Michael Myers in "Halloween 5". Don announced that he had been cast as the Fisherman in "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer", but he did not reveal any other casting information on the project.

That's the big news for now, folks. Please check in later this week for full, complete coverage of the Monster Mania convention! - mikec.

8/25/05: Whew! The HALLOWEEN article is causing quite a stir. So, we thought it'd be fun to add a poll to see which film YOU would like to see next? Head on over to the article and take the poll! -rg.

8/24/05: So, what's the story with the next Halloween film!? No one truly knows for sure. But we keep hearing rumors of a remake! And we've heard one interesting take on what Halloween 9 might be about. So, we decided to make the rounds and ask a bunch of Halloween fans & filmmakers where they think the Halloween franchise should go. Check out our FRIGHT exclusive article "Halloween - Sequel or Remake?". Enjoy! -rg.

8/16/05: Lions Gate tells us the official 'SAW II' site is active. Saw2.com. SAW II is in theatres on October 28th! Just in time for Halloween. Also, check out some gory screen captures from the unrated version of 'High Tension' at DavisDVD.com. Don't forget to read Jsyn's original 'High Tension' article. While you're at it, read his George Romero retrospective article. -rg.

8/11/05: First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Vin, the Techno Weenie!!! Go send him some hate mail!

Last night was the wrap party for the new Ted (Deadly Spawn) Bohus flick 'Hell On Earth'. Be on the lookout for a batch of interviews and profiles from the films' actors in the next few weeks. Icons Of Fright's own Jsyn was part of the special effects make-up department, so he'll be putting up his production journal soon with loads of gory behind-the-scene pics. You can look forward to a FRIGHT exclusive interview with writer/director Ted Bohus soon!!!

Also, our buddy Ethan Dettenmaier wrote in with a few updates on his upcoming film 'Sin-Jin Smyth'. Billy Duffy of the rock band 'The Cult' is in talks to lay down some heavy guitar work on the soundtrack of SIN-JIN SMYTH. Duffy will also gear up to take on a wicked role in the film as well. Christopher Doyle, the Coffin Baby Killer in Tobe Hooper's 'The Toolbox Murders' (Who also served as stunt coordinator on ARMY OF DARKNESS, DARKMAN) is ramping up to join the rebel alliance behind SIN-JIN SMYTH. The cast so far features Richard Tyson, Jason Hilderbrandt, Lee Ving (singer of the punk band FEAR), Jonathan (Korn) Davis, Greg Travis, Lewis Smith and Jacqueline Moore. Look for a FRIGHT exclusive interview with writer/director Ethan Dettenmaier next month! And we'll be talking to more members of the cast thru-out the duration of production.

Not sure if anyone noticed, but the official Halloween website got a complete overhaul. Check out the new format at HalloweenMovies.com and let Tony Masi know he's doing a fantastic job.

The next Monster Mania con is just two weeks away!!! The event will be taking place on August 26th thru the 28th at the Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ. Guests include Wes Craven, Sean Cunningham, R. Lee Emry, Sid Haig, Bill Mosely, Chris Sarandon, Adrienne Barbeau, Jonathan Breck, Greg Nicotero, Dick & Lance Warlock, Danielle Harris, Nancy Loomis, Brad Loree, Chris Durand, Don Shanks, George Wilbur, Pamela Susan Shoop, Leo Rossi, CJ Graham, James O'Barr and many, many more. Check the official site www.monstermania.net for ALL the details.

Clive Barker’s new Midnight Picture Show label is just about ready to start work on their first feature 'THE PLAGUE'. The film will be directed by Hal Masonberg & who also co-wrote the script with Teal Minton. Among the cast is James Van Der Beek, Ivana Milicevic, Brad Hunt and Dee Wallace Stone. Next up for Midnight Picture Show will be a slew of adaptations from Clive Barker's 'Books Of Blood', starting with 'The Midnight Meat Train'.

We're sad to hear of the passing of Matthew McGrory, best know to genre fans as Tiny Firefly in 'House Of 1000 Corpses' and 'The Devil's Rejects'. One of my personal favorite performances was in Tim Burton's 'Big Fish'. He was 32 years old. -rg.

8/7/05: Whew! August is upon us which not only my birthday month, but THE biggest Icons edition yet!!! We're saluting all the local independent horror filmmaker's we can find, and we're going to introduce you to the best every month here, starting with these first 6 FRIGHT exclusive interviews!!!

	How can we possibly salute local independent horror filmmaking without mention two of our personal favorite writer/directors! We thought it was time to check in with both Stevan Mena and Dante Tomaselli. Check out both follow up interviews to get the latest scoop from both fantastic filmmakers as they bring us up to speed on the projects they're currently working on.

	Two more wonderful filmmakers to look out for are Christopher P. Garetano and Adam Barnick. Christopher P. Garetano just completed work on a documentary titled 'Horror Business', & is prepping 2 more documentaries - 'The Horror Of Dante Tomaselli' & 'Angel's Gate'. Adam Barnick just completed work on his short 'Mainstream' which will be featured on the upcoming Fangoria Blood Drive Volumen 2 DVD. Ironically enough, Chris's short film 'Inside' was on Volume 1! Check out both interviews now!!!

	Also, we've got FRIGHT exclusive interviews with local filmmaker John Torrani and NY actor/writer Joshua Nelson. John Torrani was the director & co-writer on the zombie horror/comedy short film 'Alpha Dead' and was also one of the Ultimate Film Fanatic contestants from Season Two. Joshua Nelson has been writing scripts for his Savage Roses production company for a few years now, but his latest, 'No One Get's Out' is an homage to the great horror films of the 70's. It will be released on DVD later this year under the title 'Aunt Rose' Read up on both!!!

For the full breakdown on all the local independent horror filmmakers, we've added a new profile page, which we plan to add to once a month. We've also got a write-up from the 'HORROR BUSINESS' NYC premiere with plenty of pictures. Don't forget to check out some new DVD reviews. And no worries, Jsyn just finished working on the new Ted Bohus film 'Hell On Earth', so next week we'll have new Vault picks, Trilogy Picks, and Jsyn's production diary from the set of 'Hell On Earth'. Check back in a few! -rg.

8/1/05: Any wrestling fans out there? Well, one of our staffer's at Icons Of Fright - Iron Myk PW, aka Mikey, aka Mike Kerr... actually wait a second... is he on the Icons Of Fright staff? I think he wrote one little blurb once for the 'Nice To Meet You' page about meeting Rowdy Roddy Piper. Which... makes the following announcement fitting!

Anyways, Mikey's gone off on his own, taken his love of wrestling and made....

ICONS OF THE RING. (no worries folks, the law suit is already in the works.) But in the meantime, go visit: WWW.ICONSOFTHERING.COM. But don't forget where it ALL started!!! -rg.

7/29/05: We got in this cool press release for a flick we think you should keep an eye out for. Read this:
"PRE-PRODUCTION ON SIN-JIN SMYTH HAS BEEN UNLEASHED? The FX team from MAKE-UP and MONSTERS (Aliens, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Austin Powers) the team who designed and built the monster for the Jeepers Creepers franchise reported to SNAP KICK PRODUCTIONS INC. on the Warner Hollywood Lot (Los Angeles, Ca.) today to begin work on the film 'SIN-JIN SMYTH' (www.sin-jinsmyth.com) The story, set against a Halloween legend that warns of a midnight appearance of the Devil in a quiet Kansas cemetery follows two Federal Marshals as they report to the small town of Shin Bone, Kansas (moments after a tornado warning) for the midnight prisoner transfer of a man with no past and no identity. He is known only as SIN-JIN SMYTH!

Details surrounding the title character are TOP, TOP SECRET but the rest of the principle cast includes: RICHARD TYSON (Black Hawk Down, Something About Mary, Two Moon Junction), JASON HILDEBRANDT (Black Hawk Down, and the upcoming KNIGHT FEVER), LEE VING (The Decline of Western Civilization, Black Moon Rising, singer of the punk band FEAR), GREG TRAVIS (Tool Box Murders, Starship Troopers, Lost Highway) LEWIS SMITH (Southern Comfort, Buckaroo Banzi, Wyatt Earp) and Jacqueline Moore (Of the WWF now WWE). The producing team is also in talks with Jonathan Davis of KORN and REGGIE BANNISTER (Phantasm) as well as several others to make "dark" appearances in the film.

The script got quite a bit of heat earlier in the year when it was on the sales block but different Studio and Production Company Executives wanted to make 'Hollywood changes' like: "casting kids off the Warner Bros. Network" or "a feel good ending." One Exec even suggested tacking on an exorcism because "that's big right now."

So the rights were retained by writer ETHAN DETTENMAIER (a working script doctor based in Los Angeles) and he set out to direct. (He recently made the comment "I'm tired of watching Hollywood recycle good material into shit", and continued, "We want to make this dark and kick your teeth in" --- the rest of the text is unfit to print).

Lota Hadley (The House of Grimm and the upcoming Greek Life) along with JON DIVENS (Blade, Blade 2, Blade Trinity) is set to produce. Music will be composed by MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE.

ROB HOWETH (Tobe Hooper's soon to be released MORTUARY) the film's Production Designer has been working around the clock on stage six constructing what is rumored to be a GATEWAY TO HELL (Hooper's AD, Jonathan Zimmerman is on the film as well) and a complete armory of weapons supplied by BATTLE CRY PRODUCTIONS (Under Siege, Under Siege 2) is locked up right next door."

We wish Ethan the best of luck on this project! And come back next week for our August edition, which will be a salute to local independent horror filmmaking!!! -rg.

7/19/05: Want a peak at the upcoming 'SAW 2' teaser trailer? Click HERE!!! Also, we've finally gotten a chance to dip into the Memorablia Morgue and completely update all the collected autographs; which combines both robg. & mike's collections. To our surprise, this seems to be a fan favorite section of the site, so we expanded it. Head on over to the Memorabilia Morgue or directly to the Autograph index HERE!

Our buddy Jason from Slasherama checked in with us to let us know his original 'Friday The 13th' novel from Black Flame titled 'Friday The 13th: Hate, Kill, Repeat' will be available by October of this year! It's the 3rd of a series of 'Friday The 13th' books; the first two 'Friday The 13th: Church Of The Divine Psychopath' and 'Friday The 13th: Hell Lake'. You can check out Amazon.com's listing for 'Hate, Kill, Repeat' details. Visit him at Slasherama.com!!!

New Yorkers, don't forget that the new documentary 'HORROR BUSINESS' is premiering this Friday night, July 22nd at Visionfest @ New York City's Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street). You should definitely make an effort into seeing this documentary! More soon! -rg

7/13/05: Our buddy Christopher Garetano wrote in to let us all know that his Horror documentary 'HORROR BUSINESS' will make it's world premiere at Visionfest @ New York City's Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street) on Friday, July 22, 2005. 'Horror Business' features Mark Borchardt (American Movie), HG Lewis (2000 Maniacs), Joe Bob Briggs, Dave Gebroe (Zombie Honeymoon), Fangoria's Tony Timpone and many more. If you have any interest in what goes into making a horror film, then this sounds like mandatory viewing! Here's a few quotes:

"Horror Business is an extremely competent, thoroughly engaging film about horror movies and those who love them. It is as inspiring a movie as
'American Movie'" - Daulton Dickey - Film Threat

"Sharply edited, Horror Business emerges as a perceptive and revealing documentary about the enormous struggles to make creepy celluloid" - Tony Timpone - Fangoria Magazine

7/8/05: The July edition of Icons Of Fright is up!!! And this month, we decided to focus on some cool new content!

Any Bruce Campbell fans out there? Well, as most of you know, he's currently on tour promoting both his new book 'Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way' and his directorial debut 'The Man With The Screaming Brain'. We caught him at a signing in Long Island and then checked out the screening of his new flick the next night at the Angelika in NYC. So, check out our article with a review of his film, some news tid-bits from his panel at the bookstore and plenty of pics!!! Bruce fans should not be disappointed.

Any HALLOWEEN fans out there? Did you dig our interview with Dan Farrands last month? Well, this month we're going to give you a look at what Haddonfield looks like today! That's right, 'Icons Of Fright Goes To Haddonfield'! While out in Cali for the Fango show last month, we were able to take a tour of some of the spots where most of Halloween Parts 1 & 2 were filmed in Pasadena! And just to help you out, we've included TONS of pics, along with screen shots from the movies. Check out 'Icons Of Fright Goes To Haddonfield'!!!

With George Romero's new zombie epic 'Land Of The Dead' now in theaters, we thought we'd throw some ghoulish articles your way. Check out Myk.'s non-spoiler review of 'Land Of The Dead' which includes plenty of great stills from the flick. Also, check out Jsyn's EXCELLENT retrospective on George Romero's career. Jsyn picks out a batch of non-zombie Romero movies and gives you the run-down on which one's you should check out when you decide to catch up with George! This month's trilogy picks are 3 zombie DVD's selected by yours truly.

What's an Icons Of Fright edition without a FRIGHT exclusive interview?! We bumped into writer/director Tim Sullivan at last month's Fango show where he was screening footage from his upcoming '2001 Maniacs' remake. After a few e-mails, he was kind enough to share with us an exclusive interview he did with an Italian horror publication called HORROR MANIA by Robert D'Onofrio, presented here for the first time anywhere in English. One way or another, Tim Sullivan is a filmmaker you should look out for, and what better way to get to know him then thru this month's interview. Check it out now!

Jsyn chimed in with a fantastic 'Vault' addition. Head on over to 'The Vault Of The Forgotten And Obscure' and read about our new English pal! Fantastic Four opens today. Read about how I was snubbed by the obnoxious actors in our article 'Icons Of Fright Vs. Fantastic Four'. NEXT MONTH... we will be devoting our August edition to 'Local Independent Horror Filmmaking' and we'll be giving you a look at some fantastic up & coming filmmakers and also giving you the latest from some of our other past Icons Of Fright interviewee's! It's going to be one of our best editions yet! Check back in a few days. More updated content to come! -rg.

7/7/05: Are you bored and looking to check out some cool HORROR sites on the web? Well, I just wanted to send a shout out to the folks over at Monsters At Play.com. I was looking around their site and along with all their wonderful content, I discovered their extensive links page, which has kept me busy looking thru various horror sites all morning! Looks like I'll have to add a lot more great sites to our links page! Head on over for yourself. Monsters At Play.com and their Links page. -rg.

7/6/05: The winner of our ZOMBIE DVD contest is Katine from Sayreville, NJ! Congrats, Karine. The DVD's are on their way. Hope you enjoy them!

Also, we got an interesting press release for an upcoming directorial debut from comic book writer Joseph M. Monks. This story truly amazed me, so read on:

"Comic book writer and publisher Joseph M. Monks might not be getting the kind of ink Frank (Sin City) Miller is, but the independent publisher turned director is beginning to turn heads as he prepares to lens his first feature this August in Miami. It isn't the fact that he is the latest comic book professional to make the jump from comic books to film, but rather the uniqueness of his situation. Monks isn't just writing this new feature, he is directing it. And while he isn't the first comic professional to take on directorial duties, there is a distinction he shares with no other -- Joe Monks is totally blind.

Monks, who lost his eyesight in 2002, is no stranger to film. In 2003 his short story, "Chance Meeting," was optioned by Bunkasha Publishing and DK Publishing for a Japanese television pilot. Monks also wrote the screenplay.The producers took it to the direct market, however, and in 2004 rights reverted back to Monks and the creative team and the pilot and property are now being shopped to horror-hungry cable television stations as a Tales From The Crypt-esque original series. Monks, whose comic credits stretch back to the groundbreaking cult classic Cry For Dawn and include such titles as NightCry, Tales of the Dead, The Night Terrors and the current horror anthology Zacherley's Midnite Terrors, begins shooting The Bunker, the story of a congressman's daughter who is kidnapped after running away during an election year, this August. On board for the film are Terry (Flesh For The Beast) West, Ted A. Bohus (Return of the Aliens Deadly Spawn, Nightbeast), sexy newcomer Saskia Gonzales, and several other noteworthy actors not yet announced."

7/1/05: Don't forget that today's your last chance to enter this month's Icons Of Fright contest to win both 'Shaun Of The Dead' and 'Dawn Of The Dead' (2004) on DVD!!! So, enter now!!! Myk wrote in with a spoiler-free review of George A. Romero's masterpiece 'Land Of The Dead'. The article includes a dozen great pictures from the film, so check it out now on our articles page. We've also revamped the DVD reviews page and gotten a slew of great new reviews, thanks to contributors Neil A. and Myk. Go check it all out now. New edition up in a few! -rg.