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Jeannot Szwarc's "Supergirl" (1984), Kenneth Johnson's "Steel" (1997), and Pitof's "Catwoman" (2004) are often cited as being among the worst superhero movies ever made, and are certainly the most reviled of the films to be based on DC Comics. Anyone who has seen all three movies might have trouble arguing against their bad reputation. Critics hated these films, as illustrated by their matching 8% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. "Supergirl's" 8% was based on 37 reviews, "Steel's" on 25, and "Catwoman's" on 196. 

Thanks to the last almost-20 solid years of superhero dominance at the box office, many pundits, fanboys, and journalists have looked back over the history of superhero movies often, seeking the genre's origins, noting its major turning points, and putting pins in its biggest hits and bombs. We live in a world wherein millions of people have seen Oley Sassone's 1994 version of "The Fantastic Four," and that film was never officially released to the public.

Should you need a Fantastic Four fix before the release of the latest reboot of the comic IP, you are in luck. No, we're not talking about the 2015 Josh Trank reboot, nor the 2005 one with Chris Evans. Scheduled for a US premiere on January 19, 1994, the pre-Disney The Fantastic Four was a collaborative effort between legendary filmmaker Roger Corman and Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee. Biding their time, Marvel was launching a suite of franchises just as their rivals DC had. Starring unknowns, packed with janky special effects, and directed by Oley Sassone, a music video director, this project was about as far from Marvel Phase Five as you can get. It's not streaming anywhere. And never will.

The obscure 1994 iteration of Marvel's Fantastic Four comic is remembered fondly by few. According to F4 creator Stan Lee, he and the cast and crew were duped, little more than pawns. After the wrap party,...

Sue Storm has got herself quite the Hollywood shuffle, that’s for sure. Many actresses have had a hand in bringing the iconic invisible woman to life in live action and in just a few months we will get to see Vanessa Kirby’s iteration of the character. After the release of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer, we simply cannot wait to see how she pulls off the role and what her chemistry with the Internet’s favorite green flag, Pedro Pascal, looks like.

Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) | Credits: Marvel Studios

Before Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm hits the screens though, it is only fair that we take a trip down memory lane and look at the three stunning actresses who have played the role in the past – Rebecca Staab (1994), Jessica Alba, and Kate Mara (2015). Here are the three actresses ranked.

"So, you're familiar with two sins. How about a third?" Okay, that particular "Community" quote is a bit of an ominous way to start an article, but it also felt less hacky than writing "Third time's the charm?" Indeed, Marvel is now in the process of bringing its first family back to the big screen with "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which marks the Four's third live-action iteration after Fox and director Tim Story's two "Fantastic Four" films and the studio's Josh Trank-helmed disaster "FANT4STIC" aka "Fantastic Four" 2015. The bar being as low as it is after the previous entries in the franchise, that puts just a tad less pressure on "First Steps" director Matt Shakman as the "WandaVision" veteran prepares to introduce Mister Fantastic and the rest of the gang to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Still, the film's eyebrow-raising subtitle aside, what does "First Steps" have to...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe will feature a brand-new team as the first family in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The cast will also include Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, who has given a cheeky response about his preparation for the role.

The McU's first family will consist of Quinn, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/ Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/ The Invisible Woman, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/ The Thing. The excitement for the new reboot is high, especially as it had been long in the making and the previous three attempts at adapting the comments weren't so successful. Set to premiere on July 25, 2025, Joseph Quinn told L'Officiel USA how he prepares for the role.

Related The Fantastic Four: First Steps Star Ebon Moss-Bachrach Sings the Praises of His Co-Stars

The Fantastic Four: First Steps star and Ben Grimm/The Thing actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach sings the praises of his co-stars.

Culp in costume as Doctor Doom Photo: Provided by Joseph Culp “It’s like a miracle… One million dollars cash to us if we star in a movie,” Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, says with a no-nonsense look on his stretchable rubber face.His three blue-costumed team members...

The Fantastic FourPhoto: Uncork’d Entertainment

“It’s like a miracle… One million dollars cash to us if we star in a movie,” Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, says with a no-nonsense look on his stretchable rubber face.

His three blue-costumed team members are enthusiastic upon hearing this news.

We have some sad news to share today because it's been confirmed that legendary B-movie filmmaker Roger Corman has passed away at 98. 

He produced and directed hundreds of low-budget movies and was responsible for discovering the likes of Jack Nicholson (Little Shop of Horrors), Martin Scorsese (Boxcar Bertha), Francis Ford Coppola (Dementia 13), and Robert De Niro (Boxcar Bertha). 

Beloved in Hollywood, Corman was praised for hiring women in key executive and creative roles at a time when that sadly wasn't the norm. 

Also of note is the fact that, after producing a movie called The Fast and the Furious in 1955, he made a deal with fellow producer Neal Moritz to exchange the name rights for stock footage, meaning Corman played a small, yet unlikely role, in launching the hit racing/action series in 2001.

Known as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult,...

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/Film recently ranked the five live-action Fantastic Four films and came to the following daring conclusion: Oley Sassone's unreleased 1994 entry "The Fantastic Four" was the best. Many have seen this version of "The Fantastic Four" thanks to the wide circulation of bootleg copies, and it's been ridiculed in many cinematic circles for its low budget (it was made for only $1 million), its corny dialogue, and its aggressively bad special effects. But while the cheapness of Sassone's film is visibly evident -- it was overseen by B-movie elder stateman Roger Corman -- it does manage to capture the comic-operatic tone of the original 1960s comic books. It accurately understands the outsize nature of the characters.

For many years, the only way to see "The Fantastic Four" was through surreptitiously distributed VHS taps handed off between nerdy high school students. Thanks...

Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four movie holds the promise of a new beginning after past fumbles with the franchise. The 1994 version, filmed in under a month, charmed fans with its low-budget but faithful portrayal of beloved characters. Despite never officially released by Marvel, the 1994 film has since gained a cult following online for its unique charm.

The upcoming The Fantastic Four MCU reboot may be generating hype, but Marvel's First Family was the star of another more maligned movie 30 years ago. Set for release on July 25, 2026, Fantastic Four is in its early stages of development as Marvel recently confirmed the cast in a Valentine's Day promotional image. The image also heavily hinted at a 1960s setting, which would set the movie earlier than the team's very first movie.

Despite 1994's The Fantastic Four being one of four Fantastic Four projects so far, the McU's version will mark the first time that...

Actor Joseph Culp is calling for the release of The Fantastic Four film from 1993.

After Marvel Studios recently announced the cast of its upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, The Fantastic Four. Joseph Culp, the actor who played Doctor Doom in the canceled 1994 film, is calling for the movie's release three decades later. Twitter user @GodzillaMendoza shared a revealing video detailing the behind-the-scenes story of the abandoned The Fantastic Four movie. Culp responded to the video by urging the 1994 film to finally see the light of day. He expressed gratitude to the creator of the video, praising it as a wonderful exposé on the first Fantastic Four. Culp believes that "the truth about the film" should be revealed on the 30th anniversary of the day the film was supposed to be released, May 31.

Related Pedro Pascal Is 'Beyond Excited' to Star in The Fantastic Four Pedro Pascal shared his excitement to be...

In the Marvel vs. DC debate, it's important to remember that the latter had a headstart of several decades. Some of DC Comics' most popular characters were introduced on the page in the late 1930s and early 1940s, allowing them to stand at the very base of the pop culture firmament. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman both enjoyed massive success on the page and on the screen before the hotshot company Marvel entered its Golden Age in earnest. Marvel's star characters Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, et al, didn't hit shelves until the early '60s. While Marvel found its footing, Batman was starring in one of the best superhero movies ever made. 

In cinemas, it took Marvel equally long to find a toehold. Films like "Superman" and "Batman" were overwhelmingly huge for decades, while Marvel had to be content with the success of "The Incredible Hulk" on television.

There are few Marvel characters that have played as essential a role in the comic publisher’s history as the Fantastic Four. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Marvel’s “first family” debuted in the comics in 1961, and they were instrumental in bringing comic books and superheroes into a new era following the Golden Age of the ‘40s and ‘50s. The team has consisted of many different characters over the years, but the core four characters have always been Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/the Human Torch, and Ben Brimm/the Thing.

There have been a handful of attempts to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen over the years, but those endeavors have proven to be notoriously difficult. The newest version of the team will exist within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has been dominating multiplexes for 15 years now.

Marvel's "First Family" has had a rocky road to the big screen. Although the characters of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm have delighted Marvel comic book fans for generations, the "Fantastic Four" has never received the cinematic adaptation that they deserve. Unfortunately, these great characters have never been properly utilized. The "Fantastic Four" comics show what it's like to balance superhero responsibilities with familial duties.

Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing were brought to life in 1994's "The Fantastic Four," a low-budget film that never received a theatrical release. It wasn't until 2005 that they made it to the big screen when Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis were cast in Tim Story's "Fantastic Four." While the cast has strong chemistry, the film did not strike the right tone. 2007's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" at...

Perhaps the most famously bad Marvel movie in history is now available to watch in its entirety online. In 1994, a low-budget The Fantastic Four movie was completed, but never released and has existed in infamy ever since. In an era long before the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even a few years before Blade would help establish Marvel as a brand that could do business at the box office, this cheap monstrosity happened. And now, those brave enough can view it for themselves.

For those who don't know about the history of this movie, it's pretty fascinating. In 1983, the rights to the Fantastic Four were purchased by Bernd Eichinger and his Neue Constantin production company. After a full decade, no big-budget movie materialized and, if they didn't make something, the rights were going to revert back to Marvel. So, Eichinger recruited Roger Corman, a legendary producer famous for turning profits on micro-budget features,...

Exclusive: While years of attempts to adapt his seminal novel A Confederacy of Dunces have so far proven futile, a drama about John Kennedy Toole and the fascinating story behind his book is coming together as a film. Susan Sarandon, Thomas Mann and Diane Kruger are attached to Butterfly in the Typewriter, a biopic about Toole’s brief but extraordinary life. David DuBos will direct his scripted adaptation of the Cory MacLauchlin book. Oley Sassone is producing. The…...

Next fall, Mark Ruffalo's beloved Hulk character will finally return in Thor: Ragnarok, after skipping this summer's Captain America: Civil War. The actor made his Marvel debut as Hulk in 2012's The Avengers, but nearly 20 years prior, the actor almost portrayed another iconic Marvel character, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even formed. A new documentary reveals that the Oscar-nominated actor almost played the nefarious Doctor Doom, although not in the movie you may think.

Yahoo! Movies reports that in the new documentary Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four, Mark Ruffalo auditioned for the Doctor Doom role, which he ultimately lost to Joseph Culp. The documentary also reveals that other well-known actors who were turned down for the movie includes Xena's Rene O'Connor Lost star Titus Welliver and Seinfeld's Patrick Warburton. It probably worked out better for those who didn't land roles in this movie,...

The Hollywood archives are packed with movies that, for myriad reasons, have somehow slipped between the cracks, never to be heard from again.

No film sums up that unfortunate group more than 1994's The Fantastic Four, a property now getting rebooted for a second time with a lavish budget and inescapable marketing campaign. We look back at seven movies the industry (and the filmmakers behind them) wants to sweep under the carpet.

1. The Fantastic Four

Bernd Eichinger snapped up the film rights to Marvel's first family in the '80s for a pittance, and with the clock ticking down on his ownership he teamed up with B-movie specialist Roger Corman to produce a $1 million picture in less than a month. With a cast of unknowns and music video director Oley Sassone at the helm, The Fantastic Four ended up getting buried by Marvel in a bid for brand protection.

Avi Arad,...

The Fantastic Four (1994) Director: Oley Sassone Stars: Alex Hyde-White, Rebecca Staab, Jay Underwood   Four astronauts are zapped with cosmic rays from a passing comet, giving them powers beyond their wildest dreams. Unless their wildest dreams include having their movie seen by the public.  Aside from Jerry Lewis' The Day The Clown Cried, Roger Corman's 1994 version of The... Read More...

First it was “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” a documentary regarding raconteur Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed adaptation of “Dune." Next was the forthcoming look at Tim Burton’s aborted take on Superman. Now another documentary focuses on the infamous Roger Corman-executive-produced rendition of “The Fantastic Four.” Directed by Marty Langford, “Doomed! The Untold Story Of Roger Corman’s ‘The Fantastic Four’” has rounded up interviews with all the key players of the 1994 D-movie, including the main cast alongside director Oley Sassone, editor Glenn Garland, Corman himself and Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, among many others, telling the story of an infamous production reportedly made to cling to franchise rights but that was never released theatrically and was initially only seen via bootlegs. The opening minutes of the documentary surprisingly don’t rely on making fun of the unreleased film but instead seems to be genuinely interested...

Superheroes might be big business in the movie world right now, but that hasn't always been the case. Despite the success of the early Christopher Reeve Superman films and Tim Burton's Batman outings, the genre was something of a poisoned chalice for filmmakers throughout the '80s and '90s. Buoyed by Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie, Hollywood mined the pages of DC and Marvel Comics in search of the next big thing. Unfortunately, small budgets and shaky scripts resulted in a string of flops ranging from Supergirl (1983) to Howard the Duck (1986). And yet, impossibly, things would get even worse for the comic book genre in the years that followed.

In 1989, the same year Tim Burton's Batman hit cinemas, Dolph Lundgren led The Punisher, a violent action-thriller based on Marvel character Frank Castle. A vigilante who takes revenge on criminals after his family is murdered in a mob killing,...

Scroll down to see the new trailer for

Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s he Fantastic Four.

Here’s the official press release:

In 1994, Roger Corman was tapped to produce this Marvel superhero story on a very small film budget. The film was ultimately shelved prior to distribution, but a VHS copy was mysteriously leaked and the movie became a darling of film bootleggers and, more recently, web pirates. Rumors and speculation surrounding the production have become as much a part of the lore as the film itself.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Roger Corman’s edition of The Fantastic Four and finally, all of the secrets, stories and legal shenanigans that have kept this a ‘lost’ film will be revealed through in-depth, investigative interviews with the cast and crew.

The documentary is directed by east coast Film Studies professor and independent filmmaker,...

Welcome to the first edition of a new monthly feature here on Nerdly – Back This! – where we take a look at some of the cool content taking the crowdfunding route on sites such as Indiegogo, Sponsume and Kickstarter. In this edition we’re taking a look at two very different films. The first is a British homage to 80s slasher flicks and the second is a Us documentary about a “lost” superhero movie…

If you’d like us to consider your project to feature in a future edition of Back This!, make sure to drop us a line.

Christmas Slay

Started by writer/director Steven Davis, the Kickstarter campaign for Christmas Slay is almost at fruition with, as of writing, only ten days to go in the campaign. Looking for £7000 to fund a two-week shoot in Bulgaria (standing in for the snowy mountains of Scotland), Davis’ film promises to be...

Contamination, St. Louis. second annual convention billed as our city.s first and only .Horror, Sci-Fi, and Pop Culture Convention. was last weekend and We Are Movie Geeks was there to cover all the action (and to drink). The con took place at the Westport Sheraton Chalet and Hotel in West St. Louis County. Contamination is put on by Dyer Straits Productions who, according to their website .is constantly thinking outside the box trying to bring you the best and the most unusual in Horror, Sci-Fi, Music and Pop Culture.. The guests last weekend included Tony Todd (who played Candyman!), Kane Hodder (played Jason in three Friday the 13th Films), Brad Loree (played Michael Meyers in one of the Halloween films), and the cast of the never-aired 1994 TV movie The Fantastic Four. Headline guests Eric Roberts and Norman Reedus (of Boondock Saints and The Walking Dead fame) were no-shows but...

Interview conducted by and copyright Edward Gross Pyun's version of Captain America had its roots at Cannon Films and eventually followed co-owner of that company, Menahem Golan, to 21st Century Films. The license for the character soon to lapse unless the film went into production, the greenlight was given and the film was rushed through production -- much in the same way that Oley Sassone's Fantastic Four was under producer Roger Corman several years later. Retrovision: What was the genesis of your version of Captain America? Albert Pyun: Believe Captain America had been bouncing around the halls of Cannon the entire time I was there (1985-1988). Heard a lot about it and being a big CA fan as a kid, I was intrigued like any other comic book geek to know what was happening with it. i managed to get a copy of Stephen Tolkien's script which I heard was great.

It seems that the director was apparently unaware that producer Roger Corman was filming the $1 million flick just to keep the license to the franchise, which he would later sell to Fox for millions more. Since then, Sassone has gone on to direct a number of action television series (She Spies and Mutant X among them) and relatively low budget featues, but this conversation -- again, conducted in 1994 -- is strictly on the Ff, which starred Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm and Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm. Retrovision: Upon hearing that Roger Corman was doing the Fantastic Four, an eyebrow can't help but be raised. Oley Sassone: It's kind of cheesy, but the other partner in this is Constantine Film Development. That's who brought me into the project, because I didn't want to do a movie with Roger Corman.

It seems that the director was apparently unaware that producer Roger Corman was filming the $1 million flick just to keep the license to the franchise, which he would later sell to Fox for millions more. Since then, Sassone has gone on to direct a number of action television series (She Spies and Mutant X among them) and relatively low budget featues, but this conversation -- again, conducted in 1994 -- is strictly on the Ff, which starred Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm and Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm. Retrovision: Upon hearing that Roger Corman was doing the Fantastic Four, an eyebrow can't help but be raised. Oley Sassone: It's kind of cheesy, but the other partner in this is Constantine Film Development. That's who brought me into the project, because I didn't want to do a movie with Roger Corman.

