As far as we're concerned, it's always cause for celebration when Canadian power-pop team The Birthday Massacre share their latest creations, and this Halloween season is no exception. While their trademark blend of '80s synth melodies, stacked industrial guitars and singer Chibi's sweet but slightly sinister vocals built them a massive international following, they've never been afraid to experiment with the formula, adding or even replacing a few key ingredients to summon a different vibe when needed. Their acclaimed 2010 release Pins and Needles added rougher, dirtier punk elements to excellent effect, while last year's follow-up EP Imaginary Monsters cranked the aggression factor even higher through collaborations with industrial giants Combichrist and Assemblage 23. With their fifth full-length studio release Hide and Seek, the band has cast aside some of the playful melodic and lyrical elements that often define their core sound, in favor of a darker, less whimsical approach.

While you’re anxiously awaiting the premiere of American Horror Story: Asylum, we have some casting news and details on the first episode which will give fans background on the serial killer Bloody Face and the Briarcliff Manor sanitarium. A killer and a mental hospital? Sounds like we’re off to a good start.  

Another awesome addition: Ian McShane will be joining the cast in an unknown role. “Details on his role were unavailable, but Murphy noted on Twitter that the Golden Globe winner will 'tussle' with Jessica Lange's Sister Jude, one of the nuns who runs the insane asylum at Briarcliff Manor,” TV Guide reports.

The first five minutes tease out Bloody Face, along with some foggy woods, a few random dirty baby dolls and a very bad decision to “do it” in an insane asylum. Also, they use the word “bang” more in the first minute than any other show in the history of television.

Here’s the synopsis:

Briarcliff Manor is a notorious haunted house. In 1962, the estate was purchased by the Catholic Church and turned into a sanitarium for the criminally insane. It is said that nobody committed to Briarcliff ever got out... including its most infamous inmate, a serial killer known only as Bloody Face. And decades later, Briarcliff may still be haunted...

1964. Boyish Kit Walker has, unbeknownst to his family and racist friends, married his African-American girlfriend, Alma... but their lives are shattered by an inexplicable event that spirits them both away from their home.

On the day that Bloody Face is transferred to Briarcliff, reporter Lana Winters arrives at Briarcliff to interview the fiercely religious head nun, Sister Jude, who rejects modern psychiatry in favour of strong and merciless discipline, and believes that "madness" is just a modern synonym for "evil" – a spiritual crisis, an absence of God. When Bloody Face arrives, he protests his innocence. After being brutally disciplined, he meets the other inmates, including the lusty Shelley, the aggressive Spivey, and sweet Grace – who, like Bloody Face, claims she's not crazy, or guilty of the heinous crime she's accused of.

Meanwhile, Lana wants to find out Sister Jude's secrets, but she and her partner Wendy have secrets of their own. And Sister Jude distrusts Dr. Arden, charismatic head of Briarcliff's medical wing, who also has terrible secrets – secrets that Sister Jude is determined to discover and expose, though she is warned away by Monsignor Timothy Howard. As patients mysteriously vanish, and Sister Jude and the Monsignor make ambitious plans for their own personal futures, Bloody Face is taken away to experience the horrors of Solitary, and Lana quickly finds herself in way over her head.

Watch the clip:



American Horror Story: Asylum launches on FX on October 17th.


via TV Guide

It’s like some awesomely twisted Love Boat for horror fans.

This Halloween, Ship of Fear: A Horror Cruise will set sail from Miami, unleashing an ocean of blood.  Alice Cooper, directors and actors from genre-defining films including Child’s Play, Candyman, Phantasm, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Gremlins, Friday the 13th, The Howling, Pet Sematary and more will roam the decks with macabre illusionists, performance artists and rock stars for five full-moonlit nights of madness for horror fans aboard.

Hosted by Tom Holland, the cruise promises to be "... unlike any other convention experience out there - we're planning an immersive experience for devotees that includes panels and screenings of many beloved genre classics, horror-themed parties and costume contests as well as daily signings and other special events including bringing five of the Masters of Horror together in front of their fans for a rare group appearance," Holland said.

For five fright-filled nights fans can attend panels, screenings and costume contests. Live musical appearances include Alice Cooper, Dee Snyder and, yes, Corey Feldman and Truth Movement. Horror stars Zach Galligan (Gremlins, Hatchet 3), Reggie Bannister (Phantasm series), R.A. “Leatherface” Mihailoff, Ed “Chucky” Gale, Kane “Jason” Hodder, Tony “Candyman” Todd, Belinda Balaski (The Howling) will be on board along with famed directors Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play), Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep), Mick Garris (television’s Masters of Horror,The Stand, Freddy’s Nightmares), Joe Dante (The Howling, Piranha, Gremlins), and Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary).

Sponsored by Chiller, the cruise will stops in Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Freeport before returning to Miami on November 2nd.

 

Supernatural Episode 802
“What’s Up, Tiger Mommy?”
Written By: Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin
Directed by: John Showalter
Original Airdate: 10 October 2012

In This Episode...

Before going after the tablet, Kevin insists on checking on his mom. Dean worries that it will be a trap, but Sam finally convinces him, and they go. Dean was right: they discover that both the gardener and mailman are demons, as is Mrs. Tran’s friend, Eunice. The boys dispose of these three with ease, but now Mrs. Tran has to be told why exactly Kevin left a year ago, and why Eunice glowed rather than bled when stabbed. Mrs. Tran seems to believe everything she is told but she refuses to go to a safehouse; instead, she insists on going with the boys to find the tablet. Dean is against it, but finally relents when she agrees to be tattooed with a protection symbol - which she handles like a champ. Kevin... not so much.

Our new foursome head out to get the word of god tablet from the bus station locker Kevin hid it in. For some reason, they are shocked that it isn’t there. Security informs them that an employee was caught stealing from the lockers, and sends them to talk to him in police lockup. That guy sends them to a pawn shop, and the pawn guy sends them to motel. There they are met by a dandy in a top hat named Bo, who says he is the right hand to Plutus, the god of greed. They are invited to a mythical objects auction where the tablet will be sold. Bo assures them that auction is in a neutral area, where all magic is forbidden, and is likely the safest place for Kevin.

With no money to buy the tablet, the boys hope that Kevin can just memorize it before the auction. But this is Supernatural - nothing is that easy. The tablet is covered up - can’t be read. Dean’s next plan, to lift it, doesn’t work either. The only thing they can do is win the auction. They are not off to a great start when Crowley appears and opens the bids with $3 billion. An angel named Alfie is there, and wants the tablet, so he gets into a bidding war. Bo, who is running the auction, says that the reserve hasn’t been hit, and adds Kevin to sweeten the pot. This is all Mrs. Tran can stand, and she bids her soul. This intrigues Plutus. Crowley offers a million souls, but is informed it is not the quantity, it is the quality: this is literally all Mrs. Tran has in the world to exchange for her son. Crowley offers his soul. Plutus laughs - Crowley doesn’t have a soul. Mrs. Tran wins.

After the auction, the boys spend a few minutes with Mrs. Tran, calming her down. Alfie offers her and Kevin the protection of the angels, but Mrs. Tran doesn’t trust him. It is time for the trade to begin, but Dean stops it when Mrs. Tran reaches out and we see that the magical tattoo on her wrist has been burned off. With a little help from Bo earlier, he burned off her tattoo and now Crowley has possessed her. Chaos erupts and the boys come out fighting. They kill Plutus, they kill some demon sidekicks, and Sam kills Bo with the hammer of Thor. Dean tackles Mrs. Tran / Crowley, trying to make off with the tablet. She vomits red smoke and out pops Crowley. (Worst magic genie ever.) Crowley runs off with the tablet even though he can’t read it without Kevin (“One out of two ain’t bad.”) Mrs. Tran is in a state of shock. Sam and Dean give mother and son a few minutes alone, during which time Sam is worried that Dean would have slit Mrs. Tran’s throat in order to get Crowley. The boys decide things are too quiet. Turns out Kevin and his mom have taken off, leaving a note in their wake. Kevin seems to think that the boys will only get hurt if he sticks around.

Dig It or Bury It?

I love Mrs. Tran. She is going to be a great addition to this season - assuming she comes out of her shock. Is anyone else perturbed about the fact that Sam just left his family, with no word? Isn’t Amelia looking for him? 

Spooky Humor

For the tablet, Crowley bids $3 billion. Alfie counters with the Vatican. So Crowley bids the moon. Literally.

Flashback to the Future

Dean took pleasure in torturing demons to find Castiel. He finally does find Cas, who says he is sane. Dean is mad that Cas bailed on him. The reason he bailed on Dean was to lure the leviathans away from him, and keep Dean safe. The final scene of the episode is a tight shot on Castiel’s panicked, begging Dean “no.” It looked like he was going to be dropped.

Prophecies?

Sam is determined that, when they are done with this last job, he is out. He wants his normal, boring life.

Never trust a big knife and a smile.

Check out the new clip and poster from Smiley, opening this weekend. In it, a slash-happy serial killer hunts emotionally-fragile Ashley and her group of twenty-somethings who spend a little too much time on the Internet. Is Ashley the stalker’s next victim or is she just losing her mind? And why does it look like she’s wearing the Smiley mask in this poster?

I promise you won't look at emoticons the same way again.
 

It’s only been a little over a week since Resident Evil 6 was released, and already Capcom has announced new content for the game.  Mercifully, Capcom has foregone their usual routine of paid DLC (I’m looking at you, Marvel vs. Capcom 3), and will be releasing the update for the low, low price of diddlysquat.

The update doesn’t add a huge amount of new content according to G4, but it’s certainly a pleasant surprise for fans.  The meat of the update centers around the unlockable Ada Wong campaign, in particular the fact that it is now unlocked for all players, not just those who have completed the game’s other three campaigns.  They have also added cooperative play to the Ada campaign, although there’s no word as to who Ada’s familiar will be for the coop experience.

There’s also word of a new difficulty mode, bleakly titled “No Hope,” which should ramp the difficulty level to new heights for players who scoffed at the game’s original difficulty levels.  Capcom has not announced an official date for the release, other than the nebulous “soon.”  We’ll keep you posted when Capcom supplies a more concrete release.

The Walking Dead’s Executive Producer and Showrunner, Glenn Mazzara, breaks down the new characters we’ll meet in Season 3 and what to expect from fan favorites. (Hint: more T-Dog! Yay!)

 First of all, congrats on your Emmy win and nominations! This is the second year in a row that The Walking Dead took home the Emmy for prosthetic makeup, but I have to be honest – you guys were kind of robbed! The writing, directing and acting in Season 2 made for utterly outstanding television. Do you ever feel like there’s an academy bias against horror-genre shows?

That’s very nice of you, thank you! Listen, maybe – but, you know, Game of Thrones was nominated for Best Drama and that’s obviously taking place in a fantastical world so it doesn’t really affect how we do our work – we just try to do the best show that we can and hopefully – as long as fans dig us – we’re good.

You’ve touched on some of the most anticipated new characters, Michonne and the Governor, in numerous interviews – but what are some other new characters you feel viewers will react to?

There’s a new character, Milton, played by Dallas Roberts, who is one of the Governor’s right-hand men, and there’s some other characters with The Governor, but I’d like you to meet them first – I will say this: The Governor has a crew of men around him that I’m pretty excited about, they were great. And then we will introduce new characters throughout the entire season, so we still have our core characters that everyone knows and loves, but in the end we have a pretty extensive cast by the end of the run so they’ll be a lot of new characters for fans to enjoy.

Do you think this season we’ll get to find out the fate of Morgan and Duane Jones from Season 1?

I know that those characters are still out there in the world, and that’s something that we are interested in exploring, but I can’t say if it is this season or future seasons, BUT – somewhere in the life of the show we will go back to those characters.

Nice! So what favorite characters can we expect to see step into the limelight this season? Andrea really came into her own during the last half of Season 2 – will she continue to be such a force to be reckoned with?

I think that Andrea ends up assuming her own type of leadership role in certain groups, but I think that she’s also a very strong, capable, independent woman. And I think that’s interesting – part of the idea of separating her from the group was to examine that character on her own. So she’s been great.

Will T-Dog play a bigger role after being so essential to the group’s survival during the barn fire?

I think that character has gotten the short shrift in the past because we had the Shane/Rick/Lori business to play off, we had different plot points – he’s more integrated into the group. He’s a valuable part of the group, he’s earned his place. IronE Singleton does a great job playing this character. What I love about T-Dog is he doesn’t really put up with a lot of bullshit, you know? You see him kind of shooting a look at people; you know he can really read a situation like nobody else can. That being said, that’s the kind of guy you want alongside you in a zombie apocalypse. He’s a big guy, he’s a strong guy he’s got a great heart, he’s smart. So I think that there’s a lot to do with him so I’m excited about the role he plays in this season.

What about my personal favorite, Daryl?

Daryl of course is a huge fan favorite and I think those fans will continue to be happy because with Shane gone the group leans on Daryl that much more.

Will Glenn become more of a fighter now that he has a definitive love interest to protect?

You know, they don’t get a lot of press, but I’ve still always loved Glenn and Maggie. Steven Yeun and Lauren Cohan are still very much the heart of the show. They have found love within the apocalypse and that love is tested throughout the season with different pressures that are put on them. So they’re great.

Okay – last thing I’m going to ask you: what is Halloween going to be like for you this year?

It’s a Walking Dead Halloween! People are very excited about going through the maze at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. My youngest son is nervous about it, might be a little scary, but I think he’s ready to go. He’s holding his own.

Is the event at Universal Studios going to be similar to “The Walking Dead: Escape” we saw at San Diego Comic-Con this year?

No, it’s not an obstacle course, my understanding is that it’s a haunted house – you know, you’re going through the dark and the zombies are coming out and scaring you. What Greg Nicotero and his team have done is they’ve recreated classic scenes from the show – so you go through the hospital, you go through the CDC, there’s the barn – there are major set pieces from the show that have been replicated in this haunted house setting, this maze, so I’m excited to see it, I hear it’s great.

All Photos Courtesy of Glen Mazzara; Behind the Scenes on Season 3 photo credits: Gene Page / AMC

As promised, Mockingbird Lane - Bryan Fuller's modern take on The Munsters - will air. But rather than going forward with a full series, NBC is opting to air the pilot as a one-hour Halloween special.

Mockingbird Lane has been in development at NBC for the better part of two years. When Bryan Fuller took on the project, and cast it with big names like Eddie Izzard, Portia de Rossi, and Jerry O'Connell, it seemed pretty fail-proof, other than the reported $10 million price tag for the pilot alone. Maybe NBC has finally realized that The Munsters is not something that can be rmade - especially not in a serious way - because there have been lots of rumors about the fate of the troubled show.

According to Hollywood Reporter (and backed up by some previous off-the-record comments made to me) Mockingbird Lane will air as a Halloween special on Friday, October 26th at 8pm, just before a special Halloween episode of Grimm. While I am very eager to see the pilot, airing it as a one-off in the hopes of recouping some of the money seems like a bad idea. If it is great, people will be disappointed when they don't get a full series (because one airing of one episode will not generate the ratings and interest to take it to series.) If it is terrible, it is just another failure in a long line of NBC fails that they will never live down.

I just really hope there are no cliffhangers.

