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Katya Martín, who is best known for her role in the short-lived ABC series Promised Land, and Catharine Daddario, who was recently seen in If – and yes, if the last name made you wonder, she is the sister of Alexandra Daddario from Mayfair Witches, True Detective, and Texas Chainsaw 3D – have signed on to star in the horror comedy Muffled, Deadline reports. Filming is expected to begin in the Greater New Orleans area sometime in early September.

Muffled marks the feature debut of writer/director Stephen McNamee, who has a decade of short films to his name. The story McNamee has crafted for this one follows Nora (Martín) and Harper (Daddario) as they return to their hometown to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend. While interviewing old acquaintances, they discover that their questions are unwelcome, and soon their search takes a dark turn.

Stephen McNamee and Burns McNamee are...

We here at IndieWire love watching films on actual film — and cities like New York and Los Angeles, where repertory cinema is thriving, provide no shortage of opportunities to do just that. Scoping out selections in both major metropolises, we’ve compiled a list of the best screening options for the upcoming month, which include retrospectives on beloved auteurs featuring multiple 35mm prints, as well as 4K restorations of classic films that shouldn’t be missed.

In keeping with our appreciation for the theatrical experience throughout the country and world, IndieWire also gives a special shoutout to The Brattle Theatre of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as some of its stellar curation over the next month. Keep reading for our picks.

New York Film Forum ‘Blacula,’ William Marshall Courtesy Everett Collection

In anticipation of the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s WWII French resistance drama “Army of Shadows,” which will...

It’s the summer of “Blaxploitation, Baby!,” the latest festival hosted by Film Forum.

The indie theater announced the upcoming festival which will take place August 16 through August 22. The program celebrates the early ‘70s genre of Black cinema, and features films wth iconic movie stars Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree, Ron O’Neal, Tamara Dobson, Jim Brown, Vonetta McGee, Fred Williamson, Isaac Hayes, and more.

“Blaxploitation, Baby!” is dedicated to author and pioneering film historian Donald Bogle, who collaborated on Film Forum’s first Blaxploitation festival in 1995. Bogle credited Melvin Van Peebles’ filmography for helping to establish the genre. “Blaxploitation, Baby!” additionally ranges from works from directors such as Ossie Davis, Gordon Parks, and Gordon Parks Jr.

As well as the screenings, the festival will include the sales of critic and historian Odie Henderson’s “Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation” and Donald Bogle’s acclaimed TCM book “Hollywood Black” at concessions.

Viewers can snag the premium cable channel/on-demand service MGM+ for a great price for one month with this deal.

MGM+ is often overlooked by viewers who are browsing for a new streamer, and Amazon wants to help audiences rectify that mistake. Prime Video subscribers can sign up for MGM+ now through the Prime Video Channels subscription hub and get one month of the service for just $3.50 (50% off). Viewers can use their MGM+ subscription to stream the channel live, or to watch its various new movies, original shows, and other titles on-demand at their leisure, all without having to deal with commercials during playback. The deal is only good until the end of the day on Monday, April 22, however, so don’t wait to sign up!

Get 1 Month of MGM+ for Just $3.50 (50% Off) Click here to get the deal from MGM+ and Prime Video Channels. Click “Get Started.” Confirm your...

Exclusive: Roslyn Ruff (Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector) has been tapped as a lead opposite Neve Campbell in Avalon, ABC’s drama series based on Michael Connelly’s short story, from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television.

Avalon, which received a straight-to-series order from ABC, takes place in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where L.A. Sheriff’s Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy (Campbell) heads up a small office. Catalina has a local population that serves more than 1 million tourists a year, and each day when the ferries arrive, hundreds of potential new stories enter the island. Detective Searcy is pulled into a career-defining mystery that will challenge everything she knows about herself and the island.

Ruff will play Lena, a police administrative dispatcher, “gatekeeper and grand guardian of perspective.” She’s unflappable, always a voice of reason. Self-reliant, very spiritual and independent, she...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Apollo 10 ½ A Space Age Childhood (Richard Linklater)

A delightful meditation on childhood in the summer of 1969 set literally in the shadows of NASA’s central operations in Houston, Richard Linklater’s contemplative and vividly animated Apollo 10 ½ A Space Age Childhood reflects on the filmmaker’s own experiences. It captures the joy and wonder of childhood through the eyes of Stan, a ten-year-old who fantasizes about being recruited for “space camp” by NASA. His father (Bill Wise), a frugal but caring man, has uprooted his family from the city to a newly built suburban development in the shadow of the Astrodome and Astroworld amusement parks. Black’s adult narrator fills in the blanks for us with whimsical, nostalgic details that highlight just how...

