Sam Raimi Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Naman Ramachandran Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to horror thriller “Don’t Move” from Capstone Global. The film follows a seasoned killer as he injects a grieving woman with a paralytic agent.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Gaumont is launching “Night Call,” a high-concept thriller set over the course of a night, directed by rising filmmaker Michiel Blanchart. Blanchart, who is repped by WME and Itaka Media, previously directed the short film “You’re Dead Hélène,” which was a festival standout and played at Clermont-Ferrand and Sitges, among other festivals. It also made the live action Oscar shortlist last year.

Though many might consider David Fincher an auteur filmmaker who is probably above making superhero films, that wasn’t always the case. Early in his career, after the success of “Se7en,” it appears Fincher was brought in by Sony to pitch the studio about what his version of “Spider-Man” might look like.

In the 26th episode of Deadline Strike Talk — which for below the liners signifies half a year without a paycheck that hasn’t come from Uber fares or waiting tables — host Billy Ray hits on a zeitgeist theme that gets voiced a lot by people who just feel that the business isn’t as remotely as exciting or near as much fun as it was before the folly that signatories put themselves into by chasing Netflix as it became the preeminent streamer. The result has put just about every other streamer pursuit in a position of being money losers that have strained the economics, and accelerated the demise of those conglomerates’ traditional networks, and so many other things.

Marvel has claimed that actor Edward Norton is banned from returning as the Hulk in any future movies.In Joanna Robinson’s new book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, it’s claimed that while the call is open for other guest actors to return to their roles, Norton won’t be asked back.The book claimed: “If the Inhumans could be rehabilitated, apparently everyone in MCU history was on [Marvel boss’ Kevin] Feige’s call list—except Edward Norton, the franchise’s first Bruce Banner, and Joss Whedon, whose Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters remained in limbo”Shortly before development began on The Avengers, Feige released a statement on Norton’s role in the MCU.He said at the time: “We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers.

George Yang SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot details through the ending of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 focuses on Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they fight off a litany of villains throughout the Spider-Man universe. As the final act concludes, character arcs end and new ones open. There are also teases that hint at the introduction of new characters, but the jury’s still out on whether they’ll be included in future DLC or in the next Spider-Man game from Insomniac.

Doctor Strange, saying that he left to avoid making a “monstrosity”.The director, who helmed the original 2016 film, was originally announced to direct the sequel, titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Derrickson, however, departed the project in January 2020 citing “creative differences”, and was later replaced by Sam Raimi.Speaking on The Playlist’s The Discourse podcast, Derrickson went into further detail on the differences between his vision and that of Marvel Studios.“All I can say is that what we said publicly is exactly the truth,” Derrickson said.

Jamie Christopher, who was an associate producer and first assistant director on such Marvel films as Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and more, died at his home today of heart complications. He was 52.

Thomas Haden Church is saying he’s “heard rumors” of a potential new Spider-Man film directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire.

It’s Day 8 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 81 of the WGA strike.

Tehran, the Israeli spy thriller that airs globally on Apple TV+, has become one of the most high-profile TV series to land a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

After granting its first round of waivers for several films Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA has given another group of films permission to shoot during the strike including Ishana Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers, starring Dakota Fanning, and the Sam Raimi-produced Don’t Move. See the updated list below.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Two-time Oscar-winning editor Pietro Scalia will be honored by the Locarno Film Festival with its Vision Award honoring technical achievements and advancements in film. Scalia, who was born in Sicily but grew up in Switzerland and studied film at UCLA, has won Oscars for “JFK” and “Black Hawk Down.” Over the past two decades he’s collaborated closely with top directors such as Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Gus Van Sant, Rob Marshall, Sam Raimi and Michael Mann. His recent work includes Mann’s upcoming “Ferrari.” Scalia will receive the Locarno award on Aug. 3 during a ceremony on the Swiss fest’s 8,000-seat Piazza Grande, followed on Aug. 4 by an onstage conversation and screenings of two standout titles from his career: “Good Will Hunting” (1997) and “Black Hawk Down” (2001).

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Amy Pascal will never forget the world premiere of the first “Spider-Man” movie in 2002. She was the head of Sony at the time, and was so worried that the film wouldn’t succeed she “spent the entire time in the ladies’ room crying,” Pascal recalled at the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” premiere in Los Angeles. “I sure did,” she continued. “I was terrified. “How do you know? You never know!” But, she said, her fears disappeared on opening day: “It was one of the greatest days of my life.”

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran TV executive and producer Michael McDonald (American Crime) is finalizing a deal to join Amazon Studios’ executive ranks as Head of the Comedy and Drama Development team in the US SVOD TV Development and Series – Wholly Owned division led by Nick Pepper, I hear. He will oversee development of all wholly owned comedy and drama series. Amazon Studios declined comment.

Since the debut of Sam Raimi’s first ‘Spider-Man’ film back in 2002, there have been quite a few films featuring the wallcrawler over the past 20 years. Three of those feature none other than Tom Holland as Peter Parker.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor When Jessica Chastain explains how she and her collaborators created the standout moments in her Tony-nominated Broadway performance in “A Doll’s House,” one wouldn’t expect to hear her mention the Sam Raimi horror movie “Evil Dead.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Naman Ramachandran German distributor Dolphin Medien has partnered with U.K. horror production house Red Shadow Studios on horror films based on public domain children’s properties Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan, it was revealed at the ongoing Cannes film market. “Winnie the Pooh: Death House,” described by the makers as “The Strangers” meets “The Purge,” is a stylized serial killer slant on A.A. Milne’s beloved character, which recently entered the public domain. The film is written by Red Shadow’s Adam Stephen Kelly and is directed by S.J. Evans (“Dead of the Nite”). The story centres around an unexpected school reunion in a remote country mansion – an event orchestrated by members of a cult who were mercilessly tormented by the guests as children. Now, years later, they’re out for gruesome revenge. Filming is underway at U.K. locations.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 30-July 8). The Oscar winning actor will also deploy his musical talent with his band Indoor Garden Party, which will perform at the festival’s opening night concert. The festival also revealed Friday that Johnny Depp would appear in its trailer, which will have its premiere at the opening ceremony. Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing” (1990, dir. George Ogilvie), “Proof” (1991, dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse), and “Romper Stomper” (1992, dir. Geoffrey Wright). He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Legendary Entertainment has won the movie rights to Grady Hendrix’s runaway bestseller “How to Sell a Haunted House.” The studio behind “Dune” took the acclaimed novel over several bids. The book received critical acclaim and an instant following thanks to its dynamic storytelling — pulling off genuine fright with its evil puppet antagonist, and a deeply emotional story about the horrors of family. New Zealand-based Māori filmmaker James Ashcroft is attached to direct the project. Ashcroft made his mark in the indie genre space with the bleak “Coming Home in the Dark,” which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was later acquired by Netflix. Hendrix will adapt his own novel for the screen.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” achieved the high score at the domestic box office, earning a massive $58.23 million in its third weekend of release. The animated family film easily fend off this weekend’s new releases, including a promising start for supernatural horror sequel “Evil Dead Rise” and tepid debuts for action-war thriller “Guy Ritchie’s the Covenant” and A24’s anxiety-inducer “Beau Is Afraid.” After three weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $434.33 million in North America and $871 million globally to stand even higher as the biggest movie of the year. Those ticket sales, down just 37% from the weekend prior, rank as the highest third weekend for any animated film domestically (surpassing 2018’s “Incredibles 2” with $46.4 million in its third weekend of release) and the seventh-biggest third weekend ever (overtaking 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” with $56 million in its third weekend of release).

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.Since its opening on April 5, it has earned over $400 million nationwide, the second-fastest animated film to reach those numbers after “The Incredibles 2,” according to Deadline. The supernatural horror movie “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth installment of the “Evil Dead” series, came in second, with a $10.3-million take on its opening day.The Post called the film “gory-as-hell” and said it is “as campy and fun as any chapter in producer Sam Raimi’s four-decade-old horror series.”“The Covenant,” the story of an army sergeant in Afghanistan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and an Afghani interpreter, played by Danish actor Dar Salim, landed in third, with $2.25 million in sales.

Evil Dead Rise” has slashed up $2.5 million in Thursday preview grosses as the ultra-gory revival of Sam Raimi’s horror series is projected to open to at least $15 million this weekend.Independent trackers have “Evil Dead Rise” earning an opening weekend of at least $20 million with a slight chance of stretching its opening weekend out to $25 million. Doing so would match the unadjusted opening weekend of the last “Evil Dead” film released in 2013 by TriStar.

Jordan Moreau Nothing can keep the dead down. “Evil Dead Rise,” the latest movie in the horror franchise created by Sam Raimi, has made $2.5 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office. It’s a strong start for a horror movie in April, but it won’t be enough to stop the mushroom-powered, meteoric rise of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which is projected to earn another massive haul with $45 million to $50 million in its third weekend. Universal and Illumination’s hit Nintendo adaptation already has $724 million globally and will soon pass “Minions: The Rise of Gru” as the highest-grossing animated movie in the post-pandemic era. “Evil Dead Rise” is expected to scare up between $15 million and $20 million in its opening weekend, with some predictions as high as $25 million. It’s the fifth movie in Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Evil Dead” franchise, which began way back in 1981 with Raimi’s original, low-budget horror hit starring Bruce Campbell as zombie killer Ash Williams. The previous entry, simply titled “Evil Dead,” made $97.5 million from a $17 million budget in 2013.

New Line and Warner Bros’ Evil Dead Rise freaked out $2.5M last night from previews that began at 7PM at 3,000 locations.

It’s “Mommie Dearest” gone wild.In the first scene, though, we’re back in one of those creepy, secluded cottages that made the 1981 film a classic. Out in the woods, a girl-turned-“Deadite” kills her two friends before an on-screen message reads: “One day earlier.” The location shifts to the soon-to-be-demolished city apartment building of Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), a mother of three kids who recently separated from her husband. The night her sister Beth (Lily Sullivan), a rebellious concert roadie, comes to visit, an earthquake opens a hole in their parking garage concealing our old friend the Book of the Dead and some vinyl recordings of spooky incantations.Teenage Danny (Morgan Davies) decides to pop them on his turntable and, you know, accidentally destroys his family, including sisters Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) and Kassie (Nell Fisher).Demons are unleashed, one enters Ellie’s body and then Mother Monster brutally goes after Beth and the kids. I vastly prefer the “Evil Dead” series to, say, never-ending “Scream” because unlike with Ghostface, no elaborate narrative excuse needs to be drummed up for why ancient evil spirits are still slumming it on earth.

the “Evil Dead” franchise know the drill — get some folks out to a cabin in the woods, have them stumble onto an ominous book of spells, gory demonic mayhem ensues. With “Evil Dead Rise,” however, the fifth installment in the series created by Sam Raimi, director Lee Cronin set out to carve a different path. “I knew I wanted it to be family.

It’s not quite “every ‘Spider-Man’ movie on Disney+,” but it’s a start. Beginning Friday, the entire Sam Raimi-directed “Spider-Man” trilogy (“Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3”) will arrive alongside Marc Webb’s first “Amazing Spider-Man” reboot attempt.

Exhibition cries for a supply of films at the box office, but a flood of titles means nothing if there isn’t any marketing money put behind it. Last weekend there were five wide releases going up against Illumination/Universal’s beast Super Mario Bros Movie. Did it even make a difference? Was a proper amount spent to get audiences in seats? Or did the studios cut their losses and only pony up so much to promote them?

