Film at Eleven

From the high-desert fortress of Santa Fe-based Tidepoint Pictures, distributor of Sion Sono’s Nokrko’s Dinner Table, and Takashi Miike’s Dead or Alive, comes a brand-new label of the unusual, the bizarre, and the fantastic: Bone House Asia!

Bone House Asia’s first serving is the surreal nightmare of Higuchinsky’s Long Dream (Nagai Yume), from the director of Uzumaki (Spiral), and Junji Ito, the popular Japanese manga writer responsible for the Tomie series and the remarkably twisted Gyo. Junji Ito’s impact is felt industry-wide. Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), skillful conjurer of dark fantasy and cinematic magic elates, “Master Junji Ito’s images and ideas are enthralling and powerful in a way that only great art is. His unique view of the world infects our mind and devours our conscience. The darkness in him will blind you.”

Bone House Asia’s DVD release for Long Dream, released June 24, includes interviews with director Higuchinsky, manga creator Junji Ito, the film’s star, trailers, and English and Spanish subtitles.

Tidepoint Pictures has been instrumental in releasing the tops in Asian genre films with classic cult releases including Higuchinsky’s uzumaki, and Katsuhito Ishii’s Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl. Tidepoint was also spirited enough to introduce Hideo Nakata to the US with their release of Chaos, years before his Ringu hit American shores. Add Sion Sono’s Noriko’s Dinner Table to the mix (from the director of Suicide Club and Hair Extensions) and you’ve got a library of cult classics with just the first handful of releases.

Says Tetsuki Ijichi, President and CEO of Tidepoint Pictures, “There is much more to Asian cult cinema than what typically gets shown in the U.S. With Bone House Asia, we want to open up American audiences to the fresh voices of talented Asian filmmakers who will challenge your mind and disturb your sleep.”

Bone House Asia also concentrates on theatrical releases so you can share bizarre fantasies with strangers in the dark… This summer be sure to check online or in your inbox for news on Bone House Asia’s latest theatrical release, Go Shibata’s Late Bloomer (Osoi Hito), enjoying a New York run at the Pioneer Theater from July 25 to July 31. Late Bloomer turns the serial killer genre upside-down as the benign-looking Sumida-san, confined to a wheelchair but loving to ‘rock out,’ is an obsessive psychopath who erupts into lethal violence.

Writers Guild of America West President, Patric Verrone recently testified in the ongoing congressional hearings on net neutrality and will be discussing the issues and what has occurred since his testimony on the Filmnut online TV show on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 8:00pm Pacific time (11:00pm Eastern time, 5:00am Central European Time).

Verrone is recently quoted as saying “The only thing bigger than corporations in this country is the government. So we think we have to make clear to legislators that we need somebody making sure that that pipe (buy which information travels from one computer to another) is neutral.”

Filmnut is a show that covers all aspects of filmmaking. Host, Jeff Schubert has interviewed well-known industry greats such as Oscar winning writer Bob Moresco, writer/director James Gunn, Heroes writing/producing team of Adam Armus and Kay Foster. Other notables include: Donnie Darko director of photography, President of IATSE Local 600 Steven Poster, Oscar winning makeup artist Jeff Dawn, Emmy winning director Michael Lembeck, actor Gregory Itzin and Kill Bill stunt coordinator Keith Adams among many others.

According to Schubert, “This is a genuine issue that affects millions of people around the world in terms of how they will continue to use and have access to the internet. People need to know both sides of the issue and make informed decisions. None of us paid attention to oil and gas over the years and see how that is working out? I’m looking forward to good questions on both sides of the debate.”

Filmnut is streamed live at www.thestream.tv and archived the following day at www.thestream.tv/filmnut.

Independent British film distributor Wibbell Productions Ltd today announced the launch of their new niche DVD label The Weird World of Wibbell.

With a very clear identity right from the start, the new label is set to specifically target cult, horror and science fiction feature films, short film compilations and some ‘very odd’ special interest documentaries.

Wibbell’s ‘Head of Weirdness’, Content Manager, Allin Kempthorne explained:

“Wibbell are the new weird kids in town! We’re the freaks, the nerds, the geeks and the weirdoes. We’re the travelling freak show and the vampires castle! We’re seriously into the so-called ‘cult’ or ‘B-Movie’ areas of Horror, Sci-Fi and Nostalgia, as are our huge potential audiences here in the UK and around the world. The followers of these genres care about them passionately and have an insatiable appetite for quality genre films. We at Wibbell aim to supply those films!

We also want to unearth some of the enormous new film-making talent that is emerging on the independent scene outside of the established film industry. We know through our own experience as film-makers ourselves that there are many great independent films that just can’t punch through the Hollywood stranglehold on the worlds film markets. We aim to find the best of those films within the ‘cult’ genres and help get them out in front of the audiences they so richly deserve.”

‘The Weird World of Wibbell’ launches this Summer with the UK release of their first film title, the jaw-droppingly funny independent British Vampire Comedy The Vampires of Bloody Island, already being hailed by the press as ‘a new cult classic’ and ‘doing for vampire films what ‘Shaun of the Dead’ did for zombies!’

The Vampires of Bloody Island stars up and coming Scream Queen Pamela Kempthorne as the evil and scheming vampiress Morticia de’Ath. The film is set on an abandoned island off the Cornish coast which has become home for demons and vampires, and also stars Oliver Gray, John Snelling and Leon Hamilton.

The soundtrack to the film includes songs by such giants of the Goth-Rock scene as The Suburban Vamps (from the USA), Theatres des Vampires (from Italy), Fever (from Portugal) and Britain’s Premier Pagan Rock band, Inkubus Sukkubus - all names which are very familiar to their enormous international fan bases in the Goth music scene.

Following The Vampires of Bloody Island, The Weird World of Wibbell has a catalogue of several other DVD releases scheduled for over the next 12 months, showcasing the work of new emerging directors in the cult/horror/sci-fi genres, plus some very old nostalgic treats.

Releases will be initially in the UK and Irish markets while Wibbell forges relationships to release their titles world-wide.

Allin Kempthorne concludes “We aim to establish ‘The Weird World of Wibbell’ as a new name in weirdness for British B-Movie enthusiasts. We welcome interaction with our audience and have an active newsletter group which we encourage everyone to join on our website.

Stay weird. Stay watching. Stay Wibbell!

Magnet announced on Thursday that is had pre-bought North America rights to Toby Wilkins’ horror-thriller Splinter, which is currently nearing completion.

In the vein of classic creature features, Splinter finds a young couple held hostage by an ex-convict on the run besieged in an isolated gas station by an insatiable parasite that absorbs the corpses of its victims. The creature grows more horrifying with each murder, until the claustrophobia becomes unbearable for the three trapped protagonists, forcing a showdown with the monster.

Wilkins, a long-time visual effects artist who’s worked on films by Brett Ratner, James Cameron, Bryan Singer and Jonathan Demme, makes his feature film début with Splinter.

Magnet announced on Wednesday that is has acquired North America rights (including Canada and French Canada) to Franck Vestiel’s sci-fi/horror epic Eden Log, now in post production. An anticipated release among genre fans since the leak of a haunting teaser trailer a couple months ago, Eden Log tells the story of a man who wakes up in total darkness at the bottom of a deep cave, unaware of how he got there. All he knows is that he is being pursued by a frightening creature, and needs to climb back to the surface through a cemetery like maze abandoned by a mysterious corporation called “Eden Log.”

“Eden Log promises to be a chilling exercise in claustrophobia and atmospheric horror. France has always been at the forefront of quality genre films and this will rank up there with the best of them,” said Magnolia Pictures Senior Vice President Tom Quinn.

Magnet will release the film theatrically in 2008.

Magnolia Pictures announced on Thursday the acquisition of world rights (excluding Spain) to director Nacho Vigalondo’s Timecrimes, a clever, mind-bendingly entertaining sci-fi film about a man who inadvertently discovers the perils of time travel. Timecrimes premièred at the 2007 Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, where it received the “Best Feature” Prize and the Silver Medal for Audience Award, and went on to be a crowd pleaser at Sitges.

TIMECRIMES is an incredibly fresh, brilliantly cinematic take on the time travel concept. Nacho is a serious talent and we’re excited to be involved with him at the start of what promises to be a great career,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles.

“Working with Magnolia on TIMECRIMES is a dream come true. Knowing that my film is going to be shown in USA is something I can’t describe,” added Vigalongo.

“We are so excited to be working with Magnolia, not only because they’re the best company to market an extraordinary foreign language genre film like Nacho’s, but especially because of the commitment they show towards the films that they love,” said Eduardo Carneros, Managing Director of KV Entertainment and joint owner of the company together with the Ibarretxe brothers.

Timecrimes is the feature film début from Nacho Vigalongo - already an accomplished director of short films, whose 2003 short, 7:35 In The Morning, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short.

Magnet, the newly formed genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today the acquisition of North American distribution rights to Kiltro and Mirageman – two exciting action films written, directed and edited by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, produced by Derek Rundell, and starring the soon-to-be legendary Marko Zaror, also known as “The Latin Dragon.” Magnet will also produce Zaror’s next film, which will be announced shortly.

Kiltro was a sensation in Zaror’s native Chile (Mirageman will be released there next year), and Magnet anticipates that U.S. audiences will also embrace this new action star. Mirageman will have its U.S. premiere this week in Austin at the Fantastic Film Festival, and both films are slated for release in 2008.

Winner of the 2004 Stuntman of the Year award for his work as the Rock’s stunt and martial arts double in the feature film The Rundown, Zaror is a worldwide action star and martial arts champion poised for his U.S. breakthrough. In Kiltro, Zaror plays a violent gangster turned avenging warrior after the murder of his mother, and he takes on the role of a masked vigilante in Mirageman. Both films are impressive showcases for his exhilarating martial arts skills.

“I’ve never seen anyone with Marko’s power and size exhibit such agility and acrobatic skill. He’s amazing to watch,” said Magnet’s Tom Quinn. “I haven’t been this excited about an action star since the first time I saw Tony Jaa in Ong Bak.”