Machete star Danny Trejo is in discussions to take a lead role in an indie biker-thriller Tarantula, movie that will be directed by The Fantastic Four helmer Oley Sassone.

On the other hand, Spartacus: Blood and Sand star, lovely Erin Cummings, is also in talks to join the project that will follow:

“…a woman (Cummings) who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy.

Trejo plays the self-styled leader of the gang looking for the woman as well as revenge for his brother’s death.”

The budget of Tarantula is quite low, around $2.5m, and the script is being written by John Kersey.

Trejo is reportedly working with Robert Rodriguez on Machete sequel and prequel and we definitely expect to hear more information about the whole thing as soon as possible.

Tarantula will shoot in Detroit and John Kersey,...

Danny Trejo and Erin Cummings are reportedly in talks to star in indie action thriller Tarantula. Director Oley Sassone will helm the picture from a script written by John Kersey, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sassone's directing credits include the Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie and episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journey. Tarantula will centre (more)...

Danny Trejo and Erin Cummings in talks for TarantulaMachete's Danny Trejo and Spartacus: Blood and Sand's Erin Cummings are in talks to star in the indie biker thriller Tarantula, according to Heat Vision.

Oley Sassone will direct the film with a budget around $2.5 million.

The story centers on a woman (Erin Cummings) who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy. Danny Trejo plays the self-styled leader of the gang looking for the woman as well as revenge for his brother's death.

John Kersey wrote the script.

Production is aiming to begin in late November in Detroit.

Danny Trejo ("Machete") and Erin Cummings ("Bitch Slap") are in negotiations to star in the $2.5 million indie biker thriller “Tarantula" for Two of a Kind Productions says Heat Vision.

Cummings would play a woman who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy.

Trejo would play the self-styled leader of the gang looking for the woman as well as revenge for his brother's death.

John Kersey penned the script and is producing alongside his wife Jennifer and John Bailey. Oley Sassone (TV's “Xena: Warrior Princess," "She Spies") directs and shooting kicks off late November in Detroit.

The performance of Machete has had a good effect on Danny Trejo. He's getting cast more often than ever right now. His latest resume addition should be Tarantula, an 'indie biker thriller' in which he'll co-star with Erin Cummings. (And in this case, it's the movie that is indie, not the bikers. Maybe an important point.) Oley Sassone will direct (and also directed the Corman throwaway Fantastic Four, uh-oh) from a script by John Kersey. The story follows "a woman (Cummings) who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy. Trejo plays the self-styled leader of the gang looking for the woman as well as revenge for his brother's death." [THR] After the break, Jennifer Garner books a second role in two days, and many possible roles for Gemma Arterton. Earlier today I mentioned Better Living Through Chemistry, which...

Danny Trejo is currently garnering loads of attention for ”Machete”, which seems to be every bit as exciting, blood-thirsty and crowd-pleasing as this trailer suggests.

Trejo has plied his trade for years now as a bit-part (but always memorable) player in pretty much every film Robert Rodriguez has made, as well as Heat, Anaconda and Con Air (IMDb lists 195 acting roles for him!). Now, off the back of Machete’s buzz, producers now seem to think that Trejo can be a viable lead and he is now in discussions to take a lead role in Tarantula, an indie biker-thriller to be directed by Oley Sassone. Erin Cummings is in talks to appear alongside him.

Heat Vision give us the lowdown on the plot:-

The story centers on a woman (Cummings) who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy.

I remember I was at some premier after party for some horror movie and I was chatting with Erin Cummings about her upcoming movie Bitch Slap. I know she was just networking to try and get me to write about the film (I never did. Movie is awful and I only made it 15 minutes in before turning it off.) but we talked about all kinds of stuff and have chatted a few times on Facebook, etc. She's a really cool chick who worked hard to get where she is so I'm happy to see she's gotten some success out of this crazy town.Danny Trejo I met during my time in Quentin. I was his training partner in the boxing program and we quickly became homies, overcoming both of our drug addiction issues with the prison's twelve-step program. We still had to occasionally shank fools but we had each other's backs.

You know what the world needs? The world needs more Danny Trejo. And you’re about to get another hearty dose. “Machete” was a lot of fun, and now Trejo and Erin Cummings (“Spartacus: Blood and Sand”, “Bitch Slap”) are negotiating to star in the low-budget biker thriller “Tarantula”. The story centers on a woman (Cummings) who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy. Trejo plays the self-styled leader of the gang looking for the woman as well as revenge for his brother’s death. This sounds like another in the long line of badass roles that is Trejo’s resume. The part may not be much of a stretch, but Trejo plus revenge plus bikers still sounds good to me. Oley Sassone, who is most known for films like Roger Corman’s amazing 1994 “Fantastic Four” debacle,...

Danny Trejo (Machete) and Erin Cummings (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) are in negotiations to star in the independent biker thriller Tarantula. According to Heat Vision, the story centers on Cummings’ character, “who breaks away from a tight-knit biker gang to start a new life but finds that escape is not so easy.” Trejo would play the “self-styled leader” of the biker gang that makes that escape unexpectedly difficult.

Oley Sassone (Xena: Warrior Princess) will direct from a debut script by longtime construction coordinator John Kersey. To facilitate his segue from the art department to the writers’ room, Kersey will call in a series of favors from his friends in the field — editors, sound designers, and the like. Kersey will also produce with his wife Jennifer under their Two of a Kind Productions banner: they hope to start filming in Detroit by November, with a budget around $2.5 million.

If you’ve ever watched Harley-heavy TV drama Sons Of Anarchy and thought that one of the few things that could make it better would be Machete’s Danny Trejo showing up as a rival road rager, then prepare to get excited. But not too excited… He has no plans to go up against Samcro just yet, but he is in talks to lead Tarantula, a new film about cycle gangs.Erin Cummings, last seen in Bitch Slap, is negotiating to star as a woman who risks the wrath of her gang by breaking away to eke out a new life. But she soon discovers – as she’d know if she ever watched any film or TV series about the subject – that getting away from her commitments to the hard nut leather types is not going to be so easy.Trejo, meanwhile, will star as the self-styled boss of the bikers,...

Mark highlights 10 movies that remain stuck on the shelves, in spite of either the profile of the project, or the people involved...

It would be reasonable to assume that, given the time and effort to make a full length feature, most films would actually make it to the silver screen, or at least the silver disc. But some, for a variety of reasons, don't make it that far, and either sulk in the film cans where they now reside or have been destroyed.

Here are ten movies that either have no cinema release date, or little prospect of getting one.

A Thousand Words (2010)

This is yet another of those amazingly poor career choices that Eddie Murphy makes on a regular basis, when he's not coining it being a donkey. The movie is supposedly completed but has no release date yet (save for IMDb suggesting it's coming out in Argentina in...

Now that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is cleared to leave Shanghai, here's something to remember his quarantined stopover with: The Red Rockers new wave classic "China" video. John Thomas Griffith, back in La after a Cowboy Mouth stint entertaining the troops in Iraq, said go for it so here's the video in all its new wave glory. Some pop culture trivia - director Oley Sassone also directed the opera episode of Xena, Warrior Princess, titled "The Bitter Suite," and the music video for Mister Mister's "Broken Wings." If the Mayor has a headset and wi-fi on the plane to Australia, I suggest that he rock out to "China" while hoping there's no Swine Flu passenger on this leg of the trip. His office issued a statement that he and his wife were "departing Shanghai today in the...

Fango got a couple of comments from director Oley Sassone and writer Jennifer Buttell-Kersey, the duo behind the upcoming paranormal chiller Dead Whisper. We also got ahold of two shots (seen below) from the short film Welcome Home, on which the feature is based.

Scheduled to begin filming in January in New Orleans, Dead Whisper is about a woman plagued by ghostly voices and bad dreams who winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Her nightmares only get worse, and she and her psychiatrist attempt to track their source to an abandoned house, where a frightening secret is revealed, leading to “a shocking twist that audiences will not see coming!” Buttell-Kersey tells us.

“Horror/fantasy films are always fun to make, adds Sassone, whose credits include Relentless IV, the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four and episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. “The world you create is totally your own. The script...

Fango got a couple of comments from director Oley Sassone and writer Jennifer Buttell-Kersey, the duo behind the upcoming paranormal chiller Dead Whisper. We also got ahold of two shots (seen below) from the short film Welcome Home, on which the feature is based.

Scheduled to begin filming in January in New Orleans, Dead Whisper is about a woman plagued by ghostly voices and bad dreams who winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Her nightmares only get worse, and she and her psychiatrist attempt to track their source to an abandoned house, where a frightening secret is revealed, leading to “a shocking twist that audiences will not see coming!” Buttell-Kersey tells us.

“Horror/fantasy films are always fun to make, adds Sassone, whose credits include Relentless IV, the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four and episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. “The world you create is totally your own. The script...