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Fiction Review: ‘Signal Moon’ (2022)

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Sat, 30 Jul 2022 16:39:22 +0000

Amazon has been kind enough lately to grace readers with advance copies of select forthcoming titles, and I was lucky to grab a copy of Signal Moon by Kate Quinn, which is releasing wide in August from the streaming giant. This novella-sized tale will be available in eBook only, but it packs a pretty decent punch into a relatively bite-sized story. In 1943, at the height of World War II, Lily Baines works for her country as a “Wren,” the Y-Station listeners of the British Royal Naval Service tasked with intercepting, relaying, and sometimes deciphering the enemy transmissions they hear over the airwaves. Armed with receivers, headphones, and their skill to transcribe as quickly as possible, Lily is but one of a team of women stationed at Withernsea on the English shoreline, working daily to do their part for the cause. Imagine her surprise, then, when she intercepts a truly curious transmission: one coming from a United States Naval officer originating 80 years later, in 2023. This is the main premise the drives this short story from the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Quinn. The author is intimately familiar with the 1940s Y-Station setting, having previously penned […]

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Book Review: ‘Cell’ by Stephen King

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 15:30:26 +0000

Love him or leave him, you’ve got to give Stephen King credit: the man knows how to tell a story. The author of countless novels and short stories, a ridiculous amount of which have been adapted to the big and small screens, King writes in a style that rivets many readers and employs a “can’t put it down” approach of telling his tales fast and furiously. Which is probably for the best, as some of his novels are – pardon the pun – King-sized, sometimes topping 1,000 pages (I’ve been known, on occasion, to use his mega-novel ‘Under the Dome’ to anchor my yacht so the servants can have a smoother time serving me whilst at sea). Even though ‘Cell’ was adapted into a 2016 film – poorly, which is a true surprise since it features such strong lead character actors as John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson – the focus for fans should certainly be the original written version, first released in 2006. It’s his foray into the world of zombies, or more accurately, pseudo-zombies, as the monsters contained in this tale aren’t dead, per se. Things in the story start out innocently enough, as New England artist Clay […]

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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: Death Troopers’ (2007)

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 16:37:19 +0000

It’s a Thursday, and it’s October, the “Halloween Season” …so what’s a combo Star Wars fan/die-hard zombie aficionado like myself supposed to do? Talk about one of the only pieces of media on the planet that crosses the two over, of course! Initially released over a decade ago, when it was firmly in sorta-canon upon its release but now relegated to “Legends” status – and long before ‘Rogue One’ used characters of the same name in its opening sequence – “Star Wars: Death Troopers” is the mixing of a Star Wars story and a zombie horror story. While it sounds amazingly amazing in theory, and indeed is a pretty fun read, as a proud-yet-critical fan of both universes I feel I must be a little, well, critical here. The experience of reading this book feels a little like meeting a supermodel might: your preconceived notions make you insanely excited for the big event, it seems so amazing and perfect from a distance, but after you spend some time with it, you find out that it’s definitely not perfect and you actually end up a little bummed out. The book was written by Joe Schreiber, who has written a few horror […]

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BBC America Reveals A New Cast Photo From ‘The Watch’ And Fans Of Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ Are Not Pleased

Jax Motes — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 18:56:53 +0000

BBC America has released a photo of the cast of its upcoming fantasy series, ‘The Watch’, based on Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ book series, and unfortunately, many are unhappy. During a time when many sci-fi and fantasy shows are presenting more diversity– and many different kinds of diversity– some feel that this new image indicates that ‘The Watch’ is actually taking a step backwards in that regard. Lara Rossi depicts Lady Sybil Ramkin, who in the books, is an older/middle-aged woman, who is heavyset. She breeds swamp dragons, so her natural hair is singed off, and she wears wigs at nearly all times. Rossi is almost none of those things. She is young, beautiful, and slender. Her hair could be a wig, but if so, it’s a fairly natural-looking one. Meanwhile, Jo Eaton-Kent portrays Constable Cheery Littlebottom, who in the books, is a dwarf, and sports a long beard, despite identifying as “she/her.” (All dwarves have beards, according to Pratchett, and gender is optional.) Here is another look at Eaton-Kent in the role: The basic sentiment from upset fans is that these roles could have gone to a middle-aged woman, and a little person, two groups who don’t normally have many roles to […]

