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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

LAVISH TRAILER FOR EPIC HORROR "VIY" WITH JASON FLEMYNG, CHARLES DANCE! WW2 EPIC "STALINGRAD" WITH THOMAS KRETSCHMANN & WW1 EPIC "THE 34TH BATTALION"! HORROR SHOW "PENNY DREADFUL" FROM SAM MENDES! "THE ORIGINALS" SPINOFF FROM "VAMPIRE DIARIES"

 Last week I told you about Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk preparing THE WINTER QUEEN movie with Anjelica Huston, David Thewlis and Milla Jovovich in the cast, but it seems he also has another big
project in postproduction: he is helming STALINGRAD a WW2 $30 million epic focusing on the battle of Stalingrad! The cast includes some international names such as Thomas Kretschmann (THE YOUNG VICTORIA, VALKYRIE, KING KONG). One of the last movies which described the famous Stalingrad battle was ENEMY AT THE GATES which, back in 2001, starred Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Joseph Fiennes. Another war movie we shall watch in the future is also THE 34TH BATTALION which recently added Vinnie Jones and AVATAR's and TERRA NOVA's Stephen Lang to the cast which already includes Luke Hemsworth (the older brother of Chris and Liam). The World War I drama will centre on an Australian Army unit that was involved in some of the toughest battles of the conflict, the focus being particularly on four men from New South Wales who join the army in 1916, following the deadly Gallipoli campaign, only to take part in some of the worst battles world had ever seen.

HOLLYWOOD SPY HEADLINES
In television news today, here's something exciting: according to "Digital Spy" Showtime has ordered new horror show PENNY DREADFUL which will be produced by SKYFALL duo Sam Mendes 
and John Logan. The visual spectacle combined with the psychological insight will bring together some of the most iconic literary characters - fictional horror icons - including Dr Frankenstein and his creature, Dorian Gray and characters from Dracula - as they cross paths in Victorian London. I've told you before that NBC is also working on a Victorian set show - DRACULA with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the lead role. Speaking of vampires, CW is working on VAMPIRE DIARIES spin-off series THE ORIGINALS which will follow the character of Klaus (Joseph Morgan whom you've seen in IMMORTALS too as the villainous soldier Lysander) as he returns to his old haunt in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Klaus was one of the founding fathers of New Orleans and the new show will focus on his highly dysfunctional family. It is interesting that Joseph Morgan will star with the above mentioned Thomas Kretschmann in unusual thriller OPEN GRAVE as a man who wakes up in the wilderness, in a pit full of dead bodies, with no memory and must determine if the murderer is one of the strangers who rescued him, or if he himself is the killer.

SCARY "VIY" TRAILER
And speaking of Russian films with international cast, here's another one: THE RETURN or VIY VOZVRASHCHENIE will be an adventurous epic based on a Nikolai Gogol story and set in the early
18th century, with Jason Flemyng playing cartographer Jonathan Green who undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods.
Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to fend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive belief that they
could save themselves from evil, failing to understand that evil has made its nest in their souls and is waiting for an opportunity to gush out upon the world. The cast also includes GAME OF THRONES' Charles Dance!

45 comments:

  1. Viy I think this is going to be a great movie, action in any case .:)
    Greetings

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    1. it does seem very dynamic and scary and has unusual atmosphere, the fans will love it :)

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  2. I'm going to skip the trailer. I don't do horror. Some of those other projects sound really good, though.

    And who knew there was another Hemsworth brother out there? Well, you obviously, but not me. :)

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    1. it's not scary in a gory way, Luanne :) It is rather atmospheric and epic.
      I wouldn't be surprised if we soon discover a fourth Hemsworth brother :)

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    2. I was going to ask if there were enough Hemsworths to pass around so we could all share the joy.

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    3. I'm reserving Chris for moi :)

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  3. Stalingrad and the 34th Battalion look good. I do like movies about WWI and WWII because those wars shaped the world in a completely new way. It's important to know these things.

    I don't do horror because it effects me badly. Those kinds of images have a way of getting inside my head and cropping up in dreams. That's not good for me.

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    1. I loved them too, especially when they are about the Eastern fronts, since all of the countries here in the east have lost up to every tenth man in the wars and yet nobody knows those stories.

