How fabulous does this sound? When I think the Academy I naturally think monsters (mock laughter). Just kidding! Hey, I’m a movie geek. But really, doesn’t this creature-fest sound like a great, scary time?

Academy Does the Monster Mash

The Hollywood Reporter’s – Heat Vision has exclusively reported that John August is in negotiations with DreamWorks to write the studio’s feature film adaptation of MONSTERPOCALYPSE, a strategy game played with collectible miniature figures.

…the latest development raises the possibility that August will re-team with Tim Burton, whom DreamWorks has been wooing to take on the project as its director. DreamWorks, which grabbed film rights to the MONSTERPOCALYPSE property last month, hasn’t yet nailed down the ALICE IN WONDERLAND billion-dollar man. Talks are, however, ongoing.

Now read what John August had to say over on his official site:

As announced today, I’m going to be writing a big movie version of Monsterpocalypse for DreamWorks, based on Matt Wilson’s kaiju-themed giant-monsters-smashing things extravaganza. Wilson’s creation, published by Privateer Press, imagines the modern world under siege by super-sized creatures of every stripe. Giant apes, terrasaurs, planet-eating extraterrestrials? Check, check and check.

Plus robots. C’mon. You need robots.

Many of the elements are still being locked down, so there’s obviously a lot I can’t say about the movie yet: the plot, the players, what the humans are doing in all of this. Will every possible monster be in it? Logic would say no, but I can’t give you a list. What I can talk about is why the project is getting announced today, while so many others are kept under wraps.

August continued with:

As detailed in the article, Monsterpocalypse potentially affects many other tent pole movies at other studios in a way that’s certainly newsworthy. And while I’m hardly the biggest element in this, Monsterpocalypse will take me off the market for a year or so, and make it pretty much impossible for me to direct a movie in the near future.

So an article was going to be written regardless. Announcing the project allowed DreamWorks the chance to have some control over how the story got out. That’s the main and best reason to announce something.

Monsterpocalypse has been the fastest a movie has come together in my career, and I’m ridiculously excited to start writing it. But I’m also ridiculously excited to be writing the other things I’m working on, most of which have been kept very quiet.

Remakes, remakes, remakes! Everywhere, somebody is remaking some classic, either from the eighties or from the silver screen. Honestly, I’m kind of starting to give in and throw my hands up, cynically saying “Fine! Do whatever you want!”

There are a handful of things in this life I feel are about as perfect as you’ll get and one of them are Universal’s classic monster movies. While creature flicks involving vampires and werewolves have been far from scarce, there’s an essence that permeates throughout the various Universal classic monster flicks that cannot be found in any of the other movie monster incarnations.

Among the most revisited characters is the Invisible Man. From Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man to Chevy Chase’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man to Kevin Bacon’s Hollow Man, this transparent dude has had lots of screen time, despite not being “seen”.

David S. Goyer has announced he has finished his first draft of a remake to The Invisible Man for Universal and that the studio is apparently chomping at the bit for him to get the script finished so they can get the movie made. The word is that the “new” take on the character would make him a secret agent and we would find him infiltrating imperial Russia.

It’s difficult to say how this will all play out. Goyer is a decent writer, but is best known for developing/writing high concepts directed by others. His own personal directing experience has been limited and questionably received. With ‘The Wolfman’ remake apparently experiencing some major snags resulting in it’s release being pushed back, concerns are developing regardless of how good the trailer looks. On a related note, it’s also been revealed that a possible remake of ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ in next on the docket… talk about trying to improve perfection!

[source: Empire]

The story of Frankenstein and his monster has been told many times in different ways.   So, why not just remake the sequel…

Universal and Imagine are breathing new life into “Bride of Frankenstein.” The companies are in talks with Neil Burger to write and direct their long-stirring remake of the 1935 monster movie. Burger, who would pen the script with writing partner Dirk Wittenborn, most prominently wrote and helmed “The Illusionist,” the Edward Norton magician mystery that earned nearly $40 million for Yari Film Group in 2006.

James Whale’s “Bride of Frankenstein,” which starred Boris Karloff as the monster and Elsa Lanchester as the titular bride, continued the story that began with 1931’s “Frankenstein.” A monster, on the run from an angry mob, has a series of adventures, and also persuades Dr. Frankenstein to create a mate. The doctor is successful, but the bride (who is not a central character) winds up rejecting the monster at the end of the movie.

The CAA-repped Burger, who also penned and helmed Iraq-veteran pic “The Lucky Ones,” is attached to direct “Dark Fields,” a thriller about a slacker who discovers a drug that makes him sharper. That pic is also set up at Universal, but progress has been slowed since star Shia LaBeouf was forced to pull out last year with a hand injury.

“Bride” has had a series of stops and starts. About five years ago, “American Splendor” scribes Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini were attached to write the screenplay for the Uni/Imagine update. Their concept was to set the picture in contemporary New York, with a young woman dying and then unnaturally brought back to life (Burger’s version is expected to differ significantly from that concept). Jacob Estes, a writer on Spider-Man spinoff “Venom,” also at one point had been attached to write a draft.

Brian Grazer and Sean Daniel will produce the pic;   Karen Kehela, David Bernardi and Chris Wade will oversee for Imagine.

Universal is eager to develop reboots of its library of classic monster titles, insiders in the development community said. It is developing a new version of “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” the 1954 Jack Arnold pic about a monstrous fish that a group of travelers encounters in the Amazon, and later this year it will release the Benicio Del Toro-toplined “The Wolf Man,” an update on George Waggner’s 1941 werewolf tale.

“Frankenstein” has been remade numerous times — Mary Shelley’s book sits in the public domain — but “Bride” has had only one other go-round on the big screen: a 1985 version at Columbia starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. In 1999, Bill Condon’s “Gods and Monsters,” a biopic of Whale, did show clips from the film and re-created the bride herself. Now a man known for illusions is going to try to do the same.

Honestly, I’m glad that they are going to remake the surperior entry into the Universal series, but there is a little bit of me that is still crying about the lack of originality.

More than likely, I’ll be in the theatre.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

Fans of ‘Oldboy’ should take note. Writer and director Park Chan-wook is set to unleash a heap of awesome upon your fragile eyeballs with ‘Thirst,’ the filmmaker’s take on the vampire genre.

Travis first covered this film here, so check out his article for details. Below the break is the trailer and, even though it is all in Korean, it still commands your undivided attention.

This may be a great companion piece to last year’s ‘Let The Right One In.’

The movie is still listed as being in “post production” on IMDb, but WAMG will keep you posted on the inevitable (and most likely limited) North American release date.

poster source: Daum

J.J. Abrams and his crew of lively ‘Cloverfield’ co-creators are toying with ideas for another ambiguously mysterious massive monster movie, be it a sequel or perhaps a follow-up.

During a promotional junket in San Fran while at WonderCon, Abrams let the following information loose upon the civilians:

“We’re working on one right now,” Abrams said on Saturday (Feb. 28). “The key obviously is with a sequel, certainly with this film, is that it had better not be a business decision. If you’re going to do something, it should be because you’re really inspired to do it. It doesn’t guarantee anything and it doesn’t mean that it’s gonna work, but it means you did what you did and not because you’re trying to make a buck. We have an idea for something that’s pretty cool that we’re playing with. It’s something that would be related to ‘Cloverfield’ and hopefully we’ll do something sooner than later, because the idea’s pretty sweet.” — Courtesy of HitFix.com

So, what do you think? Personally, my little respect-o-meter just went up a few notched for Mr. Abrams based solely on his comments around why anyone should even pursue making a sequel. Is this something you’re looking forward to? Should he let it go and do something new? Let us know what you think by leaving comments on this post.

HitFix.com

Jeremy:

The new sci-fi film ‘Outlander’ starts out promising enough. Ă‚  Sure, we’ve seen the shot a million times with a spaceship flaring up orange as it enters/crashes through Earth’s atmosphere. Ă‚  However, we quickly cut to the fjords of 790 AD Norway where the ship eventually crash lands. Ă‚  Emerging from the sinking wreckage is none other than a short-haired, clean-shaven Jesus of Nazareth, Jim Caviezel, who spends the next 100 minutes chasing down and fighting off a rather large and rather fiendish creature known as the Moorwen. Ă‚  He also gets some help from the local warriors.

Yes, folks, it’s aliens vs. Vikings in this battle of brawn, and, were it to live up to the $47 million budget that is behind it, it might have been a rip-roaring good time. Ă‚  Unfortunately, much of the film builds on tedium and the building up of characters who you know are just going to end up monster chum. Ă‚  Seriously. Ă‚  Most of the cast should have been wearing red Star Trek uniforms, it’s so obvious who’s going to kick it and pretty much when.

There are, however, a few secondary characters who live up to the amount of time they are given. Ă‚  John Hurt as Rothgar, the king of the little community the good alien, Kainan (Caviezel) is helping to protect. Ă‚  The little-known Jack Huston plays Wulfric, a spoiled brat who will one day be king. Ă‚  Ron Perlman shows up just long enough for you to make him out behind the bald head and Braveheart-style makeup.

All of these actors, Caviezel included, do a masterful job, but it’s not because they pull off the characters so well. Ă‚  They do a masterful job, because each of them seems to have no problem with the cheese-filled dialogue they are forced to spew back and forth. Ă‚  Whether it’s Rothgar talking about the protection of his people, or Kainan waxing poetic about the wife and child he lost to the Moorwen, you have to give extra credit to each of these actors for almost making their respective characters believable.

The film is loaded with violent deaths and explosive set pieces, just about what you should expect from an aliens vs. Vikings film. Ă‚  Unfortunately, neither the environments director Howard McCain sets up nor the creature itself ever seem believable in the least bit. Ă‚  

We don’t see the Moorwen until about 30 minutes in. Ă‚  When we finally do, it’s almost as if the whole screen has become pixelated as lame special effects kick into overdrive. Ă‚  Good luck keeping yourself from reaching for the Nintendo reset button. Ă‚  It really is some of the worst CG I’ve seen since ‘Lost in Space’, and that is saying something.

Strangely, though, it seems the special effects (and the story, for that matter) get progressively better as the film goes on. Ă‚  By the time Kainan narrates us back to the homeworld where he and his people seemingly wiped out the Moorwen, the CG is almost passable. Ă‚  We even get a twinge of originality in the script, as the dichotomy between man and monster really comes into its own. Ă‚  Seriously, I would have to say ‘Outlander’ succeeds in satisfying Richard Matheson’s question of “Who is the man and who is the monster?” better than three different versions of ‘I Am Legend’ ever did.

This combined with the improved special effects gives the last half of ‘Outlander’ a real popcorn-esque feel. Ă‚  It’s still loaded with corny dialogue and lame characters developments. Ă‚  Whoever thought Kainan needed a love interest should have their head examined. Ă‚  Having him befriend a small boy was an even worse error in judgment. Ă‚  

However, there is much fun to be had in the film’s last couple of battle scenes. Ă‚  It even edges in some nicely timed blood and moments that make you go “Ohhhhhh” for fans of that, as well.

‘Outlander’ is a B-movie. Ă‚  That is without question. Ă‚  It does seem to have this feeling that it is more. Ă‚  We really don’t need another “true story that inspired BeowulfĂ‚  movie. Ă‚  However, for fans of monster movies, the film is entirely satisfactory. Ă‚  You have to wade through the muck of the first half to get to the good stuff, but I can’t say it is entirely unworthy of the effort.

[Overall: 3 stars out of 5]

Comic book publisher Studio 407 has announced it will develop it’s mini-series of books called ‘The Night Projectionist’ into a feature film. Myriad Pictures has first dibs on the finished screenplay. The first issue of the anticipated comic book is scheduled to hit store shelves in February.

Crosstown Falls. Halloween Eve. It’s the last night of the condemned town theater, which is closing with an all night Draculathon. But the small group of moviegoers suddenly find themselves trapped inside when the theater is surrounded by a horde of vampires. A deadly siege begins, and the moviegoers soon make the terrifying discovery that the night projectionist is also a member of the coven. Is he friend or foe? The Night Projectionist is a no-holds-barred, bone-chilling tale of blood and revenge. — ComicBookNews.us

‘Night Projectionist’ will be the second feature film project from Studio 407. Their first cooperative project is titled ‘Hybrid’ and is scheduled to begin production this year. Myriad Pictures is best known for the ‘Jeepers Creepers’ franchise, but also are responsible for the films ‘Kinsey’ and ‘Death Defying Acts’.

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

From the mouth of director Bong Joon-ho himself, Universal Studios ahs apparently purchases the rights to the Korean monster masterpiece ‘The Host’ and they intend to remake the popular film with it’s American audience in mind. AKA, dumb it down and ruin it like most of their remakes? Well, hopefully not…

From SciFi.com: “Maybe three or four years down the line, if The Host [remake] comes out, and there’s a cool director who takes it on and makes it a real great film, then I’d be very happy,” Bong said in an interview, through a translator. “On the other hand, if it’s just crap, I think I’d be happy, too, because then people would be like, ‘Oh, yeah, Bong’s original was really good.’ So, for me, it’s a win-win situation. But Universal has a tradition of doing horror and creature films, so I anticipate that they will do a great film.”

[source: SciFi.com]

So, Lucas Arts and Mezco Toyz have come up with an amazing idea.Ă‚   They are going to take all of the main characters from the beloved ‘Star Wars’ universe and make them up to be classic, Universal monsters.Ă‚   Above, you see Han Solo as the Wolfman.Ă‚   Coming soon are Mon Mothma as Bride of Frankenstein and Porkins as The Blob.

You gotta love Porkins!

But, seriously, Mezco Toyz has designed the action figure for ‘The Wolfman’, the updated, horror movie from Joe Johnston and starring Benicio del Toro.Ă‚   You can purchase the figure from their website, but this also gives us the first, full look on what the monster will look like when it is fully transformed.

If you can get past the whole Han Solo vibe, it’s pretty damn cool.Ă‚   I love the classic approach they are going with.

Let us know what you think below!Ă‚   Have any other great, ‘Star War’/Universal monster movie crossovers?

“This is a dream project for me,” Laugier said. “I know Clive Barker’s work very well, and I would never betray what he has done. Fans are expecting a definitive ‘Hellraiser,’ and I don’t want to take that away from them.”

Dimension has been working on re-imagining ‘Hellraiser’ for quite some time. Ă‚  At first, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (‘Inside’) were tapped to write and direct, but they were subsequently taken off the project. Ă‚  After that, Marcus Dunstand and Patrick Melton (‘Saw IV’ and ‘Saw V’) were brought on board to write the script. Ă‚  That, too, didn’t pan out.

The ‘Hellraiser’ remake is tentatively scheduled for a 2009 release.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Kitbuilders MONSTROUS WEEKEND 2008 has come to a close and WeAreMovieGeeks.com was there to see howĂ‚  St. Louis’Ă‚  very FIRST Horror Convention EVER would pan out. Overall, Monstrous Weekend 2008 was a blast! The weekend offeredĂ‚  screenings of both feature-length and short films, classics and brand new stuff, including some locally made films. The weekend also featured some great guest speakers, wild and crazy live music andĂ‚  a huge dealer room with tons of cool models and various items of memorabilia that would make any Movie Geek envious. Kitbuilders Monstrous Weekend 2008Ă‚  will be remembered mostly for its special guests, who were truly great.

Special GuestsĂ‚  atĂ‚  Monstrous WeekendĂ‚  2008…

Tom Savini (‘Dawn of the Dead’, ‘From Dusk til Dawn’) spoke about his career and films on Saturday, taking several questions from the audience afterwards. Mr. Savini was also available all weekend for fans to meet in person and get autographs. His speaking event was really fascinating and he was an enjoyable guest speaker.

For the serious Movie Geeks, an equally awesome special guest was Tura Satana (‘Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!’) who spoke during a Q&A panel on Sunday and was also available all weekend for fans to meet and get autographs. The Movie Geeks were privileged to get an interview with Tura [keep your eyes and ears open for this on the website soon!] who was absolutely great! Tura is one of the nicest and most fascinating celebrities you’ll meet.

Dee Wallace (‘Cujo’, ‘The Howling’, ‘Rob Zombie’s Halloween’) andĂ‚  Adrienne Barbeau (‘Swamp Thing’, ‘The Fog’, ‘Escape From New York’) were available for fans to meet and get autographs and both stars spoke on Sunday about their careers and took questions from fans.

The Cast of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)…

Originally, director George Romero (‘Night of the Living Dead’, ‘Dawn of the Dead’) was intended to headline this eventĂ‚  but unfortunately he was unable to attendĂ‚  due to scheduling conflicts. The original cast of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968) was on hand signing autographs and gathered for a cast panel to talk about making the genre classic and took questions from eager fans.

The Dealer RoomĂ‚  atĂ‚  Monstrous WeekendĂ‚  2008…

In addition to the excellent special guests and the numerous interesting screenings and live bands, the dealer room had much to offer in the way of great movie memorabilia, collectibles and plenty of awesomeĂ‚  sculptures and model kits. Dealers had an amazing selection of models and kits, built and finely painted with exquisite detail and likenesses. Walking through the large dealer room, fans could take in a wide array of creatures and characters in all shapes, sizes and colors. It was an astonishing thing to walk around the gallery-like atmosphere and appreciateĂ‚  these worksĂ‚  thatĂ‚  are as much an art as they are a hobby.

‘Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds’ will certainly please the biggest fans of the horror genre. In a rare anomaly of this universe, this is a sequel that doesn’t suck. The big uglies from the original have managed to work their way into a small nearby town followed by the survivors of the first film’s brutal bar attack. The tough biker chicks find themselves teaming up with the town’s survivor’s in an effort to fend off the gnarly beasties and somehow survive this incredible ordeal.

‘Feast 2′ reminds me a bit of ‘Tremors 2′ meets ‘From Dusk til Dawn’… except, these critters are for meaner and far more capable of kicking your ass than the giant graboids and their bipedal offspring. As the group of hopeful survivors goes through an off-and-on strategy of running and hiding, they make efforts to figure out how to kill the creatures when fighting for their lives. In one scene, a truly grotesquely disgusting but hilarious one at that, one of the survivors is poking around the insides of a dead “monster” and stumbles upon virtually every nasty body fluid contained within the beast, which is apparently pressurized within the corpse as it sprays out and covers virtually everyone in the room.

The film maintains is stylistic camerawork and its tongue-in-cheek approach to horror. The creatures are really just a tool to get at the great characters and their interactions with each other, which is what makes this film super cool! Aside from the remaining biker chicks led by Biker Queen, we are introduced to Honey Pie, the locksmith/wrestling midget twins Thunder (Martin Klebba) and Lightning, the used car salesman Slasher, the overly optimistic Secrets (Hannah Putnam) and Greg, the guy baby-killer who was poking around on the dead monster. The bartender (Clu Gulager) from the first film returns as well, serving mainly as a tie-in character but does have one scene where he kicks another character’s butt.

The best advice I can give you about viewing ‘Feast 2′ is to leave your expectations at the door and do not let your guard down… this film will shock, surprise and possibly disgust you. Just when you think Gulager’s done the worst he could do on film, he goes and one-ups himself. For those interested, there is a decent supply of naked tattooed ta-tas, not to mention a make-shift catapult contraption and a hybrid feline creature, a la the dog alien from ‘Alien 3′. If you liked the first ‘Feast’ then you’ll probably love the sequel, but I would recommend seeing the original first if you haven’t as the story basically picks up where the first left off, even though the story is minimal.

[rating:3.5/5]

Pumpkins, popcorn balls, spooky music and fake cobwebs… these are all things we associate with Halloween, but for Movie Geeks, we think of the monsters that scared the crap out of us late at night. We love to watch movies that creep us out and make us jump and squirm, but how much do we really know about the characters that made these films so awesome? This is a challenge to all the “Monster Maniacs” out there who claim to know their monsters… see how many of these iconic creatures and killers you can name. Each image is a small piece of the puzzle. Is your Monster IQ high enough to figure out who they are? No prizes here, just the satisfaction in knowing you’re the shiznit… at least, when it comes to movie monsters.

• If you can name each of the characters, you’re a Monster Geek!
• Name each character and the actor portraying that character, you’re a Monster Mega-Geek!!
• Name each character, the actor, AND the EXACT movie title the image is from… well, that makes you The Master Monster Movie Geek!!!

Cast & Crew

Shea Whigham… Dennis Farell
Paulo Costanzo… Seth Belzer
Jill Wagner… Polly Watt

Written by Kai Barry, Ian Shorr & Toby Wilkins
Directed by Toby Wilkins

‘Splinter’ has a really innovative monster, something that exists between ‘The Thing’ and ‘The Body Snatchers.’ You’ve seen this kind of monster before but never quite like this, and what it does to your body is very, very unpleasant.Ă‚  The film’s story, however, is never as innovative as the antagonist creature: A handful of people are trapped within an enclosed space, fighting to survive. It’s a perfect example of formula storytelling, but it works because in a movie like this the story should service the monster. Dispense with the trappings of a laborious story and let’s get down to the mayhem. ‘Splinter’ has mayhem to spare.

I’m not in the habit of spoiling a movie, so I can’t really go into much detail regarding the monster. I will say that it doesn’t really dissolve you like The Blob or assimilate you like The Thing, nor is replacing you like a Body Snatcher. When this critter gets a hold on you, then you are in it for the long haul… unless you are a fan of severe emergency amputation, but even after that, what do you do with the pieces you cut off?

