Jeff Howard to write and Executive Produce FANGORIA STUDIOS’ live-action feature film adaptation of “JUNJI ITO’S BLOODSUCKING DARKNESS”: “Legendary Japanese horror mangaka/manga author and artist Junji Ito and FANGORIA Studios are set to produce BLOODSUCKING DARKNESS; a vampire tale from the beloved master of horror’s hit manga Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection. Executive Producer and screenwriter Jeff Howard (THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, MIDNIGHT MASS, OCULUS) has been tapped to develop the screen adaptation on behalf of FANGORIA Studios. BLOODSUCKING DARKNESS, a live action feature film of Ito’s acclaimed works, is set to be the first of three stories that FANGORIA Studios plans to adapt from Smashed.
“FANGORIA Studios is going to adapt my manga! I’m so excited to see how it will turn out,” said Ito. “I hope I get to see the trailer in my dreams tonight!,”said Junji Ito.
Junji Ito began his career as a manga horror writer while working as a dental technician. He fully devoted himself fully to the manga business in the late 1980s, and in 1998 he began serializing Uzumaki in Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan). Since then, he has continued to publish unique works such as Gyo and Smashed. At the Eisner Awards, one of the most prestigious comic book awards in the world, Ito has won “Best Adaptation from Another Medium” for Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection in 2019, “Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia” for Remina in 2021, and the “Best Writer/Artist” for Venus in the Blind Spot in 2021. In 2022, Lovesickness: Junji Ito Story Collection won “Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia,” marking the fourth time he has achieved this feat. In 2023, on the 35th anniversary of his career, he was awarded the “Fauve d’Honneur” honorary prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France.
“When I found out a live action Junji Ito adaptation was going to happen, I chased after it with everything I had, because I just couldn’t live with anyone else getting there before me. The combination of fear and feelings is where I always want to be,” said Executive Producer and Screenwriter Jeff Howard
“Ito’s stories and visuals are pure nightmare fuel. The team at Fangoria is honored to be working alongside Junji Ito. We are excited to bring the horror found in the pages of his work to life onto the biggest screens possible.” said Armen Aghaeian, SVP, Fangoria Studios.
Tara Ansley, Armen Aghaeian, and Abhi Goel will produce under FANGORIA Studios alongside Yasu Kutami and Tsubasa Yamaguchi of Amuse Group USA. Phil Wurtzel will serve as an Executive Producer through his production company Friel Films. Jeff Howard and Kevin Nicklaus will serve as Executive Producers along with Ryan Lewis and Joe Riley from Zero Gravity Management.
Jeff Howard is repped by Creative Artists Agency.”
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COBWEBS: “Eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall – a tapping that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter’s fear intensifies, he believes that his parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trust. And for a child, what could be more frightening than that?”
Starring Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr, the film was directed by Samuel Bodin, and produced by Roy Lee, Andrew Childs, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Josh Fagen.
Exclusively In Theaters: July 21, 2023
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Fantaspoa 2023 Reveals Festival Trailer and Second Wave of Titles: “After presenting its first wave of 2023 titles, Fantaspoa Fantastic Film Festival is proudly announcing the remaining selection of feature films from its upcoming nineteenth edition. The massive lineup, between shorts and features, comes to a whopping 160 films.
The festival’s feature films are divided into four different competitive sections: International; Ibero-American; Brazilian; and a new section “Low Budget, Great Films”, dedicated to the appreciation of those who take risks and make incredible movies with meager resources. According to festival directors João Fleck and Nicolas Tonsho, “Low Budget, Great Films is a section that emerged from our 2023 entries. There were so many amazing films that applied and blew our minds, and we simply had to acknowledge their abilities to overcome a lack of resources with amazing originality”.
Today the festival also launches its annual trailer, which can be found at https://youtu.be/s3IOm9cBV2E and showcases a number of the incredible films being featured at this year’s edition.
Along with filmmaker Mark L. Lester, this year’s Fantaspoa will also pay homage to J-horror master Takashi Shimizu. The festival will celebrate his career with a special screening of the classic Ju-On and the Latin American premiere of his latest feature, Immersion. Shimizu will be present at Fantaspoa for Q&As of both movies.
Another special attraction of Fantaspoa 2023 will be the presence of actor Sean Gunn, best-known for his roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Kraglin and as the on-set stand-in for Rocket Raccoon. The multi-faceted performer will be part of “A Night with Sean Gunn”, a spirited live discussion about his entire career, from Troma to Gilmore Girls and onward to Marvel.