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    2. I know darling, it is that way with all things. Google in America doesn't have many responses when I type Serbia in. If I were to type in Russia, the CIA would be at my door. And there's nothing on Poland either.

      On a different note-Thomas looks good. nom nom nom.

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    3. WWI is my fave war to study. I've gone through reams of stuff on the Eastern Front. Google's not much help, but Bing and Yahoo had lots. Fascinating the f/x that war had on WWII, which was just a continuation.

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    4. And yes, Russia would bring the CIA. LOL Cuba, too. ;)

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    5. I will give you a political asylym, girls, if you google Russia and Cuba away and get pounded :)

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    6. and, Thomas is my fave German actor beside other nom nom materials - Benno Furman and Till Schweigger :)

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  4. VIY is a bit too scary for my taste but I do like the look of Morgan.

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  5. Is Stalingrad a remake of the original or a brand new production and story.

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  6. I'd like to see The Return and Penny Dreadful. I enjoy dark themes.

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  7. Yes, I went to "Enemy at the Gates" in 2001 when it was in the theatres. I'll never forget that terrible scene when Jude Law arrives at Stalingrad in the transport and the door opens and outside it's hell.

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    1. it was such a good film, wasn't it? Great cast, wish it won more Oscars... love the director.

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  8. ...damn wicked trailer!

    Thanks Dez

    El

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  9. Are they serious about a Vampire Diaries, spinoff? Yikes, what a horrid show! Bad acting, bad writing and horrible effects.

    The 34th Battalion looks fantastic plus it has a Hemsworth brother...What a sexy family. ;)

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    1. never watched it myself, Melsy, you know I don't do vampires... I watched a few episodes of TRUE BLOOD and almost puked my stomach out... horrid business... no principles nor limits... total anarchy.

      The oldest Hunksworth isn't as handsome as Chris and Liam :) If I remember correctly he was a fire-fighter before..

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  10. I'm not sure about Yiy - it looks like it's not taking itself seriously, but doesn't look like an intended black comedy. My head ...

    Jamie

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    1. I'm guessing most people in The West won't get the style of the film.

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    1. the kitteh is enjoying her spot in Tomzie's arms :)

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  12. Ehhh... Yiy doesn't look that scary. It's really bordering cliched.

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  13. I do like dark, atmospheric movies - especially if we will be travelling through Transylvania to get there ;)

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    1. you know, real Transylvania is about 200km away from your spy's headquarters :)

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  14. so many great movies go unnoticed... and you bring them to light... thank you. need more chicks with their shirts off... balance my friend, balance... :)

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    1. don't blame me for the lack of naked ladies, Jeremy, blame Hollywood :) I always use every opportunity to feature scantily clad ladies here, but they don't get enough roles.
      I did manage to smuggle a few naked boobs in today's post :) They are drawn, so we can call it an artistic freedom.

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    2. damn you... hollywood! damn you!

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  15. Bring on the horror! I always hope to be scared =) I'm usually not...

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    1. you obviously haven't watched HUMAN CENTIPEDE and such horrid horrors.

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  16. I look forward to the 34th Battalion and Stalingrad movies. Apart from 'Enemy at the Gates' there was a German film on Stalingrad from the same guy who did 'Das Boot' (the amazing film on a U-boat) - harrowing as you'd expect but nothing compared to Das Boot unfortunately. The number of casualties the Russians suffered have never been honestly admitted to (but believed to be well over the million mark) so it'll be interesting to see how the Russians treat the subject. As for the film about the 34th Bttn AIF - bit of a mystery why they would pick this particular battalion out. They were part of the Australian force instrumental in stopping the German's last offensive in 1918 and in taking Mont St Quentin which broke open the Hindenburg line - the German's last line of defence - effectively ending the war but the 34th was no more distinguished than other Aussie units - unless its more a story of four friends in WW1. Either way I'll look forward to it and another film on Stalingrad too.

    Cheers,
    Doc

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    1. Yep, as an expert, Doc, you already know how the West likes to hides the real numbers of Eastern casulties from all wars even though those numbers are always stunningly shocking. But they do always make a spectacle when a dozen of their own people die somewhere.

      Given in mind the actors, I think THE 34TH BATTALION will be an Australian film, so I'm guessing one of your scribes down there has chosen the topic. Both films should be interesting to watch.

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