NEWS- Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight'

 Since January there has been many questions flying around about the infamous Director,
Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film, 'The Hateful Eight', the film was originally in jeopardy after a script was leaked online but since the film was announced to be back in production and after a Q&A last week we now finally have a bit more information about it! 

So what do we know so far? 

As always the film is going to feature a star studded cast with lots of familiar faces, the ones who have been confirmed are Kurt Russell (Death Proof), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill vol 1 and 2), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction) and of course Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained and well you know the rest). However we do see one newbie entering the world of Tarantino, Channing Tatum who's previous roles have been in more cheesy Comedies and films targeting the 'typical' teenage girl such as 'Magic Mike', you know that film about the male stripper industry... Its quite obvious to anyone that looking back at the casts previous roles Tatum is sticking out like a bit of a sore thumb, but after Tarantino transforming Hollywood heart throb Leonardo Dicaprio into a ruthless slave owner we will just have to wait and see what Tarantino will throw at him. 

Tarantino has also announced how he's going old school with this feature as it will be filmed for a 70mm release, double the standard of the usual 35mm, therefore making it the widest 70mm film in 20 years, creating landscape shots more breathtaking and allowing the audience to feel like they are coming face to face with the action. One of the most well-known films to be shot on 70mm film is Stanley Kubricks '2001: A Space Odyssey' this preferred way of filming has almost become extinct due to the development of digital film. Tarantino's aim is to encourage fans to see the film at the cinema and view it in its full 70mm glory which you would not be able to do on a T.V, laptop or smartphone -  "we will remind people why this is something you can’t see on television, and how this is an experience you can’t have when you watch movies in your apartment, your man cave or your iPhone or iPad." 

Since last weeks Q&A there has been confusion whether or not this is going to be Tarantino's last film after he mentioned retiring, in fact, he actually said how he would like to retire after his last 10th film, the Hateful Eight being his 8th he will have two more to go (Duh). He explained this to the audience at the American Film Market in Santa Monica - “I don’t believe you should stay onstage until people are begging you to get off, I like the idea of leaving them wanting a bit more”. 

Tarantinos films so far- 
1. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
3. Jackie Brown (1997)
4. Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
5. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
5. Death Proof (2007)
6. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
7. Django Unchained (2012)

'The Hateful Eight' will hopefully be released Autumn 2015 

Brilliant short horror film by David Sandberg called 'Lights Out'

http://vimeo.com/82920243

10 Things you might not know about THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)

In the 1970s a new wave of horror movies hit the screens of grind house theaters, these were low budget exploitation films which did not focus on quality but more on there unique selling points of sex and violence. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released in 1974 and spawned a new generation of slasher films. TXCM differentiated itself from the original horror films such as Dracula, Frankenstein and later on The Exorcist as it based itself on real people and realistic situations creating a truly new horror film experience. 

1. Tobe Hooper explained how Leatherface was loosely based around the notorious serial killer Ed Gein who was believed to make lamp shades out of real human skin

2. During filming of the infamous dinner scene temperatures rose to over 100 degrees. With the room filled with the stench of dead animals, rotting food and body odour some of the crew passed out and were sick just from the smell. 

3. The human skeleton shot in the house at the end of the film was real. It worked out to be a lot cheaper to buy a real skeleton from India rather than a fake plastic skeleton from America. 

4. Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) wore three inch lifts in his boots to make him tower over the rest of the cast. Even with the lifts he could still run faster than Marilyn Burns (Sally Hardesty). Therefor he deliberately had to do random things in order to slow him down whilst chasing her through the woods.

5.  Filming only took four weeks and was shot in chronological order. 

6. Alternative names from the film included "Headcheese", "Leatherface" and "Stalking Leatherface"

7. Edwin Neal (The Hitch-hiker) was quoted saying that filming the dinner scene was a worse experience than fighting in Vietnam and that he might have to kill Tobe Hooper if he ever saw him again.

8. John Larroquette explained how his payment for doing the opening narration was a marijuana joint 

9. Despite the title of the film only one person is actually killed by a chainsaw, two were bludgeoned, one impaled on a meat hook and one run over by a truck 

10. John Dugan's  (The Grandfather) old-age makeup took 5 hours, the experience was so grueling he decided he wanted to shoot all his scenes back to back which took roughly 36 hours.

The Best Movie Merchandise

Here is a list of what I think is some of the best movie merchandise out there! Its clear that producers will make anything to try and make money off the back of a film so here's a collection of some of the most iconic and interesting pieces of merch I could find! 

Fight Club - Soap 

This novelty soap was up for grabs from firebox.com, its a real bar of soap with the fight club logo carved onto it but unfortunately it is no longer available from this website and I could not find it anywhere else on the internet! However I was lucky enough to buy a genuine fight club soap prop which was created for the film off of ebay. You never know when one of these might pop up so keep searching!

Inception - Spinning Top Totem 

This iconic prop used in the film Inception is available from all over the internet, luckily for as little as £1.99. It shapes up to be a pretty neat replica considering how cheap it is! The golden chess piece totem is also available online however it is much harder to come by and Im not certain of the quality as some of the images online do not look much like the one in the film. 

Kill Bill - Pussy Wagon Keyring 

This recognisable key ring is from Quentin Tarantino's film 'Kill Bill', its available from BMFWallets.com and other sites across the internet. Im not sure if this is an official piece of merchandise as Tarantino films usually only have action figures made after the films release however this is still a cool, instantly recognisable key ring for any Kill Bill fan!

Also available is Zed's 'Z' keyring from Pulp Fiction.

Dark Knight Rises - Gotham City Rogues Football Kit 

Under Armour designed the iconic yellow and black football kit for Christopher Nolan's latest film 'The Dark Knight Rises'. They designed the whole range from jerseys to varsity jackets! These went viral over the internet and a T-shirt could be bought for a a staggering $100 on sites like ebay. Under Armour are currently not stocking any Rogues merchandise at the moment but unofficial T-shirts are still available from across the internet.   

V For Vendetta - Mask 

The V mask is seen everywhere not only on the internet but all over the world during protest movements. The mask was originally adopted by an activist hacker group named 'Anonymous' in 2008 during a protest against scientology. The mask has now become a symbol of the movement against corporate greed and is globally recognisable even if you have not seen the film! 

To read a full BBC news story on the meaning behind the mask, click here. 

The Shining - Overlook Hotel Hat 

In December last year Casual Connoisseur released a special edition 'weir' based on the carpet from the Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'. A set of about 30 went on sale from their website for £27, with there immense popularity people began selling them on ebay for up to £150 ! If you are a fan of The Shining keep posted, as the Casual Connoisseur have said they are going to be selling another batch sometime this month. 

Pulp Fiction - Bad Mother Fucker Wallet

This bad ass wallet from Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' is a great novelty item to own! Its just like the one in the film and is available for under £20 from BMFwallets.com. It also comes in 5 different styles including a red purse design for girls, a great purchase for any Tarantino fan. 

Childs Play - Chucky Doll

This Living Dead Doll (Chucky from the film Childs Play film series) is a good buy for any horror movie nut ! It has an incredible likeness to the real doll in the films, whether thats a good or bad thing im not sure... 

Skyfall - Royal Doulton Bulldog

This limited edition china bulldog was made by Royal Doulton for the latest James Bond film - SkyFall. The dog can be spotted on Ms desk and went on sale for £50 after the release of the film. The bulldog was so popular it sold out almost instantly! 

Movie Classics A to Z Print - 67inc.com

Check out this amazing print based on 35 classic movies with iconic and recognisable characters. This print is just one of a set of four A to Z posters designed by 67inc.com. Each print has its own unique theme but features the same bold colour palette and sleek design. This print is a great purchase for any movie lover! 

For more information about the other prints available and shipping details etc take a look at 67inc.com 

Keep posted for more prints and designs coming soon! 

The Top 10 Worst HORROR MOVIE CLICHES

Ever decided to watch a horror film in a hope to get some good scares out of it but you just end up shouting at the TV at how stupid some of the characters and situations are? Well here are some of the classic cliches that will probably have you screaming at the screen...

1. No Phone Reception 

In any circumstance when things start to get tense and a character pulls out their phone to call for help 99% of the time they will either have no reception or no battery life. Nearly every horror film post-2000 has had to explain why the victims could not simply call the police about a savage-serial killer thats on the loose. 

2. The Killer Never Dies

No matter how many times you shoot or stab the killer they ALWAYS seem to come back (mostly for a crap sequel) Take Michael Myers for instance in the 'Halloween' series, he has been shot, hit by a car and even set on fire but this has never phased him about coming back for sequel after sequel. 

3. Nobody Can Run Without Falling Over 

In about any chase scene the victim will be a good 10-20 meters away when they will just fall over a seemingly invisible object!! *Face Palm* Okay may be they really did trip and fall on something, lets just hope they get up quickly...but no they always have to spend ages   crawling and squirming around on the floor not even attempting to get up.

4. Splitting Up The Group 

"Hey lets all stick together as it looks like the killer is targeting individuals" - said nobody in any horror movie EVER! When anyone has a plan to defeat the killer, monster, zombie or whatever the hell is tormenting and killing a group of people the first plan of action is always to split up the group. 

5. The Bathroom Mirror Scare 

This is majorly over used  in horror films and occurs when a character is standing in front of a mirrored bathroom cabinet, they shut the cabinet door and it reveals someone standing behind them. In some circumstances there is not even anyone behind them and you jump just because of the music falsely building up tension.

6. Not Turning The Lights On

It seems that no one in a horror film knows how a light switch works, they will come downstairs in the middle of the night possibly to check out a strange noise or just to get a drink of water and will not turn any of the lights on when they do it! This just sets up the scene to be 'scary' without addressing the fact that wandering down stairs in the pitch dark to investigate a strange noise is just simply idiotic. 

7. Incompetent Policemen
A policeman's role is to protect and prevent anything bad happening like having a crazed serial killer murdering and torturing people however in any serious situation policemen in horror films seem to be not worth the trouble and usually end up being killed off or just generally dismissing any concerns distressed teenagers seem to have. 

8. Virgins Always Win 
In particularly teen horror films if anyone has sex or there is a big breasted slut in the group, chances are they are gonna die one way or another. The main heroine of the group is typically a more of a goodie two shoes (but who of course is still extremely attractive). 

9. Cars Not Starting & Key Fumbling 
If the victim is luckily enough to find a car with the keys nine times out of ten they will be shaking so much they wont be able to get the keys in the lock or they will get in the car and it just simply wont start until the killer is right by the door. 

10. Nobody Ever Takes Road Trips To The City 
In nearly every horror movie nobody wants to take a road trip to a town or city, it is always to a remote area of some kind, either to a woods, desert or rural camping spot (dont forget this setting will obviously have no phone reception). 

10 Things you might not know about THE BATMAN FILM FRANCHISE

Here I have collected 10 trivia facts about the Batman films, from Tim Burton's 'Batman' (1989) to Christopher Nolan's final chapter of his Dark Knight 

trilogy - 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012). 

1. In the Italian version of 'Batman' (1989), Jack Nicholson was dubbed by an actor called Giancarlo Giannini. Nineteen years later, his son Adiano Giannini was chosen for dubbing Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight' (2008) 

2. During the six month shoot of 'Batman Returns' (1992), Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman/Selina Kyle) got through 60 catsuits at a cost of $1000 a suit 

3. Christian Bale originally auditioned to play the role of Robin in 'Batman Forever' (1995) 

4. After 'Batman & Robin' (1997) Joel Schumacher was planning to make a sequel, 'Batman: Triumphant' and even a prequel, 'Batman: Year One'. However 'Batman & Robin' flopped massively at the box office and Schumacher was refused by Warner Bros to make any sequels...(Thank God) 

5. Christian Bale lost his voice three times during the filming of 'Batman Begins' (2005) due to altering his voice so drastically whilst in character 

6. Marilyn Manson was considered for the role of Dr Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in 'Batman Begins' 

7. Heath Ledger hid away in a motel room for six weeks to perfect his role as The Joker, he took inspiration from Sid Viscous for the Joker's appearance and Alex De Large (A Clockwork Orange) for his psychotic mannerisms 

8. Dr Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow makes a brief re-appearance in both 'The Dark Knight' (in the opening scene with the batman 'hockey pad' characters) and 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012) (as the judge convicting people to death or exile) 

9. In the fight scene in 'The Dark Knight Rises' when Bane 'breaks' Batman neither Christian Bale or Tom Hardy used stunt doubles 

10. The final fight scene in 'The Dark Knight Rises' marks the only occasion in the Nolan trilogy and the Burton/Schumacher films where Batman is seen during the day time