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Beyond Fest 2024, the genre film festival based in the United States is returning for its 12th presentation with an 82-feature lineup for 15 days of cinematic spectacle! This year’s celebration includes a killer roster of firsts, special screenings, anticipated reunions, and more fan-favorite filmmakers than most cinephiles could handle for one momentous event! This year’s collection of films and creators is better than ever, so prepare yourself for a gauntlet of big-screen wonders, a popcorn diet, and random encounters with celebrities and fans alike.

Per Beyond Fest’s official press release (with some flavor text sprinkled in):

Beyond Fest, the biggest and highest-attended genre film festival in the US is excited to announce its complete slate of 2024 programming comprising 82 features, including 16 World Premieres, 4 International Premieres, 1 North American Premiere, 3 US Premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres. After entertaining over 25,000 guests in 2023, Beyond Fest returns for its 12th edition, spanning September 25th – October 9th.

The long-awaited unveiling of Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot, the west coast premiere of Terrifier 3, a 30th anniversary Speed reunion with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and focus on filmmakers Sam Raimi and Shane Black are among the many highlights of the 12th edition of Beyond Fest, which will hit Los Angeles starting Sept. 25.

Other big-name titles include the international premiere of Toho’s My Hero Academia: You’re Next and the west coast premieres of The Brutalist, the immigration thriller that is coming off a Silver Lion award for best director at the Venice Film Festival. Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora, Donald Trump origin story The Apprentice, and Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch are also on the docket And there will be the U.S. premiere of Sarah Paulson’s suspense thriller Hold Your Breath.

Billing itself the largest genre film festival in the United States,...

This year marks the 40th anniversary of writer/director Wes Craven’s horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street – and, as we’ve previously reported, Warner Bros. is celebrating the film’s anniversary by giving it a 4K Blu-ray release on October 1st! A trailer for the 4K release has dropped online, and you can check it out in the embed above. While it’s great that the original A Nightmare on Elm Street is coming to 4K, one thing we’ve heard zero news about is the possibility of a new Elm Street movie going into production any time soon. Speaking to our friends at Bloody Disgusting, Elm Street heroine Heather Langenkamp said it’s a shame there’s no new movie news to share… especially since she believes that Robert Englund still has it in him, despite his statements to the contrary, to play dream stalker Freddy Krueger one more time.

One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…in 4K! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Warner Bros. will be releasing the iconic slasher in 4K. Oh, just imagine how vibrant the blood will be in Johnny Depp’s death scene!

While no date has been set for the 4K release of A Nightmare on Elm Street, multiple sources have listed December 31st. Those of us in North America won’t directly be getting a box set, but the U.K.’s more substantial release is region free, so feel free to pre-order that one instead. This collector’s edition of A Nightmare on Elm Street on 4K houses a double-sided poster, art cards and a booklet. On top of that, the 40th anniversary set will also be numbered; while we don’t know the number yet, 1,984 would certainly be a killer choice, albeit extremely limited.

If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in August 2024. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 7 best movies coming to Shudder in August 2024.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (August 1)

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a supernatural horror slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven. The 1984 film sees a maniacal serial killer, Freddy Krueger killing teenagers in their dreams and it follows the story of Nancy and her friends as they try to solve the mystery behind Freddy Krueger before he kills them too. A Nightmare on Elm Street stars Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, John Saxon,...

Several of our favorite horror franchises have gotten upgraded 4K collections, but one franchise that you can still only own on Blu-ray is A Nightmare on Elm Street. The bad news? A full franchise collection hasn’t yet been announced. Good news? The original is coming to 4K!

Wes Craven’s original horror classic is getting a 40th anniversary 4K Ultra HD SteelBook from Warner Bros. on December 31, 2024, with pre-orders now available on Amazon.

It’s a UK release, but the 4K disc will be Region Free. The Limited Edition offering will reportedly come packaged with a Double-Sided Poster, Art Cards, and a Booklet.

The official listing previews, “Celebrate 40 years of Wes Craven’s nightmarish masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street with a brand new 4K restoration and Ultimate Collector’s Edition featuring a Steelbook with new key art, theatrical poster and other premiums.”

Bonus Features on the Blu-ray disc include…...

Wes Craven was inspired to write his 1984 horror hit "A Nightmare on Elm Street" after a real-life case of what was called Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome that, according to several articles in the Los Angeles Times, was afflicting America's Hmong refugee population. People would suffer from horrifying nightmares and soon became afraid to fall asleep. When they did finally lose consciousness, they mysteriously died. The deaths remained unexplained for years. Craven extrapolated a horror movie from these cases, envisioning a nightmarish killer who occupied multiple people's dreams. If the killer killed you in your dream, you died in the waking world. 