For the fourth year in a row, FEARnet will be the exclusive host of the Los Angeles fan premiere of Paranormal Activity 4. 

Fans all over the world hit Facebook to nominate their city as one of the cities to host an early fan premiere of the fourth installment of Paranormal Activity. Twenty-five cities around the world were chosen to host free early screenings: Lima, Peru; São Paulo, Brazil; Lake Bluff, IL; Mexico City, Mexico; Brasília, Brazil; Los Angeles, CA; Fresno, CA; Purchase, NY; Houston, TX; Bogotá, Colombia; Moscow, Russia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; New York, NY; London, UK; Paris, France; Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL; Santiago, Chile; Munich, Germany; Sheffield, UK; Toronto, Canada; San Antonio, TX; Göteborg, Sweden and Orlando, FL.

The Los Angeles fan premiere will be held on October 16th at the ArcLight Hollywood theatre. You can sign up for your chance to receive a free ticket to the Los Angeles screening of Paranormal Activity 4. To RSVP for a screening in another city, visit ParanormalMovie.com.

And now for the exclusive trailers I promised:

The beefy roster for Netherrealm Studios’ upcoming DC Comics-based fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us keeps getting filled in slowly but surely, with this weekend pulling back the cape/curtain on three new comic combatants.

The three new fighters are obvious, but still exciting for comic fans.  Coming as no surprise to fans are the inclusion of both Green Lantern (the Hal Jordan version, of course) and the Joker, which is no shock given their A-List status, as well as their inclusion in Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe. 

The more surprising addition is that of Green Arrow, a vigilante playboy with an affluence of archery skills as well as sweet, sweet cash.  Imagine Batman without the crushing survivor’s guilt, and you’re on the right track.  It’s not that shocking, however, given the recent premiere of the CW’s Arrow series, as well as his oft-shirtless inclusion in the himbo-filled Smallville.  You can check him out in the trailer below, supplied by G4. 

While I appreciate some of the lesser-known characters being thrown into the mix (Solomon fuckin’ Grundy!), I hope that some of DC’s more supernatural characters can make it into the final roster.  Is it too much to ask for Swamp Thing, complete with floral finishing move?

The Producers Guild of America, Mondo, Women in Film, and the New Beverly Cinema are hosting a special weekend of films in honor of producer Debra Hill.

October 26th, the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles will screen Big Top Pee-Wee, and on the 27th, Halloween. Both films were produced by Debra Hill, and the Mondo posters (below) are included in the ticket price. Halloween will be introduced by long-time collaborator, director John Carpenter. Regular tickets for Halloween are sold out, but you can still get VIP tickets if you have $500 to spare. The VIP package includes the Halloween poster, the variant, preferred seating, and a pre-film meet n' greet with Carpenter. Tickets are available at BrownPaperTickets.com. All proceeds from ticket sales go to the Debra Hill Fellowship, which gives grants to emerging producers.

The Walking Dead really knows how to open a season. In the past, I have been underwhelmed by the middle episodes, but they open strong and finish strong. So far, season three does not disappoint in this manner.

Season three picks up about eight months or so after season two ended - evidenced by Lori’s bulging belly. She is “watch your shoes” pregnant. Our crew has changed a lot in the last eight months. They have a grim determination, a resignation to the new world order. They survive, but it seems that they are going through the motions - there is no “fight” left behind the eyes. The relationships are the most startling part about the season premiere. Carl has grown up a lot; Rick is full of anger and will barely speak to Lori; between her son who hates her, her husband who all but avoids her, and the imminent arrival of the baby, Lori is a mess; Glenn and Maggie are madly in love; Carol seems to truly be coming into her own.

Team Rick comes upon the prison in the first episode, and things change - everyone is cautiously optimistic. Of course, there is a spectacular amount of zombie killing, but if they can secure a few areas, it stands to reason that they could be safe - really safe. Other non-spoilery things I feel safe in telling you is that we do spend some time with Michonne in episode one, but we do not see The Governor or Merle yet.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 14th. As I’m sure you know, Dish Network has not settled their disagreement with AMC Networks, so if you are on Dish, and for some reason haven’t switched carriers in time, you can watch the season premiere live at amctv.com.

Vampire Diaries Episode 401
“Growing Pains”
Written By: Caroline Dries
Directed By: Chris Grismer
Original Airdate: 11 October 2012

In This Episode...

Elena is in limbo: not quite dead, not quite alive. Not yet vampire, but not really human. The Salvatores, naturally, are there when she wakes. Stefan has Bonnie looking in to some way to save her human soul, while Damon thinks she should suck it up, feed, and just accept her vampire life. This upsets Klaus who is sick of being stuck in Tyler’s body because Bonnie needs to save all her magic reserves to keep Elena human - which, she reminds him, will allow him to continue to make hybrids.

In Alaric’s absence, Pastor Young has assembled the council - rather, the new council. They lock up the blood supply in the hospital, arrest the sheriff and the mayor, confiscate the entire town’s supply of vervain, and begin to round up all the vampires. They get Rebekah and Caroline, but a massive crash at the hands of Klaus / Tyler frees the girls. Caroline is thrilled to see that Tyler is alive. He frees her, but leaves Rebekah trussed up - after a wink to alert her that he is Klaus. Caroline and “Tyler” run off into the woods for crazy “you’re not dead” sex, until Caroline realizes he is actually Klaus and slugs him.

