News

Exclusive: San Andreas actress Alexandria Daddario will join Jenna Ushkowitz (Glee) and Laura Ashley Samuels (Modern Family) in the Penelope Lawson-directed indie 1 Night in San Diego.

The comedy is about BFFs who embark on a road trip to pursue a romantic connection, but their travels put their friendship to the ultimate test.

The project is produced by Pink Revolver Pictures, Metropolitan Entertainment, Pierce Cravens, Rowan Russell and Lawson. Pic reps Lawson’s feature directorial debut. Nic diPierro is co-producing. Cameras are currently rolling and will continue through the end of the month.

The cast also features Eric Nelsen (The Bay), Adam Rose (Veronica Mars), Mark Lawson (One Life to Live) and Kelsey Douglas.

Daddario next appears in Lost Girls and Love Hotels, and Katherine O’Brien’s Lost Transmissions with Simon Pegg and Juno Temple, and she’s executive producing and starring in the romantic comedy Can You Keep a Secret?...

1968: Dark Shadows' Josette jumped off Widows' Hill.

1984: Days of our Lives' Roman convinced Abe he was innocent.

1989: Another World featured the single women of Bay City.

1996: All My Children's Laurel was shot and killed."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1968: On Dark Shadows, Angelique (Lara Parker) tried to fool Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) using Josette's voice to go to Widows' Hill. Barnabas guessed what her plan was and left to save Josette. Josette climbed to Widows' Hill where Angelique showed her a...

1960: Coronation Street premiered. 1981: Gh's Bobbie

admitted to Noah that she was once a prostitute. 2005: Y&R's

Michael and Lauren were married. 2008: B&B's Steffy

grieved over her dead twin sister."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1949: On The Guiding Light, Bert Miller (Ann Shepherd) married Bill Bauer (Lyle Sudrow).

1957: On The Edge of Night, Peter Dalton (Stephen Elliot) blasted Da Bruce Thompson (Brett Morrison) during his television speech for having an affair with Ruth Sherman. He also used what Ed (Les Damon) had...

The four network daytime dramas will not be boycotting next year’s Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony as they’d threatened to in July. In an unprecedented show of unity, after being dissatisfied with the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ response to screw-ups during this year’s awards show, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless banded together this summer to present a list of complaints and demands for changes that prompted NATAS to commission an investigation by an outside counsel. The report from that review was put out November 8.

“The four daytime dramas are in receipt of NATAS’ internal investigation report and recommendations moving forward,” a spokesperson of the four series said in a statement to Deadline. “As a group, we are not in agreement with all of the conclusions that NATAS reached. However, in the spirit of working...

An investigation into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ handling of the Daytime Emmy Awards has found a competition that was rife with irregularities and the potential for favoritism in the nominations and final judging process.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences commissioned a probe by the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth to review its procedures and practices after challenges were made to two of this year’s Daytime Emmy winners on eligibility grounds.

The 20-page report paints a picture of an overworked NATAS staff that became “sloppy” in the application of its own rules for the Daytime Emmy competition. The explosion in programming as spurred a nearly 30% rise during the past few years in the number of submissions for the annual daytime TV competition. NATAS staff has struggled to keep up with the volume at a time when the academy is producing more...

ITV Studios recorded a 10% year-on-year increase in revenues over the first nine months of 2018, driving up overall company revenues by 6% to £2.3 billion ($3 billion), the company said Wednesday.

CEO Carolyn McCall described the results as in line with expectations and highlighted the performance of ITV Studios, which posted sales of £1.1 billion ($1.45 billion) in the year to end-September. McCall said organic revenue growth at the content and distribution arm of Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster is expected to be about 3% over the full year.

“We continue to have a strong pipeline of programs which will be delivered in 2019 and beyond, with entertainment shows in new territories, including ‘Love Island U.S.’ and ‘Sunday Night Takeaway’ in Australia, new dramas including ‘World on Fire,’ ‘Noughts and Crosses,’ ‘Wild Bill,’ ‘The Bay’ and ‘Zero Zero Zero,’ and returning dramas ‘Gomorrah’ and ‘Line of Duty,’” McCall said.

She also noted that ad revenues were up 2% and online advertising 43%.

McCall,...

ITV Studios, producer of reality series Love Island and terror drama Bodyguard, continues to perform well for the British commercial broadcaster with revenues up 10% over the first nine months of the year.

The results, which are part of ITV’s Q3 trading statement and run to the end of September 2018, helped total external revenue grow 6%.

It also noted that online viewing on its digital service ITV Hub was up 37% and ITV CEO Carolyn McCall revealed that it would make an update on its Svod plans in February.

McCall also pointed to forthcoming dramas such as Cheat, Cleaning Up, Manhunt and The Widow as well as World on Fire, Noughts and Crosses, Wild Bill, The Bay and Zero Zero Zero and CBS’ remake of Love Island.

Total external revenue was up 6% from £2.14B to £2.23B, while Itvs revenue was up 10% from £1B to £1.1B. Total advertising was up 2% with 43% growth in online advertising,...

Sean Patrick Flanery and Vivica A. Fox have joined Amazon Prime soap The Bay as special guest stars in the show's upcoming season.

Flanery will play Ty, the young brother of Sara Garrett (Mary Beth Evans), who's been left out of the family fortune. A man with no filter, expect Ty to voice his opinion on this and other issues he faces this season.

Flanery is best known for his motion picture roles in classics such as The Boondocks Saints and Powder. He also played recurring roles in the hit primetime series Dexter and The Dead Zone, in addition to a slew of other primetime episodic guest appearances. Daytime fans may remember Flanery for his role as Sam Gibson on CBS's The Young and the Restless.

"I've heard so many wonderful things about Sean that when he was brought to me to play the part of Ty Garrett on the show,...

McKenzie Westmore stirs up a little controversy on the upcoming season of The Bay. She will play Caroline Allen, a go-getter news reporter for K-bay News.

Westmore recently completed her stint as the host of the popular SyFy docu-series Face Off. Also a soap opera veteran, Westmore played Sheridan Crane on NBC's Passions and then moved over to ABC's All My Children in the role of Dr. Riley Sinclair.

"McKenzie and I have been friends for many years and have talked about her joining The Bay family for a while, but she had been busy working on her SyFy series,” said creator, writer, and director Gregori J. Martin. “When I learned she was available I knew the timing was right and I had to create this role for her this season. I'm excited to finally get to work with her."...

Eco-thrillers are a fun branch of horror. Movies like The Ruins and The Bay tackle real-world issues through a lens of terror and fear, putting a rather on-the-nose fictional face to a very non-fictional problem. Plus, we get to see nature kick ass against humanity, and sometimes that’s a very gratifying and satisfying thing to […]

The post Exclusive Strange Nature Clip Has Tons of Dead, Mutated Frogs appeared first on Dread Central.

Happy Monday "Bold And The Beautiful" fans. We've got a new casting update for your favorite soap opera. It turns out that the Bold And The Beautiful production team is bringing on a new male for major storyline that's currently forming right now! That storyline is the one that involves crooked Dollar Bill Spencer and Katie Logan. As most of you know, these two are about to get involved in what appears to be a very intense custody battle for young Will Spencer. They are, of course, going to need a judge for this. So, that's where this new male castmember will come in to play. According to new report from the folks over at Entertainment Weekly, the Bold And The Beautiful production team has decided to cast veteran actor Joe Lando to come on and play a recurring judge character named judge Craig McMullen. You guys can view photos...

Will the Daytime Emmys go on?

The four remaining broadcast soaps – “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of Our Lives,” “General Hospital,” and “The Young and the Restless” – have joined forces by sending a letter to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, expressing their lack of confidence in NATAS’ current administration.

The four soaps are so serious about their concerns that they are threatening to not participate in future Daytime Emmy Awards unless these issues are addressed.

Multiple sources tell Variety that there’s been disillusionment for some time between the broadcast soaps and NATAS.

The catalyst for this joint letter — which was sent to NATAS chair Terry O’Reilly and interim president and CEO Adam Sharp— was the organization’s recent decision to revoke a Daytime Emmy awarded to actress Patrika Darbo (“The Bay”) in the outstanding guest performer in a digital daytime drama series category. Variety broke...

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has responded to the threat by all four daytime dramas to boycott the Daytime Emmy Awards unless changes are made in a joint letter they sent to the organization’s leadership yesterday.

“Today I received correspondence raising concerns about some elements of the 2018 Daytime Emmy Awards and concerns over its administration,” Terry O’Reilly Chairman, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, said in a statement. “We have great confidence in the integrity of our Emmy awards system, and believe it effectively honors the best work being done in Daytime Television today. That having been said, we always take concerns about our systems seriously…and out of an abundance of caution I have instructed that outside counsel be retained to evaluate these concerns and conduct an independent look at them.”

O’Reilly’s statement was in response to Deadline’s report Monday that all four daytime dramas,...

All four daytime soap operas - The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless -

have joined together to demand changes in the voting and accounting practices for the Daytime Emmy Awards and the way the competition is held, according to Deadline.

The joint letter, sent today to National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences chair Terry O'Reilly and interim president and CEO Adam Sharp, is in response to the recent gaffe, in which Patrika Darbo's 2018 Daytime Emmy for her guest-starring role on Amazon soap opera The Bay was rescinded after NATAS found submission errors in her and other categories. Last month, Darbos called out the group for its actions and called for an outside audit “to restore integrity and confidence in” the awards.

“We are disheartened by the recent events involving NATAS and the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards competition...

Exclusive: The Daytime Emmy Awards are in danger of losing one of their biggest attractions, the daytime dramas, whose acting nominees bring star power to the ceremony. In an unprecedented show of unity, I have learned that all four daytime soaps, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, have come together to demand changes in the voting and accounting practices for the awards and the way the competition is held.

The joint letter, sent today to National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences chair. Terry O’Reilly and interim president and CEO Adam Sharp, is in response to the recent gaffe, in which Patrika Darbo’s 2018 Daytime Emmy for her guest-starring role on Amazon’s soap opera The Bay was rescinded after NATAS found submission errors in her and other categories. Last month, Darbos called out the group for its actions...

The drama behind the scenes of the Daytime Emmys is getting as juicy as the soaps they honor.

At least three top daytime veterans on Monday called for a boycott of the event after the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ recent decision to revoke the awards of two actresses over submissions errors, while allowing a male actor who committed a similar infraction to keep his.

Emmy-nominated producer Michael Caruso, Emmy-winning director and producer Sonia Blangiardo and Emmy-winning actress and producer Crystal Chappell told TheWrap that they “are not willing to participate in future Emmy competitions” until NATAS agrees to an outside audit of all submission reels in the digital series category and clears up the underlying issues about submissions.

“That is an insult to our creative teams and we are no longer willing to look the other way,” they said in a joint statement.

Also Read: 'All My Children...

“All My Children” alum Jennifer Bassey has accused the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences of “gender bias” after her Daytime Emmy award was revoked over a rule violation.

When the awards were first handed out back in April, Patrika Darbo was awarded the statue for guest actress in a digital series, but it was subsequently determined that she was ineligible because she had previously appeared on the program, and because her submission reel featured clips from more than one episode, a violation of NATAS rules.

Bassey, who received the second-most votes in the category, was then notified that she would receive the award instead. However, it was later discovered that Bassey’s reel also featured clips from more than one episode, and her award was revoked as well. NATAS announced on June 1 that no Emmy would be awarded in the category.

Also Read: Daytime Emmy Awards 2018: The Complete Winners List

Now,...

Patrika Darbo, who had her Daytime Emmy recently revoked by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has broken her silence on losing her award.

Darbo earned a statue for her role as Mickey Walker on “The Bay” in the guest performer in a digital daytime drama series category at the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards held in April. Producers of “The Bay” had submitted her in that category, but that submission contained two violations, according to NATAS. In addition to having previously appeared on the show, her reel contained material from more than one episode, when rules state it should be from a single episode. After the submission error came to light, NATAS revoked her Emmy, and decided not to award it to another performer.

In a statement released Monday, Darbo said although she is disappointed to have her honor taken away, her focus is on the larger picture,...

Patrika Darbo, whose Daytime Emmy for her guest-starring role on Amazon’s soap opera The Bay was rescinded after organizer the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences found submission errors in her and other categories, has called out the group for its actions and wants an outside audit “to restore integrity and confidence in” the awards.

NATAS said after the Daytime Emmys were handed out in April that it discovered “some entrants’ submissions in two categories may have been in violation of the published guidelines for the competition,” which state that prior-season appearances are disqualifying.

But Darbo says in an open letter today that NATAS knew about the submission errors “two days prior to the ceremony and made a conscious decision not to deal with it until after the ceremony was over.” She says the organization’s “arbitrary and after-the-fact ruling feels inequitable and wrong.” (Read the letter in full below.

Primetime Emmy winner Patrika Darbo called out the integrity of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) in a statement released Monday, ten days after it was revealed the Daytime Emmy award she received in

April was being taken back. She also revealed a second winner also had violations but was allowed to keep his anyway. She also called for an outside audit of the submission and voting process after questioning the "inequity in this year's Daytime Emmys based on ageism, gender inequality, and perceived favoritism". Read her very revealing statement below.

***

Statement By Actress Patrika Darbo Regarding Having Her Daytime Emmy Rescinded By NATAS

As disappointed as I am about having my Daytime Emmy taken back by NATAS, as a Co-Governor of the Performers Peer Group at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, overseeing the Primetime Emmys, I am more concerned about how this incident tarnishes the Emmy brand.

Christopher Sean has to decided to leave NBC soap opera Days of our Lives and the role of Paul Narita. Sean taped his final episode on May 25 but will continue airing until fall due to the show's advanced taping schedule.

Sean joined Days as Paul in November 2014. His credits include Hawaii Five-0, The Bay and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

The actor already has a new gig lined up: He announced in April that he had been cast in the new animated Disney series, Star Wars Resistance.

At the 2018 Daytime Emmy Awards, the award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Digital Daytime Drama Series was given to Patrika D'Arbo for her work as Mickey Walker on The Bay, however, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has decided to revoke her award. However, despite reports published elsewhere — and quotes from the actress herself — the reason for the award being taken back was not due to the number of episodes submitted but because she had previously appeared on the digital soap opera. "Following the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, California," NATAS said in a statement. "NATAS received a credible report that some entrants' submissions in two categories may have been in violation of the published guidelines for the competition. NATAS immediately commissioned a thorough internal investigation and determined that Patrika and Thomas Calabro, both of Amazon's The Bay, should have been deemed ineligible for consideration in...

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has rescinded the Daytime Emmy Award it gave last month to Patrika Darbo for her guest-starring role on the Amazon soap opera The Bay. The organization said today a submission error regarding her and her The Bay castmate Thomas Calabro in the category of Guest Performer in a Digital Daytime Drama Series had been discovered, and that both were determined to be ineligible because they had appeared in a prior season of the series.

NATAS said today it “received a credible report” after the Daytime Emmys were awarded April 27 and April 29 “that some entrants’ submissions in two categories may have been in violation of the published guidelines for the competition.” After an investigation, it rescinded Darbo’s honor and the nominations of both her and Colabro’s, saying it will not re-award the trophy.

Other nominees in the Guest Performer category included Jennifer Bassey of Anacostia,...

Primetime Emmy winner Patrika Darbo won her first Daytime Emmy Award last month in the Digital Drama Guest Performer category for her work on The Bay. Today, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced they had taken the Emmy away and would not be awarding it to anyone else in the category.

Below is a statement from NATAS:

“The core mission of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is to honor excellence in television. Serving that mission has involved making every effort to preserve the integrity and distinction of the Emmy® Award through more than 60 years of technological and industry change.

“Following the 45th Daytime Emmy® Awards in Pasadena, California, on April 27th and 29th, NATAS received a credible report that some entrants’ submissions in two categories may have been in violation of the published guidelines for the competition. NATAS immediately commissioned a thorough internal investigation,...

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has decided to revoke Patrika Darbo’s Daytime Emmy after an investigation revealed a submission error, Variety has learned exclusively. The Academy has decided not to award the statue to another performer.

Darbo earned a statue for her role as Mickey Walker on “The Bay” in the guest performer in a digital daytime drama series category at the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards held in April. Producers of “The Bay” had submitted her in that category, but that submission contained two violations, according to NATAS. In addition to having previously appeared on the show, her reel contained material from more than one episode, and the rulebook specifically states it should only include a single show.

Darbo exclusively tells Variety she first learned about this revocation from “The Bay” executive producer Gregori Martin, who said the situation was being looked into, and then...

“The Bold and the Beautiful” is the only half-hour broadcast soap opera among hour-long serials, and it was at a disadvantage in the total nominations when the 2018 Daytime Emmy bids were announced (it had 18). But the CBS drama proved mighty at the Creative Arts Awards, which were handed out on Friday night, April 27, in advance of the main event on Sunday, April 29. Click here for the full list of winners.

“B&B” won seven awards, more than the other three soap operas combined. It was awarded Best Lighting Direction, Best Technical Team, Best Sound Mixing, Best Music Direction/Composition, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Best Stunt Coordination. “General Hospital” won three times. “The Young and the Restless” came away with two prizes. “Days of Our Lives” was shockingly shut out of the Creative Arts Awards. Is this a good sign for “B&B” in the Best Drama Series race?...

The 2018 Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out on Sunday night, April 29, at a ceremony hosted by Emmy champs Sheryl Underwood (“The Talk”) and Mario Lopez (“Extra”), but the lion’s share of prizes were handed out at the Creative Arts Awards on Friday night, April 27. That’s where the best achievements in animation, children’s programs, special class programs, and digital programs were presented. Scroll down for the complete list of Daytime Emmy winners.

See 2018 Daytime Emmys full list of winners: Every category, every nominee at the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards

Coming into these Emmys, “The Bold and the Beautiful” was the least nominated of the four broadcast soap operas with 18 bids, but it got the last laugh — at least at Creative Arts. The CBS serial took home seven prizes, more than any other drama and tied with “Sesame Street” as the most awarded program — period. “B&B” won for its lighting direction,...

Some of today's biggest daytime television stars are scheduled to present at the 45th Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Friday, April 27 and the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday, April 29 at the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium located in Pasadena, Southern California. The Sunday Daytime Emmy Awards will be streamed-live on Facebook Live, Twitter, the NATAS website (www.emmyonline.tv), and the KNEKTtv platform.

In addition to the previously announced hosts, Mario Lopez (Extra) and Sheryl Underwood (The Talk), the line-up of presenters for the Sunday, April 29 show include, Marie & David Osmond, Jane Pauley (CBS Sunday Morning), Loretta Swit and Jamie Farr, Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars), Peter Marshall, Larry King (Larry King Now), Chris Harrison (Who Wants to be a Millionaire/The Bachelor), Nancy O’Dell and Kevin Frazier (Et), Valerie Bertinelli (Valerie’s Home Cooking), Julie Chen, Eve, Sara Gilbert (The Talk), Adrienne Houghton, Tamera Mowry-Housley,...

The 2018 Daytime Emmys are being handed out this weekend at two ceremonies: the Creative Arts Awards on Friday, April 27, and then the main event on Sunday, April 29. The Sunday telecast will be hosted again by Emmy winners Mario Lopez (“Extra”) and Sheryl Underwood (“The Talk“). And now the television academy has announced the presenters for both events.

On Friday night the Creative Arts prizes will be handed out by David Arquette, David Osmond, animator Rodrigo Blaas, writer Marc Guggenheim and producer Chad Hammes (“Trollhunters”), Emily Calandrelli (“Xploration Outer Space”), Steve Spangler, Michael Stevens (“Mind Field”), Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants”), Vanessa Lachey, Curtis Stone, and Tiffany Derry (“Top Chef Jr.”), Michela Luci (“Dino Dana”), Raven-Symone (“Raven’s Home”), Danny Seo (“Naturally Danny Seo”), Josh Garcia (“The Voyager with Josh Garcia”), Alie Ward (“The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation”), Maureen Fan and Eric Darnell (“Baobab”).

Representing the world of soaps at the...

1967: Barnabas Collins first appeared on Dark Shadows.

1978: Ryan's Hope's Pat was furious with Delia.

1985: Guiding Light's Beth and Lujack made love.

2009: One Life to Live's Talia was murdered."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1942: The final episode of Frank and Anne Hummert's Orphans of Divorce aired on the Blue Network.

1967: On Dark Shadows, Jason confronted Willie (John Karlen) about his suspicious interest in the Collins family history.

The 2018 Daytime Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday, March 21, live on CBS’s talk show “The Talk,” and though “Days of Our Lives” led the acting pre-nominations with 20 it was “General Hospital” that led the full list of official nominations with 26 bids including Best Drama Series, which it won last year and has won more times (13) than any other series in Daytime Emmy history. The ABC soap has 11 nominations just for its actors. Check out the complete list of nominations here.

“Days of Our Lives” wasn’t far behind, though. It followed “Gh” with 25 total nominations. including 11 acting bids. That tied it with “The Young and the Restless,” which also earned 25 total nominations, including 10 for acting. “The Bold and the Beautiful” trailed with 18 bids, only 4 of which were in acting races. All four daytime soaps are nominated for Best Drama Series, so does “Gh’s” leading haul give it the...

Patrika Darbo will host the 9th Annual ISAs on April 4.

Photo Credit: Russell BaerThe Bold and the Beautiful star Patrika Darbo will host the 9th Annual Indie Series Awards ceremony on April 4 at The Colony Theatre in Burbank. CA.

