Urban Legend (film)
''Urban Legend'' is a 1998 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, and Michael Rosenbaum, and is the first installment in the ''Urban Legend'' film series. Its plot focuses on a series of murders on the campus of a private New England university, all of which appear to be modeled after popular urban legends. In addition to its younger cast, the film features supporting performances from Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, Loretta Devine, John Neville, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and Brad Dourif. Filmed in Toronto in the spring of 1998, ''Urban Legend'' was theatrically released in the United States on September 25, 1998, by TriStar Pictures. It was a commercial success, grossing $72.5 million worldwide on a budget of $14 million, but received generally negative reviews from critics, with chief criticisms being that the film was a blatant rip-off of '' Scream'' (1996). The film has been c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jamie Blanks
Jamie Blanks (born 29 November 1971) is an Australian film director and composer. He directed the cult slasher films ''Urban Legend'' (1998) and '' Valentine'' (2001). He later directed the horror films ''Storm Warning'' (2007) and ''Long Weekend'' (2008). Biography He attended film school at Melbourne's Swinburne Film School (becoming the Victorian College of the Arts during his three years of study). The path to landing the directing gig on ''Urban Legend'' began with Blanks receiving the screenplay for '' Scream'' – called ‘Scary Movie’ at the time – from a manager who had seen his student film. “I didn’t get the job, obviously, because I was well outgunned by Wes Craven – deservedly so because he is the master,” says Blanks. “Then I got the screenplay for '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'', also by Kevin Williamson, and I thought the only way I could convince producers in Hollywood that I’m capable of making a film is to take the screenplay and try t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Variety (magazine)
''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in Los Angeles, to cover the film industry, motion-picture industry. ''Variety'' website features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, plus a credits database, production charts and film calendar. History Founding ''Variety'' has been published since December 16, 1905, when it was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville, with its headquarters in New York City. Silverman had been fired by ''The Morning Telegraph'' in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $50. He subsequently decided to start his own publication that, he said, would "not be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $1,500 from his father-in-law, he launched ''Variety'' as publisher and editor. In additi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same fictional universe as an earlier work, usually chronologically following the events of that work. In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear repeatedly. The difference between more than one sequel and a series is somewhat arbitrary. Sequels are attractive to creators and publishers because there is less risk involved in returning to a story with known popularity rather than developing new and untested characters and settings. Audiences are sometimes eager for more stories about popular characters or settings, making the production of sequels financially appealing. In film, sequels are very common. There are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scream (1996 Film)
''Scream'' is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, ''Scream''s plot follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and her friends, who, on the anniversary of her mother's murder, become the targets of a costumed serial killer known as Ghostface. Williamson, who was struggling to get his projects off the ground, was inspired by reports of a series of murders by the Gainesville Ripper as he wrote a screenplay that satirized the clichés of the slasher genre popularized in films such as ''Halloween'' (1978), '' Friday the 13th'' (1980), and ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984). Developed under the title ''Scary Movie'', Williamson's script became the subject of an intense bidding war from multiple studios before Miramax Films purchased the rig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy Award-nominated role as Billy Bibbit in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). Brad Dourif's other film roles include '' Wise Blood'' (1979), ''Ragtime'' (1981), ''Dune'' (1984), '' Blue Velvet'' (1986), '' Mississippi Burning'' (1988), '' The Exorcist III'' (1990), '' Critters 4'' (1992), '' Alien Resurrection'' (1997), and the 2007 remake of ''Halloween'' and its sequel. He also appeared in many television series, notably '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006, 2019), for which he received Primetime Emmy Award and Satellite Award nominations for his portrayal of Amos "Doc" Cochran. Early life Bradford Claude Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia, on March 18, 1950, to Joan Mavis Felton (née Bradford), an actress, and Jean Henri Dou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner ( Gregson; born September 29, 1970) is an American actress. She is the daughter of film producer Richard Gregson and actress Natalie Wood. She has appeared in films including '' Lost Highway'', '' Two Girls and a Guy,'' '' First Love, Last Rites'' (all 1997), ''Urban Legend'', '' Another Day in Paradise'' (both 1998) and ''High Fidelity'' (2000). Early life Natasha Gregson was born September 29, 1970, in Los Angeles, to American actress Natalie Wood and British producer Richard Gregson. Her godmother was actress Ruth Gordon. Her parents separated when she was ten months old, and later divorced. Her mother remarried actor Robert Wagner in 1972, and in 1974 they had a daughter, Courtney. Her aunt, with whom she has no contact, is actress and producer Lana Wood. Through her father, she is a cousin of author Jessica Gregson, niece of actor Michael Craig, stepdaughter of journalist Julia Gregson and great-great granddaughter of Reginald Hanson, former ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Neville (actor)
