May 2010 Archives   1983 Rob Tapert Lost Evil Dead Interview By MaryD on May 26, 2010 7:22 AM This interview was taped on May 4th, 1983 with Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert for a public access show in Roseville, Michigan called “The Fast Track”. Watch Part 1   Part two of “The Evil Dead Lost Interview” with host Cynthia Pankala. Watch Part 2 Part three of this 1983 interview with Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert. Watch Part 3 Due to copyright, all film clips from the movie “Evil Dead” have been edited out of this interview. This includes the closing credits to this show. OnFilm Magazine Seeker No Longer Sought By MaryD on May 24, 2010 6:25 AM The New Zealand screen industry appears to have lost one of its production mainstays of the past two years, with unconfirmed reports from the US that The Legend of the Seeker has been axed. The Rob Tapert-Sam Raimi production, which screens Thursday nights on Prime, seems to have been the casualty of declining ratings in the States, prompting one chain of US stations not to continue with the syndicated series. Seeker’s second season wrapped at the end of last month in Auckland and there was no indication at the wrap party that the crew would be back for a third season. However, it’s been pointed out to Onfilm that this wasn’t necessarily significant, given commissioning of the second season went down to the wire. If it is the case Seeker hasn’t been picked-up for another season, it’ll be a blow to the local industry. Season two of the television series engaged 360 full-time and casual crew, and about 180 support actors/actresses were cast over the 22 episodes. Read More Spartacus Season 1 DVD 21 September 2010 By MaryD on May 21, 2010 5:31 AM Anchor Bay Entertainment is set to unleash Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season on DVD and Blu-ray on September 21st. The four-disc set will contain all 13 episodes, come armored in a high-end collectible packaging, and the Blu-ray edition will include four Director’s Cut Extended episodes. The DVD will have a suggested retail price of $59.97 with the Blu-ray edition having a suggested retail of $79.97. Executive produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Joshua Donen and Steven S. DeKnight, Spartacus: Blood and Sand on DVD and Blu-ray promises to take fans even deeper into the deadly brutality of gladiator games and the decadent machinations of Roman society with hours of bonus features delving behind the scenes into the making of a modern epic, including interviews and commentaries from the actors and filmmakers, augmented with rare production footage exploring the series’ ground-breaking visual effects, production and costume design. The set features enhanced digital effects added to several of the episodes, and the Blu-ray exclusive “Directors’ Cut Extended Episodes” will feature content too risqué for television. The new series was the most highly anticipated original series in the history of Starz Entertainment, and premiered on January 22, 2010, and was hit with viewers and critics. The show featured a renowned international cast including John Hannah (the Mummy films), Peter Mensah (300), Manu Bennett (30 Days of Night), Nick E. Tarabay (“Crash”) and Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”), and a star-making turn by UK-born and Australia-based Andy Whitfield in the title role. DVD and Blu-ray bonus features: Gladiator Camp History Rewritten Make-up Effects The Hole Audio Commentaries Episodes with Enhanced Digital Effects Behind-The-Scenes Footage Bloopers Trailers Exclusive Blu-ray bonus feature: Four “Directors’ Cut Extended Episodes” personally selected by Executive Producer Rob Tapert Starz Press Release Spartacus Prequel To Begin This Summer By MaryD on May 12, 2010 7:15 AM News Release Issued: May 11, 2010 4:36 PM EDT Production on Starz' 'Spartacus' Six-Part Prequel to Begin This Summer Andy Whitfield to Appear In Two Episodes Along With Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Peter Mensah Plus Other Returning and New Characters LOS ANGELES, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- NCTA Cable Show 2010 -- Pre-production is underway on a six-part prequel to Starz' hit original series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Andy Whitfield, who played the title character in the series, will appear in the prequel briefly, but Lucy Lawless and John Hannah take center stage in this story of the rise of the House of Batiatus and its champions before Spartacus arrives as a captured Thracian slave. With the title still to be determined, the prequel will begin production this summer in New Zealand, and is slated to air on Starz in January 2011. John Hannah returns as Batiatus, owner of the Ludus, along with his wife Lucretia, played by Lucy Lawless. Other returning actors include Peter Mensah (Doctore), Manu Bennett (Crixus), Antonio Te Maioha (Barca), Nick E. Tarabay (Ashur), Lesley-Ann Brandt (Naevia) - and others. New characters will also be added - most notably the gladiator who was champion of the House of Batiatus before Spartacus or even Crixus - who will help fill in the story about the people and politics in the House of Batiatus and ancient Capua as a whole. Production on the second season of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" was postponed this spring to allow Andy Whitfield to be treated for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in New Zealand. His doctors indicate that the actor is responding well. "The prequel story maintains the excitement and entertainment value of the first season of 'Spartacus,' giving audiences the engaging experience they've come to expect," said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht. "We look forward to continuing the Spartacus story." Produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Joshua Donen and Steven S. DeKnight, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" was the highest rated show for the 18-49 demographic among all cable networks for 12 of the 13 Fridays on which it aired based on coverage rating.* The production team remains intact for the six-part prequel. Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17.1 million and 31.1 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz (NASDAQ: LSTZA), a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation. *Source: Nielsen Live + SD Coverage Ratings for A18-49 each Friday between 1/29/10 - 4/16/10 among all basic and premium cable channels. SOURCE Starz Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1 DVD Update By MaryD on May 11, 2010 11:31 AM Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1 DVD is currently on pre-order via Amazon.com and other places. The date for the release has been speculated to be around July or August. Starz on Twitter tweeted the following news about the release date # RT @Roccovega: hey! Do you know when is the Bluray and dvd release date of season 1? (We don't have the date confirmed yet) about 4 hours ago so basically we go back to waiting. Spartacus: Blood and Sand DVD - Season 1 Pre-Order Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend. Pre-Order DVD Pre-Order Blu-Ray Rob Mention The Times Online 9 May 2010 By MaryD on May 10, 2010 6:44 AM The Times Online has a very lengthy article about Spartacus and a review about the show. The historical mini-series just got sexier The article reads in part... So, when Starz decided to dip its toe into the original-programming pool of gore, it turned to the producing team of Steven S DeKnight (Smallville, Buffy), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) and Robert Tapert (Raimi’s long-term producing partner and Lawless’s long-term husband). With those credentials, what could possibly go wrong? The answer: not much. Spartacus’s second series was commissioned before its first episode had aired — unheard of in American television — and broke Starz’s ratings record for Friday nights. “The idea came up when Rob and Sam were meeting with NBC to work out how to adapt their huge film and TV library,” DeKnight explains. “They suggested reworking Kubrick’s Spartacus with 300-style technology, but it became clear the show they had in mind was too strong for terrestrial television. When Starz ended up buying the idea, they called me, and I was kind of mixed up. I loved gladiator movies when I was a kid, but I revere Stanley Kubrick, so I couldn’t see how you’d get close to the original. It’s too big a classic to take on.was saved from doubt by the immensely adaptable qualities of the rebel slave’s symbolism. Kubrick’s film was by Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted scriptwriter hired by Kirk Douglas in the face of Senator McCarthy’s wrath. Trumbo penned the fabled “I am Spartacus” scene as a comment on the Senate forcing suspects to name names. In DeKnight’s version, however, Spartacus is a Thracian soldier who rebels against his Roman boss to save his wife. He is thrown into the arena, where he butchers a succession of professionals before being snapped up by the gladiator owner Quintus Batiatus — played by Hannah with the same resigned frustration he brings to most of his roles. Clearly, there’s more than a whiff of Russell Crowe about that pitch. Unlike Gladiator’s nihilistic romance, however, where we merely chart the fatalistic slide of an all but suicidal widower, here Spartacus’s wife survives, and their slave status means the buying and selling of people in ancient Rome stands out as a subtheme — in as much as anything can stand out from the heaving breasts and savage deaths. This is DeKnight’s solution to his Kubrick problem. Read Full Article Rob Tapert Producing Sequel To "The Strangers" By MaryD on May 7, 2010 7:05 AM Rob's Ghost House Pictures will be producing a sequel to the horror hit "The Strangers" called "The Man" - The following is a press release from Ghost House Pictures Los Angeles (May 5, 2010) – Ghost House Pictures announced today that Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) will direct THIS MAN, an original screenplay that he will also pen. Bertino and Adrienne Biddle are partnering with Ghost House principals Sam Raimiand Rob Tapert to produce the film. Ghost House principal Nathan Kahane will executive produce. J.R. Young and Mary Lee will oversee the project for the company. “We look forward to partnering with Bryan and Adrienne to develop this unique, hair-raising horror story that will be sure to delight horror fans,” shares Sam Raimi. Based on real life accounts, THIS MAN follows an ordinary guy who discovers that people he has never met are seeing him in their dreams. Now he must find out why he is the source of nightmares for strangers all over the world. Ghost House had acquired the rights to a website created by Italian sociologist Andrea Natella. The website was created to help connect those who had seen this man in their dreams and to foster communication among them. Bertino wrote and made his directing debut on THE STRANGERS, which was produced by Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Nathan Kahane. He also wrote the screenplay for THE STRANGERS 2 which is in pre-production for Rogue Pictures. In September, he partnered with Biddle to form Unbroken Pictures, designed to produce high quality genre movies. Bertino and Biddle are represented by CAA and attorney Jason Sloane of Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. Attorney Adam Sinjin Park negotiated the deal on behalf of Andrea Natella. Dan Freedman and Craig A. Kessler negotiated the deals for the company. ABOUT GHOST HOUSE PICTURES Ghost House Pictures was formed as a joint venture between filmmakers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Nathan Kahane and Joe Drake creating a production label dedicated to the financing, development and release of films in the horror thriller genre. The company achieved success with five consecutive #1 releases, starting with the 2004 remake of The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which has grossed $188 million worldwide; The Grudge 2, which opened at number one in October 2006; Stephen T. Kay’s Boogeyman, starring Barry Watson, The Messengers, from acclaimed filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang (The Eye), which was released in February 2007; and David Slade’s 30 Days of Night, an adaptation of the popular comic about vampires descending on an Alaskan town. Most recently, Universal Pictures released Drag Me To Hell in May 2009. The film, which was written and directed by Sam Raimi, stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long. Read More Archives