Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Warner Bros. Pictures Celebrates Heroic Rescue of 33 Chilean Miners

The Fifth Anniversary of the Heroic Rescue of 33 Chilean Miners to Be Celebrated Across the U.S. and Canada

VIP Screenings of the Film “The 33,” Opening Nationwide on November 13, 2015, Will Commemorate the October 13th Anniversary

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On October 13, 2010, the world held its collective breath as the global media broadcast the miraculous rescue of 33 Chilean miners that had been trapped 200 stories below ground for 69 days following the disastrous collapse of a copper-gold mine in Copiapó, Chile. Spurred on by the support and faith of the miners’ families encamped outside the mine, the Chilean miners’ rescue is one of the most moving real-life events of modern times, watched by more than a billion people around the world.

On October 13, 2015, Chilean Consulates across the United States and in Canada will celebrate the five-year anniversary of this daring rescue with events, including special screenings of Alcon Entertainment’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ new film “The 33.” Made with the cooperation of the real-life miners, their families and their rescuers, “The 33” opens nationwide on November 13, 2015, exactly one month after the five-year anniversary of the rescue.

Patricia Riggen, director of “The 33,” stated, “I am thrilled and honored that our film is playing a part in celebrating the five-year anniversary of this momentous event. Our main goal in making ‘The 33’ was to show the courage and resilience of the men who were trapped, the hope and faith of their families, and the determination of the rescuers who overcame near-impossible odds to bring them home. Their inspiring story captured the attention of millions five years ago and it should never be forgotten.”

In New York, San Francisco, Houston, Toronto and Chicago, the Chilean Consulates will join with Alcon and Warner Bros. to hold VIP screenings of the film. The Chilean Consul General in each city will serve as host of the event.

In Ottawa, Canada, the Chilean Embassy, together with Alcon and Warner Bros., will present a special screening of “The 33” and reception, hosted by the Chilean Ambassador to Canada.

In Miami, at the AMC Sunset Theaters, the General Consul of Chile will help unveil a replica of the Fenix capsule that brought the 33 miners out from the depths of the collapsed mine.

For downloadable hi-def videos and photos of the film’s re-creation of the mine collapse and rescue, to go along with news footage of the actual rescue, please visit: www.epk.tv, www.the33movie.com, or www.facebook.com/the33movie.


About “The 33”:
“The 33” features an international cast led by Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”), James Brolin, and Lou Diamond Phillips, with Bob Gunton and Gabriel Byrne. The cast also includes Mario Casas, Jacob Vargas, Juan Pablo Raba, Oscar Nuñez, Tenoch Huerta, Marco Treviño, Adriana Barraza, Kate Del Castillo, Cote de Pablo, Elizabeth De Razzo and Naomi Scott.

Patricia Riggen directed “The 33” from a screenplay by Mikko Alanne, Oscar nominee Craig Borten (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Michael Thomas, based on the screen story by José Rivera and the book Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar. The film was produced by Oscar nominee Mike Medavoy (“Black Swan”), Robert Katz and Edward McGurn. Carlos Eugenio Lavin, Leopoldo Enriquez, Alan Zhang and José Luis Escolar served as executive producers.

“The 33” is a presentation of Alcon Entertainment, co-founded by CEOs Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson. A Phoenix Pictures production, the film is being distributed domestically and in select international territories by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. This film has been rated PG-13 for a disaster sequence and some language. the33movie.com

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Monday, October 12, 2015

Best Foreign Language Film of 2015? There are 81 Submissions.

81 COUNTRIES IN COMPETITION FOR 2015 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OSCAR

Eighty-one countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards®.  Paraguay is a first-time entrant.

The 2015 submissions are:

Afghanistan, "Utopia," Hassan Nazer, director;

Albania, "Bota," Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci, directors;

Algeria, "Twilight of Shadows," Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina, director;

Argentina, "The Clan," Pablo Trapero, director;

Australia, "Arrows of the Thunder Dragon," Greg Sneddon, director;

Austria, "Goodnight Mommy," Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, directors;

Bangladesh, "Jalal’s Story," Abu Shahed Emon, director;

Belgium, "The Brand New Testament," Jaco Van Dormael, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Our Everyday Story," Ines Tanović, director;

Brazil, "The Second Mother," Anna Muylaert, director;

Bulgaria, "The Judgment," Stephan Komandarev, director;

Cambodia, "The Last Reel," Sotho Kulikar, director;

Canada, "Félix and Meira," Maxime Giroux, director;

Chile, "The Club," Pablo Larraín, director;

China, "Go Away Mr. Tumor," Han Yan, director;

Colombia, "Embrace of the Serpent," Ciro Guerra, director;

Costa Rica, "Imprisoned," Esteban Ramírez, director;

Croatia, "The High Sun," Dalibor Matanić, director;

Czech Republic, "Home Care," Slavek Horak, director;

Denmark, "A War," Tobias Lindholm, director;

Dominican Republic, "Sand Dollars," Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas, directors;

Estonia, "1944," Elmo Nüganen, director;

Ethiopia, "Lamb," Yared Zeleke, director;

Finland, "The Fencer," Klaus Härö, director;

France, "Mustang," Deniz Gamze Ergüven, director;

Georgia, "Moira," Levan Tutberidze, director;

Germany, "Labyrinth of Lies," Giulio Ricciarelli, director;

Greece, "Xenia," Panos H. Koutras, director;

Guatemala, "Ixcanul," Jayro Bustamante, director;

Hong Kong, "To the Fore," Dante Lam, director;

Hungary, "Son of Saul," László Nemes, director;

Iceland, "Rams," Grímur Hákonarson, director;

India, "Court," Chaitanya Tamhane, director;

Iran, "Muhammad: The Messenger of God," Majid Majidi, director;

Iraq, "Memories on Stone," Shawkat Amin Korki, director;

Ireland, "Viva," Paddy Breathnach, director;

Israel, "Baba Joon," Yuval Delshad, director;

Italy, "Don't Be Bad," Claudio Caligari, director;

Ivory Coast, "Run," Philippe Lacôte, director;

Japan, "100 Yen Love," Masaharu Take, director;

Jordan, "Theeb," Naji Abu Nowar, director;

Kazakhstan, "Stranger," Yermek Tursunov, director;

Kosovo, "Babai," Visar Morina, director;

Kyrgyzstan, "Heavenly Nomadic," Mirlan Abdykalykov, director;

Latvia, "Modris," Juris Kursietis, director;

Lebanon, "Void," Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle

Ighniades, Maria Abdel Karim, Salim Haber, directors;

Lithuania, "The Summer of Sangaile," Alanté Kavaïté, director;

Luxembourg, "Baby (A)lone," Donato Rotunno, director;

Macedonia, "Honey Night," Ivo Trajkov, director;

Malaysia, "Men Who Save the World," Liew Seng Tat, director;

Mexico, "600 Miles," Gabriel Ripstein, director;

Montenegro, "You Carry Me," Ivona Juka, director;

Morocco, "Aida," Driss Mrini, director;

Nepal, "Talakjung vs Tulke," Basnet Nischal, director;

Netherlands, "The Paradise Suite," Joost van Ginkel, director;

Norway, "The Wave," Roar Uthaug, director;

Pakistan, "Moor," Jami, director;

Palestine, "The Wanted 18," Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan, directors;

Paraguay, "Cloudy Times," Arami Ullón, director;

Peru, "NN," Héctor Gálvez, director;

Philippines, "Heneral Luna," Jerrold Tarog, director;

Poland, "11 Minutes," Jerzy Skolimowski, director;

Portugal, "Arabian Nights – Volume 2, The Desolate One," Miguel Gomes, director;

Romania, "Aferim!" Radu Jude, director;

Russia, "Sunstroke," Nikita Mikhalkov, director;

Serbia, "Enclave," Goran Radovanović, director;

Singapore, "7 Letters," Royston Tan, Kelvin Tong, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin,

Boo Junfeng, K. Rajagopal, directors;

Slovakia, "Goat," Ivan Ostrochovský, director;

Slovenia, "The Tree," Sonja Prosenc, director;

South Africa, "The Two of Us," Ernest Nkosi, director;

South Korea, "The Throne," Lee Joon-ik, director;

Spain, "Flowers," Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga, directors;

Sweden, "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence," Roy Andersson, director;

Switzerland, "Iraqi Odyssey," Samir, director;

Taiwan, "The Assassin," Hou Hsiao-hsien, director;

Thailand, "How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)," Josh Kim, director;

Turkey, "Sivas," Kaan Müjdeci, director;

United Kingdom, "Under Milk Wood," Kevin Allen, director;

Uruguay, "A Moonless Night," Germán Tejeira, director;

Venezuela, "Gone with the River," Mario Crespo, director;

Vietnam, "Jackpot," Dustin Nguyen, director.


The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Entertainment Weekly Celebrates Its Birthday with "EW FEST"

Time Inc.’s Entertainment Weekly Launches First-Ever “EW FEST” Presented by LG OLED TV on October 24 in NYC

Lineup to Include Tina Fey, Aziz Ansari, The Band Perry, Ryan Murphy and More

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Saturday, October 24, 2015, Time Inc.’s (NYSE:TIME) Entertainment Weekly will present EW FEST, a day-long celebration of the best in pop culture and EW’s 25th anniversary. Presented by LG OLED TV, an entirely new category of television, EW Fest will feature unique programming including binge-a-thon screenings, first looks, editor Q&A’s, book signings, and panels with and performances by today’s most sought after talent. The line-up includes a look inside the X-Files writer’s room with creator Chris Carter and writer James Wong; an appearance by Aziz Ansari, discussing his new Netflix series; an evening with Tina Fey; and an acoustic performance with The Band Perry. EW FEST panels include Ryan Murphy along with special guests from his hit shows, Scholastic’s David Levithan moderating a panel with YA authors and a digital influencers panel with YouTube creators Marcus Johns, Lilly Singh and more.

    “We’re thrilled to bring EW’s insider access to New York City where fans will have the opportunity to connect with actors and directors from their favorite TV shows and movies”

Binge-a-thon screenings will be shown for The Expanse (Syfy), a first look at Idiotsitter (Comedy Central), Lucifer (FOX), Ash vs. Evil Dead (Starz) with more to come. Attendees can relax in the LG OLED TV Living Room – a comfortable space to kick back, watch interviews and to check out what’s happening inside the LG OLED TV Studio.

“We’re thrilled to bring EW’s insider access to New York City where fans will have the opportunity to connect with actors and directors from their favorite TV shows and movies," said Henry Goldblatt, Editor of Entertainment Weekly. "This new event is the perfect way to cap off the brand's 25th anniversary celebration.”

“LG continues to innovate game-changing technologies that truly enrich and shape the way consumers view home entertainment, so we jumped at the chance to bring our revolutionary OLED TVs to the epicenter of entertainment at the EW Fest,” said David VanderWaal, vice president of marketing, LG Electronics USA. “LG OLED delivers perfect blacks and the most life-like colors imaginable, giving EW Fest attendees the opportunity to experience this entirely new category of television.”

EW FEST will take place at Industria Superstudio, located at 775 Washington St. in New York City, running from 11am – 6pm, and EW Fest @ Night from 7:30pm – 10:30pm.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.ew.com/ewfest.


ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Entertainment Weekly is your all-access pass to Hollywood’s most creative minds and most fascinating stars. The magazine was launched by Time Inc. in 1990 and is America’s leading consumer publication in the entertainment category, with a guaranteed circulation rate base of nearly 1.8 million and a combined audience of almost 27 million loyal, engaged fans. Each day, EW.com publishes a myriad of featured stories, blog posts, TV-recaps, original videos, film reviews and photo galleries. In April 2015, the PEOPLE/Entertainment Weekly Network reached #1 in its competitive set with 56.4 million unique visitors and during the same month, EW.com desktop, tablet and mobile growth hit an all-time high of 19.9 million combined unique visitors. Entertainment Weekly is the first to know about the best in entertainment. With sharp insight, unparalleled access and a trusted voice, EW keeps readers plugged into pop culture. This is where the buzz begins.

Entertainment Weekly is also available on the iPhone®, iPad®, NOOK Color™, HP Touchpad, Kindle Fire, and select Android™ devices. On social media, join the Entertainment Weekly community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Google +.

About OLED:
With OLED’s revolutionary technology, consumers can enjoy awe-inspiring picture with perfect blacks and incredible color, even from wide viewing angles unlike any LCD/LED TV can deliver. Blacks rendered by LG’s OLED TV are up to 200 times deeper than those of an LCD panel, creating an infinite contrast ratio and bringing colors to life like never before possible.

ABOUT TIME INC.
Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is one of the world's leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 140 million visitors each month, including over 60 websites. Our influential brands include People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Time, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Cooking Light, Fortune and Food & Wine, as well as more than 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom, such as Decanter, Horse & Hound and Wallpaper*. Time Inc. is home to celebrated franchises and events, including the Fortune 500, Time 100, People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the Essence Festival and the biennial Fortune Global Forum. Hundreds of thousands of people attend our events every year. We have been extending the power of our brands through various investments and acquisitions, including the formation of Sports Illustrated Play, a new business devoted to youth and amateur sports, and the acquisition of inVNT, a company that specializes in live media. We also provide content marketing, targeted local print and digital advertising programs, branded book publishing and marketing and support services, including subscription sales services for magazines and other products, retail distribution and marketing services and customer service and fulfillment services, for ourselves and third-party clients, including other magazine publishers.

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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Dark Horse Announces "Aliens: Defiance" Comic Book Series


NYCC 2015: DARK HORSE TO DELIVER ONGOING 'ALIENS: DEFIANCE'

NEW YORK, NY —As announced on the Dark Horse: CLASSIFIED! panel at New York Comic Con, writer Brian Wood (The Massive, Rebels) and artist Tristan Jones (Mad Max: Fury Road, TMNT) will take on the xenomorphs just in time to celebrate the anniversary of Aliens with a new ongoing series—Aliens: Defiance!

“Alien was groundbreaking when it first debuted, and has only grown in relevance and pop culture legend since,” remarked Wood. “Thirty-seven years is an impressive amount of time for any entertainment property to thrive, much less still top mainstream headlines and fuel speculation like it does. It’s an honor to be invited to add to that legend.”

In space, no one can hear you scream . . . Aliens: Defiance follows struggling Colonial Marine rookie Zula Hendricks as she goes AWOL to protect Earth from an unknown alien species.

“Few films are as timelessly terrifying and the fact that it continues to grip audiences and affect them beyond any of its successors and imitators (of which there are plenty) is the strongest testament to how truly transcendent everything that went into, and came out of, Alien is,” added Jones. “Being asked to be a part of something so defining, and so instrumental to the creative development of not just me, but so many, many others, is a lifelong dream come true.”

Aliens: Defiance #1 (of 12) is in stores April 27, 2016. Preorder your copy today at your local comic shop.

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Friday, October 9, 2015

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 10th, 2015 - Update #29

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From Variety:  CBS cancels "Extant" with Halle Berry, but is developing a legal drama with Berry.

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From InContention:  Cinematography Oscar hopefuls.

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From Variety:  "The Expendables 4" in 2017.

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From Variety:  Disney announces release dates for the next 5 years, including release dates for "Cars 3" and "The Incredibles 2."

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From YahooMovies:  Meet the new Disney princess, Moana.

From IMDb:  A photo of the young actress, Auli'i Cravalho, who will give voice to "Moana."

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From YahooMovies:  What has Rick Moranis been doing.

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From YahooMovies:  Francis Ford Coppola talks about one of my favorite movies, his film, "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

From Indiewire:  Danny Boyle says he is open to directing "28 Months Later," or whatever the third "28 Days Later" film would be called.

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From Vulture:  EEOC to investigate how few women get directing gigs in Hollywood.

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From YahooMusic:  Will Smith is reportedly returning to music with an album and world tour next year.

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From TheWrap:  The director of "Snowpiercer" is working on a monster movie, and one of his "Snowpiercer" actors, Tilda Swinton, will return for that.

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From BleedingCool:  There will apparently be a prequel to "The Shining."  Lord, have mercy!

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From  HitFix:  George Miller would like to do 2 more "Mad Max" films... in addition to some smaller non-SFX films.

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From JoBlo:  The search for the director of the 8th "Fast & Furious" film is down to 3, with F. Gary Gray apparently in the lead.

