Yesterday we shared some news from Fango: Mick Garris out and Joe Dante in as director of the Thirst remake. That's all fine and good, but you might be wondering exactly why the director switch was necessary. Well, I'll tell you: According to the same Fango report, Mick Garris' next project will be (get this!) an adaptation of a Stephen King story! Fans of either storyteller could tell you that Garris and King have previously collaborated on Sleepwalkers (1992), The Stand (1994), Quicksilver Highway (1997), Riding the Bullet (2004), Desperation (2006), and the (eventually) upcoming From a Buick 8. So this news hardly comes as a big surprise.

I hate to admit that Bag of Bones is one of those King works that I just kinda breezed through and forgot about fairly quickly, but maybe I'll give it a second spin once Mr. Garris starts organizing his cast and crew. If memory serves, the tale is a gothic ghost story noir romance sorta thing. Definitely not among Mr. King's most "fantastical" stories, but a pretty good book all the same. (I think...) More word on the Bag of Bones adaptation when it becomes public.

Last September was when Jessica shared the news about Mick Garris helming a remake of the 1979 horror flick Thirst -- and then we stopped hearing things. Until now! Here's some rather cool news: Not only has Mr. Garris moved on to do something different (a Stephen King adaptation, imagine that), but it looks like flick fanboy favorite Joe Dante will be settling into the director's chair!

Forgive the exclamation point, but I've been a huge Joe Dante fan since I was old enough to run the VHS all by myself. (For those with short memories: Joe Dante directed Piranha, The Howling, Explorers. Innerspace, both Gremlins, the best segment of the Twilight Zone movie, two episodes of Police Squad, and a whole bunch of other colorful stuff.) Dante's last effort was the under-appreciated Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but according to Fangoria, the veteran flick-maker will be at the helm of Thirst, which is a remake of a fairly obscure Australian thriller that came from director Rod Hardy and screenwriter John Pinkney. It told the story of a vicious cult full of blood-lovers.

Obviously Thirst is a movie I need to rent, because I don't think I've ever seen it! (How embarrassing.) More news on Joe Dante's newest venture when it comes across the wire.

So I guess now vampire flicks are the new Western. No sooner did we get news on two new vamp flicks in development and now there is already another one to add to the pile. Shock Till You Drop is reporting that Mick Garris (creator of the Masters of Horror and Fear Itself series) will be at the helm for a remake of the obscure 1979 Australian vampire flick, Thirst. The story centers on two women who are decedents of the infamous Elizabeth Bathory and are caught up in a plot for a 'blood-harvesting' facility -- for the Buffy fans out there, just think back to the episode The Wish. Garris tells Shock, "Not many people know the film (Thirst). I love the take on it - the blood farm of acolytes, the sycophants who are willing to give blood to the regal, but setting it in something contemporary and American". Thirst was directed by Rob Hardy, who fans of the new Battle Star Galactica might recognize as director of a few episodes.

Thirst would be Garris' second attempt at directing a feature film; back in 2004 he had written and directed an adaptation of Stephen King's Riding the Bullet. Garris also told Shock that he still has designs on adapting another King title, Bag of Bones. Garris will also produce Tobe Hooper's adaptation of From a Buick 8 (another King story). Garris was keeping most of the details about Thirst to himself, telling Shock, "I'm not going to give anything away about it, but it's a really different take". Luckily, the original is not that well known, so most of us won't even know the difference. Well, those of us who don't have a thirst for blood, that is.

This is more TV Squad's territory than ours, so I'll just throw it out there quick and then move on to the movie news: It looks like Mick Garris' Masters of Horror series WILL be returning for a third season, only they'll be doing so with a new studio (Lionsgate as opposed to Anchor Bay) and a new network (as-yet-undisclosed, but it definitely won't be Showtime anymore). So there's some cool news for the horror fans!

Beyond that, Mr. Garris would like to kick-start an MOH horror movie franchise, kinda like Tales from the Crypt (almost) did with Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood. (Fun flicks, but I don't consider two movies a "franchise" -- and the less said about Ritual, the better.) And according to Fangoria, Garris also has three more Stephen King adaptations in his pipeline. (Previous King / Garris collaborations include Riding the Bullet, Sleepwalkers and network mini-series The Shining, The Stand and Desperation.)

Garris told Fango that he'll be producing and directing an adaptation of Stephen King's Bag of Bones, with screenwriter Matt Venne currently attached. He'd also like to have Tobe Hooper direct a movie version of King's From a Buick 8 (which, once upon a time, was going to be a George Romero project) -- and (this news made me particularly happy) the filmmaker would also like to bring Gerald's Game to the big screen. Garris calls it his favorite King novel -- and I'd definitely agree that it's one of the King's most underrated chillers.

Lastly, Mr. Garris will write, produce and direct an original horror flick called Dead. How long it will take for all these projects to his the streets is anybody's guess -- but I really do hope Garris does something cool with Gerald's Game.

