Creature Commandoes Go To War

As James Gunn's DC Universe begins to take shape, we are learning about each piece along with visuals and ruminations, giving us a feel for what to expect. Gunn is no stranger to oddball supergroups, so a crew like Creature Commandoes must have been a no brainer. The supernatural strike force should be doubley enticing for a creative who has visited horrific film worlds on more than one occasion. I'll mention SLITHER and DAWN OF THE DEAD as two of my favorites! At a New York Comic Con panel, Gunn remarked "It was written when I started as the CEO of DC Studios. I had talked to Max about creating something after Peacemaker did so well. I talked to Peter Girardi about creating an animated series. I like the Creature Commandos. I love monsters. I love Frankenstein, the story of Bride of Frankenstein. It seemed like the perfect thing to do.” 

James Gunn Addresses Internet Hate

Folks, let's be real for a minute. When Man of Steel came out, people were annoyed that the film didn't capture the more sunny tone of classic Superman comic stories. They kicked off the series with Superman murdering his on screen nemesis and it was A LOT to take in. Then came Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film with enough melodrama to match its bloated name, and a soundtrack that blared and screeched and literally screamed until my head was splitting. Batman unmercifully mowed down piles of thugs alongside a nonstop parade of DC's finest comic moments chopped up and smooshed into one film as if its creators were screaming IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT YOU NERDY BASTARDS??!! No... no...... absolutely not. It's not what we wanted. GRIM DARK, the fans chanted, and the "Martha" memes were neverending. In stark contrast, the one-paragraph-long plot of Wonder Woman was an absolute ray of sunshine and Gal Gadot's portrayal made fans (mostly) forget they'd been screaming for a more physically Amazonian actress. 

James Gunn Returns to Horror

Have you ever seen Slither? No? Ok stop what you are doing right now. If you must, leave work. Head to a store that sells movies and announce loudly that you need a copy of Slither or you may well die. It's just that serious. You begin your new life after your screening has ended.

There was much rejoicing when one of our favorite horror film directors took on the Guardians of the Galaxy, and further rejoicing as he continues his strong of amazing success, and still, it is bittersweet as all of Horror misses his hysterical take on dark times. Last year, Gunn blessed us with the Belko Experiment. Now, it seems, we get our fondest holiday wishes...

A NEW Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

Forget Captain America: Winter Soldier (even though it was fraking awesome.) Forget Avengers 2...wait..no...can't forget Avengers 2...but it IS a long long time from now, and more within reach are the adventures of THE AHOLES OF THE UNIVERSE!! Not since Serenity have we been able to cheer on the not so bad bad guys on the big screen..so you can imagine my excitement for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy! Hit the jump for the new trailer...

Director James Gunn Expands on Guardians of the Galaxy Details

Disney dished out their 2014 film slate yesterday and buried among their images and info was a brand new picture of the now infamous lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy heroes. We last saw a version of this police station style character rundown in concept art form and even now that we've seen the actual actors in place, Director James Gunn says we aren't getting the "complete" picture. Suffice to say, SPOILERS ahead...

"Okay, so I suppose Disney released this still from Guardians of the Galaxy. It was featured in the San Diego Comicon trailer, and is an early (truthfully, quite unfinished - we've come a long way from here) look at Rocket and Groot, Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax. The press release reads like this:"

Vin Diesel is Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy

Did we report on this months ago? Yup. Was it official then? Nope...and today, we've got an awesome image with our professional geek/action star alongside his tree-alien alter ego.

Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn remarked on Facebook "Vin Diesel is a super awesome dude. I can't tell you how much I like this guy."
"I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I'm kidding but I'm not!)"

2013 Marvel Movies Taking Shape

Raise your hand if you are still crazy happy we got an Avengers movie this year that blew minds!! Disney/ Marvel plans to keep that momentum going into "Phase 2" in 2013 and has solidified that lineup with some minor detail changes...

IRON MAN 3 will now be available in 3D – previously announced 5/3/13 wide playdate is unchanged (Marvel)

THOR: THE DARK WORLD is final title of previous “Thor 2” and will now be available in 3D – previously announced 11/8/13 wide playdate is unchanged (Marvel)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER is final title of previous “Captain America 2” – previously announced 4/4/14 wide playdate is unchanged (Marvel)

James Gunn Officially Directing Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn. He most recently brought you the psychotic Lollipop Chainsaw video game in which a cheerleader uniform clad vixen takes on a horde of the undead with a chainsaw. The same man brought you "Super", in which Rainn Wilson (from The Office) suits up as The Crimson Bolt and dispenses justice with an extra large, extra heavy wrench. The very same James Gunn  brought you the horror film "Slither" in which a redneck-ish business man is infected with an alien entity, causing him to grow tentacles, assimilate the town's populace and impregnate man and woman alike with his mind controlling, slug-like worm-babies. Amazing.

TROMADANCE Hits Asbury Park, NJ May 4-5

Greetings From Tromaville! We are pleased to announce the first tranche of films officially selected for the 13th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, the only truly independent film festival that is completely FREE! This year the festival received a record number of entries from independent filmmakers all over the world, and thirty-six short films have been selected to screen, with feature films still to be announced. The complete list of selected shorts can be found at http://tromadance.com/makeyourown.php.

TromaDance will be held at Asbury Lanes in historic Asbury Park, New Jersey on May 4th and 5th. All TromaDance screenings are free and with the festival’s “No VIP Policy”, celebrities and fans are treated equally. Unlike mainstream, elitist festivals like Cannes and Sundance, TromaDance does not charge film makers anything to submit their films.

In addition to the highly diverse films, ranging in genre from comedy to experimental, the festival will also host a discussion panel of independent film legends, who will share their wisdom and secrets to success with the audience. Current guests include James Gunn & Ti West!

As is the tradition, part of the TromaDance 2012 budget is funded by fans. This year the festival is being partially crowd-funded through Kickstarter, and the campaign has raised over $5000. Backers received a variety of exclusive rewards, including signed collectible posters, DVDs, original Toxic Crusaders animation cells and even lunch with Lloyd Kaufman!


Visit www.tromadance.com for information about TromaDance 2012.

Meet Lollipop Chainsaw

She's a cheerleader (sounds familiar..), she slays monsters (hey, wait a minute..), she wisecracks as she does it (oh, come on now..) AND her primary weapon is a chainsaw!! AH! OK then. Comparison to a certain vampire dispatching teen, thwarted.

Bursting with sex, blood and rock n roll, Lollipop Chainsaw is the "un-deadly" story of a sweet and killer zombie hunter and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realizes the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw wielding cheerleader.

James Gunn (Slither/ Dawn of the Dead/ Super) was heavily involved in this project, helping to create the characters and flesh out the language of the game. The end result reveals Gunn's signature comedy-stylings up against a backdrop dripping with dismembered body parts. Gunn remarks "Lollipop Chainsaw is the story of young, beautiful zombie-killer Juliet Starling, her sidekick disembodied-head boyfriend, and the entire Starling family of zombie killers as they team up to stop a colossal zombie outbreak. Leading the zombies are a group of zombie rock and roll lords who do battle with Juliet. The game is complete madness, and I love it. Lollipop Chainsaw will be here in the U.S. on XBox and PS3 within the next year." Gunn also teased "Many of the the folks who you see regularly in my films and other projects also have roles to play in Lollipop Chainsaw." If Michael Rooker and Nathan Fillion are on board, you can expect the geek world at large to be following this project closely!



Lollipop Chainsaw is being developed by Goichi Suda AKA Suda51, Grasshopper and Warner Brothers for a 2012 release.

Get BLOODY JUSTICE With Super

There's a fine line between a movie like Batman where the Dark Knight pummels everything in sight, and Kick-Ass where a little girl takes out the bad guys with ninja like skill and CGI arterial spray. Then there's James Gunn's SUPER, which runs awkwardly into the room past both films and bludgeons you with a staple gun for jaywalking. Take a look, but be warned...this ain't X-Men United...




Frank (Rainn Wilson) is an average guy who transforms himself into superhero The Crimson Bolt after his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) hooks up with a smooth-talking drug dealer, Jacques (Kevin Bacon). What Frank lacks in superpowers, he makes up for with a trusty wrench in his one-man war on crime. But every superhero needs a sidekick. Enter Libby (Ellen Page), a cute psychopath working at the local comic book store. Transforming into “Boltie”, Libby teams up with Frank to take Jacques down. From the surprising imagination of writer-director James Gunn (Slither) comes Bolt and Boltie, a crazed crime fighting duo for the XBox generation. They’re here to save the day, or at least to beat you up.