JayHernandez Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As far as Hollywood's reliably tepid horror output is concerned, Quarantine works as every bit the disposable jolt dispenser it's assembled to be. It's got a nifty enough concept in its favor and a mildly recognizable cast that needs not fear any characterization coming between them and certain death by the time the credits roll, and it's hard to believe that there's not at least one sequence in here that might get even the most cynical horror fan's heart rate to rise a beat or two -- and I say this as a documented fan of the (still superior) source material.

Young news reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are covering a Los Angeles fire station during their nightly routines when the two tag along on an emergency call to an apartment building. Not terribly long after their arrival, all hell breaks loose and the building's occupants -- Angela included -- find themselves contained within against their will and left to fend off a dangerous virus that causes the infected to become a rabid zombie variant, one aggressively determined to spread the love around.

Back in December, I told you about a new holiday movie in the works called Humboldt Park. Starring John Leguizamo and Freddy Rodriguez, the film was so specifically described as a movie about a family reunion in Chicago's Humboldt Park over the holidays. Hooked yet? Now The Hollywood Reporter has shared more of the cast, and a bit more about the mysterious plot. First up -- the project's cast list now spots the likes of Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind), Jay Hernandez (Crazy/Beautiful), Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King), Luis Guzman (Fast Food Nation), and Vanessa Ferlito (Death Proof).

As for the plot, it's not much, but Freddy and John are brothers in this familial, reuniting clan, Ruehl is the matriarch, Molina is the bodega-owning dad, Hernandez is a friend of the family who works there, Diaz is Freddy's former lover, and Ferlito is the sister, who is friends with Diaz. That's one heck of a family with Latin talent, and who wouldn't want Molina as their dad?! Production begins right before Valentines Day in Chicago, and I imagine it will be out for the holiday season. With the bodega inclusion, maybe we'll get some foodie flavor and Latin wine as well.

You always have to beware of the rabies. It brought down Old Yeller, and it can bring down hot, fresh, Hollywood talent. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Hostel star Jay Hernandez, Dexter's wacky sister Jennifer Carpenter, and Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard), along with Splendor's Johnathon Schaech and Steve Harris (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), will be rabidly Quarantined. The flick is an adaptation of the Spanish horror movie Rec, and the kicker: the flipping original film hasn't even come out yet! That's right -- the English-language version has already been cast and goes into production today, while the original doesn't hit European screens until November 23.

The adaptation was written by director John Erick Dowdle with his brother Drew Dowdle, whose previous collaboration was this year's horror/thriller, The Poughkeepsie Tapes. This version of Quarantined is about an apartment building in downtown Los Angeles "where a deadly strain of rabies breaks out. A reporter and her cameraman are among those trapped inside when the edifice and its residents are quarantined." That's got to suck. However, maybe it's better than being quarantined with some skin-rotting virus or something. At least you have a fighting chance against rabid people. I have a feeling that some of the footage will be from the wobbly, running hand of the cameraman, but we'll have to wait and see, since we can't even watch the original yet.

Is Hollywood speeding up adaptations too much?

Since it's being directed by an unapologetically geeky horror fanboy, we seem to get lots of mini-reports from the set of what's now being called Hostel: Part 2. Once we accumulate three or four interesting tidbits, we figure it's a good time for another H2 blog-dropping. So, here we go...

Most recent news? Roger Bart has joined the cast. Best known as (far and away) the funniest person in The Producers, Mr. Bart has also been cast in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, plus I'm told he's been on that Desperate Housewives show. No word on who Roger will be playing in H2, but I'm guessing he ends up as either a torturer or a torturee.

Also, (and I apologize for not remembering which site first broke the news), it seems that Jay Hernandez's sequel-return is impeding. Whether it's a featured role or a gore-soaked cameo remains to be seen, but it'll be nice to see what the survivor is up to.

Lastly, Eli Roth has placed a set photo from H2 on his MySpace page. It's a shot of Roth and Italian actress/producer Edwige Fenech, so there's that. Roth also indicates that he's about 2/3rds of the way through the shoot, which means the flick should have no problem meeting its January release date. If it sounds like I'm a little pumped for Hostel 2, that's only because I liked the first one. So there. Plus this new one has Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips and Lauren German in it. 'Nuff said.

I bet you never thought you'd see the day when a government-funded historical epic set in 18th-century Kazakhstan, shot over three years with three directors, would get distribution in the US, huh? I know it's almost impossible to believe, but it's true: The Weinstein Company has picked up North American (and Australian, New Zealand and South African) rights to Nomad, a $35 million film that is being described as "the Kazakh Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," whatever that means.

Originally funded in its entirety by the Kazakh government and starring a bizarre mix of North American (Jay Hernandez, Jason Scott Lee, Kuno Becker) and Kazakh (Dilnaz Akhmadieva, Ayana Yesmagambetova, Doskhan Zholzhaksynov) actors, the film's original $20 million budget was somehow spent even before production began. Because they either really believed in the project or had nothing better to do with the cash, the government turned around and ponied up $15 million extra; the movie (originally shot in English, then dubbed into Kazakh) finally had its long-awaited premiere at the Locarno Film Festival over the weekend.*

No date has yet been announced for the American release.

*On the IMDb, there's a report that TWC came in late to help fund the film, and actually demanded changes, but I'm unable to find any confirmation of this story. If anyone can provide a link to details, stick it in the comments and I'll edit the post.