Craven named his killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) and explained that Freddy was the ghost of a neighborhood child murderer who had been killed by a group of local parents -- exercising vigilante justice -- years earlier. Somehow, Freddy passed into the realm of the supernatural. Now he "lives" as a burned-up,...

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a classic horror movie released in 1984, directed and written by Wes Craven. It follows the story of several teenagers living on Elm Street who are systematically targeted by an enigmatic killer with supernatural powers, Freddy Krueger. The teenagers discover that they can only survive if they stay awake, but even this proves futile as Freddy’s powers extend into the dream world.

The film spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs, making it one of the most successful franchises in horror movie history. It also became one of the most recognized and beloved icons in cinema history, with Freddy Krueger’s iconic striped sweater and fedora becoming staples in popular culture. A Nightmare on Elm Street has been credited with revitalizing the slasher genre, inspiring many other movies throughout the years.

The movie was met with both commercial success and critical praise, receiving several Saturn Awards...

Ronee Blakley still remains better known to many as an actor than a singer-songwriter, thanks to screen appearances like her Oscar-nominated turn in “Nashville” and later appearance in “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” But she was releasing major-label albums in the early ’70s before a plum Robert Altman part landed her on the cover of Newsweek. Now she’s returning to music with her first non-soundtrack studio album in years, “Atom Bomb Baby,” which has just been released on digital services.

The album has a strong tie-in to another project that brought her back into the limelight last year: Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” documentary about the legendary Bob Dylan ensemble tour on which she was one of the top-billed performers. Before the tour commenced, Blakley was called into a recording studio for a seat-of-their-pants recording session for an epic single, “Hurricane,” about the plight of incarcerated boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter,...

He knew the right people, worked with the right collaborators, and looked and dressed better than many in his circle. But as even his friends acknowledged, timing was never one of David Blue’s strong suits — and if anyone needed a reminder, it arrived at his funeral.

For much of Blue’s career leading up to that day in December 1982, life hadn’t seemed especially fair. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist had rarely complained about it, but everyone except him seemed to be reaping the rewards of a life in music.

Character actor Allen Garfield died from complications with the coronavirus Tuesday at 80. Garfield’s death was confirmed by his sister. Many of his fans and former co-stars posted on social media to pay their respects. This includes Ronee Blakley who said on Facebook, “Rip Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in “Nashville”, […]

The post Allen Garfield, ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ & ‘Nashville’ Star, Dies From Coronavirus At 80 appeared first on uInterview.

Allen Garfield, who appeared in such films as “The Conversation,” “Nashville” and “Irreconcilable Differences,” has passed away due to complications of Covid-19, according to one of his co-stars. He was 80.

The actor, who suffered strokes in 1998 and 2004, had been a long-term resident of the Motion Picture Retirement Home. It is not known if he was one of the two victims of coronavirus who died at the facility this week.

Garfield’s “Nashville” co-star Ronee Blakley shared the news on Facebook, writing, “Rip Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in ‘Nashville’, has died today of Covid; I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and friends; I will post more later; cast and crew, sending love.”

Also Read: 2 Motion Picture & Television Fund Nursing Home Residents Die From Coronavirus

Born Allen Goorwitz in Newark, New Jersey in 1939, Garfield appeared in more than 100 television shows and films during his...

by Jason Adams

Marge Thompson is such a weirdo. Less than ten years after her Oscar nomination for Robert Altman's classic Nashville the singer turned actress Ronee Blakley was playing the Mom in a slasher flick. Some might disparage that turn of events -- say she was "reduced to" playing the Mom in a slasher flick. I am not one of those people. Especially when you see the gloriously strange performance that Blakley turned in. There's nothing unmemorable about the final girl Nancy Thompson's momma -- she'll haunt your dreams!

A Nightmare on Elm Street is about the sins of the parents being visited, rather traumatically, upon their children, a symbiotic theme that Craven would come to visit time and again with his horror films...

Freddy Krueger, the vicious, dream-slashing villain from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, has more than earned his spot among the horror genre’s most brutal icons. Even before he reached the peak of his paranormal powers, Krueger was a vicious child killer, one who managed to squirm out of a jail sentence because of a technicality. This, as fans of the original film know, led the parents to take matters into their own hands.

It’s not as if Wes Craven’s pinnacle 1984 film hadn’t already made the character into one of the most horrific of all time. But as it turns out, the director’s original vision made Krueger’s origin much, much worse.

Those details can be viewed in the deleted scene up above. As you’ll notice, most of it actually did find a place in the movie, as we see heroine Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp...

Among the pivotal and juicy nuggets of film history recounted in “Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound,” Midge Costin’s wonkishly engaging movie-love documentary, there’s one that speaks volumes about the foundation of the New Hollywood.

It’s 1967, and George Lucas, who is three years away from making his first film, is on the set of “Finian’s Rainbow,” the clomping warhorse of a Hollywood musical that his buddy and fellow film-school brat Francis Ford Coppola has been hired to direct. Coppola, who already dreams of making his own more personal film, asks Lucas if he knows a good sound designer; Lucas tips him off to his USC colleague Walter Murch. Coppola and Murch then team up to make “The Rain People,” a road odyssey they literally shoot across the country, with Murch using the new Nagra Portable Audio Recorder. That’s when these filmmakers have their aha moment.

As fanciful as Martin Scorsese’s new film about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975 is, it doesn’t aim to turn truth into myth nearly as much as the infamous movie Dylan himself made during that period, “Renaldo and Clara” — in which the cast list had Ronee Blakley playing “Mrs. Dylan.” Whatever impish reasons he might have had for doing that, it was undoubtedly a sign of the affection Dylan had for Blakley, who’d come right off a promotional tour for Robert Altman’s “Nashville” onto his tour, with a quick stop to record his single “Hurricane.”

Blakley appears in archival footage and fresh interviews in the Netflix film “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” and she can also be heard singing with Dylan throughout the new 14-cd boxed set “Rolling Thunder: The 1975 Live Recordings.” She’s also known for her solo albums...

In the summer of 1975, in the middle of recording his album “Desire,” Bob Dylan decided that he wanted to go on tour again, but that he also wanted a break. A break from the crowds, from the press scrutiny, maybe even from his own stardom. So in the fall of that year, he launched the Rolling Thunder Revue, a knowingly small-time ramble of a concert tour that was designed, from the outset, to be a kind of antiquated floating carnival of down-home traveling players. Call it “A Prairie Home Companion” meets Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The venues wouldn’t be sold-out arenas, like the ones that Dylan had played, along with the Band, to rapturous audiences the year before. They would be concert halls in places like Plymouth, Mass., and Rochester, N.Y., and Bangor, Maine. And though the tour was billed on posters as an all-star counterculture revue,...

Tony Sokol Apr 25, 2019

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese will hit select theaters and Netflix on June 12.

Martin Scorsese knows music. His movies have some of the best soundtracks in film, he pointed cameras at Elvis Presley, documented The Band's final concert with the film The Last Waltz, done documentaries on The Rolling Stones and even co-produced the short-lived HBO record industry series Vinyl. His new Netflix documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, will shed light on a legendary tour.

“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year," Netflix said in a statement. "Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, Rolling Thunder is a one of a kind experience, from master filmmaker Martin Scorsese.”

Rolling Thunder Revue:...

For years, rumors have circulated among Bob Dylan fans that a documentary about his legendary, star-studded “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour of 1975-76 was in the works, and occasional whispers had a name attached: Martin Scorsese. Now, the cat can come officially out of the bag. Variety has exclusively learned that Netflix plans to release the movie in 2019, with the director’s name actually in the title: “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese.”

The tightly-under-wraps project is said not to be quite as much of a straightforward documentary as Scorsese’s previous Dylan film, 2005’s “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” which zeroed in on Dylan’s crucial 1965-66 “going electric” period. “There’s a reason the word ‘story’ appears in the title,” said a source, hinting that the director may be playing with the form more in this particular film.

Upon further inquiry, Netflix provided Variety with...

On this day (August 24th) in showbiz-related history...

1890 "Father of modern surfing" and part time movie actor Duke Kahanamoku born in Hawaii. We've written about him before. Where's his biopic?

1967 The Whisperers premieres in London. It's about an old poor woman living in solitude who is beginning to lose her grip on reality. Dame Edith Evans sterling work was instantly lauded - she won Best Actress at Berlinale and from such disparate groups as the Nyfcc, Nbr and the Golden Globes. She landed her third and final Oscar nomination in the Best Actress lineup (sadly only the winner, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner's Hepburn, was less than superb in that shortlist!). At the time Evans was the oldest Oscar nominee of all time in any acting category having just turned 80 years old. That record has since been undone but she's still the third oldest lead actress nominee after Jessica Tandy...

From August 4th through August 6th, Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con took over the Windy City, and Daily Dead was on hand for all the horror-fied festivities. Throughout all three days, this writer served as one of Flashback’s co-hosts, and brought back some highlights from several of the panels held over the course of the convention.

Below is the first part of our excerpts from the panel featuring the women of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, and Ronee Blakley. The actresses discussed how the landmark film from Wes Craven helped define a generation of kids who were directly affected by divorce, and they also shared stories from their experiences collaborating with Craven. In case you missed it, you can read part 1 of our A Nightmare on Elm Street panel coverage Here.

One thing I want to discuss is the relationship between Marge and Nancy in Nightmare.

From August 4th through August 6th, Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con took over the Windy City, and Daily Dead was on hand for all the horror-fied festivities. Throughout all three days, this writer served as one of Flashback’s co-hosts, and brought back some highlights from several of the panels held over the course of the convention.

Below is the first part of our excerpts from the panel featuring the women of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, and Ronee Blakley. The trio discussed their careers at the point of being involved with the first film in the Nightmare franchise, how the project came about, and their experiences seeing Wes Craven’s landmark film for the very first time.

Be sure to check back here on Daily Dead for more from the women of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

I would love to start off by hearing...

We all know the story of Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic A Nightmare On Elm Street. Terrifying dream demon Freddy Krueger stalks the teenagers of Springwood through their slumber – torturing them to death in gory and disturbing ways before they wake. Freddy (originally played by Robert Englund) is one of the most iconic villains of modern cinema – with his red and green striped jumper, knifed glove, and burned visage. But that first film is also notable for the way in which it dealt with the killer’s origin story.

There’s no lengthy, explanatory pre-credits sequence, nor is there a great deal of exposition designed to explain Freddy’s presence. Instead, his story is gradually revealed through snippets of information provided to heroine Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) by her mother (Ronee Blakley). It transpires that, in life, Freddy Krueger was a child murderer who terrorized the Elm Street community. He was apprehended,...

It’s hard for me to believe that another Flashback Weekend is nearly upon us, but in just a few short days, genre fans will descend upon the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare (5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, Il) for three days of horror-filled shenanigans. Beginning Friday, August 4th and running through Sunday, August 6th, Flashback is pulling out all the stops for their 15th anniversary, with their massive Nightmare on Elm Street reunion bringing together casts from nearly all of the films, including the legendary Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Lisa Wilcox, Amanda Wyss, Ronee Blakley, Joann Willette, Brooke Bundy, Tuesday Knight, Danny Hassel, Toy Newkirk, Kelly Jo Minter, Brooke Theiss, Andras Jones, Ricky Dean Logan, Katharine Isabelle, Ken Kirzinger, Paula Shaw, and Jesse Hutch.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Flashback 2017 will also feature a multitude of other notable guests, including Lance Henriksen, Ken Foree, Nancy Loomis, William Forsythe,...

It’s hard to believe that the Flashback Weekend horror convention in Chicago is already turning 15 years old, but Mike and Mia Kerz, the founders behind the long-running event, are pulling out all the stops to make sure this year’s show is a great experience for attendees, especially if you’re a fan of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series (and who isn’t, really?).

Horror legend Robert Englund headlines Flashback Weekend 2017, which runs from August 4th through the 6th at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare (5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, Il, 60018), and during the convention he’ll be joined by numerous cast members from a handful of sequels and the original Nightmare, including Heather Langenkamp, Lisa Wilcox, Amanda Wyss, Brooke Theiss, Joann Willette, Ricky Dean Logan, Katharine Isabelle, Toy Newkirk, Danny Hassel, Kelly Jo Minter, and many more.

Other notable guests for this year’s Flashback include genre icon Lance Henriksen, as well as Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocca from The Boondock Saints, both Curtis Armstrong and Donald Gibb of Revenge of the Nerds fame, Lew Temple, and horror host extraordinaire, Svengoolie, will also be back to host the annual Sinister Visions costume contest like only Berwyn’s finest can.

For the entire lowdown on the 2017 Flashback Weekend guests and events announced so far, read on for more information from the official press release below. And for details on how to get your tickets and attend this year’s Nightmare on Elm Street blowout, check out the Fbw site Here.

Press Release: Horror legend Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) headlines a major “Nightmare On Elm Street”

series reunion at the 15th Anniversary of Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con on August 4-6, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Il.

In addition to Robert Englund, the “Nightmare On Elm Street” franchise reunion will feature celebrity guests from each of the eight Elm Street films including Heather Langenkamp (Elm Street 1, 3, & 7), Amanda Wyss and Ronee Blakley (Elm Street 1), Joann Willette (Elm Street 2), Lisa Wilcox (Elm Street 4 & 5), Brooke Bundy ( Elm St 3 & 4), Tuesday Knight (Elm St 4), Danny Hassel (Elm St 4 & 5), Brooke Theiss (Elm St 4), Andras Jones ( Elm St 4), Toy Newkirk (Elm St 4), Kelly Jo Minter (Elm St 5), Ricky Dean Logan (Elm St 6), Ken Kirzinger (Jason from Freddy Vs. Jason), Katharine Isabelle (Freddy Vs. Jason), and Jesse Hutch (Freddy Vs. Jason).

Other major guests include the legendary Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”, “Near Dark”) and pop culture icons Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocca (“The Boondock Saints”), Curtis Armstrong (“Booger”) and Don Gibb (“Ogre”) from “Revenge Of The Nerds”, Lew Temple (“The Walking Dead”, “The Devil’S Rejects”), with more guests to be announced.

Special events include a giant screen outdoor movie showing of “Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” (1988) introduced by Robert Englund and the Elm Street 4 cast. Chicago Horror Host legend Svengoolie (Rich Koz) will host the annual Sinister Visions Costume contest. Special parties each evening including a Costume Contest with prizes and celebrity guest appearances, and a wild party featuring illusionist Ron Fitzgerald and Burlesque.

Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Con also features a huge vendor’s room, celebrity guest panels, and screenings throughout the weekend. Tickets are now on sale. For additional details, visit www.flashbackweekend.com

The post Flashback Weekend Chicago 2017 to Celebrate 15th Anniversary with Star-Studded Nightmare On Elm Street Festivities This August appeared first on Daily Dead.

Horror legend Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) headlines a major A Nightmare On Elm Street series reunion featuring celebrity guests from each of the eight Elm Street films including Heather Langenkamp (Elm Street 1, 3, & 7), Amanda Wyss and Ronee Blakley (Elm Street 1), Joann Willette (Elm Street 2), Lisa Wilcox (Elm Street 4 & 5), […]...

“Y’all take it easy now. This isn’t Dallas, it’s Nashville! They can’t do this to us here in Nashville! Let’s show them what we’re made of. Come on everybody, sing! Somebody, sing!”

Nashville screens one time only Thursday, September 24th at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis) at 7pm

In a decade of great films, Nashville is one of the greatest. I saw Nashville during its initial theatrical release and have seen it several times since but it has not played on the big screen (at least in St. Louis) in a long time. In 1974 director Robert Altman was directing films for United Artists and wanted them to produce his film Thieves Like Us. They agreed if he would agree to direct a story about country music that they had a script for. He rejected the script and said he would offer them...

Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...

With the 2014 Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention kicking off later this week, we thought this would be a perfect time to give all you Midwest genre fans a look at all the happenings going down at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare (Rosemont, Il) from Friday, August 8th through Sunday, August 10th.

And if you’ll be attending Flashback Weekend, be sure and say hi as Daily Dead’s Heather Wixson will be on hand co-hosting alongside Steve “Capone” Prokopy from Ain’t It Cool News and Wgn Radio’s Nick Digilio, and will also be bringing some horror goodies to share throughout the weekend!

Friday, August 8, 2014

12:00Pm – 8:00Pm Registration Booth Open

3:00Pm – 8:45Pm Dealers room open (Ballrooms 3-5)

4:00Pm – 8:45Pm Celebrity signings (Ballrooms 3-5)

5:00Pm Robert Englund Freddy Krueger Makeup Photo-Ops (Balmoral Room)* Line-up according to your assigned number outside of Balmoral...

With the 2014 Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention just right around the corner, legendary special effects artist Robert Kurtzman recently shared some cool photos of the make-up appliances that he’ll be using next weekend when Robert Englund is transformed into Freddy Krueger one last time.

And for those of you who may have missed the original announcement, Englund will be appearing in full Freddy Krueger make-up for one final time, courtesy of Kurtzman who will be doing the Freddy make-up application himself on Friday, August 8th. Fans in attendance at Flashback Weekend will also have the opportunity to take their picture with Robert Englund in his full Freddy make-up as part of a special photo-op that evening which will celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street as well as help benefit the Digital Projector Fund for the Midway Drive-in in Dixon, Illinois.

Later that evening,...

The line-up for this year's Film4 FrightFest in London has just been announced – and boy, is it a doozy! Sporting a record-breaking 38 UK/European premieres and 11 world premieres, this August is going to be an exciting time in the genre calendar.

Check it all out right here, including lots of new images!

This year Film4 FrightFest will be moving from its previous home at Leicester Square's Empire Cinema to the nearby Vue Cinema (also on Leicester Square), prompting an ingenious reshuffle of the screening arrangements.

