Retro-Video: Baby Faced Sam Raimi Faces His Critics on UK Talk Show

Any "Scariest Movies!" list is redundant. But it is Halloween and I wanted to post something related to that special day giving us carte blanche to eat candy, scare children and indulge in horror cinema.

In 1987 as parents worried horror films, with all their sex and violence, were making masochists outta their kids, Evil Dead II opened. It got especially heated in the UK (Look up "Video Nasty" for the whole story). Not deterred of avoiding bad press or run-ins with enraged parentals, director Sam Raimi walked into the eye of the storm.

A week shy of its UK release, he appeared on the talk-show Central Weekend Live. It gets intense. But Raimi (age twenty-seven; didn't look a day past nineteen) sat there calmly and objectively defended himself and his work. Even as some in that studio audience wanted him crucified. None of them had seen Evil Dead II, mind you. Had they done so, perhaps they'd have seen it wasn't on the exploitive nature of Cannibal Holocaust and I Spit On Your Grave and just a silly cartoon with gore.

Ironic to think years later, they probably took their grandkids to see Raimi's Spider-Man films.

Bryan Singer Confirmed to Direct X-Men: Days of Future Past

As expected following the news last week of Matthew Vaughn's exit, Bryan Singer will return to the director's chair on X-Men: Days of Future Past.

He still has Jack the Giant Slayer to wrap in post-production (Assuming that's near complete) and noticeably no word on when production will commence. Filming was aiming for January as means for Fox and Lionsgate to share co-star Jennifer Lawrence. But with the change of directors and the script still written, that’s unlikely despite the studio sticking to its July 18, 2014 release date.

Don't have an idea of who will return; Lawrence, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are givens but Singer's role on Days of Future Past, before the director swapping, was to sweet-talk original cast members to return; like Sir Ian McKellen who bolted after his contractually-binding appearance in the Singer-absent X-Men: The Last Stand. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Romijn returned for directors not-named-Bryan. Nothing wrong there, just pointing that out.

And what of the returning Singer? Being as critical against Peter Jackson and Ridley Scott for "going back to well," that rule applies too. Difference is Singer has an active and bigger than given credit for, role on X-Men: First Class. It helps that Fox learned from their mistake letting him go back in 2004 instead of sharing him with Warner Brothers. We'll see.

Lucasfilm is the Property of Disney; Star Wars Episode 7 Announced for 2015

Simple words can't express how I feel. Not excitement nor is it negativity. Just...speechless... Forget the election in a week. Here is the October surprise.

Disney just announced they bought Lucasfilm and tentatively set a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7. Rumors circulated few years back, from my ex-employers after our exit George Lucas was quietly assembling a third Star Wars trilogy to immediate denial. This purchase from the Mouse would presumably also include the Indiana Jones franchise.

This is the coupe of coupes for Kathleen Kennedy and Alan Horn, who brokered the deal. The possibilities of Disney/Lucasfilm are infinite and go beyond the afore-mentioned sequel. God help the competition if they meet that date; Star Wars: Episode 7 and The Avengers 2. So much potential opens up for this alliance; good and bad. You smile pondering a Pixar-produced Star Wars film, sure. But that also means endless DTV cartoons. And if you thought Lucas let the merchandising get out of hand over the decades (Spaceballs: The Flamethrower springs to mind), then don't worry your pretty li'l head over doing the ownership of Disney.

An exciting and terrifying development, I must confess. But God am I interested to see what this results in.

The Man of Steel Logo "Revealed"

Won't be too long till marketing blitz kicks into high gear for The Man of Steel. That tumble-weed passing by your computer screen is the fact the trailer is expected to be attached to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  While we wait, here's some cool, professional-looking (but in all probability fan-made) logo animated for the Superman reboot.

The kind of reveal one usually sees at the end of a trailer.

The Wolverine Promises to Be Awesome - Offers One-Sheet as Proof

A live Q&A was held between Hugh Jackman and helmer James Mangold on The Wolverine set. If you have four hours to spare, knock yourself out. Highlights include The Outlaw Josey Wales as an influence, Dwayne Johnson's workout tips, Logan being "angry," confirmation this is a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand and not Wolverine and the one-sheet below.

Bad CG Gore Rampant in Red-Band Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Trailer

Nothing more than a SyFy (Anyone ever ask Harlan Ellison what he thought of that stupid name-change?) TV movie of the week right down to "'high concept' equals cool," IGN Movies has the red-band trailer for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. So good, Paramount slapped on 3D and made us wait till January 2013.

Suppose if schlock cinema is your thing or Van Helsing topped your "Best of 2004" list, good laughs will be had.

Common Sense & Logic Be Damned - Arnold Schwarzenegger Returns to Conan

Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to one of the defining roles of his career for King Conan. Fredrik Malmberg and Chris Morgan will produce and if Universal gets their way this hits summer 2014.

That would be awesome news. Were it not for the fact it's been twenty-eight years since he last played Conan and the world just had the Conan the Barbarian reboot starring Jason Momoa last August. They plan to conveniently dismiss it and even Conan the Destroyer like Bryan Singer did on Superman Returns opting for Superman & Superman II's continuity blowing off the latter two Christopher Reeve sequels. All due respect, I know Arnold wants to reclaim his past glory and youth. As a pal just confessed over Skype, he's gonna have a heart attack!

Remember how Sean Connery returned to James Bond after "new guy" George Lazenby disappointed? That's what's happening. If it was almost thirty years on and Connery was the Connery of today (To be fair, Connery is still manlier than most alive today).

Matthew Vaughn Bails From X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: First Class overcame many hurdles from losing its original director Bryan Singer (a coupe getting him to return) and his late-call replacement by Matthew Vaughn (himself Singer's original replacement on X-Men: The Last Stand before he too quit) to meeting its nut-crunching June 2011 release date (Filming started in Fall 2010) to it being good (A rarity in the sub-genre of prequels).

Then it under-performed and the prospects of future installments with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence went dim. Probably due to their desire to keep the property on their turf, 20^th Century Fox set forth on a sequel, signed down Vaughn to return, a July 18, 2014 release date and the promise of adapting Days of Future Past, a not-subtle way of saying this was their plan to reboot.

Everything's a-OK now, right? Nope, here's a curve-ball thrown at the sequel, via "TOLDJA." Vaughn's bailed. No reason cited (He apparently will stick around with Fox) and since they have that July '14 release and a start of production geared for early next year, they need a replacement. And the rumor-mill says Singer (who served as producer on First Class and from what we’ve heard played a much bigger hand than let on) could step up to direct.

All due respect to Singer, who I continue to be a big fan/defender of, such a last minute move by Vaughn can't be good. Something's up.

A Good Day to Die Hard One-Sheet (& Trailer) Is As Tired As Bruce Willis

The marketing department in charge of A Good Day to Die Hard is phoning it as often as Bruce Willis in the last decade (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly).

"Yippee Ki-Yay Mother Russia?" There were worse phrases out there. I'm clearly in denial. There's also a new trailer. Taking its queue from the teaser trailer, plenty of action in sight (Even the surprise return of Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and noticeably little lip-service from Jai Courtney as John McClane's son. Can't be a good sign.

The Wolverine is the Sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand

This is how assumptions get the better of you.

Since The Wolverine is an adaptation of the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller mini-series and since it’s the second solo Wolverine outing, we all assumed it was set after the events of the ill-received prequel. "Sequel to a prequel," I often described it. Remember one of the post-credits codas had Logan sitting in a Japanese bar! Assumptions told us this would be another adventure set before Hugh Jackman ran around in a hoodie being mind-fucked by Professor Xavier.

Helmer James Mangold says that couldn't be further from the truth (via Empire with photo scan from The Daily Blam!):

"'Where this film sits in the universe of the films is after them all,' reveals Mangold. 'Jean Grey is gone, most of the X-Men are disbanded or gone, so there’s a tremendous sense of isolation for him.'"

A disbanded X-Men sets a darker tone than we saw in the closing moments of The Last Stand. From those closing shots (Save that "Maybe the Cure isn’t permanent" BS with Magneto), suggested things were looking up for the School of Gifted Youngsters. That also makes the Famke Janseen cameo more plausible and less, "Uh, how's that gonna work?"

Assuming this all fits into how the timeline gets screwed up with X-Men: Days of Future Past. But as we’ve just seen, best not to assume anything.