One of the most eagerly-awaited events of the festival is its legendary boat party, which has become synonymous with Fantaspoa and once again will be the festival’s Closing Party. The festival will also play host to two other parties, including one with a performance from Pasco 637, the band of acclaimed Argentinian filmmaker Demian Rugna (Terrified).
New confirmed in-person guests at this year’s Fantaspoa include Gabriel Foster Prior (The Bystanders); Daniel Christian Limmer and Simone Aigner (Enter Mycel); Natasha Halevi and Sean Gunn (Give Me an A); Takashi Shimizu, Shiori Takata, and Takara Kosugi (Immersion); Dani Manzini and Lucas Pelegrino (Ivan); and Demian Rugna (Satanic Hispanics).”
Below are the remaining 33 features included in the 19th edition of Fantaspoa:
ABERRANCE (d. Baatar Batsukh, 2022, Mongolia, Latin American Premiere)
ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS (d. Alex Phillips, 2022, United States, Latin American Premiere)
THE ANTARES PARADOX (d. Luis Tinoco Pineda, 2022, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
THE ARTIFICE GIRL (d. Franklin Ritch, 2022, United States, Latin American Premiere)
THE BREACH (d. Rodrigo Gudiño, 2022, Canada, Latin American Premiere)
THE BYSTANDERS (d. Gabriel Foster Prior, 2022, United Kingdom, Latin American Premiere)
CONVENIENCE STORY (d. Satoshi Miki, 2022, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
CULT HERO (d. Jesse Thomas Cook, 2022, Canada, Latin American Premiere)
ENTER MYCEL (d. Daniel Christian Limmer, 2022, Austria, Latin American Premiere)
EXHIBIT #8 (d. Ruben Broekhuis, 2022, Netherlands, Latin American Premiere)
THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA (d. Syeyoung Park, 2022, South Korea, Latin American Premiere)
GIVE ME AN A (d. Natasha Halevi, Meg Swertlow, Bonnie Discepolo, Danin Jacquay, Erica May Wright, Sarah Kopkin, Monica Moore-Suriyage, Caitlin Hargraves, Megan Rosati, Hannah Alline, Avital Ash, Mary C. Russell, Valerie Finkel, Kelly Nygaard, Loren Escandon, and Francesca Maldonado, 2022, United States, International Premiere)
GOOD BOY (d. Viljar Bøe, 2022, Norway, Latin American Premiere)
HIDEOUT (d. Yen Kuang Chen, 2002, Taiwan, Latin American Premiere)
IMMERSION (d. Takashi Shimizu, 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
IT CAME FROM WATER – APOKAWIXA (d. Xawery Żuławski, 2022, Poland, Latin American Premiere)
IVAN (d. Dani Manzini, 2022, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
THE KILLER LASAGNA (d. Ale McHaddo, 2002, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
LOGGER (d. Steffen Geypens, 2022, Belgium, Latin American Premiere)
MAD CATS (d. Reiki Tsuno, 2022, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
MEGALOMANIAC (d. Karim Ouelhaj, 2022, Belgium, Brazilian Premiere)
MOTHER SUPERIOR (d. Marie Alice Wolfszahn, 2022, Austria, Latin American Premiere)
NEW RELIGION (d. Keishi Kondo, 2022, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
THE ONES YOU DIDN’T BURN (d. Elise Finnerty, 2022, United States, Latin American Premiere)
ONIMANJI (d. Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
THE OPEN BODY (d. Angeles Huerta, 2022, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
RAZZENNEST (d. Johannes Grenzfurthner, 2022, Austria, Latin American Premiere)
SATANIC HISPANICS (d. Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Eduardo Sanchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero, and Alejandro Brugues, 2022, United States/Mexico/Argentina, International Premiere)
STEPHANE (d. Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor, 2022, France, Latin American Premiere)
THE STONE TURTLE (d. Ming Jin Woo, 2022, Malaysia, Latin American Premiere)
SWALLOWED (d. Carter Smith, 2022, United States, Latin American Premiere)
WORLD WAR III (d. Houman Seyyedi, 2022, Iran, Regional Premiere)
THE UNCLE (d. David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić, 2022, Croatia, Brazilian Premiere)
