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‘King Kong’ Story Begins on Skull Island

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While everyone complains over and over about remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween and countless others, nobody seems to mind that classic Universal Monsters and other iconic characters have been on the big screen more times than I can count on 60 hands. One of the most legendary is King Kong, who will once again return to theaters in the prequel Kong: King of Skull Island, a book that came out around the same time as Peter jackson’s mega-budget remake. Read on for the skinny.
Kong: King Of Skull IslandSpirit Pictures is looking to breathe new life into King Kong and a project initially developed by effects legend Ray Harryhausen, reports Variety.

Producers at the shingle have picked up the rights to the book “Kong: King of Skull Island,” a prequel to the well-known tale of the big ape.

Penned by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland, book focuses on the backstory of Skull Island and how the giant gorilla became king there. It introduces other giant gorillas and dinosaurs only hinted at in the previous films.

The book was published at the same time Peter Jackson was producing his remake of “King Kong.”

Rights to make the movie were brokered with the Merian C. Cooper family, who own the Kong property. Cooper co-directed the original “Kong,” released in 1933.

We’re very concerned with honoring Merian C. Cooper’s legacy in Hollywood. We want to make sure that whatever we deliver will honor his memory,” said Spirit’s Steve Iles, who worked on videogames for the “Star Wars” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises through his Pocket Studios game company.

The plan is to produce the film using motion-capture technology such as Robert Zemeckis used to make “The Polar Express,” “Beowulf” and the upcoming “A Christmas Carol.” Spirit’s own facility would produce the CG work.

Spirit also is developing “War Eagles,” a project Cooper and Harryhausen had developed together and were nearly set to produce before the outbreak of WWII. The period actioner is set in 1939 and revolves around an ace fighter-pilot who tests a new jet and winds up crash-landing in the arctic, where he encounters a lost civilization that’s been thriving there for centuries.

It’s one of those films that a certain level of the industry is aware of,” said Arnold Kunert, producer on both “Kong” and “Eagles.” “It’s a combination of all the things that have worked in adventure films for the last 70 or 80 years.

Andy Briggs is working on the scripts for both films, with Spirit also developing offshoots like graphic novels, videogames and toys.

Iles and Kunert will produce both pics through Spirit, which is still seeking production partners on the projects.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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‘Terrifier 3’ – Damien Leone Just Filmed “One of the Most Insanely Horrific Scenes” of the Franchise

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Terrifier 2 commentary
Pictured: 'Terrifier 2'

Filming has been underway for the last several weeks on Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, the next installment in one of the most popular new horror franchises of the modern era.

Coming to theaters later this year from Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting, Terrifier 3 aims to raise the bar even further on the gruesome exploits of Art the Clown, and Leone has taken a little break from filming this morning to tease an insane sequence the team just got on camera.

Damien Leone tweets from the set of Terrifier 3, “Can honestly say we just filmed one of the most insanely horrific scenes of the Terrifier franchise and you’ll never believe who couldn’t handle it on set 😬😂 🤮 the bts is hilarious. Can’t wait for you all to see!”

Considering 2022’s Terrifier 2 had people throwing up and fainting in theaters, well, it’s safe to say that nobody is prepared for the uncut brutality of this year’s sequel. Stay tuned for more.

Art the Clown is slashing his way through Christmas in the upcoming third installment, with David Howard Thornton back as Art and Lauren LaVera returning as adversary Sienna.

In Terrifier 3, “Art the Clown unleashes chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.”

Terrifier 3 will release in theaters nationwide on October 25, 2024, with Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting handling North American distribution, sold by The Coven, who also reps international rights on the film. Watch the first look teaser here.

You can stream Terrifier 2 on SCREAMBOX now.

Terrifier 3 Damien Leone

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