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From TheWrap:  The debut season of "Fear the Walking Dead" had better ratings than the original "The Walking Dead" had in its debut season.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  "The Martian" won the 10/2 to 10/4/2015 weekend box office with an estimated take of $55.7 million.  That is just short of the October opening weekend record that "Gravity" set in 2013.

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From ScreenRant:  Update on the "Power Rangers" movie reboot.

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From Variety:  Sony plans an animated "Ghostbusters" film.

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From ThePlaylist:  Lionsgate wants a "Cabin in the Woods" sequel.  So do I.

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From Variety:  "The Ring" sequel, "Rings" has lost its Nov. 13th, 2015 date, and will move to 2016, may the first quarter.

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From YahooCelebrity:  Porsche responds to Paul Walker lawsuit.  This will get ugly.


COMICS - Titles and Films:

From YahooNews:  "Ant Man" will have a sequel, "Ant Man and the Wasp."

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From SlashFilm:  In addition to being considered for "Furious 8" (the eighth "Fast & Furious" flick), F. Gary Gray is reportedly talking to Marvel about their "Black Panther" film, which is due in 2018.

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From Variety:  Seth Grahame-Smith, who is writing the "Lego Batman" movie and wrote the novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, is in talks to direct "The Flash" movie...

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From BleedingCool:  Another Marvel comic book is headed to ABC.  This time, it's the late Dwayne McDuffie's "Damage Control."

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From YahooNews:  The surprising choice for director "Thor: Ragnarok" is Taiki Waititi.

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From IGN:  Marvel boss, Kevin Feige, talks about Ronda Rousey's campaign to be Captain Marvel.

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From YahooNews:  Marvel's "Doctor Strange" will be an origin story.



Dark Horse Comics is Mr. Digital Worldwide

DARK HORSE DIGITAL COMICS CATALOG GOES GLOBAL

More than 1,000 Dark Horse monthly comics are now available on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble NOOK, Comixology, and Google Play, including Fight Club 2, Hellboy, and more

New York, NY/Portland, OR—Dark Horse Comics, the leader in independent entertainment publishing, announced the expansion of its monthly single-issue comics catalog across five new platforms, making Dark Horse the most widely distributed comics publisher digitally.

“We’re very pleased to offer our line of single-issue comics digitally to fans across the world,” remarked Dark Horse president and publisher Mike Richardson. “Dark Horse Digital has been at the forefront of the digital-comics movement through our own app-development team as well as our digital storefront, but now our growing relationship with our digital-publishing partners expands the choices for our readers to choose the platform and format they like best.”

All your favorite Dark Horse comic books, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Halo, Aliens, and more, are now available on your favorite digital platform the same day the print versions hit comic shops.

“We are very excited to be on these new platforms,” said Mark Bernardi, Dark Horse director of digital publishing. “Now, along with the Dark Horse Digital website and apps, there will be several other places for fans to get their digital comics the same day that print versions hit stores. We think this expanded distribution will be a boon to Dark Horse fans as well as the creators and licensors we partner with to create the amazing comics we publish each week.”

In 2011, the company celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in style, with the launch of an all-new proprietary digital-comics app, boasting thousands of titles for download through both the iTunes store and the Dark Horse Digital storefront at Digital.DarkHorse.com.

Just under a year after the launch of Dark Horse’s digital initiative, the company expanded the number of platforms on which comics fans can access their favorite Dark Horse graphic novels. Stemming from a successful partnership with Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK, Dark Horse announced a partnership with Google Play. In June 2015, Dark Horse Comics launched their graphic novel catalog on Comixology.

About Dark Horse Digital
Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has grown to become the third-largest comics publisher in the United States and is acclaimed internationally for the quality and diversity of its line. In 2011, the company that revolutionized the comic industry proudly presented its groundbreaking digital-publishing program, Dark Horse Digital. Dark Horse Digital offers its most popular titles at an unprecedented value, while providing the highest-quality reading experience possible. Single-issue comics are priced as low as just $0.99, and there is also an extensive list of free introductory #1 issues. Additionally, DH Digital’s “bundles” group together story arcs spanning multiple issues into affordable packages, allowing readers to get all the issues that comprise a complete narrative, starting at just $3.99 and up. And through cloud-based technology, Digital Store purchases can be read and enjoyed online on your computer or, mobile browser, and through the Dark Horse Bookshelf apps, available on iTunes App Store and Google Play.

