Disney and Lucasfilm have tapped writer and director Rian Johnson to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. Johnson, who made his acclaimed directorial debut with 2005’s neo-noir high school crime thriller Brick, wowed critics and sci-fi fans alike with 2012’s time-travel thriller Looper.
According to Deadline, Johnson will also pen and direct Star Wars: Episode IX, the final chapter in the new trilogy. Johnson is the latest filmmaker to join the Star Wars franchise.
J.J. Abrams is currently shooting Star Wars: Episode VII from a script he wrote with Empire Strikes Back scribe Lawrence Kasden. It arrives in theaters Dec. 18, 2015. Unnamed standalone entries in the Saga are being directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and Josh Trank (Chronicle).
Emma Dumont (“Bunheads”) is set to star in NBC’s new 13-episode event series “Aquarius.” The show follows a Los Angeles police sergeant (David Duchovny) in the 1960’s investigating a young hooligan and charismatic cult leader named… Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony).
Dumont plays young Emma Karn, one of Manson’s recruits whose father is embroiled in the cult leader’s “far-reaching conspiracy.” Dumont is best known for playing Melanie Segal on ABC Family’s short-lived dramedy series “BunHeads.”
“Aquarius” is written by John McNamara (In Plain Sight) and executive produced by Duchovny.
CBS has released a trailer for upcoming fall show “Stalker,” a psychological thriller from producer Kevin Williamson (“The Following,” “Vampire Diaries”), starring Dylan McDermott (“American Horror Story”) and Maggie Q (“Nikita”).
McDermott and Q star as detectives of the Los Angeles Threat Assessment Unit, working extreme stalking and cyber harassment cases for the LAPD. McDermott is a NYPD transfer with a pervy past, and Q is a one-time victim of a pervy perpetrator.
“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke will face off against evil spirits in first-time director Eric D. Howell’s Voice From the Stone, an adaptation of Silvio Raffo’s award-winning Italian novel La Voce Della Pietra. The Code 39 Films and Zanuck Independent production will shoot in Italy this November.
Written by Andrew Shaw, Voice From the Stone is set in 1950’s and stars Clarke as a nurse helping a young boy cope with the sudden and traumatic death of his mother, but tormented by a malevolent force in the boy’s family castle.
Clarke is best known for playing Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” She will next be seen in the iconic role of Sarah Connor in Paramount Pictures’ new Terminator reboot Terminator: Genesis.
This new featurette for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes fills us in on the 10 year gap that has gone by since the Simian Flu outbreak first caught on in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 20th Century Fox releases the eagerly awaited sequel July 11.
Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes stars Keri Russell (Dark Skies), Gary Oldman (Dark Knight), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Kodi-Smit McPhee (Let Me In) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit) as chimp revolutionary Caesar.
Attention fright fans… Friday the 13th just became your lucky day! The Queen Mary announces the return of Dark Harbor, its annual Halloween event, with a one-day special promotion: a limited amount of $13 Dark Harbor tickets will go on sale for 13 hours (11AM to midnight).
The specially priced tickets are available for the shows held Oct. 2, 3, 9, and 12. Dark Harbor will take place this year for 18 terrifying nights, beginning Oct. 2 and running through Nov. 1. Get your tickets here!
No word yet on what horrors Dark Harbor will bring this year, but the event should be a no-miss for Halloween enthusiasts. Clatto was fortunate enough to be brought on board for the evil festivities in 2013. Read our spine-tingling account here.
Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando announced the return of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” to its annual Halloween Horror Nights event. This year’s maze is based on the hit zombie drama’s fourth season. Guests will flee the West Georgia Correctional Facility on a mission to reach Terminus.
Of course, the journey will be plagued by the undead and evil men. The scares are all new and feature iconic scenes from the series, and never-before-seen Walkers. “Walking Dead” executive producer Greg Nicotero tells us more…
Deadline is reporting that comedian/actor Dane Cook and one-time Superman Brandon Routh are toplining New Artists Alliance and XLrator Media’s new sci-fi thriller 400 Days. Why that casting is viewed as a selling point, we have no idea. The hot news here is “Arrow” stunner Caity Lotz also stars.
400 Days tells the story of four astronauts sent on a simulated deep space mission to test its effects on the mind. The group goes batty after being isolated from the outside world for 400 days. The reality that awaits them when they return, however, is a lot more frightening.
Lotz is best known for playing Canary on The CW’s superhero series “Arrow” and Anna Draper’s niece on AMC’s “Mad Men.” She starred on MTV’s short-lived horror-comedy show “Death Valley” and toplined writer/director Nicholas McCarthy’s creepy ghost story, The Pact.
Set in the aftermath of a massive California quake, San Andreas follows a special-ops firefighter (Johnson) on a trek from Los Angeles to San Francisco to find his estranged daughter (Daddario). No word on what role Minogue will play.
Minogue, a Grammy-winning singer best known in the U.S. for her catchy pop hit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” is coming off the indie lesbian werewolf drama,Jack & Diane. Additional creds include the slasher Cut and the video game adaptation for Street Fighter.
Dimension Films has released a new two-minute plus trailer for Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City sequel A Dame to Kill For. Folks are pumped to see Mickey Rourke as Marv, but Jessica Alba working the stage as stripper Nancy is pretty damn exciting too in our humble and pervy opinion.