John Reginald Neville (2 May 1925 – 19 November 2011) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned more than sixty years. He was renowned for his roles on both stage and screen in genres ranging from classical theatre to fantasy and science fiction. Neville was one of the young leading lights of the Theatre of the United Kingdom, British theatre in the early 1950s, with he and contemporary and friend Richard Burton honing their crafts at The Old Vic, where over the course of five years they worked their way through the Shakespearean canon. Based on their performance styles and physicality, it was commented at the time that Burton was seen as the successor to Laurence Olivier, whereas Neville was seen as the natural successor to John Gielgud. Neville was a great champion of young talent throughout his career, as was evident when a 23 year old Judi Dench made her professional debut as Ophelia opposite his Hamlet in 1957. Alongside the classical repertoire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Danielle Harris
Danielle Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known as a "scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween (franchise), Halloween'' franchise: ''Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' (1988) and ''Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'' (1989) as Jamie Lloyd, and ''Halloween (2007 film), Halloween'' (2007) and ''Halloween II (2009 film), Halloween II'' (2009) as Annie Brackett. Other such roles include Tosh in ''Urban Legend (film), Urban Legend'' (1998), Belle in ''Stake Land'' (2010), and Marybeth Dunston in the Hatchet (film series), ''Hatchet'' series (2010–17). In 2012, she was inducted into the ''Fangoria'' Hall of Fame. Harris began her career as a child actress, with various appearances on television and prominent roles in films such as ''Marked for Death'' (1990), ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' (1991), ''The Last Boy Scout'' (1991), ''Free Willy'' (1993) and ''Daylight (1996 film), Da ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urban Legend
Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects or entities. Urban legends may confirm moral standards, reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties. In the past, urban legends were most often circulated orally, at gatherings and around the Campfire story, campfire for instance. Now, they can be spread by any media, including newspapers, mobile news apps, e-mail, and most often, social media. Some urban legends have passed through the years/decades with only minor changes, in where the time period takes place. Generic urban legends are often altered to suit regional variations, but the lesson or moral generally remains the same. Origin and structure Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to the northeast and Quebec to the north. The Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean are to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the southwest. Boston is New England's largest city and the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston, comprising the Boston–Worcester–Providence Combined Statistical Area, houses more than half of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts, the second-largest city in New England; Manchester, New Hampshire, the largest city in New Hampshire; and Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of and largest city in Rhode Island. In 1620, the Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony, the second successful settlement in Briti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urban Legend (film Series)
''Urban Legend'' is an American horror media franchise owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and consisting of three slasher films. The first installment was written by Silvio Horta, directed by Jamie Blanks, and released in 1998. Films ''Urban Legend'' (1998) A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends. ''Urban Legends: Final Cut'' (2000) A film school is the center of a fresh spate of killings based on urban legends. ''Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'' (2005) On a prom-night dare, a trio of high school friends chant an incantation, unleashing an evil spirit from the past with deadly consequences. Future In February 2020, a reboot of the film was announced to be in development, to be written and directed by Colin Minihan. In August, Sydney Chandler, Katherine McNamara and Keith Powers were cast in the film. In October 2022, Minihan revealed that the film had been cancelled due to "bad timing". In the following months, Eli R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Slasher Film
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, Supernatural horror film, supernatural and psychological horror films.Petridis, Sotiris (2014).A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film. Film International 12 (1): 76–84. Critics cite psychological horror films such as ''Peeping Tom (1960 film), Peeping Tom'' (1960) and ''Psycho (1960 film), Psycho'' (1960) and the Italian ''giallo'' films as early influences.Mark D. Eckel (2014). "When the Lights Go Down". p. 167. WestBow Press. The genre hit its peak between 1978 and 1984 in an era referred to as the "Golden Age" of slasher films. Notable ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |