Yara Shahidi, Keith Powers and more in talks to star in coming-of-age romance, ‘Bloom’

The third film in the growing Terrifier slasher series is now in theaters.

The franchise that centers on masked killer Art the Clown had humble beginnings: its 2018 original was made for $34,000, but went on to earn 10 times that. 

Director Damien Leone tells ABC Audio he hoped to raise $50,000 for a sequel, and fans on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo ponied up a quarter of a million dollars instead. The 2022 film was a smash, making nearly $16 million. 

“Every time I make something new with this character, the fan base grows just a little more,” Leone tells ABC Audio. “And we were always surprised with just how much it has grown.”

“This time,” Leone adds with a laugh, “Art the Clown ruins Christmas.” 

The lifelong horror fan explains he has always loved the “Christmas-horror subgenre,” adding, “To me, there’s nothing creepier and cozier than a maniac dressed as Santa Claus trying to break into your house on Christmas and chop you up with an ax.”

Admitting the evil Santa Claus “trope has been done a million times,” the filmmaker adds, “now that I could put Art the Clown in a maniac Santa Claus getup, it makes the ‘maniac Santa Claus’ fresh, and it makes Art the Clown fresh.”

Leone notes, “I always say, as extreme as these movies are and as violent as they are, we always remind the audience, especially with this character, that this should be a fun experience. … It’s a fun roller-coaster ride that you shouldn’t take too seriously.”

Again starring David Howard Thornton as Art, Terrifier 3 also stars Lauren LaVera, Chris Jericho and The Lost Boys vet Jason Patric.

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Bruce Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau sounds excited about the casting of Jeremy Allen White to play The Boss in the upcoming movie Deliver Me From Nowhere.

“Oh my god, he’s just perfect. The casting is great,” Landau tells The Hollywood Reporter, noting that director Scott Cooper told him, “We get the right cast, and we’ll tell this story right.” Landau added that “he got the right cast.”

As for how he feels about Succession star Jeremy Strong playing him on the big screen, Landau says, “I died and went to heaven.”

Landau calls Strong “a great guy,” sharing, “We’ve had the chance to know each other, and I’m just dying to see what he does and what I learn from it.” 

As for the whole project, Landau says he and Springsteen aren’t directly involved, but adds that they’re “very pleased at the way they’re going about it, it’s going to be beautiful.” 

Deliver Me From Nowhere follows Springsteen’s efforts to make his 1982 solo album Nebraska. The film is based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.

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The reviews for Venom: The Last Dance haven’t been kind, but the threequel starring Tom Hardy and his gooey alien sidekick scared up a respectable $8.5 million in Thursday sneak peeks in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

The trade reports that while the movie is expected to end the weekend with lower stateside box office receipts than scored by the 2018 original and its 2021 sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Last Dance is already roaring overseas, which will help its overall bottom line.

THR says the movie is expected to earn $180 million globally over the weekend, which would be 5% higher than Carnage; it’s already made $14.7 million from China alone.

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