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will rule again in its third weekend at the box office. In maintaining the No. 1 spot in North America, the family film is expected to take down two newcomers, the supernatural horror sequel “Evil Dead Rise” and action-war thriller “Guy Ritchie’s the Covenant,” as well as A24’s mind-bender “Beau Is Afraid,” which is expanding nationwide. Universal and Illumination’s animated “Mario” adventure has grossed $366.3 million domestically to date. In the next few days, it will surpass “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($369 million) as the highest-grossing animated film of the pandemic era. With $724 million globally, it already stands as the biggest movie of the year so far. Now in its third outing at the domestic box office, “Mario” is looking to bring in roughly $45 to $50 million, a massive result at this point in its theatrical run.

William Earl Lee Cronin is very particular about blood. Cronin, the Irish writer and director of “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth feature installment in the cult horror series, lights up when discussing gore on set. “We used 6,500 liters [1,717 gallons] of blood on the movie,” he said. “That is real, sticky, cooked movie blood. We had to hire out this industrial kitchen to cook the blood and keep it fresh, be able to heat it up, because characters are covered in it. There was a lot of management of liquid in this movie. I wanted blood to be a character, so it was important we got the viscosity and look just right.”

“Infinity Pool” actress Mia Goth has joined the cast of Mahershala Ali’s “Blade,” according to an insider with knowledge of the project.Yann Demange, a French-Algerian filmmaker whose previous credits include Jack O’Connell’s “71” and Matthew McConaughey’s “White Boy Rick,” is attached to direct the vampire-killing actioner.Michael Starrbury, who has penned episodes of Netflix and Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” and “Colin in Black and White,” wrote the latest draft of the screenplay.Assuming all goes well from here, production will begin in Atlanta in early 2023. While the film will reportedly be darker than a stereotypical Marvel romp, the extent this film will straddle the line between the safely PG-13 MCU entries and New Line Cinema’s original hard-R trilogy with Wesley Snipes remains to be seen.When Stephen Norrington’s “Blade” debuted in 1998, it was mostly sold and generally embraced (good reviews, solid buzz and $131 million worldwide on a $45 million budget) as an R-rated, martial-arts infused Snipes vehicle that just happened to be based on a Marvel comic book.

“Evil Dead Rise,” the latest in the cult classic “Evil Dead” horror franchise, doesn’t waste any time. From it’s jump right into the story of sisters Ellie and Beth (Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan, respectively) to the sheer amount of gore and brutality that ensues, “Evil Dead Rise” is relentless in its pursuit of fear, and that’s by design.

Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament took a hiatus during the pandemic as movie theaters closed for the majority of 2020-2021 and theatrical day-and-date titles on both the big screen and studios’ respective streaming platforms became more prevalent. Coming back from that brink, the studios have largely returned to their theatrical release models and the downstream monies they can bring. Not to mention their power in launching IPs around the world with big global marketing campaigns. When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that mysterious end of the equation, Deadline is repeating our Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2022, using data culled by seasoned and trusted sources.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Thomas Haden Church was one of the many Spider-Man alum who returned for Marvel’s 2021 blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Church reprised his role of Flint Marko/Sandman from Sam Raimi’s 2007 “Spider-Man 3,” but his screen-time in “No Way Home” was fairly limited when compared to fellow returning villains like Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). In a new interview with The DisInsider, Church said conversations are taking place about future big screen appearances for Sandman. “We had a whole story involving his his daughter, for ‘No Way Home,'” Church said about the character. “And it just ended up [cut]. There was just so much going on…Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige], we all had a lot of conversations. And I would say that conversations have been had about the possibility of Sandman coming into an a future iteration of it.”

Sam Raimi has explained how he thought the title forEvil Dead was “stupid” when the legendary film was first made.In an interview with Empire, Raimi revealed that the title came from the film’s sales agent Irvin Shapiro.“The original title of the [original] movie was The Book of the Dead,” Raimi said. “But Shapiro sat Rob [Tapert], Bruce [Campbell], and I down and said: ‘We’re changing the title, boys. Advertising space in the newspaper is paid for by the inch, kid.