“Cyrano” star Kelvin Harrison Jr. will next embody American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a new project from director Julius Onah.

Harrison and Onah previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed drama “Luce,” which nabbed best male lead and best director nominations at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Developed and financed by Endeavor Content, the biographical film, titled “Samo Lives,” will celebrate the life, career and impact of the groundbreaking New York-born, Haitian-Puerto Rican American artist whose seminal paintings and street art defined the Neo-expressionism arts movement of the 1980s.

In 1983, Basquiat became the youngest artist to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York, at just 22 years old. The acclaimed artist died on August 12, 1988 at the age of 27, but his work continues to make a great impact on the art world. At a Sotheby’s auction in 2017, Basquiat’s painting “Untitled” sold for $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings...

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“King Richard” is finally here. The critically acclaimed biopic starring Will Smith as Venus and Serena Williams’ father, Richard Williams, arrived in theaters and on HBO Max November 19.

Smith’s performance is already generating Oscar buzz, and for fans who want to experience the movie from the comfort of home, it will remain on the streaming platform for the next 31 days.

“King Richard” showcases Richard’s instrumental role in helping his daughters become two of the most phenomenally gifted athletes in the world. From his extraordinary determination and unflinching drive to his carefully drafted 78-page plan, “King Richard” brings the “nuances and intricacies” of Richard’s life story “and the Williams family in general to the screen,...

Netflix has given an eight-episode order to Grendel, a comic book adaptation from Supernatural co-showrunner Andrew Dabb and starring Abubakr Ali (Katy Keene) in the title role.

Based on the masked vigilante from the award-winning Matt Wagner/Dark Horse comic books, the series follows Hunter Rose, a gifted fencer, writer and assassin who, in seeking to avenge the death of a lost love, goes to war with New York’s criminal underworld. Except then he realizes, “Why beat them, when you can join them?”

More from TVLineWednesday: Gwendoline Christie Joins Netflix's Addams Family SeriesLocke & Key Season 2 Gets Netflix Premiere Date...

Fascination with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali’s complex friendship got a boost from pop culture over the last year or so: Theirs was a central relationship in Regina King’s debut feature “One Night In Miami,” and it was also highlighted in the Epix series “The Godfather of Harlem,” starring Forest Whitaker. As interesting as these portrayals are, truth is often more compelling than fiction, which is exactly what Netflix’s provocative documentary “Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali” illustrates.

The film is driven by the book “Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X” from Purdue professor Randy Roberts and Georgia Tech’s Johnny Smith, both of whom are consistent presences throughout the documentary. Directed by Marcus A. Clarke (“Around the Way”) and produced by “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, “Blood Brothers” brilliantly outlines the historical context in which these two powerhouses emerged.

The documentary...

The comedian and former The Daily Show correspondent talks about his favorite Blaxploitation movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Castle (1997)

The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary

Pressure (1976)

Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Boss (1975)

Django Unchained (2012) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Thing With Two Heads (1972) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)

The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)

Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)

Black Samurai (1977)

Truck Turner (1974)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)

Friday Foster (1975)

That Man Bolt (1973)

Blacula (1972)

Foxy Brown (1974) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

Willie Dynamite (1973) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Billy Jack (1971)

John Wick (2014)

The Matrix (1999)

Cleopatra Jones...

The writer/director returns to talk about his favorite Blaxploitation movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Man Bites Dog (1992)

Trick Baby (1972)

The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Pelli’s trailer commentary

The Untouchables (1987)

Predator (1987)

Purple Rain (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Loved One (1965) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Live And Let Die (1973)

Enter The Dragon (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Green Hornet (1974)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

The Last Dragon (1985) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Dead Presidents (1995)

Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Shaft (1971) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)

Coffy (1973) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary

Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary

Boxcar Bertha (1972) – Julie Corman...

Godfather of Harlem Season 2 Trailer — Epix‘s Godfather of Harlem: Season 2 TV show trailer has been released. The Godfather of Harlem: Season 2 trailer stars Forest Whitaker, Nigel Thatch, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Giancarlo Esposito, Lucy Fry, Paul Sorvino, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Chazz Palminteri. Crew Chris Brancato and [...]

Continue reading: Godfather Of Harlem: Season 2 Trailer: Forest Whitaker returns as Bumpy Johnson in His Fight to take Back Harlem [Epix]...

Michael Wright, who is President of cable network Epix, is to take over MGM’s scripted television duties following the departure of Steve Stark.

This comes after it emerged that Stark was leaving as head of scripted television for MGM and President of MGM/UA Television.

Wright, who is extending his contract with the company, becomes President of MGM Scripted Television and will serve a dual role, continuing in his position as boss of Epix. He will oversee MGM Scripted Television’s development and production of scripted programming and report to MGM’s Worldwide Television Group Chairman Mark Burnett.

Wright joined Epix, where he oversees original programming, distribution and marketing, in 2017.

During his tenure running Epix, he has been responsible for scripted series such as The Godfather of Harlem, starring and produced by Forest Whitaker, Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman’s butler Alfred from DC and Wbtv, Steve Conrad’s Perpetual Grace,...

Black cinema is too often left out of the conversations that surround award shows and milestone achievements. Still, its impact on popular culture is undeniable — and music is a big part of why that is. From Black Caesar to Black Panther, black film soundtracks have consistently birthed some of the greatest songs of their time, and they’ve been a place for artists from Curtis Mayfield to Kendrick Lamar to deepen and expand their sounds. The songs on this playlist, drawn from films from the 1970s through today, speak to...

There will be no more Interrogation at CBS All Access.

The digital platform has canceled the crime drama starring Peter Sarsgaard after one season. The series had launched all 10 episodes on February 6.

Interrogation explores one murder through 10 separate interrogations. It is based on a real-life case that spans more than 20 years, centering on a young man charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother. After being sentenced to life in prison, he continued to fight to prove his innocence. Each episode is structured around interrogations informed by real police case files, with Sarsgaard stepping into the role of David Russell, the lead detective on the case.

2019-20 TV Renewals And Cancellations

Kyle Gallner (Outsiders) plays the accused; David Strathairn plays Eric’s father; Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dolemite Is My Name) plays Chris Keller, a troubled and homeless teen who befriends Eric; and Vincent D’Onofrio (Godfather of Harlem) plays Sgt.

We’ve been lucky to take part in several, brilliant virtual junkets across the course of this mad old year, but few have entertained us quite like the brilliant Giancarlo Esposito, promoting the UK premiere of TV series The Godfather of Harlem, which comes to Starzplay this weekend.

We spoke about his character, and stepping back onto streets he knows so well, no less because he’s worked with Spike Lee before in his New York set productions. We also get him talking (which wasn’t very hard) about The Mandalorian season two, and how he fits into that project, and of course, what he makes of Baby Yoda. And we couldn’t let this time go past without chatting about Breaking Bad, where he plays Gus – as we countdown to the very final season of Better Call Saul, as he confirms they’re back shooting next Spring.

Watch this interview – in full,...

The 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards are in the books and HBO topped all other platforms with 30 total wins. It’s Regina Kinda-led limited series “Watchmen” took home 11 statuettes, the most of any show nominated this year.

In a distant second to HBO was Netflix with 21 victories. Pop TV came in third place with 10 golden ladies, nine of which went to the final season of Dan Levy and Eugene Levy’s “Schitt’s Creek,” making that show the second-biggest winner of the night among programs.

Other networks/streaming services near the top of the winners list were Disney+ and NBC, which tied at No. 4 with 8 wins apiece. In fifth place was VH1 with six statuettes, followed by a tie for sixth between ABC and National Geographic, with both channels picking up five wins.

In the series race, behind winner “Watchmen” and runner-up “Schitt’s Creek” were Disney+’s live-action “Star Wars” series...

Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Richard Thomas, Linda Emond and Emma Nelson are joining Sandra Bullock and Viola Davis in an untitled Netflix thriller from Graham King.

Aisling Franciosi and Rob Morgan are also on board to star. Nora Fingscheidt will direct from a script by “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” helmer Christopher McQuarrie. King will produce for Gk Films alongside Bullock through her Fortis Films as well as Veronica Ferres for Construction Film.

Bullock’s character is released from prison after serving time for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past. Facing severe judgment from her former friends and peers, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind.

The film marks the second collaboration between Bullock and Netflix following the successful thriller “Bird Box.” Nan Morales, Nicola Shindler, Sally Wainwright and Colin Vaines will exec produce the pic.

Is there a filmmaker working currently that has as much of an eclectic filmography as John Ridley? While we can’t say that everything he’s written and/or directed is incredible, Ridley has credits that include scripts for films such as “U-Turn,” “Red Tails,” “12 Year’s a Slave,” and “Ben-Hur.” And as a director, he’s worked on projects such as a Jimi Hendrix biopic and the upcoming limited series “The Godfather of Harlem.” So, it shouldn’t shock anyone that his next big project is a musical featuring music from the duo behind “The Greatest Showman” and “La La Land.”

According to Deadline, Ridley has signed on to write, direct, and produce a new limited series for Showtime.

Continue reading John Ridley Teams With ‘La La Land’ Songwriters For New Musical Limited Series At Showtime at The Playlist.

William X. Lee’s (Black Mamba) Gangsters Incorporated starring Joe Estevez, Mel Novak, and Shawn C. Phillips gets worldwide distribution on Amazon, Fye, TCM, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, and Target on Tuesday, September 17th. With cinematic nods to The Godfather, Black Caesar, and GoodFellas, William X. Lee’’s Gangsters Incorporated tells the story of America’s first African-American Don, or head of a crime family. This compelling film is a tale of family, trust, honor and betrayal. You know what they say: ''Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies buried.’' Also starring Corum Sanford, Steven A Guynn, William Wreggelsworth, Louis Banks,...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Larry Cohen details the typically unorthodox story behind the hurry-up production of the sequel to his sleeper hit Black Caesar. Fred Williamson’s Black Godfather is resurrected from his semi-death to avenge himself on the Mafia. James Brown’s music was dumped by Larry in favor of Edwin Starr, and ended up on Brown’s album “The Payback.”

The post Hell Up in Harlem appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

The man behind the It’s Alive and Maniac Cop franchises also wrote scripts for TV and the Colin Farrell thriller Phone Booth

Larry Cohen, director of fondly remembered cult thrillers such as Black Caesar, It’s Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent, has died aged 77, it has been reported. Cohen was a key figure in exploitation movie circles in the 70s and 80s, as well as writing scripts and storylines for TV shows such as The Fugitive and Columbo, before staging a feature film comeback with the script for the Colin Farrell thriller Phone Booth in 2002.

The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro praised him as “a true iconoclast and independent”, while Baby Driver director Edgar Wright wrote on social media: “For so many fun high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets, for so many truly inspiring cult movies, I thank you Larry.”...

Larry Cohen, the director of campy horror classics like It’s Alive, The Stuff, Q and God Told Me To, has died at the age of 77.

Bloody Disgusting first reported news of the prolific screenwriter and filmmaker’s death, which Cohen’s publicist confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter, adding that Cohen died Saturday night surrounded by friends and loved ones. No cause of death was revealed.

Cohen – who also penned the grisly Maniac Cop series, Best Seller, Phone Booth and Cellular alongside episodes of police procedurals like Columbo and NYPD Blue...

Larry Cohen, the avant-garde writer and director who made his mark in the horror and blaxploitation genres with such innovative cult classics as It's Alive, God Told Me To, Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, has died. He was 82.

Cohen died Saturday night at his longtime home in Beverly Hills, his friend Merv Bloch told The Hollywood Reporter.

The older brother of late Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen — she got her start promoting his early films — Cohen began his career by writing for television in the late 1950s, and he created the Chuck Connors-starring Branded for ...

Larry Cohen, the avant-garde writer and director who made his mark in the horror and blaxploitation genres with such innovative cult classics as It's Alive, God Told Me To, Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, has died. He was 82.

Cohen died Saturday night at his longtime home in Beverly Hills, his friend Merv Bloch told The Hollywood Reporter.

The older brother of late Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen — she got her start promoting his early films — Cohen began his career by writing for television in the late 1950s, and he created the Chuck Connors-starring Branded for ...

By Jeremy Carr

The success of Larry Cohen’s 1973 Blaxploitation classic, Black Caesar, was so immediately evident that producer Samuel Z. Arkoff, then head of American International Pictures, put the sequel wheels in motion almost instantly. The follow-up, Hell Up in Harlem, was released just 10 months later, still in 1973. Such a hasty turnaround certainly makes its mark on the completed picture, with a frenetic tempo, chaotic storyline, and haphazard construction that all seems to mirror its own pace of production. Yet even in the face of this slapdash development, the film itself is thoroughly entertaining, if not quite living up to its predecessor.

Reprising his role as Tommy Gibbs, the shrewd criminal entrepreneur who worked his way up through the underworld ranks in Black Caesar, Fred Williamson starts off the sequel in dire straits. As seen in the earlier film, Tommy had proudly flaunted an aggressive charm, with a sly...

Larry Cohen has had a long, storied career. He started out as a writer in the 1950s, then became a director and producer a bit later. Cohen’s lengthy television career is explored here, revealing just how much influence and impact he’s had on the small screen with shows like The Invaders, The Defenders, and Coronet Blue. The story of Cohen’s career in TV was previously unknown to me, as I suspect it has been to many of those who know him primarily for work in directing, on such films as It’s Alive, God Told Me To, Q: The Winged Serpent, and Black Caesar. We also learn about Cohen’s close relationship with legendary composer Bernard Herrmann, and how Cohen wasn’t only the last person to see...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Review by Stephen Tronicek

Documentaries as of late have been getting great reviews, but I’d be hard pressed to find a recent one that I really enjoyed. Festival darlings, Won’t You Be My Neighbor and Three Identical Strangers were both pieces of work that had interesting enough subjects but were films marred by bad pacing and an overall lack of flow from one section to the next. There are many that would disagree with this statement, but to me, the best documentaries are those that do their material justice while also being engaging cinematic experiences and only one documentary I’ve seen of recent has actually done that: King Cohen.

Now admittedly, there might be some bias involved here. Being a movie buff, I tend to enjoy the stories of filmmaking more than the stories of anything else, but the material and the filmmaking on display here is undeniably entertaining.

Tfh Fearless Leader Joe Dante very astutely tip-toes around Larry Cohen’s stylistic filmmaking identity early on in King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen. Dante notes, “I would hardly call him the John Cassavetes of exploitation movies, but he does have a certain raw, visceral, realistic style.” Indeed, Larry Cohen’s signature film, Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), feels like what would happen if John Cassavetes directed a Ray Harryhausen film. And movie fans the world over are all the better for that most unlikely of authorial fusions!

For cineastes in La, King Cohen debuts Friday, July 20th, at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre. There will be supplemental shows on the 23rd at the NoHo 7, and the Laemmle Monica on the 26th. It will expand to other select markets on July 27th (keep a sharp eye on the flick’s official site for further screening details). The...

CSI producers Louis Shaw Milito and Phil Conserva have launched their own independent production company and have set up their first projects after striking a first-look deal with book-to-film firm Vesuvian Media Group.

The pair, who have spent 15 years working on the CBS procedural, have established Boilermaker Entertainment. Shaw Milito has been an exec producer and director on the series, while Conserva has been a producer and director as well as music industry liaison. The pair previously ran Rhino Pictures, which produced Cuban Chrome, the first American series to be filmed entirely on location in Cuba, for the Discovery Channel.

Boilermaker has struck a first-look deal with Vmg to develop and produce Vesuvian’s extensive library of titles across all genres. Vmg works with authors including Jonas Saul, Beneath the Lighthouse author Julieanne Lynch and The Lake Series’ AnnaLisa Grant.

The company is currently developing projects based on historical pirate...

One of the loopier careers in and on the fringes of mainstream Hollywood is paid loving tribute in Steve Mitchell’s documentary “King Cohen.” There’s nothing particularly inspired about Mitchell’s treatment here — he’s directed a lot of DVD extras, and this first feature feels like a plus-sized version of one — but there’s considerable entertainment value in its subject. Particularly these days, when most commercial cinema seems given over to cookie-cutter sequels, spinoffs and remakes, a wellspring of original (not to mention frequently bizarre) ideas like those of producer-director-writer Larry Cohen seems akin to a fabled magical fountain.

Even back in his 1970s and ’80s heyday, when the ebbing drive-in theater market and growing presence of home-video got a lot of goofy genre exercises greenlit, Cohen’s films were notable for their eccentric individuality. Those who haven’t tasted the hybrid delights of “God Told Me To,...

Mild Spoilers

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is far and away the most ‘A New Hope-like’ film in the series yet. In terms of tone, sure, but particularly costume.

What costume designers Glyn Dillon and David Crossman have so expertly achieved with Solo is making a contemporary looking movie set during the late 1960s. Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 which puts Solo’s timeline around a decade before, or likely just over. But hang on, isn’t this a science fiction movie? What does when it’s made have to do with the space opera world being brought to life on screen? Well the seventies in particular was one of the most eclectic and anachronistic costume decades of all time, especially for period, sci-fi and fantasy. There were wide lapels, flared trousers and hostess dresses seen in anything from Edwardian Britain to 23rd century cosmos. Fashion influence...

It has been announced that Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American rights to Steve Mitchell’s King Cohen, the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen – with a July 7th theatrical roll-out followed by an August 14th VOD release. Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch negotiated the deal with Bill Straus of Bridge Entertainment. Says Repsch:

King Cohen, which screened at last years Frightfest – review here), had its Us premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2017, was an official selection at Doc NYC 2017, and has since screened around the world, in Austria, Ireland, Amsterdam and more, ensnaring raves. Larry Cohen is one of a kind – a true film auteur. Rondo Award-winning writer/director Steve Mitchell, whose film and television credits include co-writing the beloved cult horror/comedy Chopping Mall, has brilliantly captured his essence and passion in this very entertaining and also informative film.

Buckle up for King Cohen,...

Larry Cohen is best known for resourceful low-budget horror and thriller films that combine social commentary with prerequisite scares and welcome humor. He is responsible for classics including Black Caesar, It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, and The Stuff. Well, writer/director Steve Mitchell made a documentary about the man, King Cohen, which tells the true […]

The post Larry Cohen Documentary King Cohen Hits Theaters and VOD Later This Summer appeared first on Dread Central.

We've been excited for Daily Dead readers to watch the documentary King Cohen since Heather Wixson called it "a lively and entertaining celebration of a filmmaking pioneer" in her four-star review. Now that Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American rights to the Larry Cohen doc, the wait won't be much longer stateside, as a July 7th theatrical release is being planned, followed by an August 14th VOD release:

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – – Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American rights to Steve Mitchell’s King Cohen, the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen.

Dark Star is planning a July 7th theatrical roll-out followed by an August 14th VOD release. Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch negotiated the deal with Bill Straus of Bridge Entertainment.

"Larry Cohen is one of a kind – a true film auteur. Steve Mitchell has brilliantly captured his essence...

It’s a good week for cinematic iconoclasts, with extras-laden Blu-ray editions of Larry Cohen’s It’s Alive trilogy, Joseph H. Lewis’ Gun Crazy, and Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars all newly available. Cohen’s reputation has received a major and well deserved boost in the last couple years with the release of Steve Mitchell’s King Cohen documentary and reissues of many of his best films on Blu-ray. Shout Factory’s new boxed set containing It’s Alive (1974), It Lives Again (1978) and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987) is likely to further fuel the […]...

It’s a good week for cinematic iconoclasts, with extras-laden Blu-ray editions of Larry Cohen’s It’s Alive trilogy, Joseph H. Lewis’ Gun Crazy, and Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars all newly available. Cohen’s reputation has received a major and well deserved boost in the last couple years with the release of Steve Mitchell’s King Cohen documentary and reissues of many of his best films on Blu-ray. Shout Factory’s new boxed set containing It’s Alive (1974), It Lives Again (1978) and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987) is likely to further fuel the […]...

Don Pedro Colley, an actor who appeared in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, in the first film directed by George Lucas and on the 1980s CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard, has died. He was 79.

Colley died Oct. 11 in his hometown of Klamath Falls, Ore., following a long battle with cancer, his friend William Sowles said.

Colley also had roles in The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Piranha (1995) and in blaxpoitation films including The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972), Black Caesar (1973) and, playing a voodoo lord of the dead, Sugar Hill...

This year, Fantastic Fest turned 13, a number that felt apt if you’ve been following the news. Most conversations started like this:

“How are you?”