While surfing the movie web ether today, I came across a gem that you guys might enjoy. There's a website out there called Trailers From Hell, and the kicker -- it isn't some out-of-nowhere fan web space -- it comes from Joe Dante's Metaluna Productions. Yes, the Dante responsible for Gremlins, Explorers and Innerspace. According to the director himself: "The bromide about these old trailers is that they were better than the movies they promoted. That's only true in some cases, but they did deliver in-your-face excitement and breathless hyperbole at a pace the movies never could." Covering everything from music done "Electronovision" style to horror films, the trailers display what Dante calls "shameless cinematic hucksterism."

What's especially cool -- the site doesn't just have trailers, but well-known names doing commentaries on them. Dante offers two -- The Terror and The Unearthly, while Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright chats about the low-budget greatness of Danger: Diabolik, Hocus Pocus helmer Mick Garris tackles House on Haunted Hill and Animal House header John Landis talks about seeing The T.A.M.I. Show live, in his youth. With a well-known name behind the site, I imagine that this is only the beginning as he gets more names involved. There are already 5 more that are coming soon -- Dante on The Incredible Petrified World, Garris on X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Landis on The Fall of the Roman Empire, Wright on Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and a new name -- Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert on Village of the Damned. I'm hoping that they sweeten the pot with some Mystery Science Theater sort of voice-overs in the future, but either way, it's a great way to uncover some old, and sometimes forgotten pulpy goodness.

[via Cartoon Brew]

We've all heard tales of "development hell", projects that end up circulating around Hollywood for years before being committed to film or dropped entirely. Well, Mick Garris, the man behind the TV adaptations of Stephen King's The Stand and The Shining, and creator and Executive Producer of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, is developing his recently published novel Development Hell for either film or television. The book, which Garris describes as "an extreme erotic horror novel, disguised as a Hollywood satire," is based on his own experiences in Hollywood. "There are real names that you'll find familiar in the novel, as well as situations that either I or people I know experienced certain forms of," he told Sci Fi Wire. "But hopefully, it's a little more extreme than the reality."

The novel is told from the point of view of a nameless protagonist who tries desperately to make a living in the soul-sucking movie business. After his first two films fail he takes a stab at a reality TV show called Suicide!, the first episode of which culminates in his death. The remaining half of the novel has the character's disembodied spirit seeking out other bodies to inhabit, and somewhere along the way he starts a sexual relationship with a reanimated Jean Harlow. Even if this project ends up in its own development hell (and wouldn't that be a masterful stroke of irony), the book sounds like an interesting read.

OK, OK, the Masters of Horror series plays on cable television, which means it's definitely more of TV Squad's domain than it is Cinematical's ... so I'll just share a quick press release, mention a bunch of horror movie directors, and then move on.

Bloody-Disgusting.com was kind enough to share a Masters of Horror Season 2 press release with us, and it's stuffed with genre names we all know and love. Returning to direct a second episode will be Dario Argento (Suspiria), John Carpenter (Halloween), Joe Dante (The Howling), Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and John Landis (An American Werewolf in London). Newcomers to the Masters roster include Brad Anderson (Session 9), Ernest Dickerson (Demon Knight), and Tom Holland (Fright Night). Writers/inspirations include include Brett Hanley (Frailty), Sam Hamm (Batman), F. Paul Wilson, Ambrose Bierce, Clive Barker, and Edgar Allen Poe.

IDT and Showtime are promising 13 new episodes, which is a little bit confusing since there are only ten directors mentioned, but I guess we'll be getting some new announcements soon. Hungry for some pre-release plot synopses? Check 'em right here.

A lot of people have taken to calling the Masters of Horror series a Showtime production, but the truth is that the experiment was born over at Anchor Bay. Series creator Mick Garris had the idea to snag a bunch of the finest horror-makers under the sun, have each one direct an hour-long mini-movie, and then let the Gorehounds devour the goods through the magic of DVD. But then Showtime got involved, and they aired 12 of the 13 episodes between last December and March of this year. (The 13th episode, Takashi Miike's Imprint, was deemed too harsh by the Showtime folks, which means you won't be able to see it till the DVD hits shelves.)

Unfortunately, Anchor Bay has taken a fairly money-hungry approach to releasing Masters on DVD: Two episodes hit stores yesterday, available individually or as part of a 2-pack. But with a list price of $16.98 apiece (which means a retail cost of about 11 bucks each), it seems that the horror faithful are expected to dole out about $150 if they want the entire season. (By comparison, my 13-episode collection of the brilliant Firefly set me back only about 40 bucks!) But hey, nobody's saying you have to buy 'em all, right? We horror geeks aren't ravenous completists and ferocious collectors ... are we? (To be fair, if the first 2 DVDs are any indication, each release promises to come stocked with loads of extra goodies, so at least we're getting some value for our money.)

Anyway, to commemorate the DVD debut of the series (well, the first two episodes) I thought it might be helpful to give our readers a Masters Guide -- despite the fact that I've seen precisely ONE episode of the show so far! Click below for a list of all the actors, the Masters, the release dates, all 13 plot synopses, and a variety of trivial hoo-hah intended mainly for the hardcore horror freaks.