All main screen films will be presented at different times across three different screens, with two extra screens reserved for single-slot screenings of the various films hitting this year's Discovery Screens.

Here's the full list of goodies:

Main Screens (5, 6, 7)

Thursday Aug 21

Opening Night Film - The Guest (UK Premiere)

Director: Adam Wingard. Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser. USA 2014. 99 mins.

If you’re a horror fan living in the Midwest, you are not going to want to miss this. The 2014 Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention is gearing up to be another memorable year of genre fun and festivities and today they announced that Robert Englund will be appearing in full Freddy Krueger make-up for the final time ever, courtesy of special effects master Robert Kurtzman, who will be doing the Freddy make-up application himself.

What’s even cooler is that fans who attend Flashback Weekend will also have the opportunity to take their picture with Robert Englund in his full Freddy make-up as part of a special photo-op on Friday, August 8th, which will celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of Wes Craven’s iconic original A Nightmare on Elm Street as well as help benefit the Digital Projector Fund for the Midway Drive-in in Dixon, Illinois.

Robert Englund will also...

All creations are, in some way, autobiographical. As the merging of imagination and experience, at least a little bit of the creator’s self is infused in their creation. At times, it’s little more than a thematic hint, like Ethan Hawke’s discussion of his failing marriage in Before Sunset, as the actor himself went through a public break-up. It can also be the combination of memory and fantasy, like Guy Maddin’s eccentric documentary about his hometown and childhood memories, My Winnipeg. And other times, cinema becomes the therapist investigating familial turmoil, like Sarah Polley’s excellent Stories We Tell. On occasion, the film itself becomes a revealing cinematic journal, one that makes its audience witting (or unwitting) voyeurs snooping through private lives with a depth tabloids can only dream of. These films allow the filmmaker moments of introspection, revenge, and confusion that make for compelling narratives, but even more fascinating autobiographies when you know...

Warner Music Group has agreed to a $11.5 million settlement of a class action lawsuit over royalties for ringtones and digital downloads, according to court papers filed this week. The company agreed to establish the $11.5 million fund for the plaintiffs to settle past damages as well as increase the royalty rates of class members going forward. Also read: SiriusXM Sued by Warner Music, Sony Music, Capitol Records Over Pre-1972 Recordings Artists in the suit – originally brought by members of soul group Sister Sledge, Oscar-nominated actress and musician Ronee Blakley, and Gary Wright - had claimed Warner Music Group paid them improperly for digital.

When I expressed excitement over the fact that Robert Altman’s stunning “Nashville” was being released in a Criterion Collection Blu-ray edition a few months back, a colleague asked me why I loved the film and I had trouble verbalizing my feelings about Altman’s sprawling, brilliant tapestry of characters. Watching the excellent new documentary about the making-of the film on the Criterion release makes it clear that I’m not alone.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

As the interview participants try to sum up why “Nashville” is so remarkable, they throw out a dozen or so different themes that the movies captures from the similarities between entertainment & politics to honor to pride to artistic integrity to what writer Joan Tewkesbury says is the film’s focus on how we will all eventually “be called on our shit.” Clearly, “Nashville” is not an easy movie to summarize. It is a landmark, revolutionary film in terms of structure,...

Robert Altman’s Nashville is one of the towering achievements of 1970s New Hollywood Cinema, a portrait of the hub of the country music scene by juggling a myriad of characters, from self-appointed king of the community Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) to its biggest star, Connie White (Karen Black), from the emotionally fragile Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) to comically intrepid BBC reporter Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) and campaigning politician Hal Phillip Walker (Thomas Hal Phillips), a presence seen but never heard. A huge, highly accomplished cast — which also includes Ned Beatty, Shelly Duvall, Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Barbara Harris and a very young Jeff […]...

Robert Altman’s Nashville is one of the towering achievements of 1970s New Hollywood Cinema, a portrait of the hub of the country music scene by juggling a myriad of characters, from self-appointed king of the community Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) to its biggest star, Connie White (Karen Black), from the emotionally fragile Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) to comically intrepid BBC reporter Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) and campaigning politician Hal Phillip Walker (Thomas Hal Phillips), a presence seen but never heard. A huge, highly accomplished cast — which also includes Ned Beatty, Shelly Duvall, Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Barbara Harris and a very young Jeff […]...

Nashville

Written by Joan Tewkesbury

Directed by Robert Altman

USA, 1975

At the Cannes preview screening of Apocalypse Now in 1979, Francis Ford Coppola infamously declared, “Apocalypse Now is not about Vietnam; it is Vietnam.” Watching Robert Altman’s 1975 opus Nashville, perhaps the best film in a career full of exceptional work, one gets the feeling that it isn’t really about America; it is America. With its eclectic cast of individuals from all walks of life (typical for Altman), its sprawling narrative of disjointed personal and professional connections (ditto), and its setting of a distinctly American city around the time of our nation’s bicentennial, Nashville comes across as more than a fictional depiction of characters embodying certain nationalistic traits; it truly feels like the film is America in a nutshell. In the words of Keith Carradine, it’s an “extraordinary accomplishment.”

Now, with The Criterion Collection release of the film...

Robert Altman’s Nashville resurfaces for the home video market in a nicely packaged DVD/Blu-ray combo set from Criterion. A Best Picture nominee from 1975, this sprawling satire both lampoons and laments the American Dream, which was beginning to show signs of serious leakage – if not outright rupture – by the mid 1970s. An American president, who two years earlier had been reelected by one of the largest margins in the nation’s history, had just resigned in disgrace while a long, bloody and bitterly divisive war had been revealed as corrupt and pointless. Yet, to the array of hopeful goofballs in Nashville, America was still the land of opportunity; its dark and dank country music venues the key to quick fame and easy riches.

As conceived by Altman and writer Joan Tewksbury, everything about Nashville is larger than life. From its massive melange of roughly two dozen principle characters to...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"The Wolverine"

What's It About? Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is more human than X-Man in this stand-alone film that takes place in Japan. Not only has he lost his powers, but his memories of Jean Grey are driving him cuckoo. Which is too bad, because he's still got to fight off loads of gangsters, ninjas, and other slick villains -- including one green-eyed baddie from the past.

Why We're In: Director James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma") balances fantastic action with a more serious sensibility that recalls samurai films of yore. Plus, you don't need to be an X-pert X-Men fan to enjoy this movie.

Watch: Hugh Jackman takes you behind the scenes on "The Wolverine" (Video)

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" -- The Rich Mahogany Edition

What's It About? If you haven't heard of San...

Nashville (Criterion Collection) I still need to dig through the special features on Criterion's new release of Robert Altman's Nashville, but I have already watched the film and this new 2K restoration looks great, just as you would expect it to. Included is a 2000 audio commentary featuring Altman and most notably a newly produced, 71-minute making of documentary featuring interviews with the likes of Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Michael Murphy, Allan Nicholls, Lily Tomlin, screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury, assistant director Alan Rudolph and Altman's widow, Kathryn Reed Altman. Of course, that's not all, but suffice to say it's a release that has fans of the film taken care of.

The Wolverine I've seen a lot of people on Twitter talking about how the extended edition of The Wolverine is incredibly bloody. What I haven't seen anyone saying is that actually makes it any better, because this was not a good movie.

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"The Wolverine"

What's It About? Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is more human than X-Man in this stand-alone film that takes place in Japan. Not only has he lost his powers, but his memories of Jean Grey are driving him cuckoo. Which is too bad, because he's still got to fight off loads of gangsters, ninjas, and other slick villains -- including one green-eyed baddie from the past.

Why We're In: Director James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma") balances fantastic action with a more serious sensibility that recalls samurai films of yore. Plus, you don't need to be an X-pert X-Men fan to enjoy this movie.

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" -- The Rich Mahogany Edition

What's It About? If you haven't heard of San Diego's finest anchorman with the best mustache, coolest car, and most impressive...

On a scale of one to ten, how scary has your Monday been so far? Whatever your score, never fear: we're about to make it scarier for you. The original and best A Nightmare On Elm Street is getting a one-night-only re-release this Halloween, and there's a new trailer to support it, which you can see below. brightcove.createExperiences();The classic horror sees the horribly burned, knife-gloved Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) prey on teenagers in their dreams. And when you're killed in these dreams, you wake up dead! Cue caffeine overdoses and some of the scariest moments of the '80s.  Look out for the scene where a young up-and-comer called Johnny Depp faces off with the monstrous Krueger.A Nightmare On Elm Street was directed by Wes Craven, and also starred Heather Langenkamp, Nick Corri, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Joe Unger and Charles Fleischer. It will hit UK cinemas on October 31, for maximum spookiness.

Of all the ’80s slasher films, a group crowded with all sorts of efforts, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street still reigns supreme as one of the more imaginative of the entire bunch. Nightmares have been fodder for many horror films over the decade, but here they’re particularly insidious and memorable. The film basically turned its producing studio, New Line Cinema, into a major player, gave a fresh breath of life into a genre that had grown stale, boosted the career of Craven, turned its scarred bogeyman Freddy Krueger into a pop culture icon (hat, red & green striped sweater, designer glove and all), made Robert Englund (as Krueger) a bona fide genre star, and provided a key early role for Johnny Depp. The impact A Nightmare On Elm Street has made in about 29 years is undeniable. The story, for those out there who have lived under a rock all this time,...

Chicago – Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Freddy Krueger. Yes, Wes Craven’s masterful creation deserves to be listed right along with the most legendary villains of all time, a case made complete by Warner’s excellent new “A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection,” featuring all 7 original films and a new half-hour documentary about the lasting power of the man with a claw for a hand.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Admittedly, there’s little new in this set for those of you who sprung for the previous Blu-ray editions of the first three films that were released over the last few years. This is more for those who haven’t yet picked up any of the Freddy saga and now want them all. And while the first and last (“Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”) are the only truly great films in the set, there are things to like about all of the movies (Ok, all...

Back again. So losing track of time lately. Fridays as Mondays. Thursdays as Fridays. When am I? Saturday Am? What? But here's the promised second part of the Q&A column. I loved the James Dean question and the Spice Girl question but I'll have to give them their own post or something later because my brain can't deal with their enormity tonight.

Here are a few more questions I wanted to / could answer. As always, I love to hear your answers to the same questions or your responses to mine in the comments.

Matthew: Choose three Oscar-nom'ed/winning actresses from the Aughts whose careers are most in need of redirecting and explain how you would help get them back on track.

I would've said Charlize Theron a year ago but -- yay -- totally back on track these days.

I want to start with Ellen Page. She gets work regularly but Whip It,...

1984 - 92 mins. - Rated R

D: Wes Craven

C: John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Amanda Wyss, Johnny Depp, Nick Corri 

Group of teens are slaughtered while dreaming about a child murderer who was burnt to death over ten years ago by their parents. 

Frustratingly overrated horror "classic" does have one of the most original film premises of the 80's, but the execution doesn't match the originality of the premise. Starts out well enough with an atmospheric set piece and some genuinely scary touches in the introductory dream sequences, but quickly falls apart after the first act. A Nightmare on Elm Street never fully takes advantage of the limitless possibilities it could have explored from a creative standpoint. There is no play on dreams versus reality as the viewer is all too aware of when the characters are dreaming. There is no psychological elements. There is no depth to the Freddy Krueger character.

The legendary Bob Dylan turned 70 years old on May 24th. This article takes a close look at his association with the movies…

Bob Dylan had his first acting gig aged 21 on British TV with a play called Madhouse on Castle Street. His eponymously-titled first album had been released but few people in Britain would have known him; this was a few months before Freewheelin’ hit the shelves and Dylan-fever (which is like Beatlemania, only less wild and more pretentious) swept the Western world. He was intended to play the lead but quickly proved that he wasn’t interested in learning lines and was perhaps more interested in his recent discovery of cannabis, so David Warner was hired as the lead and Dylan provided a Greek chorus to the action.

In its wisdom, the BBC has long since destroyed the footage so it’s not easy to gauge how people would...

Forty years ago, country music, once called "the rednecks' blues", crossed over into the mainstream of popular music, and in 1975, Nashville, Robert Altman's satirical contribution to the nation's bicentennial celebrations, established the archetypes that underlie all country movies. They're here in Shana Feste's cliche-ridden movie – the major star brought low by drugs and alcohol and trying to make a comeback (Gwyneth Paltrow); the difficult husband torn between exasperation, jealousy and the need to keep his partner and meal ticket working (Tim McGraw); the up-and-coming young singer exploiting everyone around her to further her career (Leighton Meester); the kindly musician with a generous heart who's fighting to preserve the essential integrity of his work in the face of crass commercialism (Garrett Hedlund).

The movie has its moments, but the characters are fuzzy around the edges, Paltrow is only intermittently convincing (compare her, for instance, with Ronee Blakley in Nashville...

Why am I reviewing a novelization for a movie? Good question. This isn't normally my thing and in case you were wondering, the studio releasing the movie in question isn't paying me to do it either, that's for sure. Being an online journalist for a major movie news website is not as lucrative as it sounds. I still need to supplement my income with additional work. For about, oh, I guess five years now, I've been working weekends at Barnard College/Columbia University here in New York. Basically I work in an all girls dorm and I collect the ID's of their boyfriends as I sign them in and out of the log book. My job's pretty simple and it pays pretty well, but it also gives me the opportunity to meet new an interesting people. Sarah Blakley-Cartwright is one of those people whom I happened to meet during the 2009-10 school year,...