“Marko’s talent and skill is unmatched,” said producer Derek Rundell. “At 6′2″, 210 pounds, it’s magic to watch him move with such speed, power and style. We’re thrilled about working with Magnet and introducing him to American audiences.”

Kiltro and Mirageman join Magnet’s already robust slate of films, which includes the exquisite corpse-style thriller The Signal; Toronto Midnight Madness selection Big Man in Japan (Dainipponjin) by Hitoshi Matsumoto; Tony Stone’s heavy metal Viking epic, Severed Ways; action omnibus Triangle from Hong Kong greats Ringo Lam, Johnnie To, and Tsui Hark; Jeremy Saulnier’s darkly comic, hipster slasher flick Murder Party; Olivier Assayas’s Cannes-selected thriller Boarding Gate starring Asia Argento and Michael Madsen; and Mark Hartley’s expose on classic Australian genre filmmaking Not Quite Hollywood.

Award Winning Visual Effects company Numb Robot launches a state of the art animation studio. Founder and CEO Alex Ferrari explain his reasons for expanding his visual effects company, “We have recently opened an animation studio to handle the growing need for high quality 2D and 3D animation. There aren’t many 2D animation studios in the United States so we wanted to throw our hat in the ring. Our aim is to created memorable brands that will last for many years to come.”

Coming from Numb Robot Animation Studios in 2007, Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence is an animated short film prequel to creator Alex Ferrari’s upcoming feature film Red Princess Blues. The film will be produced in classic Japanesse Anime style. Artist extraordinaire and Creative Director of Numb Robot, Dan Cregan will be making his directorial début. RPB Animated is a chance to explore the world of “Princess,” the main character of Red Princess Blues. Lending her voice to the main character is the lovely Paula Garces.

In this tale we meet her as a 12 year old little girl who finds herself in a strange country looking for her father. She is then taken in by a “unique” looking man who goes by Nino. The short film is completely from the perspective of Princess and what she is going through. She soon discovers the “Book of Violence” and slowly begins her journey that one day will lead to vengeance. The live action feature film is currently in pre-production.

Also coming from Numb Robot Animation Studios and Ukyo Studios in 2007, Red Princess Blues: The Video Game is the ultimate in a gaming experience. Red Princess Blues: The Game is a “violent fairy tale” about a woman tracking down her transgressors with ballistic retribution on her mind. Princess’ thirst for revenge against the sadistic people who wronged her take her on a twisted “Wizard of Oz” style journey of love, honor and most of all vengeance. Travel through the twisted world of Red Princess Blues as our hero Princess battles crazy villains, demented characters and ridiculous levels. The action is hot, fast and most of all violent. The teaser trailer will be out Fall 2007

New Label to Specialize in Films from the Vanguard of Horror, Action, Comedy and Asian Cinema

Magnolia Pictures on Tuesday announced the launch of Magnet, a new division of the unique and expanding film distribution business co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Specializing in the wild, unquantifiable and uncompromised, Magnet will provide an outlet for a different strand of films, which had previously been released alongside Magnolia’s traditional specialties: independent dramatic features and award-winning documentaries.

Magnolia already has a robust history of releasing acclaimed genre titles such as The Host, Exiled, Tears of the Black Tiger, Severance and Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior; moving forward, Magnet will be home to productions and acquisitions that fit in this vein.

The first releases on Magnet’s eclectic international slate define the type of unconventional, risk-taking genre fare it will showcase: Toronto Midnight Madness selection Big Man in Japan (Dainipponjin) by Hitoshi Matsumoto; Tony Smith’s heavy metal Viking epic, Severed Ways; action omnibus Triangle created by the kings of Hong Kong cinema: Ringo Tam, Johnnie To, and Tsui Hark; Jeremy Saulnier’s darkly comic, hipster slasher flick Murder Party; Olivier Assayas’s Cannes-selected thriller Boarding Gate starring Asia Argento and Michael Madsen; and Mark Hartley’s expose on classic Australian genre filmmaking Not Quite Hollywood, featuring Quentin Tarantino. Many more titles will be announced shortly.

“Some of the best, most imaginative, wild and forward-thinking cinema in the world today is being done in the context of genre filmmaking. The Magnet label will consolidate our track record with these rule-breaking films into a strong, identifiable brand,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles.

Murder Party, the first film under the Magnet banner, will be released by Magnolia Home Entertainment on October 16. Other titles will see theatrical and DVD release beginning in early 2008.

“It’s a kick-ass position to be in when you can look to your own company’s films and know that these are the movies you’d want to buy for your personal DVD collection,” added Tom Quinn, senior vice president of Magnolia Pictures. “It’s been a standing question: how do we keep pushing the envelope and find our next Ong Bak, District B13, or The Host? Launching something that isn’t your dad’s genre label was the answer.”

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Filmstalker is reporting that action film, DOA: Dead or Alive may have been pulled from the US release schedule by the Weinsteins.

Box Office Mojo are not currently showing a release date for the film, after it had already been punted to the 8th of December (currently showing on IMDB), and Cinema Blend are suggesting that it’s because the date has been moved again, and indeed pulled from the schedule.

The film has already been released in several countries around the world and hits the UK DVD shelves in January.