News

Dimension Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment have announced an August 23rd Blu-ray and DVD release of Clown, directed by Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and produced by Eli Roth (The Green Inferno):

Press Release: Beverly Hills, CA – (July 12, 2016) – Producer Eli Roth (Knock Knock, Hostel franchise) and director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cop Car) team up to bring audiences a haunting twist on the scary clown. Clown arrives on Blu-ray™ and DVD August 23 from Dimension Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment. From a screenplay co-written by Watts and Christopher Ford, the film stars Laura Allen (“Ravenswood,” “All My Children”), Andy Powers (In Her Shoes, “Oz”) and Peter Stormare (“American Gods,” “The Blacklist,” Fargo).

Clown is a story of a loving father who dons a clown outfit and makeup to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover that the costume – red nose and wig included– will not come off...

Alejandro Amenábar’s Regression follows Angela (Emma Watson), who blames her father for an offense he can’t remember. Detective Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is assigned to the case while psychologist Dr. Raines must help the father recollect his memories. Regression will roll out on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD, and On Demand on May 10th.

Press Release: Beverly Hills, CA – (March 22, 2016) – Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar’s (The Others, The Sea Inside) latest psychological thriller Regression arrives May 10th on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment and Dimension Films, and Digital HD and On Demand from Starz Digital. Regression features an ensemble cast led by Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Training Day, The Purge), and Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Perks of Being a Wallflower). Hailed as a “carefully-crafted tale of collective psychosis” by the Hollywood Reporter, Regression also stars David Thewlis (Harry Potter, Anomalisa), Dale Dickey (“True Blood”) and Devon Bostick...

Low Winter Sun

AMC's brooding new crime series "Low Winter Sun" premiered to 2.5 million viewers for its Sunday night debut.

That's a big drop from the 5.9 million who tuned in an hour earlier for "Breaking Bad". Still, that’s roughly the same as the season six average for AMC’s highly acclaimed "Mad Men". [Source: Freep

The Hour of Peril

The Weinstein Company has acquired TV rights to Daniel Stashower's best-selling nonfiction historical thriller novel "The Hour Of Peril". Brendan Deneen and Charles Spicer are attached to executive produce a miniseries based on the work.

The true story tale follows the legendary detective Allan Pinkerton and his most trusted operative Kate Warner as they raced to prevent a plot to assassinate President-Elect Abraham Lincoln before he could take office. [Source: Deadline]

Toy Story of Terror

Disney Pixar's upcoming Halloween special "Toy Story of Terror!" is set to debut on ABC on October 16th...

The Weinstein Co. has acquired TV rights to Daniel Stashower’s best-selling narrative nonfiction book, The Hour Of Peril. The historical thriller is eyed as a TV miniseries, with Brendan Deneen and Charles Spicer attached to executive produce through Macmillan Films. Published in February by Minotaur Books, Hour Of Peril tells the true story of how the legendary detective Allan Pinkerton and his most trusted operative, Kate Warne — America’s first female private eye — raced against the clock to detect and prevent a plot to assassinate President-Elect Abraham Lincoln before he could take the oath of office. There have been a couple of other attempts to bring the Pinkerton-Warne story to the small screen in the past few years, including Pinkerton, a limited series from Bob Cochran & Gerard Butler, which was in the works at Starz, and drama series focusing on Warne from Adam Sussman at USA. The Weinstein Co.

The Weinstein Co. has purchased television rights to Daniel Stashower's New York Times bestseller, "The Hour of Peril." Project is currently eyed as a historical thriller and TV miniseries, with Brendan Deneen and Charles Spicer attached to executive produce for Macmillan Films. "Daniel Stashower's 'The Hour of Peril' is an untold and landmark moment in American history, with the suspense and fervor of a crime thriller, which will make for immensely captivating television," TWC's television president Meryl Poster said in a statement. Also read: Netflix Adds 'The Artist,' 'Undefeated' in Weinstein Company Deal The...

The Weinstein Company announced today they have acquired television rights to Daniel Stashower.s New York Times bestselling narrative nonfiction book, The Hour of Peril . TWC is eyeing the historical thriller as a television mini-series, with Brendan Deneen and Charles Spicer attached to executive produce on behalf of Macmillan Films. Published in February 2013 by Minotaur Books, The Hour of Peril uncovers the riveting true story of how the legendary detective Allan Pinkerton and his most trusted operative, the fearless Kate Warne . America.s first female private eye . raced against the clock to detect and prevent a plot to assassinate President-Elect Abraham Lincoln before he could take the oath of office. This pair of American Heroes safely delivered Lincoln to Washington to...

I must confess, I have a love for all things magic, whether the intimacy of a close up card trick or the majesty of making the Statue of Liberty disappear, so when the opportunity arose to review The Dime Museum Murders, the first in a series of reprints of The Harry Houdini Mysteries (originally released back in 1999) starring one of the greatest magicians of all time, I jumped at the chance.

Written by Daniel Stashower, himself a magician and author of The Ectoplasmic Man, The Dime Museum Murders plucks twenty-three year old struggling escapologist Harry Houdini and his younger brother Theodore 'Dash' Hardeen from their lowly billing in the titular curiosity show and drops them into the middle of a murder investigation.

It seems that toy tycoon Branford Wintour has been murdered by a magic trick in the study of his Fifth Avenue mansion, which was also locked from the...

This should actually sound like a question, because for now, we only have a rumor that there is a possibility for Joaquin Phoenix to return on a big screen.

There are several reports saying Phoenix will play Edgar Allan Poe in a film adapted from Daniel Stashower’s The Beautiful Cigar Girl. Seems like Phoenix’s obscurity is over?

Phoenix would be playing the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, in the literary thriller about the grisly inspiration for Poe’s “The Mystery of Marie Rogers.”

The book tells the story about Mary Rogers, a clerk at a tobacco store frequented by popular writers. She disappeared on October 4, 1838, in New York City, but only a few days later the newspapers announced her return.

It was said she had eloped with a naval officer. Three years later, on July 25, 1841, she disappeared again. Her body was found floating in the Hudson River on July 28 in Hoboken,...

New posters for Toy Story 3, Kick Ass, Predators, Skateland and Just Wright.

Director Antoine Fuqua and Ethan Hawke discuss how the ending to "Brooklyn's Finest" changed between the Sundance premiere last year and the theatrical release version the other week over on MTV News.

"Peter Graves, the original Jim Phelps in both incarnations of the TV series "Mission: Impossible", died of natural causes in Pacific Palisades on Sunday. He was 83. Graves also had memorable roles as a German spy in "Stalag 17" and the rather strangely wired pilot in comedy classic "Airplane"...." ( full details)

"A representative for Joaquin Phoenix has denied a recent claim by "Slumdog Millionaire" sound designer Resul Pookutty that Phoenix will come out of cinematic retirement to star in a film adaptation of Daniel Stashower 's Poe-inspired novel "The Beautiful Cigar Girl"..." ( full details)

"Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" looks to be getting a release...

In today's India Times, Oscar-winning (for Slumdog Millionaire) sound recordist Resul Pookutty discusses an intriguing-sounding new project on which he's just signed, a film about a real-life incident that happened to Edgar Allan Poe, starring as Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary writer. Get the deets after the jump.   "It is a very special challenge," says Pookutty in The Times, "because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It's an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allen Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin plays Edgar Allen...

Joaquin Phoenix apparently doesn't stay retired for too long. More than a year after announcing his retirement from acting in 2008, the "Reservation Road" star is reported to resume his movie career with a role as poet Edgar Allen Poe in a feature film titled "The Beautiful Cigar Girl".

Revealing the casting news was sound recordist Resul Pookutty when discussing about the project with Mumbia Mirror. "It's an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allen Poe which happened just months before his death," he said. "Joaquin plays Edgar Allen Poe."

No further details on "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" has been disclosed, but words are, it will be dealing with the peculiar death of tobacco clerk Mary Rogers and the story Poe penned a year later "The Mystery of Marie Roget." There is also no words on who will...

After announcing his retirement from acting in late 2008, Joaquin Phoenix may be seen on big screen again. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Oscar-winning sound recordist Resul Pookutty who previously worked on "Slumdog Millionaire" has revealed that the actor is set to star in "The Beautiful Cigar Girl", portraying Edgar Allan Poe.

"It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It's an adaptation of 'The Beautiful Cigar Girl' by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allan Poe which happened just months before his death," Resul says on his involvement in the project, before claiming "Joaquin plays Edgar Allan Poe."