To get started, simply log on to Digital.DarkHorse.com or download the app to create an account, and begin building your collection today.

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Review: "It Follows" is Old-Fashioned Scary Movie Gold

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review first appeared on Patreon.]

It Follows (2014)
Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  David Robert Mitchell
PRODUCERS:  Rebecca Green, David Kaplan, Erik Rommesmo, and Laura D. Smith
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mike Gioulakis
EDITOR:  Julio Perez IV
COMPOSER:  Rich Vreeland (as Disasterpeace)

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring:  Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi, Jake Weary, Debbie Williams, and Baily Spry

It Follows is a 2014 supernatural horror film from writer-director David Robert Mitchell.  The film focuses on a young woman who discovers that her life has taken a mysterious and sinister turn after a casual sexual encounter transmits a curse to her.  The film was released to North American theaters in March of 2015.

It Follows introduces Jaime “Jay” Height (Maika Monroe), a carefree college student living at home with her parents and sister in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.  She starts dating a young man named Hugh (Jake Weary), who is determined to have sexual intercourse with her.  Eventually, Jay does have sex with Hugh in the backseat of his car, after which, he incapacitates her.

Jay awakens to find herself tied to a wheelchair.  Hugh explains that through sex he has passed on a curse to Jay.  A malignant entity that is visible only to those that have received the curse will now pursue Jay at a walking pace.  Even if Jay were to go far away, it would relentlessly pursue her at a walking pace and find her regardless of how long that would take.  The entity can take on many different appearances, and if it catches Jay, it will kill her.  To free herself of this entity, Jay must have have sex with a new partner and pass it on to that person...

It Follows is a kind of old-fashioned horror movie.  The directing, acting, plot, score, and cinematography, but not special effects is what makes this movie work.  I would say that the score, sometimes layered synthesizer and sometimes pounding keys, is some of the best film music in a horror film since John Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween.  In fact, It Follows may be the truest heir to Carpenter's classic slasher flick.

It Follows is creepy, and when the music isn't making the viewer's skin crawl, the wide screen cinematography, with its matter-of-fact eye and its surreal interpretations, takes that viewer to the edge of his seat.  Mitchell, his cinematographer (Mike Gioulakis), and his editor (Julio Perez IV) are at their best when they blithely depict the approach of the entity as if it were delivering a candy-gram and not savage death.  I have to say that as good as the cast is, Mitchell, Gioulakis, and Perez could have achieved the same blood-chilling results with a wildly different cast.

The general interpretation of It Follows is that it is a parable about sex, concerning sexually-transmitted diseases (AIDS), the sexual revolution, and/or anxieties around intimacy.  The film can also be seen as thematically addressing mortality, with “it” or the entity representing the inevitability of death or perhaps, the existential dread of one's inevitable demise.

I think the film's Detroit and Detroit-area locales can open the film up to socioeconomic and political interpretations.  If the suburbs are a safe haven from the dangers of urban Detroit, suburbanites would naturally expect that they left or passed on the troubles, dangers, and problems of the city to “them,” those other people they left behind.  “It” the entity is a trouble that one passes on to another, like a problem that is out of sight or out of mind, except that it doesn't work that way.  “White flight” might allow one to ignore trouble, but that does not mean the trouble ceased to exist.

Eventually, the person who passes on the curse will have to deal with the trouble of the entity again.  Several times in It Follows, the story takes the characters through the abandoned, desolate, ruined landscape of Detroit “south of 8 Mile.”  One of the characters might be tempted to leave his troubles in the “slums,” but he knows that “it,” like many problems, cannot be stopped by walls or borders – real or imagined.

Ultimately, It Follows has dream or nightmare-like qualities that push it closer to the realms of horror and dark fantasy and a little away from social themes and artistic interpretations.  Although it stumbles a little in the last act, It Follows is a chilling contemporary thriller that harkens back to the stylish, classic horror movies of the past.  It is skillful rather than ironic (like the first Scream film).  It is scary and scary again.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, August 11, 2015


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