LOS ANGELES, CA October 2, 2009 – Ghost House Pictures has announced today the establishment of SPOOKY PICTURES, a production label dedicated to the financing, development, production and distribution of scary movies made for the family audience.

The first project under the new label, in collaboration with friends and partners Sony Pictures and Stars Road Entertainment’s Joshua Donen, will be THE SUBSTITUTE. Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) will scribe the remake of acclaimed writer/ director Ole Bornedal’s 2007 Danish language thriller of the same name, with Derrickson directing. The project is being developed in cooperation with Columbia Pictures, which has an option to co-finance and distribute the picture domestically. Columbia has a first-look to distribute this and future films from Spooky Pictures.

The film will be produced by filmmakers Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, the Spider-Man franchise) and Rob Tapert (30 Days of Night, The Grudge films) through their new Spooky Pictures shingle in association with Thura Films. Russell Hollander and Nathan Kahane will executive produce alongside the makers of the Danish film Ole Bornedal and Michael Obel. Tendo Nagenda and J.R. Young will shepherd for Spooky Pictures.

THE SUBSTITUTE follows a terrified 6^th grade class as they race to reveal to their parents that their new substitute teacher is an evil alien being.

Boardman and Derrickson previous collaborations include Exorcism of Emily Rose and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. They are repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and attorney Karl Austen of Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein. Sam Raimi is represented by CAA and attorney Craig Jacobson. Ole Bornedal is repped by WME, Danny Sherman at Principal Entertainment and attorney Andrew Hurwitz at Schreck Rose Dapello Adams & Hurwitz. Michael Obel is repped by WME. For Spooky Pictures, Rob McEntegart negotiated the remake rights and Columbia deals, and Dan Freedman negotiated the Boardman/Derrickson deal. Principal Entertainment, WME and Andrew Hurwitz brokered the deal between Thura Films and Spooky Pictures.

Release Date: January 20, 2009

Synopsis

When Sarah, a psychology student, witnesses the alleged suicide of her roommate, it sets off a supernatural chain reaction. As she tries to convince the rest of her dorm that the Boogeyman does exist, the evil force grows stronger and her friends pay the price. Now Sarah must stop this ultimate evil before the entire campus falls prey.

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Gary Jones
Screenplay by: Brian Sieve
Producers: Andrew Pfeffer
Executive Producers: Steve Hein, J.R. Young
Co-Producers: Jeffery Beach and Phillip Roth
Director Of Photography: Lorenzo Senatore
Cast: Erin Cahill, Chuck Hittinger, Mimi Michaels, Kate Maberly, Matt Rippy, Nikki Sanderson, WB Alexander, Elyes Gabel and George Maguire.

Mr. Tapert, along with his partner, director Sam Raimi, produced notable fantasy first-run syndication staples including “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.”
After “Xena” wrapped in 2001 (racking up 134 episodes in the process), Mr. Tapert said the syndie market wasn’t what it had been.

“First-run syndication was being driven into the slums,” he said, adding that the quality of first-run syndicated fare had slipped. After a lengthy run, Mr. Tapert and Mr. Raimi turned their focus toward their horror film company, Ghost House Pictures.

Several years later, Mr. Raimi introduced Mr. Tapert to Terry Goodkind’s “The Sword of Truth” book series, which both thought would translate well to television, and they turned back toward syndication as the medium.

Shot in New Zealand, “Legend” follows woodsman Richard Cypher, who discovers he has magical powers. Teaming up with the mysterious Kahlan and the wizard Zedd, the group sets out to stop an evil tyrant.

“At heart, Sam and I are independents and mavericks,” Mr. Tapert said, adding that removing the network from the equation erased a level of bureaucracy for the show to go through.

While the budget is slimmer than that of a broadcast show, syndication guarantees 22 episodes, which allows for stronger story planning, key to a fantasy-based show focusing on the characters and their journey.

“What we love about sci-fi and fantasy are the heroes and the journeys they go on,” he said. He added that sci-fi and fantasy on TV allows viewers to stay with the characters longer than a 90-minute film would.

Mr. Tapert didn’t rule out appearances of “Xena” star Lucy Lawless, his wife, or “Hercules’” Kevin Sorbo in “Legend,” but they won’t be appearing in the first 22 episodes. As for Sam Raimi pal Bruce Campbell, who shows up in nearly all of Mr. Raimi’s productions, “Legend” might be the exception.

“I don’t think he’s available to us,” Mr. Tapert said, due to Mr. Campbell’s prominent role on USA’s “Burn Notice.” But frequent collaborator Ted Raimi, Sam’s brother, is appearing in “Legend.”

Source: TVWeek.com

Tobey Maguire to return for fourth and fifth installments

In this episodes as they wait for Sara’s return, Nick and George are unaware of the danger lurking inside the house.

In this episode another terrifying encounter forces Nick to start believing there may be more to his sister’s disappearance than he could have ever possibly imagined.

Horror movies channel picked up by TW

Fearnet, the horror-movies-on-demand joint venture of Sony Pictures TV, Lionsgate and Comcast, has engineered a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable, marking its biggest transaction since the service opened for business 18 months ago.

“Hostel,” “Halloween II,” “When a Stranger Calls,” “Cujo” and “Rosemary’s Baby” are some of the service’s current titles, which Fearnet offers for free (with limited commercial interruptions) both in the on-demand platform and on the Fearnet.com website.

The Time Warner deal adds 8.4 million digital subscribers to the Fearnet roster, swelling its total to 29 million.

Fearnet’s growth in viewership has spurred it to commission Ghost House Pictures (one of whose partners is Sam Raimi) to produce original scripted miniseries, including “Devil’s Trade” and two sequels to the film “30 Days of Night”: “Blood Trails” and “Dust to Dust.” Sony also produced an original for Fearnet called “Buried Alive.”

In any given month, said Diane Robina, president of Fearnet, the service has 40 movies in the mix. Cable operators pay a monthly license fee to Fearnet and use the service as a lure to get more subscribers to buy digital boxes. Time Warner will slot Fearnet in two platforms: in its Cutting Edge on-demand channel (with other networks including Adult Swim, Anime and G4) and in its free-movies-on-demand channel.

Time Warner, Comcast, Cox and Insight are among the cable operators buying Fearnet, eager to try any means to get digital boxes into homes. These boxes are portals for new revenue generators such as high-speed Internet access, telephone service and high-definition VOD.

Advertisers who buy time on Fearnet include Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, Sega, Unilever, Boost Mobile, the U.S. Navy and Hasbro.

Source: Variety

Ted Raimi (Spider-Man 3), the actor brother of Legend of the Seeker executive producer Sam Raimi, will guest-star in an upcoming episode of the syndicated fantasy series.

Ted Raimi will appear in the series’ fourth installment, “Bounty,” as Sebastian, a mapmaker skilled in the lost art of cartogromancy, the making of enchanted maps.

Executive producers also announced that David de Lautour will have a recurring role on the series, joining previously announced leads Craig Horner, Bridget Regan and Bruce Spence. Other recurring actors include Jay Laga’aia and Craig Parker.

De Lautour portrays Michael Cypher, brother of Horner’s Richard.

Legend of the Seeker follows the travels of woodsman Richard Cypher, who must stop a ruthless tyrant from unleashing an ancient evil and enslaving the world. The series will kick off with a two-hour premiere on Nov. 1.

Source: SciFiWire

In this episode Nick and George face the vampire head-on in this final showdown, only to realize it may be too late for Sara.

The booming horror genre on DVD is getting a boost with the launch of Ghost House Underground, a new film acquisitions company that will extend the Ghost House brand to home entertainment.

The venture will release 12-20 films a year, mostly through Lionsgate, fiesty mini-major that has established itself as a force in me horror field through its “Saw” franchise and “After Dark” DVD series.

Ghost House Underground teams Ghost House Pictures – a  horror genre company led by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapen and Mandate Pictures president Nathan Kahane with Grindstone, a major distributor of direct-to-video films.

The brand officially launches in October, with a focus on films by cutting-edge young talent. Among the initial slate of eight fums will be “Dark Floors,” from Eurovision Award-winning rock group Lordi. Helmed by Pete Riski, the film – about a father and daughter trapped inside a hospital and fighting evil forces from a dark world – had its international premiere in February at the European Film Market in Berlin.

“We believe the next great horror film is going to come from fresh, bold voices working outside the system,” Tapert said. “We aim to find these films and share them with genre fans everywhere.”

Also in the pipeline for the fall are director Martin Barnewitz’s “Room 205,” director Ole Bornedal’s “The Substitute,” director Igor Shavlak’s “Trackman,” writer-director Gabriele Albanesi’s “Last House in the Woods” and writer-directors Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer’s “Brotherhood of Blood.”

Ghost House Pictures is behind the box offlce hit “The Grudge,” which grossed more than $110 million in 2004, as well as the more moderate theatrical successes “30 Days of Night,” “The Grudge 2,” “The Messengers” and “Boogeyman.”

Through the home entertainment medium, Ghost House Underground “will give life to terrifying films that the fans would otherwise never have an opportunity to see,” Raimi said.

Ron Schwartz, executive vp and GM of Lionsgate’s home entertainment division, praised Ghost House for its “phenomenal track record of success at the boxoffice” and said he looks forward to working with the company to “extend their brand into the home entertainment market.”

He said Grindstone “has been an important partner of Lionsgate for a number of years.”

Ghost House Underground will support its releases online at GhostHousePictures.com, providing fans with exclusive interaction with the filmmakers and cast, video blogs and webisodes.

Source: Hollywood Reporter