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‘Twilight’ Still Sparkles: Stephanie Meyer’s ‘Midnight Sun’ Debuts At #1

Jax Motes — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:43:05 +0000

The sun hasn’t set on the ‘Twilight’ franchise. 12 years after the last novel in Stephanie Meyer’s vampire romance franchise was published– 2008’s ‘Breaking Dawn’– Meyer is back in the #1 spot of USA TODAY‘s Best-Selling Books list, with ‘Midnight Sun’, which sold over a million copies in its first week of release, including presales and all formats. ‘Midnight Sun’ is a retelling of the first ‘Twilight’ told from the perspective of the male lead, Edward Cullen, the character played by Robert Pattinson in the films. Executive vice president and publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Megan Tingley said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bring people back to the Twilight Saga world and to celebrate this major achievement with Stephenie and the fans and booksellers who’ve supported her for the last fifteen years. In addition to the breathtaking sales, it is profoundly gratifying to hear how much the fans are loving the novel. The resounding response to the read has been ‘it was definitely worth the wait!’ ” And there’s more to come! During a Books-A-Million virtual event, Meyer divulged: “There are two more books I think in the world that I want to write. I have got them […]

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Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Will Adapt Fantasy-Horror Novel ‘Mexican Gothic’ Into A Series For Hulu

Jax Motes — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 11:00:14 +0000

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Milojo Productions has won the rights to produce a TV series based on Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s bestselling fantasy-horror novel ‘Mexican Gothic’, which will go to Hulu, where Milojo has a production deal. Courtesy of Deadline: Published by Del Rey in June, Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada, a young socialite who travels to the Mexican countryside and the mountains of Hidalgo in hopes of rescuing her cousin, who has recently married into a reclusive mining family, after receiving a frantic letter in the mail. Noemí seeks to unveil the family’s violent and menacing secrets, but her confidence is quickly threatened and there may be no escaping the walls of her strange, new home. Ripa sang the praises of the novel to her Twitter followers: “Sublime horror for your summer reading. So good I bought the hard copy and the download to read in the dark.” Upon landing the rights to adapt it, Ripa declared: “We feel like we hit the literary jackpot, and cannot wait to bring Silvia’s gorgeous writing to life, together with Hulu.” Author Moreno-Garcia stated: “I am excited to see the novel come to life and to meet the talented, diverse crew and cast members that […]

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Netflix Acquires ‘Fear Street’ Trilogy From Disney; Will Release Them Next Year

Jax Motes — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 21:59:49 +0000

‘Fear Street’ was a project that was set into motion by 20th Century Fox before it was acquired by Disney, but it seems it was far along enough that Disney allowed it to be finished. Originally, Fox planned to release ‘Fear Street’, based on R.L. Stine’s older-skewing horror novels as three theatrical movies, one month apart, starting this past June. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Now it appears that ‘Fear Street’ won’t get a theatrical release at all, as Netflix has reportedly acquired the films from Disney. Netflix has announced that ‘Fear Street’ will be part of an initiative called The Summer of Fear, next year. Netflix plans to stick to the one-month-apart release plan. In 1994, a group of teenagers find out that the terrifying events that have occurred in their town of Shadyside, Ohio may be connected to each other, and that they may be the next targets. The other movies will be set in 1978 and 1666, but will wrap up back in 1994. The 1978 movie sounds like a summer camp slasher movie, which fits the time period, while the 1666 story, reportedly involves witches. All three will be tied together in one over-arching story. Reportedly, all […]

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Jason Bateman Will Direct A Film Adaptation Of ‘Superworld’ With ‘Game Night’ Writer

Jax Motes — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:00:44 +0000

Jason Bateman is set to direct the film adaptation of Gus Krieger’s recently released audiobook ‘Superworld’, set in the world 2038, when everyone on the planet has superpowers, except one man, the novel’s main character, Ignatius Lohman. Bateman will also produce via his Aggregate Films production company. It wasn’t stated whether or not Bateman planned to star, but it seems likely, as he has starred in most other projects he has directed, which includes the films ‘Bad Words’ and ‘The Family Fang’, and episodes of ‘Arrested Development’, ‘The Outsider’, and ‘Ozark’. He is also slated to direct ‘Here Comes the Flood’, a heist movie written by Simon Kinberg, for Netflix, and a horror movie, ‘Shut In’. Here is the description of ‘Superworld’, via Audible: Earth, 2038. Every single man, woman, and child on the planet has a unique gift: an extraordinary, superhuman ability. All except one. And he may be civilization’s only hope. Ignatius Lohman longs to make his mark, to be someone. But in a world populated entirely by superpowered beings, he’s nothing but a powerless white-collar civilian. Iggy’s plight is not helped by the fact that his father, General Lancelot Lohman of the defense agency PEERLESS, is one […]

