Good news and bad news for Saw fans. Lionsgate has announced Oct. 22, 2010 as the release date for Saw 7 in 3-D. Michael Burns, the studio’s vice chairman, told attendees at the Media and Money conference in New York that:

As long as we make money on it we’ll keep doing this. Dirty Dancing still sells 2,000 DVDs a day for the company, and that’s after 20 years.

The bad news? Saw 5 director David Hackl is attached to the project. Fans of the series have been pretty vocal in their disappointment over the fifth chapter of what has become the most successful horror franchise of all time. So, Lionsgate’s decision to bring Hackl back for the seventh installment is … well, puzzling. Personally, I would have kept Saw 6 director Kevin Greutert on board. Saw 6 is the strongest entry in the series since part 3. Read my review here.

(UPDATE: Kevin Greutert will be back to direct Saw 7, but he’s not happy about it. Read the story here.)

"Hello, Blogsuckers. I Want to Ride a Tricycle."

Twisted Pictures (Saw) have produced their first family film: The Tortured. Directed by Rob Lieberman (Fire in the Sky), The Tortured stars Erika Christensen (Flightplan, Swimfan) and Jesse Metcalfe (Insanitarium) as a young married couple out to punish the man who abducted their son. The following trailer was premiered at the AFM.

Take a look: