Tag: Richard Donner
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I ALMOST Cast Donald Trump In Tales From The Crypt
Casting a movie or TV show is make or break. We all know what happens when an actor inhabits a role completely. Also we know what happens when an actor and a role conflict with each other. Example: casting Donald Trump as President Of The United States. Curious as a stunt, utterly pointless otherwise. In…
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Shameless Pitch-O-Rama: Have You Checked Out The “How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast”? You Should!
If you’ve made this blog part of your ongoing online experience, you know that from time to time I like to tell a few show biz stories. Before losing nearly two decades to writer’s block and depression (the good news – I bounced!), I wrote and produced some pretty iconic TV shows including HBO’s “Tales…
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We Still Live In What Carl Sagan Called “The Demon Haunted World”
Occasionally, I write horror movies for a living. I don’t see the Bible as a book of religious inspiration, I see it as a launching pad for horror movies. In my career, I’ve worked with both Billy Friedkin (director of “The Exorcist”) and Richard Donner (director of “The Omen”); those are two of the biggest…
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If You Haven’t Sampled The Faitheism Project Podcast, This Is A Good One To Sample
Our sister site — The Faitheism Project Podcast — just dropped its latest podcast and (okay, I’m biased), I really recommend it. In “The Faitheism Project Podcast”, a devout atheist (me) and a Presbyterian Pastor (my friend Randy Lovejoy) sit down to discuss spirituality — as opposed to religion. They are, in fact, two very…
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Director Dick Donner Just Died; He Was A Lovely, Lovely Man And A Real Pleasure To Work For
Back in the 1990’s, my partner at the time (Gil Adler) and I were hired to take over HBO’s horror anthology “Tales From The Crypt“. That third season was supposed to be the show’s last but Gil and I managed to turn the ship around. We reinvigorated the show but — more importantly — we…
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Of Movie Monsters & “Franken-Christians”
In my time, I’ve written a few horror movies. I’ve written or produced (or written AND produced) franchises like Freddy Krueger, Children Of The Corn, Tales From The Crypt… I’ve helped create really good monsters and some really crap monsters. After all, in a horror movie, the whole point IS the monster. Good monsters endure,…
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Beware The “Franken-Christian”
In my time, I’ve written a few horror movies. I’ve written or produced (or written AND produced) franchises like Freddy Krueger, Children Of The Corn, Tales From The Crypt… I’ve helped create really good monsters and some really crap monsters. After all, in a horror movie, the whole point IS the monster. Good monsters endure,…
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Beware The “Franken-Christian”
In my time, I’ve written a few horror movies. The whole point of a horror movie, of course, is the monster. Good monsters endure, bad ones get forgotten instantly. I’ve written for a few “good” monsters — Freddy Krueger, for instance (I co-wrote a bunch of episodes of the “Freddy’s Nightmares” syndicated TV series back…