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Jurnee Smollett Says It’s “Maddening” That The Racism In ‘Lovecraft Country’ Is Still A Problem Today

Jax Motes — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 11:00:12 +0000

In addition to being a major star-on-the-rise in Hollywood, Jurnee Smollett has been an activist for Black rights from a young age. As a child in 1992 (around the time she began appearing on ‘Full House’ as Michelle’s friend Denise), she was holding up signs after Rodney King’s infamous beating. At 12, she was volunteering at a social justice nonprofit and by 18, she was its youngest board member. She has been actively meeting with members of the Black Lives Matter organization in recent months. And as it happens, her new HBO series, ‘Lovecraft Country’, set in the American South in the 1950s– the time of Jim Crow– also addresses matters of racism with a healthy dash of the supernatural. While Smollett is excited about the new series, she is understandably furious, that the same issues facing her character 70 years ago are still problems that Black Americans face today. In a cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, Smollett said: “We’re telling the story of heroes that go on a quest to disrupt white supremacy, and it’s maddening that in the year 2020 it’s still relevant.” In addition to racism, Smollett is not a fan of sexism, something she has […]

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Showrunner Misha Green Says ‘Get Out’ And ‘Lost’ Paved The Way For ‘Lovecraft Country’

Jax Motes — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 23:34:03 +0000

Showrunner Misha Green says that HBO’s upcoming ‘Lovecraft Country’ would not exist had it not been for two previous hit projects– ‘Get Out’ and ‘Lost’. It’s no coincidence that ‘Lovecraft Country’ is executive produced by ‘Get Out’s director, Jordan Peele, and ‘Lost’s creator J.J. Abrams. So expect to see influences from both on ‘Lovecraft Country’. Participating in this year’s Television Critics Association (held virtually for the first time), Green explained how ‘Get Out’ opened the door: “I think this would have been incredibly hard to get on screen if Get Out hadn’t come out. I think that paved the way for people to really open up to the idea of seeing more Black people in genre spaces.” And regarding ‘Lost’, she said: “It’s an epic journey that wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t making TV at the level that started with Lost and that pilot.” Peele produces via his Monkeypaw Productions, while Abrams does so through his Bad Robot. Green and Bad Robot TV’s Ben Stephenson also serve as EPs. Green developed the show, based on Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel of the same name, with Abrams and Peele. Set in 1950s Jim Crow America, the series explores racism with a horror spin. […]

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Director Keith Thomas Teases Details About His Adaptation Of Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’

Jax Motes — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:00:17 +0000

In December, it was announced that ‘The Vigil’s Keith Thomas had been tapped to adapt Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’ into a new feature film from Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, and Akiva Goldsman‘s Weed Road. There was no further information released at that time, but Thomas recently offered a few details about his approach. ‘Firestarter’ was previously adapted into a film in 1984. It was a critical and commercial flop, but has developed a cult following over the years. This is what Thomas had to say about his take (via Zavvi): “It’s a new adaptation of the book. When [producer] Jason [Blum] pitched it to me it was exciting, as that’s one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and whilst I really like the 1980s film, I felt we could do something new. The screenplay is by Scott Teems who wrote the upcoming Halloween Kills, it’s an amazing script. It has everything you would want; people’s heads catching fire and their faces melting off, and a dad and daughter on the run trying to survive being chased in this heightened tense experience. We are hoping to film it this year, and it will be a lot of fun.” Not only was the 1984 film a […]

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Denis Villeneuve Is Sprinting To Finish ‘Dune’ In Time For Its December Release