At this year's ISAs, Darbo is nominated for her work in three separate web series: Indoor Boys, The Bay and Ladies of the Lake. In an Indie Series Awards first, she will compete against herself in the Best Guest Actress - Drama category.

The ISAs celebrate the best in independently produced entertainment created for the Web.

Ladies of the Lake leads all series with 18 total nominations, followed by 16 for The Bay. Those shows will compete in the Best Drama Series category with Anacostia, Giants, L.A. Macabre, Riley Parra, Running With Violet and Teenagers.

Filth City leads all comedies with 12 nominations. The series is joined in the Best Comedy Series field by 190 Lorimer,...

Stars: Nana Gouvea, Tom Sizemore, Eric Roberts, Vincent Pastore, Chuck Zito | Written by Jeremiah Kipp, Jerry Janda, Carlos Keyes | Directed by Jeremiah Kipp

The end credits bloopers and outtakes oat the end of Black Wake suggest that what we just watched was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Yeah, right. This shockingly bad body shocker – an eco-conspiracy zombie D-movie borrowing from Barry Levinson’s superior The Bay – is clearly meant as a serious piece of work. And it seriously sucks.

Dr Luiza Moreira (Brazilian actress Nana Gouvea, in her English-language debut) is part of a team investigating a series of strange deaths on the Atlantic coast. That strangeness is braindead people eating brains. It’s a bog-standard zombie flick lumbered with an unconvincing, overcomplicated conspiracy theory plot.

This means unrelentingly dull, straight-to-camera exposition, intercut with badly executed found footage of people going near water and having (fairly well-rendered) CG bugs leap into their mouths.

Exclusive: Trauma producer Tall Story Pictures has received a double commission from the UK’s ITV, including a second-season renewal of crime thriller Bancroft and an order for new thriller, The Bay. The latter is a six-part contemporary drama penned by award winning writer and playwright Daragh Carville (Being Human, The Smoke). ITV Studios Global Entertainment is handling international distribution on both series and is in discussions with a number of U.S. buyers on The…...

Dual roles are par for the course on daytime dramas; numerous actors have won Daytime Emmys for portraying twins, doppelgangers or multiple personalities. But Eileen Davidson took that one step further in 2017. She’s pre-nominated for playing multiple roles — and on multiple shows. She appeared on both “Days of Our Lives” and “The Young and the Restless,” so she could make history by earning two nominations in one year.

Davidson has been soap-hopping for decades. She first played Ashley Abbott on “Y&R” from 1982 to 1988. Then she played Kelly Capwell on “Santa Barbara” from 1991 to the show’s cancellation in 1993. She jumped ship to “Days” in 1993 and spent five years playing multiple outlandish roles, including the devious Kristen Blake and her lookalike Susan Banks. These were the roles that finally earned her her first career Emmy nomination, for Best Actress in 1998.

In 1999 she bounced back to “Y&R” and stayed...

June ended up being a particularly busy month of releases, and here’s a look at three different indie films that I had the opportunity to check out over the last several weeks:

Camera Obscura: For his feature film directorial debut, co-writer/director Aaron B. Koontz concocts his own “weird episode of Goosebumps” (to borrow a phrase from the film) in Camera Obscura, which feels like a mash-up of Shutter (the original, not the remake) and Final Destination, with a bit of a slasher twist thrown in for good measure. Koontz deftly maneuvers through familiar genre tropes to create an unexpected horror treat, anchored by a strong performance from Christopher Denham (Shutter Island, The Bay).

In Camera Obscura, we meet photographer Jack Zeller (Denham), who has been struggling with Ptsd after returning from shooting photos in the Middle East. His supportive fiancée, Claire (Nadja Bobyleva), decides to pick him...

On Friday, June 9th, Aaron B. Koontz’s Camera Obscura hits theaters before making its way onto VOD platforms everywhere just a few days later on the 13th. The psychological horror film stars Christopher Denham (Money Monster, The Bay), Nadja Bobyleva (Bridge of Spies), Noah Segan (Looper, Starry Eyes, Brick), and also features some other stellar supporting talent that should be familiar to genre fans, including Chase Williamson (John Dies at the End, Beyond the Gates), Andrew Sensenig (We Are Still Here), and Gretchen Lodge (Lovely Molly).

Daily Dead recently spoke to Segan about working on Camera Obscura with both Koontz and Denham, with whom he shares most of his scenes with. Segan also chatted about the privilege of being able to make movies with your friends, getting to be the “good guy,” and more.

Congrats on your impending fatherhood and getting married. Seems like you’ve got a lot...

Three-year production deal aims for one genre film a year.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi has struck a production deal with veteran producers Roy Lee and Steven Schneider on a slate of high-concept, modestly- budgeted English-language genre films.

The goal is for the projects to demonstrate broad international appeal and franchise potential and make at least one film a year that Image Nation will fully finance. The parties declined to reveal titles.

The deal reunites Schneider with Image Nation after their recent collaboration on Ali F. Mostafa’s dystopian thriller The Worthy, set to debut worldwide this month on Netflix after it became the streaming service’s first acquisition in the UAE.Schneider produced with Peter Safran and Rami Yasin.

Lee and Schneider helped launch genre franchises including The Ring, Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Grudge.

Besides The Worthy, Image Nation’s regional genre credits encompass Djinn, Majid Al Ansari’s debut feature Rattle The Cage (Zinzana).

Schneider...

Mark Harrison Mar 17, 2017

As Get Out arrives in UK cinemas off its hugely successful Us debut, we look at the growing hit factor that is Blumhouse...

This article contains spoilers for Split.

It feels as if the more expensive a film is, the fewer risks the studio will allow. There are perks to having a bigger budget, but often, a low budget either allows or forces filmmakers to be more creative. As tentpoles and franchise properties fill up the movie calendar, producer Jason Blum's company Blumhouse Productions has reintroduced a little risk into Hollywood with its tried-and-tested production model.

Blumhouse is primarily known for horror films, but they dabble in a number of different genres, producing independent films on budgets of no more than $10 million, and usually under $5m, and then distributing them through the studio system. They emerged with the massive success of the micro-budgeted Paranormal Activity series...

One week a month, Watch This offers staff recommendations inspired by a new movie coming out that week. This week: In honor of the new sequel to the modern classic The Blair Witch Project, we look back at some of our favorite found-footage horror films.

The Bay (2012)

The problem with most found-footage horror films is that they offer the laziest possible solution to an age-old B-picture problem: how to pull off an impressively scary movie on a pauper’s budget. It’s easier to disguise bad writing, amateur acting, and cheap special effects when most of the dialogue is improvised, and when shoddy camerawork and clumsy exposition are baked into the premise. That’s what makes 2012’s The Bay all the more impressive. Director Barry Levinson and screenwriter Michael Wallach take advantage of the found-footage format to deliver a lot of information in ways that feel fresh and ...

Here are the details on Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, coming to Blu-ray February 2!

Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed drama Bridge of Spies is coming to home video on February 2, 2016 in a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD combo pack that features a number of special features that explore the making of the film and the real-life historical events upon which the film is based.

Bridge of Spies tells the story of James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on a near impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.

Also starring in the film are Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Rudolf Abel, Amy Ryan (Birdman, Goosebumps) as Mary Donovan, Sebastian Koch (TV’s “Homeland,” The Danish Girl) as Wolfgang Vogel, Alan Alda as Thomas Watters (The Aviator,...

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World: Levinson’s Afghan Exploration Prizes Diversion

After a unique pit stop in found footage horror with 2012’s The Bay and an underrated Philip Roth adaptation in 2014 with The Humbling, Barry Levinson returns to his particular predilection for boundary pushing, politically topical subject matters in Rock the Kasbah. It’s a very loosely based version of the true account of Setara Hussainzada, a woman who sang on national television in Afghanistan’s version of “American Idol,” known as “Afghan Star,” even though it’s illegal for women to sing.

More along the lines of Levinson’s Man of the Year (2006) than Wag the Dog (1997), as scripted by Mitch Glazer (his first excursion since 2010’s appalling Passion Play), the title seems as woefully out-of-touch as it is unwarranted. Oddly unsympathetic, even as it depicts a subversive act of rebellion within a ruthlessly patriarchal and misogynistic culture,...

There is arguably nobody who knows and understands found-footage horror movies better than producer Jason Blum, who has been involved with more hits in the last few years than most in Hollywood manage in a lifetime. Blum doesn't exclusively make found-footage movies (he also produced Oscar winner Whiplash), but he's certainly fond of them considering he produced Paranormal Activity, The Bay, Creep, Mockingbird, Area 51, and Unfriended, just to name a few. Blum's latest movie...

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Everybody loves Bill Murray, but even his immense charm couldn't save the disastrous reception to Cameron Crowe's "Aloha" earlier this year. There isn't much buzz around "Rock The Kasbah" at the moment either, but maybe this new trailer will turn things around? Read More: Interview: Barry Levinson Talks Going The Horror Route With Eco-Thriller 'The Bay'  Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Scott Caan, Leem Lubany, Arian Moayed and Bruce Willis join Murray in Barry Levinson's latest film, apparently inspired by real events, about washed up music manager who discovers the next big thing in Kabul. Here's the official synopsis:  A has-been rock manager from Van Nuys, California stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime voice in a remote Afghan cave in Rock the Kasbah, a dramatic comedy inspired by stranger-than-fiction, real-life events and directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson. Richie Lanz (Bill Murray), dumped and stranded in war-torn Kabul by.

A version of this story first appeared in the TheWrap Magazine’s Emmy Comedy-Drama Issue. #selfieinterview produced in partnership with Verge. Kether Donohue, a fresh face and comic voice known for “Pitch Perfect” and “The Bay,” got a career boost when her FX show “You’re the Worst” got a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Comedy Series. TheWrap: What’s distinctive about “You’re the Worst?” Kether Donohue: It shows the darker sides of life that other romantic comedies do not. Stephen Falk, our creator and showrunner, is brilliant, and all of our writers push boundaries and aren...

Open Road has premiered the first trailer for Rock the Kasbah, a new comedy starring Billy Murray as a washed-up music producer who finds one last shot at redemption with a golden-voiced young girl in Afghanistan. Along with Murray the film co-stars Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride, Taylor Kinney and Scott Caan. Here's the official plot synopsis: Rock the Kasbah is the story of Richie Lanz, a rock manager with a golden ear and a taste for talent, who has seen better times. When he takes his last remaining client on a Uso tour of Afghanistan, she gets cold feet and leaves him penniless and without his passport in Kabul. While trying to find his way home, Richie befriends a band of misfits and discovers a young girl with an extraordinary voice. Against all odds, Richie will take his last shot at creating an unlikely superstar. The...

Oren Peli made a major mark on horror when his inspired found footage flick Paranormal Activity captured the hearts of genre fans worldwide in 2007. Over the last eight years the man has produced a number of chilling features including Chernobyl Diaries The Lords of Salem The Bay and Insidious Chapter 2 (not to mention all of the Paranormal Activity sequels) but hell make his long awaited return to the directors chair this year with another promising handycam feature Area 51.

You've definitely seen the set-up of Ghoul before but you've never seen it quite like this and what's better, you probably haven't seen it be this effective in years.

The last found footage movie that got us all excited around here was Barry Levinson's The Bay (review) and though Ghoul is a completely different beast, something about the trailer suggested that this would be better than the rest and indeed, it does not disappoint.

Co-written and directed by actor-turned-director Petr Jákl, Ghoul starts with the typical trope of kids with cameras going somewhere. In this case, we have a group of American documentary filmmakers who hea [Continued ...]...

This week, "Project Almanac" comes out in theaters nationwide. It's the tale of a group of teenagers who stumble upon a time machine and use it for their own personal gain. It harkens back to movies like "Back to the Future," with the potential hazards of messing with the space-time continuum revealed as the movie goes along. But the movie is filmed as though it is being recorded by one of the kids, in an aesthetic commonly referred to as "found footage." That's right, it's grainy and shaky and purposefully amateurish, and while the movie mostly works, it's still not enough to make you wish the movie was photographed and edited like an actual movie.

The found footage genre, exemplified by genre exercises like the "Paranormal Activity" series, has reached an impasse. Audiences are bored with it, and there's been barely any new spin on the aesthetic since 1999's groundbreaking "The Blair Witch Project.

Or The Unexpected Convenience of Sexism: Levinson’s Perplexing but Deviously Funny Stab at Roth

Decades passed between initial adaptations of novelist Philip Roth’s novels (1969’s Goodbye Columbus; 1972’s Portnoy’s Complaint) before filmmakers like Robert Benton and Isabel Coixet mounted their own renditions to varied reception in the past decade or so with The Human Stain (2003) and Elegy (2008), respectively. After a decently received found footage horror film with 2012’s The Bay, seasoned director Barry Levinson adapts The Humbling, which, like Roth’s novel itself, initially received some of the same unfavorable notices from Venice and Toronto Int. Film Fests. But Roth’s novels are exactly the kind of difficult narratives that used to make for a tradition of daring cinema that’s been eclipsed by safety and sanitization in an effort to decrease offense and increase mass satisfaction. That’s not to say that Levinson is entirely successful...