RECENT PRESS
Barbarian with heart
Leave it to television to give us a kinder, gentler Attila the Hun. In USA network's four-hour miniseries "Attila," airing Tuesday and Wednesday, the fifth-century Barbarian known as "the Scourge of God" emerges as a thoughtful, even humane ruler with a weakness for...
‘Attila’: history wrapped in lavish details
PASADENA, CALIF.- Television isn't known for its history lessons, but occasionally it can offer up a tasty popcorn drama starring history's great icons - and if some sense of a historical period lingers, that's gravy, so to speak. This is the spirit in which USA...
‘Atilla’: Attack TV
Who hasn't read about the stirring exploits of Attila, 5th-century king of the mighty Huns, and mused, in awe and wonder, "Gee, what made that guy tick?" Yeah, me neither. And even for those who have, "Attila" (9 p.m. ET Tuesday and Wednesday, USA) provides barely a...
Scott’s World
Run for cover! Attila the Hun is coming in a four-hour mini-series via cable's USA Network in two two-hour episodes Jan. 30 and 31. Historically, Attila rates right up there with Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and other nut cases who...
The Wright Touch
If you are a fan of the Fox-TV series American Idol, a devotee of the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, or someone who even infrequently listens to pop music, your entertainment experience, at one time or another, has been enhanced by Nigel Wright's touch. The Grammy- and...
ATTILA THE HON?
NO HISTORY LESSON, TV FILM SHOWS THE 'SCOURGE OF GOD'S' MANY SIDES Um, excuse me, USA Network. My reference books describe the Huns as a short, Asian people. But your Attila the Hun looks like he could have stepped out of the extras for "Braveheart." And while we're...
Exclusive Interview with Richard Donner
Part 3: Timeline and thoughts on Smallville How close is Timeline to starting production? We're in preproduction .Because of what we thought was going to be a strike here, we got delayed a whole year. And I can't shoot. It takes place in Europe and I can't shoot and...
Miniseries Brings Attila to Life
LOS ANGELES - In high school, screenwriter Bob Cochran was fascinated with Attila the Hun. So when his agent called years later with the chance to write a four-hour miniseries on the man called the Scourge of God, Cochran jumped at it. His ''Attila,'' a two-part...
USA hopes to tempt audiences with giant bugs, Attila the Hun
Pasadena, Calif. -- In the middle of a 19-day, all-network television showcase, exhibitors have to do something to catch the attention of critics, and USA cable's presentation was catchier than most. First, we got the softer side of Attila the Hun, then a visit from...
Spectacle Stars in USA’s ‘Attila’
Gerard Butler has a Scottish accent strong enough to inflate a set of bagpipes. But in order to garner the title role of "Attila," USA's new miniseries on the infamous fifth century barbarian chieftain, Butler's Highlands burr had to go. "It was a concern," says...
GERARD BUTLER: ‘Attila’
In the winter of 1999, Glasgow-born Gerard Butler left his home in London to visit New York, spend Christmas in Nashville and celebrate New Year's Eve in Sun Valley, Idaho. His ultimate destination was Los Angeles, where a manager and an agent anxiously awaited his...
THE CRAVEN IMAGE OF DR. JEKYLL
Of the big Scream movie Wes Craven is to get his hands on the classic spine chiller Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The director is to make the tenth version of Robert Louis Stevenson's captivating story. But Craven, whose Scream trilogy has made over GBP250million worldwide...
Neck & Neck
The stakes may not have seemed high, but finishing 'Dracula 2000' for a year-end release was no bloody picnic.(Holiday Movie Preview: The Rush) Here's a hint for all those perfectionist directors who think they can dawdle their way through a movie, Stanley...
DRACULA – WITH A TOOTHY GRIN
Blame Bram Stoker, if you think Dracula sucks. But point the finger at Hollywood for never, never, never giving up on Stoker's novel creation. In movieland, Stoker's vampire king has been Bela Lugosi-ed, Christopher Lee-ed and Frank Langella-ed. Dracula's had a...
WES CRAVEN’S DRACULA A FANGSTASTIC FUN TIME
In movieland, Bram Stoker's vampire king has been Bela Lugosi-ed, Christopher Lee-ed and Frank Langella-ed. Dracula's had a daughter and a dog, and gone up against Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello. The latest redo is Dracula 2000, a grungy metal version of the...
THERE ISN’T MUCH BITE TO THIS ‘DRACULA’
Not just "Dracula" - "Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000," and that humble title is a thoughtful tip that the updated proceedings cross-breed Craven's "Scream" trilogy with the classic myth of Nosferatu. It all opens promisingly enough, in 1897 with dark and moody...
Those Wacky, Drooling, Foaming, Biting Undead
Horror films with delusions of historical grandeur have to strain awfully hard these days to come up with fresh explanations for the origins of evil. Hasn't it all been done at least 10 times over? Well, as it turns out, no. The doozy of an explanation offered by...
ANCIENT STORY COMES ALIVE IN ADEQUATE ‘DRACULA’ UPDATE
Dark prince prowls New Orleans So who is this Dracula, really? Depends on who's asking. According to Dracula 2000 screenwriter Joel Soisson, he's not a myth, a legend or the ravings of an Irish novelist. He's got a real history, this poor undead seducer of women,...
‘Dracula 2000’ is a serviceable rip-off
Watching "Dracula 2000," the new vampire movie "presented" by horror maestro Wes Craven (but actually directed by Patrick Lussier, Craven's former film editor), I was reminded how the vampire thriller is a unique mini-genre, as different from other horror pictures as...
This movie really sucks
Dracula 2000 is a pale imitation of past versions of this classic horror flick Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000, directed by Patrick Lussier; starring Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Gerard Butler. Crowfoot Crossing, Eau Claire Market, Sunridge Spectrum, Coliseum,...