Jax Motes — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 23:47:47 +0000

While the Hollywood studios have been scrambling movie releases all over the calendar in response to COVID-19, one picture that has not shifted is Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of ‘Dune’ for Warner Brothers. WB is sticking with its mid-December release, but Villeneuve is rushing to get it finished in time. As he explained, he has been stuck in quarantine in Montreal, while the editing crew has been working diligently in Los Angeles. Not only are time and distance not on their side, it seems that the coronavirus has complicated plans for reshoots. In an interview for the Shanghai International Film Festival, Villeneuve said: “I was planning to go back and shoot some elements later because I wanted to readjust the movie. I needed time. At the time I didn’t know that it would be a pandemic…as we were about to go back to do those elements. The impact was that it crushed my schedule right now. It will be a sprint to finish the movie on time right now, because we were allowed to go back to shoot those elements in a few weeks…it meant also that I have to finish some elements of the movie, like VFX and the editing, […]

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Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Is Turning Aldous Huxley’s ‘Island’ Into A TV Series

Jax Motes — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 11:00:37 +0000

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Apian Way and In Good Company Films are developing a TV series based on Aldous Huxley’s last novel, 1962’s ‘Island’. Huxley’s 1932 novel, ‘Brave New World’ was adapted into a TV series on the new streaming service Peacock. Huxley wrote ‘Island’ as the utopian counterpoint to the dystopian ‘Brave New World’. ‘Island’ follows cynical journalist and political pawn, Will Farnaby, who is dispatched to an idyllic island in the Indian Ocean. He was originally sent by a greedy oil tycoon, who wants the island, named Pala, for its untapped petroleum reserves, but upon his arrival, Farnaby discovers a fully-formed, independent society “including psychedelic adventures and alternative social structures,” and his loyalties change. (You’re right. It does sound an awful lot like ‘Avatar’.) DiCaprio will serve as an executive producer, but that will likely be his only involvement. No creatives– writers, directors– were announced, nor was an outlet. The ‘Island’ TV series is likely years away from becoming a reality, but if any news surfaces, we’ll offer updates. Appian Way has produced a number of documentaries for Netflix, National Geographic, and more. It is also producing the science-fact series ‘The Right Stuff’, which was originally developed for NatGeo but […]

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R.L. Stine’s ‘The Babysitter’ Books Are Being Turned Into A TV Series

Jax Motes — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 11:00:43 +0000

Lookout Entertainment has announced that it is developing a TV series based on R.L. Stine’s ‘The Babysitter’ series of teen horror novels. Stine’s bestselling books include the popular ‘Goosebumps’ series which were adapted into a TV series and two recent movies starring Jack Black. His ‘Fear Street’ brand is being turned into a trilogy of theatrical films which will be released in a unique monthly schedule… at some point, when the world gets back to normal. (If that happens.) Lookout Entertainment made the announcement via Twitter: Lookout Entertainment is working with Chernin Entertainment on a new series based on R.L. Stine’s “The Babysitter” book series. Check it out! https://t.co/C7Nk6rrxCH — LookoutEntertainment (@LookoutEnt) July 23, 2020 There are four ‘The Babysitter’ books, which were originally published from 1989 to 1995. The main character in all four books is sixteen-year-old Jenny Jeffers. In the first book, she receives menacing phone calls after putting her charge, a boy named Donny Hagen, to bed. After the events of the first book, Jenny begins seeing a psychiatrist, but goes back to babysitting. Her newest kid is a brat with a genius IQ, who she suspects of playing hurtful pranks on her. The third book introduces […]

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SDCC: ‘Lovecraft Country’ Offers An Ominous 2½ Minute Clip

Jax Motes — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 21:59:38 +0000

In addition to unveiling a new trailer, HBO’s ‘Lovecraft Country’, an ominous clip has also been released. It’s not obvious what is going on in this clip. The main characters, Atticus Black (Jonathan Majors), his uncle, George Freeman (Courtney B. Vance), and Letitia “Leti” Lewis (Jurnee Smollett) are in a… museum? They seem to be searching for a doorway, but then it seems that they are being watched. “This is some Journey to the Center of the Earth-type shit,” Atticus exclaims. He then finds a strange inscription: “Beware all ye who tread the path, ever the tide shall rise.” Check out the clip for yourself below: ‘Lovecraft Country’ is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, and was developed for television by J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele, and Misha Green, with Green acting as showrunner. Set in 1950s Jim Crow America, the series explores racism with a horror spin. Atticus, a Korean War veteran, and science-fiction-enthusiast is traveling through the South, with his uncle, George, and friend, singer and activist Leti, searching for his father, Montrose (Michael K. Williams). In addition to dealing with the horrors of corrupt police brutality, the trio finds themselves encountering nightmarish […]

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