Meanwhile, Young’s militia has captured Stefan and taken Elena as, I guess, a POW - they don’t know that she kinda-is, kinda-isn’t dead. Elena used to babysit for Young’s daughter - there is a long history there. But as the day grows short, and Young tries to give her some steak to eat, Elena flips out, resisting the urge for blood. One of Young’s militiamen knocks her out and puts her in the barn, which has been converted into vampire jail. Stefan is there; so is Rebekah, who guesses that Elena has about three hours to drink human blood or die. Bonnie is back at her witch house, and she thinks she has a way to rescue Elena. It seems to be working - in her meditative state, she appears in the cell with Elena and is trying to capture the human side of her and save it from... I don’t know, where ever it goes. Before the spell can be completed, Grams appears to Bonnie and warns her against using the dark spirits. Startled, Bonnie stops the spell and comes out of reverie. Klaus is there and now that she doesn’t need her power to save Elena, he wants to be put back into his own body. She refuses, so Klaus starts to tear up Tyler’s body. Bonnie submits but she again taps into dark magic. Grams appears again and the spirits take it out on her. Bonnie is traumatized.

Elena is near death. Stefan calls in a guard and when he gets close enough, Stefan slams him into the cell bars. The guard drops, blood pooling out. A very weak Elena reaches her fingers out, dips them in the blood. Welcome to vampirehood. Meanwhile, Matt and Damon are uneasy comrades as they storm the farm. Damon uses Matt as bait, and tells the pastor that he can have the boy if he can have Stefan and Elena. The guards attack Damon and bring him into the barn. Damon is just faking, and takes out the guards and frees the vampires.

So where do we end up? Elena is now officially a vampire. All of her compulsions have worn off, so she remembers that she met Damon before she met Stefan, and she remembers when he professed his love to her. Knowing all this, she still stands beside her decision of choosing Stefan. Stefan had Bonnie make her a daylight ring just in case, which Stefan places on her finger while watching the sunrise from the roof. Klaus, now in his own body, is packing up the remaining doppelganger blood when Rebekah confronts him, furious that he didn’t rescue her from the van. Klaus disowns her, she pops a few bags of blood, he snaps her neck and storms out.

Finally, Pastor Young gathers the council at his house. While speaking to them, he surreptitiously disconnects his oven from the gas line, tells them they are at the beginning, and flicks his lighter. They all go kaboom, in mass murder that I assume will be explained later in the season.

Dig It or Bury It?

Puke. Puke, puke, puke. This episode could have been so badass, but it ended up treading dangerously close to Twilight territory. Elena accepted her newfound vampirism way too easily. I understand that, as death nears, the fight to live - in any possible way - becomes so strong as to be irresistible. But then her and Stefan sitting on the roof, with him essentially marrying her with that daylight ring...it seriously left me feeling queasy. It was just so cheesy. Yeah, I understand that like any show, The Vampire Diaries has to have those moments. But normally there is just much more hardcore shit. Then it got all cutesy-wootsy with Elena remembering what Damon compelled out of her, and all these deep “truths.” I feel like smooshing that stuff in with the council rounding up all vampires was a bad call. Maybe they did that to try to temper out the gooey nonsense, but all it did was dilute the action stuff.

Quotable Quotes

Matt is furious with Stefan for saving him instead of Elena, and for “allowing” Elena to go full vamp. “I have to live with that for the rest of my life,” he complains. “No,” responds Stefan, “you get to live with that.”

Prophecies?

Elena struggles with her newfound immortality; the Salvatores bicker over how they should raise their baby vamp; and a new vampire hunter comes to town

Darkstalkers may not have had the widespread fan base of their other fighting franchises, but its Street Fighter speed mixed with a campy, supernatural theme saw that it managed to amass  a ravenous cult following.

Capcom has announced Darkstalkers: Resurrection, which gives an HD-filtered gloss to Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge and Darkstalkers 3, as well as offering enhanced online play and new challenge modes to flesh out the experience.

Darkstalkers: Resurrection is due out in 2013 on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN.

Rumors have been circulating as of late that Colton Haynes, who plays rich jock Jackson on Teen Wolf, will be leaving the popular MTV series. MTV released the following statement: "Absolutely no truth that Colton is being pushed out or that he, or any cast member, is being replaced. We love Colton and look forward to his returning with the entire cast for Season 3 of Teen Wolf." However, Haynes tweeted the following on Thursday afternoon: "These past few yrs have been the best of my life. I'm sad that this chapter has ended, but excited for a new one to begin. Thx for the love." So who do you believe?

Season two ended with Jackson being killed (several times) and reborn as a werewolf. It was an ending I was unhappy with, one in which Jackson should have died - not because I want Jackson off the show, but because it would have served the story better. I feel like if he is killed off at the beginning of season three, it would be a waste of a character death.

What do you think? Is he staying or is that just the PR machine trying to cover up the new season? Shooting on Teen Wolf season three begins right after Thanksgiving, with a likely summer premiere.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Despite being eight months away from release, Guillermo del Toro has announced a prequel to his summer tentpole film Pacific Rim. The prequel will be in the form of a graphic novel, written by the film's screenwriter Travis Beacham. While there was no release date mentioned, I have to imagine it will be timed for a street date that lines up with the film.

According to Deadline, the graphic novel will be set "about 25 years before the movie, taking readers inside the creation of the robot pilots’ crews and the technology they use." Biographical background that del Toro created for his film characters will also be included in the novel.

Frank Oz has potty-trained more children than probably anyone else in the entire world. Well, not literally, but he has been a huge help in the process for parents worldwide as the voice of Sesame Street’s Grover, Cookie Monster, and countless other characters from the Jim Henson universe (including Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and many more). But being a great voice actor and Muppeteer is only a small piece of what Oz has accomplished in the world of film and TV. He’s directed classics like Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, The Dark Crystal (alongside Henson himself), The Muppets Take Manhattan, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Talk about an amazing resume.

Hot on the heels of the release of the Little Shop of Horrors: Director’s Cut Blu-ray (finally containing his newly-restored original ending) this week FEARnet chatted with the legendary director to discuss that infamous original ending, his affinity for darkness, and the origin of Mike Wazowski’s name.

FEARNET: It’s been a long time since Little Shop of Horrors was released in 1986, but it’s become this enormous cult classic. Did you know you were making something that special back then?

FRANK OZ: Well, I knew it was special because there are not many movies that have fourteen songs, a plant that weighs a ton, and a lot of guest stars, comedy, and drama. Yeah, so I knew it was special. I didn’t know if it was going to be successful or not.

FEARNET: Did you think it might have this long lasting effect that it’s had?

FO: No, no. When I work on a project, all I do is work on the project. I just do my very best and hone in as much as I can and then it’s up to the Gods after that. You know the Movie Gods. I just do the very best I can. You can never tell. If I’m thinking about the future of this thing, then I’m in trouble. I should be thinking exactly what I’m doing at that moment.

FEARNET: You took this film and concept that had been done before but not successfully and not in anyway like what you guys did, and you’ve made it something that’s resonated for years. Do you feel like Little Shop of Horrors is doomed to that remake or reboot fate in Hollywood?

FO: I don’t know. It’s a tough thing to say. If people love Little Shop… it’s in great part to Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, certainly. But I don’t know. I think it’s an expensive thing to do. It was very expensive then and now, of course, it would be done with CGI and even that would be expensive. So I think the economics of it would be the thing that would hold it back.

FEARNET: Yeah, I think you’re probably right. I’m sure someone will probably try at some point, but I don’t know if it’ll work.

FO: Yeah, well, if the try, I hope it does work. It’d be great to see another version of it. I’d love that. But I think that we’re in a different time economically and I don’t know – unless you get huge, massive stars to star in it – that’s a different story.

FEARNET: Watching the film again this past week, I’m struck by how amazing your cast was. You had Rick, Steve, Ellen, John, and all these amazing people. Do you think there’s anything out there that can get Rick Moranis out of retirement because we all want him back?

FO: (Laughs) I just had dinner with Rick a few weeks ago. He’s a dear friend. You know, his most important thing was his children. He decided that he had to take care of his kids and his career was secondary. Yeah, I think so. I think, at this point, the kids are in college and so at some point (and if the project is right) he might. He likes to work; he doesn’t like all that showbiz stuff around it. If the project is right and if it touches him then, yeah, I think so. He’s a very, very talented guy.

FEARNET: You managed to get all these people at the prime of their comedy careers. How did you manage to assemble them all in one awesome musical, horror comedy?

FO: You know, I don’t know. (Laughs) Here’s the thing… It wasn’t really me that much. It was David Geffen a lot. What happened was that even though I said no at the beginning, eventually I said yes to do the movie and then David recommended Rick. I had never heard of Rick because I was in London shooting scenes from Muppet shows, Star Wars movies, etc. So I was in London for years and I’d never seen Rick on any TV whatsoever. That was from David. So, of course, I met Rick and we instantly got along and I saw his stuff and knew how brilliant he was that was cool. As far as Steve goes, David recommended him also and I had worked with Steve previously on The Muppet Movie and The Muppet Show, so Steve and I knew each other very well, but it was David’s idea. I remember going to Steve at his place and him saying that what he didn’t want to do was a copy of Fonzie, which was at that time still playing. He said he wanted him more like Elvis. I said, “That’s great. That’s cool.” So that was that. I did bring Ellen into it. David wanted a star and there were various stars talked about and I said, “Can you please give Ellen a shot? Can I screen test her because I think she’s the only one who could do this right?” So I quickly screen tested her with Rick helping us and then showed it to David and he said, “Ok, cool.” I’m so pleased I brought Ellen in because I can’t imagine anyone else doing Audrey. As far as the other people go, I knew Billy [Murray] too but he was David’s idea. I asked for Chris Guest and it just kind of went like that. It all just kind of falls into place. Sometimes you’re lucky and I got lucky this time. I got lucky several times, actually. (Laughs)

FEARNET: You had some critical and commercial success with your previous films. Did you feel like doing this quirky horror comedy musical was a risk at the time or do you think things like The Rocky Horror Picture Show paved the way a little bit?

FO: I would hope it’s a risk. If I’m starting to do safe stuff I should just quit the business. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? Not to do safe stuff.

FEARNET: At the time, CGI was barely a blip on the radar. What was it like to animate this enormous man-eating plant practically?

FO: It wasn’t possible to do CGI at that time with any kind of quality. I don’t know if this may have been the last real tabletop miniatures stuff because Richard Conway and his team was the one really responsible for it. It was a massive effort and a huge job, but again I’m the one who supervised it and everything. I did the storyboards, but it was Richard Conway’s work. I would be shooting the movie and I would go past his special effects stage and I’d look at the city he built, all that stuff, and then I’d go onto the next stage. It was mainly him.

FEARNET: Sometimes I sit back when I watch the film and think that Audrey II might be your Bruce the Shark.

FO: (Laughs) It was tough, but it wasn’t like Bruce the Shark. There was control in it and, mainly, we were not dealing with water, which is any director’s nightmare. It was very tough. At one point we had about forty performers, or animators, underneath with cables and all that stuff. It was huge, but it was controllable. It just needed constant rehearsal and I think we averaged about twenty or thirty takes every time we did it.

FEARNET: Let’s talk about the infamous ending. When everything happened with the DVD release being pulled and everything. Were you and Warner Bros. aware of how rare and valued that DVD became after it was pulled?

FO: I don’t know about Warner Bros., but I do know it was rare after it was pulled because people kept asking me about it and I knew there were hardly any left. I had one. I knew about that, but I wasn’t really in contact with David Geffen or Warner Bros. I had contact with David after the black and white went out because David called me and said, “What are you doing?” He didn’t want it in black and white. He wanted it in color. I said, “That’s cool. That’s great.” And then he took all the black and whites out and color kind of went to the wayside until he and Warner Bros. did this new restored version.

FEARNET: I know this is the original ending that Howard Ashman wrote, but is this the way you prefer to see the film now?

FO: Yeah, I do. It’s the way Howard preferred to see it too. My ending is not as silly as the stage ending. The stage ending was silly, but it was also touching. In part, though, that was the sensibility of the stage. I felt that if the film was too silly, after taking this whole journey with these people, you’d end up feeling betrayed. I also like my movies, to some degree, to have a little subversiveness. I like a little darkness. Although this is the one that Howard and I wanted (though I’m not sure Howard wanted it as dark as this). He was pleased that there was closure there, though. I mean, the guy kills some people and then he has to pay for it. In the happy ending, he kills some people and then he gets his girl. (Laughs) I’m pleased, and I think Howard would be pleased, that this is finally out.

FEARNET: You have this tendency to make these really fun, somewhat light, funny films and then hit people with this really dark ending. What About Bob?, for instance, gets really dark at the end. Was there a lot of pushback from the studio on that film to have a happier ending?

FO: No, that film had such extraordinary problems that I think the studio was just happy that we actually completed it. (Laughs) But, no, there was no pushback. There was a question mark about which ending to use. There were several endings. The ending that I wanted was not used. I was never happy, particularly, with this ending but, nevertheless, it’s the ending that got most votes in the screenings so that was fine by me. As far as the dark stuff, yeah, I don’t like to do happy, silly stuff. That’s just too bland for me.

FEARNET: You make really accessible films, but you’re not afraid to go to darker places within them.

FO: Yeah, I think that people don’t want to be blanded out. They want to have fun, but they want to be challenged too, in my opinion.

FEARNET: I think that’s what makes the film so much fun to watch.

FO: The great thing about What About Bob? is that Billy was right on the edge; that character could be really funny and endearing or he could have been a hatchet murderer.

FEARNET: I think the same thing is true about Richard Dreyfuss. He’s funny and he’s completely manic.

FO: Oh, yeah. He’s totally lost it and he was insane toward the end. Absolutely.

FEARNET: Did you ever imagine that Grover and Cookie Monster – all these character you’ve done voices for – would still be thriving after all these years?

FO: I haven’t performed the characters in maybe eight or nine years now. I mean, I perform Sesame Street maybe once a year, maybe one day a year, just because they ask me to. Just like Little Shop... though I tend to just work and do the very, very best I can and never think about the future of it. It’s like catching a pass in football; if you’re thinking about where you’re going after you catch it, you’re not going to catch it. So deal with what you catch first and then the rest will take care of itself.

FEARNET: Do you get people that recognize you on the street and ask you to do some of your voices?

FO: They recognize me, but they don’t ask me to do voices. They used to years ago, but I think they get it now that I won’t do it. (Laughs) But they do recognize me and usually they fans are really sweet. In the height of everything – Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Star Wars – it was kind of insane. Then, the fans got a little crazy, but now there’s real affection and they say, “It’s an honor to meet you.” How they approach me is different than how they approached me twenty-five years ago. It’s just really nice.

FEARNET: I think there’s a very big reverence for anything Henson-related. There’s so much reverence for these characters and the whole universe.

FO: Jim was a very singular human being and the culture that he created with all of us is a culture that I don’t know exists today. I mean, the closest thing probably would have been like the Monty Python culture, but it’s rare to have a supportive culture that has nothing to do with ego but only about the work and trying to do good work and have fun and work hard.

FEARNET: Monsters, Inc. is a huge favorite in this house. Can you tell us anything about what’s in store for Fungus in Monsters University?

FO: I honestly don’t know. Pete Docter’s a dear friend of mine and I had dinner with him about six months ago. During dinner he asked me if I wanted to do Fungus again in this one and I said, “Sure.” That’s the last I heard of it so I imagine that he’ll give me a call some time and I’ll come in the studio for half-a-day and do it. But there’s nothing that I know about it. Pete isn’t directing it. He’s doing his own new movie. So I don’t know anything about it.

You know, things like that… I did a voice for Zathura and a did a voice for Pete and I’ve done little things like that as kind of favors and for fun, so I don’t get deeply involved. I just do it because I like the people and it’s fun to do it for half-a-day. I don’t get deeply involved in it like I would Yoda if I was in a deep part of the movie.

FEARNET: So you’re looking forward to seeing it just like everybody else.

FO: Oh, yeah. I love it. Pixar is great. Pete’s wonderful. And it’s one thing about Monsters, Inc. that I love telling is the story of Mike Wazowski. Well, Pete Docter was a dear, dear friend of my father’s and that’s how I knew Pete before my father passed away and before Pete was known at all years ago. He was just an animator. So I got to be very friendly with Pete after my father passed away and so, in honor of my dad, he named Mike Wazowski after my dad, which was nice. Because my dad’s real name was Mike Oznowicz.

FEARNET:  Wow. That’s a really great story.

FO: Yeah. He couldn’t say Oznowicz, so he got as close as possible with Mike Wazowski. I thought that was very sweet. And he also dedicated Up to three people and one of them was my dad. He’s a very sweet guy that way. He’s wonderful.

FEARNET: Is there anything else on the horizon directorially that you want people to know about?

FO: I don’t care if they know about it or not. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not one of those guys who wants to publicize stuff. I figure that I just make the movie and put it out there and let the marketing do it. If it’s good, they’ll see it. If it’s not, they won’t. But yeah, I might be doing a little lower-budget thriller that I’m excited about. Something with a little sex and violence.

FEARNET: Well, that’s what we like!

The Little Shop of Horrors: Director’s Cut Blu-ray is in stores now.

Grimm Episode 207
“The Bottle Imp”
Written By: Alan DiFiore
Directed By: Darnell Martin
Original Airdate: 12 October 2012

In This Episode...

A down-on-his-luck man named William Granger, picks up his daughter, April, from his ex-wife’s house and heads out of town. They stop to fuel up the truck, but none of his credit cards work. Granger is aggravated, and the attendant ends up dead. Knowing he has to ditch his truck, Granger uses his daughter to guilt a random guy in a pickup into giving them a lift. Things are fine until an Amber alert announces to the driver who is passengers are. Granger grabs hold of the steering wheel and drives them off the road.

Surveillance footage at the gas station yields an ID. The car is registered to Granger’s wife, who Nick and Hank find bloodied and beaten in her own home. She reveals herself to be wesen. They also retrieve Granger’s laptop which shows web searches for an enormous amount of arsenal, fallout shelters, and other survivalist necessities. They also discover photos of a site deep in the woods. Wu figures out this hiding place, and they raid it. In an underground bunker, made up of a complicated series of tunnels, Nick discovers April, who bonds with him immediately. Granger had gone out for supplies, leaving the girl alone.

Back at the station, April is turned over to social services, who places her in a temporary foster home until her mom is out of the hospital. A tip comes in that Granger went to the hospital to visit his wife, and the police close in. When they arrive, he is hunched over her bed. He is taken into custody without incident, but the wife insists it wasn’t William who beat her to a pulp - it was April. At 9-years-old, she was reaching wesen puberty far earlier than normal, and mom couldn’t control her. Dad’s plan to take her out to the woods was the only way he could think to keep people safe.

The cops rush to April’s foster home, where trouble is already brewing. One of the other children there is pushy, and April doesn’t take too kindly to this. She and the boy get into a fight, and when the foster parents try to separate them, April goes feral and bites into foster dad’s arm. The family flees as the cops pull up. Nick finds April swinging sanguinely, but her smile reveals blood and a chunk of flesh stuck between her teeth. She is sent to juvenile hall, where a wesen guard will keep an eye on her.

Also: Juliette is starting to have strange feelings and visions of Renard. She and Nick have “date night” which culminates in a kiss - until Juliette thinks she is kissing Renard and pulls away, shaken. And in a pointless side story, Monroe mixes up a potion as per Rosalee’s instructions, but he mixes up two of the herbs and ends up with something that was meant to cure an inner ear infection, but instead turns the customer into a schizophrenic. Luckily Monroe seems to fix it with an antidote potion.

Dig It or Bury It?

This episode was kind of boring. It picked up when they revealed April as the psychopath. It was obvious, yes, but there is nothing scarier than children - except for demonic children.

Big Bad...

...Drang-zorn. These bear-like wesen are short-tempered, irrational, and like to take refuge in underground dens.

Prophecies?

An alliance is brewing between Adalind and Renard’s brother. Meanwhile, it seems that Renard’s “cure” for Juliette has also made him a bit obsessed with her.