Movies like ‘Splinter,’ because they are light on story and heavy on monster, have a tendency to also be light on acting and rely on their thespians to simply react instead of act. You have a lot of reacting here, but ‘Splinter’ has a lot of honest to goodness acting, too. My initial draw to this film was Paulo Costanzo, the Canadian actor whom I first noticed in the comedy ‘Road Trip’ and much more recently headlined ‘Everything’s Gone Green.’ He’s a talented guy that exudes an immediate affable charm and that talent is put to good use in ‘Splinter,’ where Paulo plays a PhD student whose character traits hew much closer to the damsel in distress than anything recognizable as a hero. He doesn’t know how to put up a tent, can’t drive stick and the guy even breaks down and cries. He’s likable and believable as a hero despite this and I really attribute that to Costanzo as well as the films trio of screenwriters; they imbue the hero with an equal amount of brains and balls. Yes, ‘Splinter’ may be light on story, but it is strong in character.

Jill Wagner plays Costanzo’s girlfriend and she displays all the alpha male traits that are missing from the hero. She’s take charge and very strong. Early in the film, it is Wagner’s character that is the strongest. When the couple finds themselves the victims of a kidnapping, it is Wagner’s character that keeps the two of them in the criminal’s good graces, because she is the take charge alpha male that her boyfriend is not. It isn’t until her survival instincts turn to morally ambiguous desperation that Costanzo steps up to the challenge of the hero. That he saves them with brains and not brawn is another welcome change of pace.

The actor that surprised me the most isĂ‚  Shea Whigham. He plays the human antagonist turned reluctant savior. So very often a film like this makes the human antagonist an insufferable ass, the kind of person that you want to see get decimated by the monster. Shea’s character definitely starts that way, but his arc makes him a person that the audience can and will feel closer and closer to, so when decimation rears its ugly head, then you really feel for the guy. No one wants to go through what this guy goes through. Shea is not your typical leading man andĂ‚  his distinct featuresĂ‚  remind me of a strange mix of Robert Carlyle and Steve Buscemi. His character reveals quite a lot during the course of the film and because of that he sticks with you after the whole things said and done. It was such a disarming performance that I immediately thought to look him up on IMDB and was happy to see that he is a very busy actor: eight projects in 2008 and another three already in post for 2009. I expect to see this guy turn out some great performances.

This is a first feature for the director,Ă‚  Toby Wilkins, and he shows a lot of promise. His next feature is a sequel in ‘The Grudge’ franchise, so let’s hope he can rise above the material at hand. I have faith in him, though, and so does Sam Raimi because Raimi picked him for the project based on nothing more than a short film that Wilkins made.Ă‚  

Support this film when it comes out, it’s the kind of original horror the big screen doesn’t see enough of.

‘Splinter’ is being released this fall through Magnet Films, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures.

[rating: 4/5]

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To view the trailer follow this link.

Most of you have heard that ‘The Fly’ was turned into an opera, and now, if you live in or around LA, you can hear the actual opera. Tickets are on sale at wwwlaopera.comĂ‚  for a reasonable $20.

An opera of a remake of a 1950′s sci-fi B-movie. It all sounded like so much bullshit, but…

It’s being directed by David Cronenberg, written by Howard Shore, conducted by Placido Domingo, with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, sets by Dante Ferretti, effects by Stephen Dupuis, and I’ll just stop there(even though there are more notable names associated with this mutant opera).

If any of the names aren’t familiar to you, then go look them up. They are all award-winning folk, and almost always work at the top of their respective game.

So get your tickets, and hurry, there’s only six performances.

Oh, and…

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Whoops! Turns out this is actually an advertising commercial, not a teaser.

Thanks to the dudes over at JoBlo.com, here’s the first teaser trailer (Korean, I think?) for ‘The Host 2′… perhaps one of the most anticipated sequels out there, at least I am totally geeking out over the sequel that was not only the first great monster movie in years, but actually had the critics hailing it, despite its genre, which normally falls victim to critical fodder.

I mentioned that the MONSTERS! exhibit opened at the St. Louis Science Center on May 3rd, and I also mentioned I was going to try and get over there and see what it was all about. Well, I did … and, I snapped some pictures of the cooler pieces in the exhibit. Overall, the exhibit was kind of cool, but not really what I’d hoped for or expected. Its definitely going to blow most kids away, which I suppose was its target audience … but, at $8 for a single adult admission, I’d recommend considering a ticket to a good movie instead, unless you’ve got kids. Check out the pictures, then decide for yourself if you wanna go see for yourself …

Despite this being the inaugural event, check out the line-up of guests and various events and opportunities taking place during this weekend at the website. Tops on the list is a reuniting of many of the players involved with the original Night of the Living Dead, including George Romero and Tom Savini. The weekend is focused towards those interests in kit-building, modeling/sculpting, make-up FX, etc. But, it still looks like it’d be cool to check out. Admission is still not finalized, but keep an eye on the website for this news to be announced.