There’s been a lot happening today, so I’d like to start a news dump on a reverent note:
The Alien franchise may be my favorite film series of all time. Alien is always fighting with Jaws for the top spot in my favorite films of all time. I love monsters, and the work of H.R. Giger was instrumental in the development of my obsession with monsters.
I finally managed to watch Jodorowsky’s Dune over the weekend, and my first impression of the interviews with Giger was that he didn’t look or sound well. Little did I realize I’d wake up today and find out he had passed away on Monday due to injuries he sustained in a fall. He was 74.
The next story on today’s news dump comes from the mouth of X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner: Channing Tatum has been cast as Gambit in an as-yet-unnanounced X-Men film. Truthfully, I don’t have much of an opinion on this one, because Gambit’s never been a particular favorite character of mine. I like Tatum, and I know he’s great in the right roles, but those roles tend to be the “meathead with a heart of gold” type. I hate to meet this news with a shrug, but we’ll just have to wait to see how this pans out.
Next up we’ve got a release date for the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We’ll be seeing this one in cinemas on November 18, 2016. The Potter films saw summer and fall releases, so Fantastic Beasts should be right at home in November. I’m a huge Potter fan, and I’d be lying if told you this wasn’t one of my most anticipated films of 2016. Warner Bros. hasn’t yet announced a director, but series author J.K. Rowling is the one writing the script, which gives me a great deal of confidence that this spin-off will go in the right direction.
Finishing up today’s news dump is this little tease of V/H/S Viral, which was recently announced by Bloody Disgusting. The third installment in their found footage anthology series features shorts by Todd Lincoln, Nacho Vigalondo (yes!), Marcel Sarmiento, Gregg Bishop, and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead.