Amazon is entering The 1% Club.
28.09.2023 - 17:45 / variety.com
William Earl The gruesome “Saw” franchise has grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office — but the original 2004 horror film was destined to be a direct-to-video curio. That is, until a pair of rollicking test screenings saved it. “The first one we did in Camarillo [Calif.] and it scored so well that Lionsgate was convinced that we padded the audience,” franchise producer Oren Koules remembers.
“So they made us do it again in Vegas, but they didn’t tell us until 6 p.m. that night where the theater was.” Almost 20 years and nine twisty chapters later, “Saw X” (heading to theaters on Sept. 29) is returning to its franchise roots.
“Lionsgate did a brand study of ‘Saw’ fans: How many did they watch? Why did they stop?” franchise producer Mark Burg says. “We decided to make ‘Saw X’ that way. We pivoted from shooting in Eastern Europe to Mexico City, because we found such a giant portion of our fans were Latin.” The research led most notably to the revival of key villain Jigsaw (aka John Kramer, portrayed by Tobin Bell).
Jigsaw and his puppet Billy thrust victims struggling with their morality into death traps to make them value their lives. Although Jigsaw technically died in 2006’s “Saw III,” his nefarious plans have been in play for all of the films except the Chris Rock-starring 2021 spinoff “Spiral.” “Saw X” is set between the series’ first and second installments, and reunites Jigsaw with his protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith). Together, they target and test a group of medical hustlers who swindle John after pretending to perform surgery on him.
Amazon is entering The 1% Club.
EXCLUSIVE: Roku this past weekend saw the fruits from its big push into Spanish original content as the Greice Santo-created music reality series, Serenata de las Estrellas, notched the streamer’s biggest opening weekend by reach for any Spanish-language Roku Original.
Slash and Myles Kennedy and The Co-Conspirators have announced a 2024 world tour set to take place in January.The 32-date run titled ‘The River Is Rising – Rest of the World Tour ’24’ will see the rock icon travel across 21 countries. Kicking off on January 23 at the Pepsi Center WTC in Mexico City, they will then head to Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.
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release of “The Exorcist: Believer,” filmgoers will once again witness young, possessed girls blaspheming, shrieking and levitating as their parents try to wrest a godless demon from their bodies.What they likely won’t see, however, is their fellow audience members fainting, vomiting and fleeing the theater in terror. That chaotic scene was what was widely reported to have happened all over the world when “The Exorcist” hit theaters nearly 50 years ago in December 1973.In early 1974, a security guard at a Midtown East cinema described screenings of the horror flick to the New York Times.
In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo pops in a tape to discuss “V/H/S/85” with director Scott Derrickson (“Doctor Strange,” “Sinister,” “The Black Phone”). The sixth installment of the beloved horror anthology series follows five sinister found footage tales that delve into the grim underbelly of 1980s America.
Saw and Carrie.In a thread started by Redditor Chocolate-lord69420 on the “horror” subreddit, fans were asked to name the movie with the most distressing ending sequence or shot.“For me it’s the ending of Saint Maud,” the original post read. “I don’t know why that did so much to me but… I’m pretty new to the genre.”The thread has since received over 1,400 comments, with other films listed including 2000’s Requiem For A Dream directed by Darren Aronofsky and James Wan’s Saw.“I am super obsessed with this franchise but nothing beats the first movie,” a commenter wrote regarding 2004’s Saw.
Bravo is spicing things up with the premiere pf The Real Housewives of Miami Season 6 set for Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
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Manchester has been named one of the World’s Best Cities in a prestigious report - beating out the likes of Mexico City, Valencia and Bucharest, but missing out on the top spot, which was claimed by London.
EXCLUSIVE: Producer Dani Melia describes how “a scrappy team” that made filmmaker Lulu Wang’s acclaimed low-budget feature The Farewell joined forces with Blossom Films’ Nicole Kidman and Per Saari to make “this big international production” Expats for Prime Video.
My Mum Your Dad burst onto our screens earlier this month, and it quickly became a beloved show. Over the course of two weeks, viewers were treated to the heartwarming journey of 12 single parents as they embarked on a quest to find love, all while their children played matchmakers. At the end of the series, the audience witnessed the blossoming of two beautiful love stories: Roger Hawes and Janey Smith, and Sharon Benson and Elliot Davidson, who found deep connections that extended beyond friendship.
BBC One sitcom Ghosts is being laid to rest as it returns for its fifth and final season, with its comedic cast closing the doors of Button House for good. Although, star Laurence Rickard admits that the decision was a hard one - especially as the BBC wanted the show to go on. “It was very tricky to say no to that and it certainly wasn’t a decision we took lightly - it was heart-wrenching for everyone,” the 48-year-old, who plays caveman Robin and headless nobleman Sir Humphrey Bone.
Patti Smith — who has played 24 shows all over the globe this year — has just three more shows lined up in 2023.First up, the “Before The Night” singer will stop into Kingston, NY’s Ulster Performing Arts Center on Nov. 11.After that, she’ll stop into Chicago, IL’s The Salt Shed on Dec.
The business of being funny can be an incredibly lucrative one.
Sophia Scorziello editor South African crime writer Rudie Van Rensburg’s “Piranha” is set to be adapted into a new crime drama series from Strong Studios. Titled “Endangered,” the project is being shopped as a six-episode limited series written by screenwriter Jake Riddell (“Reyka,” “Grantchester”) and directed by BAFTA award winner Stuart Urban (“The Mystery of Suzy Lamplugh”).