There is no word on who will direct or write the script for the movie. The book itself tells the story of Edgar's investigation in solving the mystery behind the brutal death of a beautiful society girl.

Although Joaquin Phoenix tells the media he has quit Hollywood to focus on his quote "rap career", rumor has it he's not telling the truth (partial because his friend Casey Affleck has been documenting the entire publicity stunt). Now according to India Times Phoenix is set to play Edgar Allan Poe in "The Beautiful Cigar Girl"...

Yes you read that right, the actor, turned rap start, turned nut job has his sites set to play poet Edgar Allen Poe in a big screen adaptation of Daniel Stashower's "The Beautiful Cigar Girl," which revolves around an eerie re-life experience of Poe just months before his death. Who better to play a nut than a nut we say!

The news comes from sound recording artist Resul Pookutty, who won an Oscar for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire." The film "Cigar Girl" will be his second international film. "I couldn't be happier...

Thanks to the power of the Internet, news now comes to us from a wide variety of sources from the trades to Facebook to Twitter to such faraway places as the India Times, according to which Joaquin Phoenix will be portraying Edgar Allan Poe in an adaptation of the book The Beautiful Cigar Girl.

India Times got the story from Oscar-winning sound recordist Resul Pookutty (Slumdog Millionaire) that he's been hired to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It’s an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allan Poe which happened just months before his death.

From EW.com comes this summary of Stashower's novel: In July 1841, Mary Rogers, a beautiful young New York cigar clerk, was strangled and her body tossed in the Hudson River, a crime so ghastly that it pitted the city's...

Even though Joaquin Phoenix claims that he has quit Hollywood to focus on his rap career, I'm not sure many believe that, especially since Casey Affleck has been documenting the entire thing. Now, India Times is reporting that Phoenix is set to play poet Edgar Allen Poe in a big screen adaptation of Daniel Stashower's "The Beautiful Cigar Girl," which revolves around an eerie re-life experience of Poe just months before his death. The news comes from sound recording artist Resul Pookutty, who won an Oscar for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire." "Cigar Girl" will be his second international film. "I couldn't be happier because I am doing a period film," he said. "It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. Joaquin plays Edgar Allen Poe."...

Over a year ago, Joaquin Phoenix stunned the media with the announcement he was retiring from acting to pursue a career as a rapper. But if the people over at The Mumbai Mirror are to be believed, it would appear Phoenix may be coming out of retirement to play Edgar Allan Poe in a film adaptation of Daniel Stashower’s book The Beautiful Cigar Girl.

The Mumbai Mirror spoke with Resul Pookutty, the Oscar-winning sound recordist for Slumdog Millionaire, who revealed details about his next movie:

“I couldn’t be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854. It’s an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allen Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin plays Edgar Allen Poe.

Update: Phoenix's rep has denied the story, according to Gossip Cop.Oh well-- fun while it lasted. Well here's some strange news for your Friday. While no one was ever truly convinced that Joaquin Phoenix was abandoning acting in favor of some kind of rap career during that weird publicity stunt phase last year, we haven't seen his name attached to any movies since. But now, if The Playlist is properly reading a report out of India, the dry spell may be ending in order for Phoenix to play Edgar Allan Poe. Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are. The news comes from Mumbai-based sound recordist Resul Pookutty, who talked to the Mumbai Mirror about his next project, an adaptations of Daniel Stashower's novel The Beautiful Cigar Girl, based on a true story from Poe's life. Pookutty told the paper that Phoenix would be playing Poe, but didn't...

A little juicy nugget of news was hiding in the India Times where they announced that Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire composer Resul Pookutt would be scoring a feature film adaptation of Daniel Stashower's The Beautiful Cigar Girl. They reveal that Joaquin Phoenix (Signs, Gladiator) will be playing Edgar Allen Poe in the period piece that recounts the last days of Poe where he attempted to solve a local murder in his fictional magazine serial featuring "Dupin". You can read a bit more about the book below. The author of Edgar winner Teller of Tales now recounts the story of Manhattan tobacco store clerk Mary Rogers, a mysterious beauty whose posse of admirers made her a minor celebrity in 1841 in various newspapers' society pages. More...

Joaquin Phoenix famously 'retired' from acting a year ago (after finishing Two Lovers) to start some sort of career as a rap Mc which may or may not be fodder for a documentary or other film product of sorts involving Casey Affleck. It's all a bit murky, really, but I don't think anyone has ever been convinced that Phoenix is really retired. If this report is correct, he isn't, and will in fact be playing Edgar Allan Poe in an adaptation of Daniel Stashower's book The Beautiful Cigar Girl. The news comes from the Mumbai Mirror, by way of The Playlist and their magical Google alerts. The messenger is Resul Pookutty, a sound man who won an Oscar for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. Pookutty says: I couldn’t be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate...

Joaquin Phoenix returns to acting It seems that Joaquin Phoenix's recent retirement from acting hasn't suited the actor. Either that, or it was all a clever ploy in creating his upcoming rap documentary with Casey Affleck. In an interview with Mumbia Mirror, Oscar winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty, who won for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, announced that Phoenix, an Oscar-winning thespian himself, is set to return to the big screen sometime next year in an adaptation of Daniel Stashower's The Beautiful Cigar Girl. Pookutty is also working on the film.

Phoenix is set to play Edgar Allen Poe in The Beautiful Cigar Girl, which is based on an eerie real-life experience the author had just months before his death. The script is based on a true story that follows Poe's investigation in solving the mystery behind the brutal death of a beautiful society girl. The person behind...

Good news! Joaquin Phoenix will come out of hiding and his "rap career" to be in a movie. According to Resul Pookutty, the sound recordist for Slumdog Millionaire, just got a job working on the adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower. In the film, Phoenix will play the role of Edgar Allan Poe. This is what Pookutty had to say, .I couldn.t be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures...

Joaquin Phoenix's rap career has been put on hold - he will return to the big screen as Edgar Allen Poe, according to Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty.

The Walk The Line actor quit Hollywood last year, announcing plans to focus on becoming a hip-hop star.

He disappeared from the spotlight, only emerging for a string of bizarre TV interviews, which saw him sporting a scraggly beard and giving one-word replies to questions, and a couple of disastrous gigs.

However, Slumdog Millionaire sound designer Pookutty has revealed Phoenix is heading back to acting to play iconic American writer and poet Poe.

Pookutty tells India's Mumbai Mirror, "I couldn't be happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854.

"It's an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allan Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin plays Edgar Allen Poe."...

Signs and Walking the Line star Joaquin Phoenix is playing Edgar Allan Poe in yet another film centering around the writer. That's right, Phoenix is supposedly out of retirement - which he announced some time ago. According to the India Times, the project is an adaptation of Daniel Stashower's "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" which concerned the peculiar death of tobacco clerk Mary Rogers and the story Poe penned a year later "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt." No writer or director has been revealed for this film which sounds a bit Black Dahlia -esque. More as it comes...

So apparently Joaquin Phoenix is ready to make his acting comeback—by playing the macabre author Edgar Allan Poe...and as far as we're concerned, it's one of those choices that seems tailor made.

If you've been following the news, sound designer Resul Pookutty, who won an Oscar for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, stated as much to the Mumbai Mirror. "I couldn't be happier because I am doing a period film," Pookutty said. "It is a very special challenge because I have to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854."

When pressed for further details, Pookutty added, "It's an adaptation of The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower and based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allan Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin plays Edgar Allan Poe."

The role could be a good showcase for Phoenix, one of the more critically-acclaimed actors of his generation,...

Rules: You’re eligible to win if 1) You have not won anything from me in 2009; 2) You have a U.S., Canadian, or U.K. mailing address; 3) You enter once and only once. Just in time for Guy Ritchie’s new Sherlock Holmes film, Titan Books is releasing new editions of four fantastic pastiches of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary consulting detective. The series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes includes the titles War of the Worlds, by Manly and Wade Wellman and first published in 1975, which throws Holmes into the mix of H.G. Wells’s classic story of Martian invasion; The Veiled Detective, author David Stuart Davies’ controversial 2004 take on the Holmes mythology; The Ectoplasmic Man, by Daniel Stashower and first published in 1985, in which Holmes encounters Harry Houdini; and The Scroll of the Dead, also by David Stuart Davies and first published in 1998, about a disaster surrounding an ancient Egyptian papyrus.