“How are you?”

Exhale. Hug. Repeat.

Eventually, people got around to talking about the films. Even those were emotional.

Tortured Souls

In past years, bringing context into the Alamo Drafthouse theater meant deciding not to chomp chips and queso during a hushed thriller. This time, audiences welled up watching Carla Guigino confront a lifetime of abuse as the emotionally and physically handcuffed wife in Stephen King’s “Gerald’s Game,” a Lifetime movie-looking low budget adaptation whose blockbuster impact at the Fest might not translate to people at home when it premieres on Netflix. (Guigino, however, is terrific in a dual-of-sorts role as the manacled victim and her empowered subconscious.)

Read More:Fantastic Fest Under Fire: Why America’s Preeminent Genre Festival Needs Its Fans...

Featuring: Martin Scorsese, Eric Roberts, Traci Lords, J.J. Abrams, john landis, Robert Forster, Barbara Carrera, Rick Baker, Joe Dante, Yaphet Kotto, Michael Moriarty, Fred Williamson, Eric Bogosian | Written and Directed by Steve Mitchell

Buckle up for the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen. Told through compelling live interviews, stills and film/TV clips, the people who helped fulfill his vision, and industry icons such as Martin Scorsese, John Landis, Michael Moriarty, Fred Williamson, Yaphet Kotto and many more, including Larry himself, bring one-of-a-kind insight into the work, process and legacy of a true American auteur…

I’m not going to lie, there’s no way I can talk about the documentary King Cohen without any bias. Larry Cohen is, to this day, one of my all-time favourite filmmakers. He has been since the first time I saw Q The Winged Serpent on TV. Seeing...

Den Of Geek Aug 22, 2017

Horror Channel FrightFest takes place in London this weekend. Here's our pick of films to look out for...

Summer’s almost over and what better way to welcome in the spooky season than by hiding from the heat in a darkened room, with five days of wall-to-wall horror? Yep, it’s August Bank Holiday and that means the 18th annual London Horror Channel FrightFest is upon us. For some, this is a familiar pilgrimage. Veterans will be used to bloodshot eyes, numbness in the spine, a lack of nutrition and an acute anxiousness every time there’s a loud noise. For others, it may be their first visit and these are things to look forward to. Either way, FrightFest promises probably the biggest, purest, uncut dose of horror you can endure without going insane, complete with special guests, world premieres, live events and at least a couple of parties.

In the second of his FrightFest 2017 interviews today, host Stuart Wright talks King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen with director Steve Mitchell, which has its European Premiere at this years Frightfest on Friday August 25th.

Buckle up for the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen (Black Caesar, God Told Me To, Q The Winged Serpent, The Stuff, Phone Booth). Told through compelling live interviews, stills and film/TV clips, the people who helped fulfill his vision, and industry icons such as Martin Scorsese, John Landis, Michael Moriarty, Fred Williamson, Yaphet Kotto and many more, including Larry himself, bring one-of-a-kind insight into the work, process and legacy of a true American auteur. Few can boast of a career as remarkable or prolific, spanning more than 50 years of entertaining audiences worldwide!

The Horror Channel Frightfest takes place August 24th – 28th 2017 at both the...

"Anybody will put up with anything if they think a movie is being shot." These are words of wisdom, but also kind of a guerrilla filmmaking mission statement, from filmmaker Larry Cohen. Steve Mitchell's King Cohen offers a breathless sprint through the writer-director-producer's prolific 'lets just shoot the damn movie!' ethos, from writing for NBC's Kraft Theatre in the era of live television in the late 1950s through episodic shows like The Fugitive and Branded -- "The bulk of the series, Dude" -- in the 1960s to directing racy social commentary (Bone, Black Caesar, God Told Me To, The Private Lives of J. Edgar Hoover) in the 1970s and gonzo genre-mashing creature features in the 1980s (Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff), before finally settling with writing mid-tier Hollywood...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

New York’s greatest B-movie legend is coming back to the Big Apple. Prolific writer-director-producer Larry Cohen returns to his native New York this weekend to appear at a retrospective of his New York-set films at the newly-renovated Quad Cinema.

Read More: ‘Kill Switch’ Teaser Trailer: Dan Stevens Stars in Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Thriller — Watch

The writer behind 2002’s “Phone Booth” and director of “A Return to Salem’s Lot,” Cohen directed 20 movies and wrote dozens of screenplays for both film and television during his roughly 50 year career. Many of his most well-known films were set in New York.

“It was my favorite place to shoot,” Cohen said. “New York is the world’s greatest backlot.”

The retrospective, entitled “Larry Cohen’s New York,” will include the “Whisper” cut of Cohen’s 1976 horror-thriller “God Told Me To,” a version that has never been screened in New York before. The other films...

Throughout the course of his filmmaking career, writer/director Larry Cohen has always bucked the Hollywood system to deliver ingenious stories that subvert genre expectations and challenge societal norms. With over 20 directorial credits and more than 80 writing credits to his name, Cohen’s influence in the realms of horror, sci-fi, and exploitation cinema have been felt far and wide for the last 60 years.

This weekend, the Quad Cinema in New York is honoring a variety of Cohen’s films set in the Big Apple, making for the ultimate celebration of one of the most prolific indie filmmakers of all time. On Saturday, they will be screening Special Effects (2:15pm), Perfect Strangers (4:30pm), Black Caesar (6:30pm), and God Told Me To: The Whisper Cut (8:30pm), and on Sunday, the Quad’s Cohen-centric lineup features The Ambulance (3:30pm), The Stuff (6:00pm), and Q (8:30pm)—all with Cohen in person.

Chris Hardwick is truly the man with many talk shows! Soon, AMC will introduce viewers to Talking with Chris Hardwick, which premieres on Sunday, April 9th! The lineup of guests is pretty interesting and includes Bryan Cranston and Elijah Wood. Also: details on screenings of Larry Cohen's films at The Quad and release details for Teenage Ghost Punk.

Talking With Chris Hardwick's First Lineup of Guests Revealed: Press Release: "New York, NY – March 30, 2017 – AMC announced today an initial lineup of guests set to appear on “Talking with Chris Hardwick,” an extension of the #1 talk show on television, “Talking Dead.” Guests include (not in air order): Michelle Monaghan, Charlie Hunnam, Connie Britton, Justin Theroux, Bryan Cranston, Elijah Wood, Damon Lindelof, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the cast of “Silicon Valley.” Additional guests will be announced soon. “Talking with Chris Hardwick” premieres on Sunday, April 9 at 11:00 p.m.

In the last few days, since Disney CEO Bob Iger implied that the name Han Solo is just an alias for our favorite Star Wars space smuggler, people on the internet have been debating whether this is a good idea or not. Cinelinx tells you why we think it makes sense.

Is Han Solo a fake name? It seems like that may be the case, according to the Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz, who reported on a press event with Bob Iger of Disney. After the briefing, Fritz tweeted the following…“The Han Solo movie will follow him from age 18 through 24 and show him finding the Falcon, meeting Chewbacca, and getting his name, Iger says.”

Of course, it’s possible that Iger is trying to say that this story tells how Han makes a name for himself and establishes his reputation. But if you take what he says literally,...

The makers of the upcoming feature-length Larry Cohen documentary, King Cohen, have just dropped their official trailer, along with a website, www.KingCohenMovie.com Watch the site and follow them at @KingCohenMovie for information on future events and special screenings! Buckle up for King Cohen, the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen (Black Caesar, God Told Me To, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff). Told through compelling live interviews, stills and film/TV clips, the people who helped fulfill his vision, and industry icons such as Martin Scorsese, John Landis, Michael Moriarty, Fred Williamson, Yaphet Kotto and many more, including Larry himself, bring one-of-a-kind insight into the work, process and legacy of a true American film auteur. Few can boast of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Brown Sugar, a streaming service featuring classic blaxploitation movies, launched on Thursday. The service is now available for mobile phones and tablets in the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store and for computers at BrownSugar.com. There is a free initial trial period for subscribers with a retail price of $3.99 per month thereafter. Brown Sugar features an extensive library of iconic black movies, all un-edited and commercial-free. Classics available now include: “Foxy Brown,” “Shaft,” “Super Fly,” “Dolemite,” “Cotton Comes to Harlem,” “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Cooley High,” “Black Caesar,” “Cleopatra Jones,” “Mandingo,” “Car Wash” and many more. Also Read: Could 'Fences' and 'Hidden Figures'.