In today’s Movie News Rundown: The Thing reboot is hopefully going better than the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre; a profile of Karina Longworth, creator of the best podcast about movies that is actually about America; and the Berlin International Film Festival makes a good change.
And Another Thing:“I’m involved with that, maybe,” John Carpenter says of a new Blumhouse version the The Thing, the 1982 masterpiece of pre-CGI monster horror that starred Kurt Russell as part of an Antarctic research expedition bedeviled by a thing. Variety has details about Carpenter’s comments, made Saturday in a Fantasia International Film Festival panel.
You Must Read This: Vulture has a terrific profile of You Must Remember This creator Karina Longworth, whose podcast tells the story of 20th century America through juicy, tragic, shockingly relevant stories of Hollywood. It’s the best movie podcast by far, in my irrelevant opinion.
Berlin Film Festival Goes Gender-Neutral: “Instead of the awards for the Best Actor and the Best Actress, a ‘Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance’ and a ‘Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance’ shall each be awarded on a gender-neutral basis,” the Berlin Film Festival announced Monday. BIFF also committed to an in-person event next year.
Cure for Melancholia: Ammonite stars Kate Winslet as an 1840s fossil hunter who agrees to let a young woman suffering from melancholia (Saoirse Ronan) “walk the shoreline” with her, if you know what I mean. I love the score, too. Here’s the new trailer.
R.I.P. Allan Rich: The Hollywood Reporter has a good obituary of the 94-year-old, who endured The Hollywood blacklist and went on to memorable roles in Disclosure, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and more.
Texas Chainsaw Bloodletting: Deadline exclusively reports trouble on the Bulgarian set of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, besides the fact that there is one. Directors Andy and Ryan Tohill are out over creative differences and Legendary has enlisted new director David Blue Garcia, whose feature debut, the $58,000 Tejano, is now on HBO. There’s just not going to be any improving on the Tobe Hooper original, as many sequels and remakes have shown, but it is promising that Elsie Fisher, who was so good in Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, will star.
If You Like Scary Movies: Check out 1Br, now a top movie on Netflix. Producer Alok Mishra wrote this entertaining piece for us earlier this year on how the film overcame fires, actor exits, and a production truck getting stolen, then leading police on a freeway chase. Making movies is fun.
And Now: Yesterday’s Movie News Rundown.
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