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  • ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Interview: Rolf Saxon

    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    Spoiler Alert:  This article contains some spoilers for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’

    Opening in theaters on May 23rd is the final ‘Mission: Impossible’ film entitled ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘, which is once again directed by Christopher McQuarrie (‘Jack Reacher’) and stars Tom Cruise (‘Top Gun’).

    In addition to Cruise, the movie features returning franchise actors Hayley Atwell (‘Captain America: The First Avenger’), Ving Rhames (‘Pulp Fiction’), Simon Pegg (‘Star Trek’), Pom Klementieff (‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’), Angela Bassett (‘Black Panther’), Shea Whigham (‘Joker’), Greg Tarzan Davis (‘Top Gun: Maverick’), Henry Czerny (‘Scream VI’), and Esai Morales (‘La Bamba’).

    Also returning to the franchise is actor Rolf Saxon (‘Saving Private Ryan’), who played William Donloe in 1996’s ‘Mission: Impossible’. He was the CIA analyst that Ethan Hunt (Cruise) stole the NOC list from in that famous scene from the first movie.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rolf Saxon about his work on ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’. The actor discussed returning to the franchise, his character’s pivotal role in the story, how the script changed on set, creating his backstory, reuniting with Tom Cruise, how he was cast in the original, what it was like appearing in that film’s iconic scene, his admiration for the legacy of the franchise and Cruise’s stunt work, and what it means to him to be part of one of the most popular franchises in cinematic history.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’

    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Russell Baer.
    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Russell Baer.

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did you find out that you would be returning for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ and were you surprised to get a call 30 years after filming the first movie?

    Rolf Saxon: Honestly, I thought it was a joke. I thought a friend of mine in Scotland was winding me up. Suddenly, I get an email to meet Christopher McQuarrie, and I see the address and I think, “Oh, that’s good, man. I’m going to owe you big time on this one, dude.” So, I’m in a t-shirt with a glass of wine and McQuarrie comes up and it’s like, “What? Wait, what?” I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it. It was insane. He offered me the job within about three minutes, and he spent the next hour telling me what he thought. I couldn’t even joke about, “Oh, let me think about it, Chris. I might do this. I might not.” I just went for it. I thought it was a joke, and it wasn’t. So, I’m still having difficulty with this. No kidding. I had two lines, maybe three minutes on screen in the first movie and suddenly I’m doing this. Unbelievable.

    MF: When it was announced that you would be returning, many thought it would be just a cameo, but your character plays a pivotal role in the story of the film. Was it always designed to be like that or did your part grow through production?

    RS: Two things. One, Chris works in a very improvisational way. When I first came on board, it was a very different concept. Not hugely, I mean, it was still the same thing, but the way I was introduced was one way when we started filming, and then they decided to change an integral part of the story structure. So, that had to be readjusted. With that came a further readjustment. I was put in act three of the film. Again, this job has been like that for me. It’s like, “Wait, what? Seriously are you winding me up now? Is this a joke?” With Chris, I realized very soon, he doesn’t joke about stuff like that ever. Never. So, when he says something like that, it’s like, “This is wonderful.” I mean, I don’t know what his original concept of it was, to be honest with you. There was no script that I could read. It was just what he was telling me. That’s what I was going on. Then, as I said, we started filming it, and then we changed it. He then said, “We’re going to do something here and there, and we’re going to do this now.”

    (L to R) Greg Tarzan Davis, Christopher McQuarrie, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Simon Pegg, Rolf Saxon, Pom Klementieff and Hayley Atwell on the set of 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Greg Tarzan Davis, Christopher McQuarrie, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Simon Pegg, Rolf Saxon, Pom Klementieff and Hayley Atwell on the set of ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    MF: A lot of time has passed since the last time we saw your character, and some of that is explained in the movie but did you create a backstory for yourself so you would understand how he got to this point in his life?

    RS: Christopher was clear on what he wanted. As an actor, when one gets that kind of direction, it’s up to us to sort through that. Because of this, the energy and the positivity that’s around that just permeated that set. When someone said something like that, instead of like, “How am I going to do this?” It’s like, “Okay, this is cool. This is great.” It’s much more proactive. You’re not on the back foot so much, you’re on the front foot. I love that and that wasn’t a fluke that from day one to the last day for me was like that. So yeah, we worked, Chris and I talked a lot about what it was going to be, and then Lucy (Tulugarjuk) came on board. When she came on board, we did some more chatting about it. Then it was just a matter of making it work with what he was presenting us.

    MF: You had only one scene with both Henry Czerny and Tom Cruise in the first movie, but you didn’t have any speaking lines in those scenes. What was it like to reunite with both of those actors on this movie and get to act opposite them this time around?

    RS: Yeah, it was great. I mean, to get to act with Tom Cruise, again, it sounds a little bit fan-like, but it was brilliant, man. I mean, it was great. He brings, again, an energy and a positive focus that, there’s only one Tom Cruise. That’s it. There’s a reason for that. I got to experience it, which was wonderful. Henry, I met on set, but before we started working together, and it’s the first time I’d seen him in 30 years, I walked up to him and I said, “Hey, listen, I just want to say, no hard feelings.” He looked at me, and then he just started laughing. He’s got a great sense of humor. We’ve been tight since then. I mean, we get on very well. He’s a lot of fun.

    (L to R) Hayley Atwell plays Grace, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn, Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe, Lucy Tulugarjuk plays Tapeesa, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas and Pom Klementieff plays Paris in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Hayley Atwell plays Grace, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn, Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe, Lucy Tulugarjuk plays Tapeesa, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas and Pom Klementieff plays Paris in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    MF: Can you talk about the first time you saw Tom Cruise again after all these years? Did he thank you for returning to the franchise?

    RS: The first day I was brought on set just outside of London, to the studio. I was brought on just to see the set because there were two sound stages they were using. One of them was for a tunnel sequence that they had rebuilt where Luther (Ving Rhames) was working in that room. I was brought on to see it, meet a couple of heads of department and stuff. I came in around this corner and through this room, and there was Tom, the heads of department, and Christopher McQuarrie. I got this big round of applause, and Tom came up and hugged me. Simon Pegg was also there, who I’ve known for many years ago. I was made to feel so welcome immediately on the set. Tom just said, “Anything you need, let me know.” He’s not a warm and fuzzy kind of guy. He’s not that kind of Californian thing, but boy, he’s a hundred percent there.

    MF: Can you talk about how you were cast in the first ‘Mission: Impossible’? Did you audition for director Brian De Palma?

    RS: I was doing a David Mamet play, a tour. We’d done a theater, and it was very successful. So, we went on tour with it. I got a phone call from my agent saying they want to set up an audition for this movie. Tom Cruise is going to do ‘Mission: Impossible’. I said, “Like the TV series? This is going to be interesting.” So, I took a three-hour train ride and met them at Pinewood Studios. Brian (De Palma) was working at the time, so there was a little bit of a delay, and I had to be back for the curtain that night. So, I went in, I was there with him for about three minutes, and that was it. As I walked out, I turned to the casting director, and I said, “Well, that was a waste of time.” She said, “No, you were in there longer than anybody else. I think he really liked you.” I thought, “Yeah, right. Thanks. Appreciate it.” So, I got on the train back three hours just in time for the half hour call, and I got a message saying, “Phone your agent.” And I thought, “Oh, that’s cool. Okay.” So, I did the show. The next morning, I called my agent and he said, “Yeah, they’ve offered you the job. They want you to do it.” I said, “You’re kidding.” I was doing another film, a much better part, but they said they were going to work around it. So, I thought, “Okay, cool.” Of course, that film has completely disappeared. It’s funny how things work. That’s how I got that one. Again, this job has been like that from the get-go. A constant series of surprises, and very pleasant ones.

    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Rolf Saxon in 'Mission: Impossible'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Rolf Saxon in ‘Mission: Impossible’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    MF: The scene from the first film where Ethan Hunt is stealing the NOC list and Tom Cruise is hanging from the ceiling above you has become one of the most popular scenes in cinematic history. How has it felt over the years to know you were part of such an iconic movie moment?

    RS: Well, I’ll be honest with you, Jami. I had no idea of this. I mean, I saw myself in the movie, I’m critical of things I do. So, some of it I like, some of it I didn’t like. I’ve seen it, and all my friends and family say, “Oh, you’re brilliant.” They’re your friends and your family, what are they going to say, you stink? No. So, McQuarrie said what you’re saying, and I thought he was blowing smoke. When I came to London, I was in a hotel. I met a guy, I didn’t know him, but I could tell he was American. So, I said, “Hey, how are you doing?” We chatted for 30 seconds on an elevator ride, and then I didn’t see him again for a couple of days. The next time I saw him was on the set for ‘Mission: Impossible’. It was Greg Tarzan Davis. He looked at me and pointed and said, “Oh, my gosh, you are William Donloe.” Christopher was standing behind him. I thought, again, between the two of them, they’d worked this out. Tarzan said, “No, man. I suddenly realized you’re the guy.” He said, “You looked a little familiar. But I thought, it was just me.” He said, “That is a great scene. Everybody knows it.” To be honest with you, I still find that difficult to believe, the fact that I’m in it. It’s more to do with what Tom’s doing and the film, I’m in the background of it. So, while I am part of it, it’s a tiny little part. I’m ecstatic about it. Don’t get me wrong. I love being a part of it. It brought me back. So yeah, I’m very happy.

    MF: What is your opinion of the direction the series has gone in since the first film, and Tom Cruise’s incredible dedication to the stunt work?

    RS: I’ll be honest, this is not my genre of film. I’ve watched every single one of them. I watched the second one because I was in the first one. But it became very much, “I love these.” I love these films. They’re great fun. This is not my normal genre, what I normally watch. So, that says for me how good they are. I’m not someone who gravitates to this kind of thing, and I love them. I watch them as soon as they come out. What I think of the franchise, it’s grown and grown. I mean, when we did the first one, it was a gamble. Tom was taking a big chance, and it paid off. That’s before he was the Tom Cruise he is now. That could have failed. So, because of him and his guiding, and especially when Chris came on, I think the last four films, they’ve got a working relationship that just gets bigger and bigger. Technology has improved. They do amazing things with technology, except the stunts. There’s no technology there. There’s none. That’s all him. That, I think, is one of the major selling points of the film. You’re seeing a human being doing everything that he does. I mean, I wouldn’t train to do those stunts. No way. I have friends who are stunt performers, and one of them who is American guy, he’s been doing it for a long time, and he said he’s never met any stunt person who has a sense of physical space the way Tom Cruise does. He doesn’t get excited, or nervous. He gets problem-solving. He said, “I’ve never seen anybody do anything the way he’s doing this.” I thought, “Well, it makes perfect sense.” But stunts can go wrong, and stunts have gone wrong with him. He’s broken bones. He’s injured himself, but he’s never come close to dying. That is a mark of, I think, how good he is at this and his team around him. He gets the best in the world. He can do that, and it works.

    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    MF: Finally, you were in the first ‘Mission: Impossible’ and now you’re in the last. What does it mean to you personally to have been a part of one the most popular film franchises of all time?

    RS: Again, it’s a gift. This from the outset has been a gift, an unknown gift in the beginning. I mean, this kind of thing, I suppose someone like Tom can do this kind of thing as an actor. He can say, “This is what I want to do,” but to be able to do that is a whole other thing. This was presented to me on a platter. I am fortunate that I’m the one it was presented to. Do you know what I mean? I spend a long-time perfecting what I do as best I can. So, when something like this comes up, hopefully I can do it. But the right place, the right time kind of thing comes to mind. I’ve had a lucky career. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve done many things that I’ve been gifted for. But this has got to be at the top. This is great.

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    What is the plot of ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’?

    Following the events of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,’ Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team must stop the villainous Gabriel (Esai Morales) from gaining control of the powerful sentient AI known as the Entity, which has plans of its own for the world.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’?

    • Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
    • Hayley Atwell as Grace
    • Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
    • Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
    • Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge
    • Angela Bassett as President Erika Sloane
    • Esai Morales as Gabriel
    • Pom Klementieff as Paris
    • Holt McCallany as Serling
    • Janet McTeer as Walters
    • Nick Offerman as General Sydney
    • Hannah Waddingham as Admiral Neely
    • Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs
    • Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas
    • Tramell Tillman as Captain Bledsoe
    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    Rolf Saxon plays William Donloe in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    List of Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movies on Amazon

     

  • Every ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie, Ranked

    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    Based on the popular TV series of the same name, Tom Cruise‘s ‘Mission: Impossible‘ films have earned more than $4 billion at the box office and has become one of the most popular cinematic franchises of all time!

    The series has been directed by such acclaimed filmmakers as Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird, as well as current franchise director Christopher McQuarrie, who took over the series with ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.’

    Cruise and McQuarrie have revitalized the franchise with their elaborate stunts and action sequences, and their latest addition to the series, and possibly the last, ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘, opens in theaters on May 23rd.

    In honor of the new film’s release, Moviefone is ranking every ‘Mission: Impossible’ film ever made.

    Let’s begin!

    8. ‘Mission: Impossible II‘ (2000)

    Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible 2.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible 2.’ ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    With computer genius Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) at his side and a beautiful thief (Thandiwe Newton) on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent (Dougray Scott) from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.

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    7. ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One‘ (2023)

    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part One 'from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
    Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One ‘from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

    In ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

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    6. ‘Mission: Impossible‘ (1996)

    Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible.’ ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    When Ethan Hunt (Cruise), the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he’s surprised to learn that he’s the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

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    5. ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘ (2025)

    (L to R) Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn and Hayley Atwell plays Grace in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, Greg Tarzan Davis plays Degas, Simon Pegg plays Benji Dunn and Hayley Atwell plays Grace in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world’s governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan’s past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.

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    4. ‘Mission: Impossible III‘ (2006)

    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Keri Russell in 'Mission: Impossible III.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Keri Russell in ‘Mission: Impossible III.’ ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    Retired from active duty to train new IMF agents, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is called back into action to confront sadistic arms dealer, Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Hunt must try to protect his girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) while working with his new team to complete the mission.

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    3. ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘ (2011)

    (L to R) Jeremy Renner, Tom Cruise Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton in 'Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.' ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    (L to R) Jeremy Renner, Tom Cruise Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton in ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.’ ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

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    2. ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation‘ (2015)

    (L to R) Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt and Jeremy Renner plays William Brandt in 'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions. ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    (L to R) Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt and Jeremy Renner plays William Brandt in ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions. ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    Ethan (Cruise) and team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating ‘The Syndicate’, an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.

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    1. ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘ (2018)

    (L to R) Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell in 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.
    (L to R) Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt and Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. ©2021 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

    When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt (Cruise) takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.

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  • Mike Flanagan to Create New Series Based on ‘Carrie’

    (Left) Executive Producer/Director Mike Flanagan on the set of 'The Fall of the House of Usher.' Photo: Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023. (Right) Sissy Spacek in 'Carrie'. Photo: United Artists.
    (Left) Executive Producer/Director Mike Flanagan on the set of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ Photo: Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023. (Right) Sissy Spacek in ‘Carrie’. Photo: United Artists.

    Preview:

    • Mike Flanagan will adapt ‘Carrie’ for TV.
    • It’ll be his latest horror series.
    • Stephen King’s book was published in 1974.

    Mike Flanagan has built himself quite the reputation for adapting the works of Stephen King to screens and making some great TV series in the horror/thriller realm. So it seems natural that for the first planned series under his recent deal with Amazon, would combine the two.

    Deadline reports that the filmmaker, who has spent the last few years seeing success with the likes of ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’ ‘Midnight Mass’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ for Netflix, is now taking aim at Prime Video and has set up a TV version of King’s ‘Carrie.’

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    What’s the story of ‘Carrie’?

    Sissy Spacek in 'Carrie'. Photo: United Artists.
    Sissy Spacek in ‘Carrie’. Photo: United Artists.

    King’s 1974 novel put the young author on the map, and also bolstered his worth as a writer whose genre storytelling was most translatable to the big screen.

    In 1976, Brian De Palma was the first director to adapt King’s coming of age story of a young, sheltered girl (Sissy Spacek) with a domineering mother whose bullying caused unimaginable blood-soaked consequences at her school’s prom due to her hyperkinetic powers.

    John Travolta, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley and William Katt co-starred in the movie, which was a big success.

    Since then, we’ve seen a TV movie, a 1999 sequel called ‘The Rage: Carrie II’ and a 2013 remake which saw Chloë Grace Moretz take over the title role.

    Flanagan’s version would tell the story across eight episodes.

    What other Stephen King adaptations are headed our way?

    Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin "Ben" Richards in 'The Running Man.'
    Arnold Schwarzenegger as Captain Benjamin “Ben” Richards in ‘The Running Man.’

    King is one of the most adapted authors out there –– his work has led to some excellent movies and TV shows (and a few stinkers).

    Flanagan himself has brought us the movies such as ‘Doctor Sleep,’ the sequel to King’s ‘The Shining,’ and ‘Gerald’s Game.’

    He currently has ‘The Life of Chuck,’ starring Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill, adapted from King’s 2020 novella, receiving praise at festival runs and is being set for a 2025 release.

    Elsewhere, Edgar Wright is soon to shoot a new adaptation of ‘The Running Man,’ Francis Lawrence has shot ‘The Long Walk’ and ‘Longlegs’ Osgood Perkins will bring us ‘The Monkey’ next year.

    Related Article: Josh Brolin Joins Edgar Wright’s New Take on ‘The Running Man’ as a Villain

    When will the new ‘Carrie’ series be on screens?

    Flanagan is only now kicking off the writing process for this one, so we wouldn’t expect ‘Carrie’ to arrive on our TV screens much before 2026.

    (L to R) Executive Producer/Director Mike Flanagan, Executive Producer/Director Michael Fimognari in 'The Fall of the House of Usher.' Photo: Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023.
    (L to R) Executive Producer/Director Mike Flanagan, Executive Producer/Director Michael Fimognari in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ Photo: Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023.

    Other Mike Flanagan Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Mike Flanagan Movies on Amazon

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  • New ‘Mission: Impossible’ Nearly Featured De-Aged Julia Roberts

    Julia Roberts in Universal Pictures' 'Ticket to Paradise.'
    Julia Roberts in Universal Pictures’ ‘Ticket to Paradise.’

    While it might not have been as big a box office success as ‘Barbie’ or ‘Oppenheimer’, plenty of people have been to see ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’. And if you’re among them, chances are you’ll have seen an early scene set years before Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is part of the Impossible Mission Force.

    The scene takes place largely in shadow, because while writer/director Christopher McQuarrie considered using the sort of de-aging technology as employed by movies such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ he ultimately rejected the idea, thinking it would be distracting.

    But that wasn’t the full extent of what McQuarrie originally planned. Sitting down to talk at length about the movie on the Empire Podcast Spoiler Special for ‘Dead Reckoning’, he revealed that the sequence –– and de-aging –– was going to go further.

    Related Article: Director Christopher McQuarrie Talks ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’

    McQuarrie’s Idea

    Christopher McQuarrie, writer and director of 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.'
    Christopher McQuarrie, writer and director of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.’

    Originally, McQuarrie had thought to include another huge superstar besides Cruise in the sequence.

    Here’s what McQuarrie said of the initial idea:

    “I said, ‘OK, if I were doing this sequence, it would be Tom in, say, 1989. It would be Tony Scott’s ‘Mission: Impossible.’ That’s who would have been directing the movie before Brian De Palma, you know, in that era. We looked at ‘Days of Thunder’ and we looked at the style of it, and we started thinking what would it look like if Tony Scott had shot this, and who would it have been? I looked back at who was the ingenue, who was the breakout star in 1989? And right around then was ‘Mystic Pizza’. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Julia Roberts, a then-pre-‘Pretty Woman‘ Julia Roberts, as this young woman.’”

    Ultimately, he decided that it didn’t make sense for the budget:

    “The only way I could have seen doing the sequence justice [using de-aging] was to somehow convince Julia Roberts to come in and be this small role at the beginning of this story. And of course, as you’re conceptually going through it, you’re like, ‘Now all anybody’s going to be doing is thinking about the de-aging of Julia Roberts, and Esai (Morales) and Tom, and Henry Czerny.’ I got the bill for de-aging those people before their salaries were even factored into it. And if you put two of them in a shot together, or three of them in a shot together, it would have been as expensive as the train [sequence that ends the movie] by the time we were done. It was so… the force multiplier of — and the way we shoot scenes, and the fluidity, and the camera movement. And of course, that wouldn’t be the style of the movie in 1989. That wouldn’t make sense if you were shooting an ’89 ‘Mission’ like a 2023 ‘Mission.’”

    Given how expensive ‘Dead Reckoning’ already was given covid complications and delays in shooting, you can see why he might have been less willing to spend that money.

    ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is in theaters now.

    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
    (L to R) Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One:’

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    ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ is produced by Paramount, Skydance Media, New Republic Pictures, and TC Productions. The movie is scheduled to release in theaters on July 12th, 2023.

  • Movie References in The Weeknd’s After Hours You Never Noticed

    Movie References in The Weeknd’s After Hours You Never Noticed

    Since the November 2019 release of the music video “Heartless,” The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye a noted cinephile who has cited David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese as inspirations in the past, has crafted a deep cinematic narrative throughout the video elements of his fourth album After Hours. Along with the lyrical and visual narratives of the album itself, which tracks a man dubbed The Weeknd through a bad break-up, a hard look at his hedonistic lifestyle, and in the end some wistful wisdom as he starts to maybe group up a bit, the videos and live appearances to promote the album are also chock full of cinematic references. Take the title itself: After Hours evokes late night clubs, but from a cinematic point of view it immediately brings up visions of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 cult classic of the same name about a word processor named Paul who takes a late night trip to SoHo in New York City and can’t seem to ever get himself back home.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'After Hours' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘After Hours’ (right)

    Much like Paul, the videos find a man dubbed The Character (played of course by The Weeknd) in an endless journey through the darker parts of himself – and through a myriad of film references.

    “HEARTLESS”

    "Heartless" (left) and 'Casino' (right)
    “Heartless” (left) and ‘Casino’ (right)

    The Weeknd debuted his now signature red suit in the video for “Heartless,” directed by Anton Tammi, which itself is a reference to a suit worn by Robert De Niro in Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino’. The video, shot in Las Vegas, features The Character and a friend (played by Metro Boomin) as they gallivant around Sin City, stumbling in a drug-induced haze like Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He even worked this stumble into his performance at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.

    “BLINDING LIGHTS”

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Blade Runner' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blade Runner’ (right)

    The video for his next single “Blinding Lights,” also directed by Tammi, there are even more film references. We see The Character steal a car and head back to Los Angeles, where, among other things, he dances in the 2nd Street Tunnel. This landmark of Los Angeles has been featured in countless films, including Ridley Scott’s 1982 film ‘Blade Runner.’ An adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (side note: the author is also referenced in the lyrics of “Snow Child,” with the line “give her Phillip K Dick”), the film is set in Los Angeles in November 2019 – the same month the video was released – and references to it will show up in a later video.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'The Dark Knight' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘The Dark Knight’ (right)

    Much has been made of The Weeknd’s dancing throughout the promotion of After Hours being reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker,’ but in fact these videos are peppered with references to many cinematic Jokers, including the moment in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ where Heath Ledger gleefully hangs his head outside a stolen police car he’s driving.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Blue Velvet' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blue Velvet’ (right)

    Much of the vibe throughout the music videos and live performances for After Hours have a Lynchian feel to them and in “Blinding Lights,” there is a direct reference to David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ where Dennis Hopper’s psychopath Frank Booth watches tormented torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) croon the titular song. In “Blinding Lights,” The Character is mesmerized by the musical stylings of an unnamed singer played by Miki Hamano, whose voice literally lifts him off the ground.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Twin Peaks' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Twin Peaks’ (right)

    We even get another hint of the Red Room from ‘Twin Peaks;’ in fact much of the eerie instrumental music that accompanies The Weeknd in the moments between videos and throughout the ‘After Hours’ short film have an Angelo Badalamenti vibe to them.

    "Blinding Lights" (left) and 'Joker' (right)
    “Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Joker’ (right)

    Perhaps the most obvious reference in the video is his dancing, sometimes in the 2nd Street Tunnel, sometimes elsewhere throughout downtown Los Angeles, appears to be directly lifted from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he dances to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” as he makes his way to make his late night debut in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’

    AFTER HOURS short film

    'After Hours' (left) and 'The King of Comedy' (right)
    ‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘The King of Comedy’ (right)

    The After Hours short film, again directed by Tammi, takes place shortly after The Weeknd’s performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The video begins as his set ends, The Character grinning like Rupert Pupkin at the end of Martin Scorese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ – itself a huge influence of Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker.’

    'After Hours' (left) and 'Jacob's Ladder' (right)
    ‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (right)

    Tesfaye has stated influences on the short film also include Adrian Lyne’s psychological horror film ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which includes a scene where Tim Robbins is menaced by unknown forces in an empty subway station, Roman Polanki’s ‘Chinatown’ (the bandage on his nose), Claire Deni’s ‘Trouble Every Day,’ Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill.’

    “IN YOUR EYES”

    "In Your Eyes" (left) and 'Dial M for Murder' (right)
    “In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘Dial M for Murder’ (right)

    The video with possibly the most film references is “In Your Eyes,” in which The Character wordlessly stalks a young blonde woman à la Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween.’ The horror movie infused video has nods to everything from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ to Dario Argento’s Suspiria to Alfred Hitchcock. At one point the woman takes refuge in a phone booth – à la ‘The Birds’ – and dials for help. Tammi, uses an ultra close-up of the keys, an homage to ‘Dial M For Murder,’ in which Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly’s husband Ray Milland has hired someone to murder her.

    "In Your Eyes" (left) and 'The Terminator' (right)
    “In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘The Terminator’ (right)

    The woman then flees to a club titled After Hours – which uses the exact same lightbulb font as the Tech Noir club in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator,’ an idea that came early in the creative ideation for the video.

    “TOO LATE”

    "Too Late" (left) and 'The Neon Demon' (right)
    “Too Late” (left) and ‘The Neon Demon’ (right)

    The horror vibes continue in the video for “Too Late”, directed by Cliqua. After being decapitated at the end of the previous video, The Character’s head is found by two models on the side of the road. The world they inhabit feels akin to Nicholas Winding Refn’s psychological horror film ‘The Neon Demon,’ where the Los Angeles modeling scene is depicted as so bleak the models are literally eating each other alive. Tesfaye is a noted friend of director Refn.

    "Too Late" (left) and 'American Psycho' (right)
    “Too Late” (left) and ‘American Psycho’ (right)

    When the two discover that the head belongs to The Weeknd, they concoct a nefarious plan to bring him back to life. Laying newspapers on their floor and donning clear plastic rain gear à la Mary Harron’s adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’s yuppie black comedy American Psycho, the girls lure an unsuspecting male stripper (Ken XY) to their home in order to murder him and place The Character’s head on his body. Spooky.

    “SAVE YOUR TEARS”

    "Save Your Tears" (left) and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (right)
    “Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (right)

    In the most recent video, “Save Your Tears” again directed by Cliqua, The Character is now performing for a masked crowd straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After appearing at the American Music Awards with a fully bandaged face like the models, his face has now clearly been marred by plastic surgery (looking quite a bit like Jocelyn Wildenstein aka the Tiger Woman of NYC).

    "Save Your Tears" (left) and 'Batman' (right)
    “Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Batman’ (right)

    As the video ends, there is one last Joker reference – this time with Jack Nicholson’s iteration. In the climax of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman,’ he pulls a gun on himself after forcing Vicki Vale (Kim Basigner) to dance with him. Like Nicholson’s Joker, when he pulls the trigger there’s no bullet; The Character’s gun shoots confetti, just like the Joker’s gun pops out a flag.

    Since these are just a few of the many references found throughout the music videos for After Hours (and in fact most of his music videos going back a decade), it’s only a matter of time before The Weeknd makes a feature film himself, or at least drops a link to his Letterboxd profile.

  • ‘Domino’ Trailer Previews Brian De Palma’s Long-Delayed Revenge Thriller

    ‘Domino’ Trailer Previews Brian De Palma’s Long-Delayed Revenge Thriller

    HBO

    Brian De Palma’s “Domino” is finally coming to the big screen.

    The long-delayed movie has experienced some bumps in its road to theaters, with the director himself saying he wasn’t sure it would ever get release.

    Well, it is and there’s a trailer to prove it! “Game of Thrones” star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays a Copenhagen cop seeking justice for his partner’s murder by an ISIS member. Then, he is unwittingly caught in a cat and mouse chase with a duplicitous CIA agent (Guy Pearce) who is using the killer as a pawn to trap other ISIS members.

    Coster-Waldau’s fellow “Game of Thrones” cast member Carice van Houten also appears in the movie.

    While the thriller has political overtones, “It is the revenge story,” De Palma has said. “The whole political aspect will be very little exploited, the film was more for me a new opportunity to explore a visual narrative. In the film, terrorists are obsessed with the idea that their actions are instantly visible live on the Internet or on TV.”

    “Domino” opens in theaters May 31.

  • The 7 Greatest Brian De Palma Movies You Should See

    The 7 Greatest Brian De Palma Movies You Should See

  • All the Scary New Movies on Blu-ray You Must Get for Halloween

    All the Scary New Movies on Blu-ray You Must Get for Halloween

    Halloween is a holiday, even more so than Christmas, that makes you want to stay inside, curl up in your favorite oversized sweater, and just watch movies.

    Not only is it a holiday devoted to all things scary, meaning it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on horror movies both new and classic, but the weather is changing and that chill in the air gives you a perfect excuse to stay inside and mainline some movies. Thankfully, there are a bunch of great new Blu-rays (remember those?) that will scratch that Halloween itch.

    ‘Deep Rising‘ (Kino, $29.95)

    Disney

    It is somewhat surprising that Kino, a high-end label behind countless classic and silent film releases, chose to tackle Stephen Sommers‘ “Deep Rising,” the marginalized 1998 monster movie. It’s also downright shocking that they tackled it with such gusto.

    That’s right, this is the release us “Deep Rising” die-hards have been waiting two decades for. And you know what? It’s worth the wait.

    In addition to an absolutely gorgeous transfer of the movie, which stars Treat Williams as a pirate who intercepts a cruise liner right after it suffered a crippling attack by a giant sea creature (just go with it), this thing is loaded with special features, including interviews with actors like Kevin J. O’Connor and some of the special effects technicians that brought the film to life. (It had a notoriously difficult post-production phase, with multiple visual effects houses brought in to finish the movie and get it out on schedule.) If, for some reason, you’ve ever wanted to see ILM’s digital bubble tests, this is the disc for you.

    ‘Sisters‘ (Criterion, $39.95)

    AIP

    If you’ve never seen Brian De Palma‘s early, Hitchcock-aping masterpiece, well, now is the time. Inspired by a real-life tale of Siamese twins, “Sisters” stars Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, and a truly deranged William Finley (one of De Palma’s creepiest regulars). It was, at that time, the most clean distillation of the filmmaker’s various influences and fetishes (everything from the French New Wave to grade-Z exploitation fare), establishing himself as a fearless, uniquely talented artist and one of the great pop culture synthesizers. If you bought the region-free Arrow release from a few years ago, this disc is equally packed but with different features, and boasts a brand new 4K re-mastered transfer approved by De Palma. Criterion’s collected features include a new half-hour interview with Salt, a vintage AFI Q&A that runs for more than an hour-and-a-half, and an incredibly charming Margot Kidder clip from “The Dick Cavett Show” (alongside the usual collection of posters, radio spots, and promotional materials). Killer.

    ‘Mandy‘ (Image Entertainment, $29.97)

    RLJE

    “Mandy” is one of the year’s very best horror movies. Even though it was released concurrently on VOD, the Blu-ray is very much worth grabbing instead.

    For one, “Mandy” is the type of movie you’re going to want to let your friends borrow with the caveat that, “this movie is totally crazy, you have to watch it.” (Nicolas Cage stars as a lumberjack who, following the brutal murder of his wife, starts out on a quest for bloody revenge against a new age cult leader and a biker gang of inter-dimensional ghouls. So, you know.)

    This new Blu-ray looks beautiful, capturing the rich, airbrush-mural-on-the-side-of-a-van aesthetic wonderfully. It also sports a pair of special features that are very much appreciated — one is a making-of documentary just as impressionistic and oddball as the movie itself, full of voice over and illustrations; the other are a small collection of deleted scenes that give additional depth and character detail to the film (there’s a great moment between Cage and a local sheriff). Plus, the cover art is reversible so if you’re not feeling the home video art, you can flip it around to reveal the art from the official one-sheet.

    ‘Maximum Overdrive‘ (Vestron Video, $32.95)

    De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

    One of the great home video surprises of the past couple of years has been the return of trailblazing home video Vestron Video, in a series of collector’s edition Blu-ray releases (ordained by now-parent-company Lionsgate). Earlier in 2018, they released a bells-and-whistles version of Stuart Gordon‘s sorely underrated “Dagon,” but the crème-de-la-crème is their brand new release of Stephen King‘s “Maximum Overdrive” (out on October 23rd).

    Somewhat infamously, “Maximum Overdrive” is the only film that King ever wrote and directed, and the way he talks about it now, it was orchestrated mostly in a cocaine-haze. (King has said recently that it’s the worst adaptation of his work.) And while the movie’s reputation has overshadowed the movie itself (the cinematographer lost an eye due to a flying piece of debris, King fought unsuccessfully to have Bruce Springsteen star in the lead role). But the film itself is not without its considerable charms, from the sheer WTF-worthiness of its plot (the machines revolt against humanity, obviously), abundance of gross-out gore (they kill a kid!), and kick-ass AC/DC soundtrack (the “Who Made Who” album, which gave us such immortal hits as “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Hells Bells,” came from this movie).

    And the new Blu-ray makes you appreciate it even more; the transfer makes the comic book-y colors really pop and the special features, including an interview with an AC/DC historian and producer Martha de Laurentiis (nee Schumacher back then), give you a begrudging appreciation for what is obviously a very lowbrow film.

    ‘Creepshow‘ (Shout Factory, $39.95)

    Warner Bros.

    There are few movies as wonderfully suited to the Halloween season as “Creepshow,” Stephen King and George Romero’s hellzapoppin’ horror anthology inspired by old, blood-soaked comic books from the mid-1950’s like EC Comics. Seriously, where else can you find ghoulishly delightful stories starring Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, and Ted Danson? Plus, there’s one section where King plays a redneck who gets infected by an intergalactic fungus. It’s just so much fun!

    This new disc — from our friends at Shout Factory imprint Scream! Factory — is loaded to the gills, with a new 4K remaster of the film, two new audio commentary tracks (alongside a classic commentary track featuring Romero and make-up wizard Tom Savini), plus tons of special features, including a roundtable discussion of the film with some of its key creatives, to an interview with a collector who actually owns the comic book from the movie (he also owns one of the crates!) This disc is appropriately epic and very, very Halloween-y.

    ‘Trick ‘R Treat‘ (Shout Factory, $34.93)

    Warner Bros.

    “Trick ‘R Treat” is having a very good year. Not only is it one of the biggest houses at Halloween Horror Nights — at both the Hollywood and Orlando Universal Studios parks — but this new Blu-ray release is stuffed with new special features and enhanced by a sparkly 2K re-mastered version of the film (it’s never looked better). Not bad for a movie that was released direct-to-video two years after it was completed.

    This colorful horror anthology, very much in the same vein as “Creepshow,” features interconnected stories of tortured souls, misbegotten murderers and a mischievous mascot in the form of Sam, a little trick-or-treater in a burlap mask that in recent years has become a hipster Halloween icon a la Jack Skellington. There are new interviews with various cast and crew, including writer-director Michael Dougherty, and a new 2K restoration of “Season’s Greetings,” the short film that inspired the feature. Also, when you watch this movie again, please remember that Brian Cox supposedly modeled his performance (and look) around John Carpenter.

    The ‘REC’ Collection (Shout Factory, $59.97)

    Magnet

    Every Halloween needs a good horror box set, and this year’s is the Scream! Factory release that collects all four films from the Spanish found-footage zombie saga “REC.”

    Each film gets its own disc, and each disc has an exciting volume of extra features — from commentary tracks on the first two films (in Spanish with English subtitles), to a feature-length documentary on the making of the third film (that movie is very, very underrated), this pretty much has everything you could want (and more). And if you’ve never seen one of these films (or maybe just seen the first one), this is a great excuse to stay up late and marathon them.

    That is, if you’re not too scared.

  • Brain De Palma Working On a Horror Movie About Harvey Weinstein

    Brian De PalmaThe Harvey Weinstein scandal has been a nightmare for all his alleged victims: Now “Carrie” director Brian De Palma says he’s working on a horror movie about the just-indicted former movie mogul.

    Talking to French publication Le Parisien, the 77-year-old said, “I’m writing a film about this scandal, a project I’m talking about with a French producer.” He added, “My character won’t be named Harvey Weinstein, but it will be a horror film, with a sexual aggressor, and it will take place in the film industry.”

    Hey Brian (and other creative types), maybe don’t exploit this situation for your own personal gain?

    This comes after “Glengarry Glen Ross” playwright David Mamet said he’s also working on a project about the accused rapist, sexual harasser, and ruiner of careers.

    Mamet told the Chicago Tribune that he’s already written a play called “Bitter Wheat,” but hasn’t yet announced when it will debut. According to Variety, John Malkovich has spoken to Mamet about playing Weinstein.

    Besides “The Untouchables” and “Scarface,” De Palma’s films include the thriller “Body Double,” in which a porn star is killed with an electric drill, and “Dressed to Kill,” about a crazed cross-dresser who murders women.

    He said that making his most recent film, “Domino” — with Guy Pearce and “Game of Thrones” stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Carice van Houten — was “a horrible experience” and that it might not get released.

    [Via Variety]

  • 23 Things You Didn’t Know About Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’

    Worst. Prom. Ever.

    Four decades later, we’re still creeped out by “Carrie,” still the ultimate high school horror movie. Released 40 years ago this week (on November 3, 1976), “Carrie” not only made a star of Sissy Spacek and introduced movie audiences to Stephen King, but it also marked the big-screen debuts of Amy Irving, P.J. Soles, and Betty Buckley, as well as giving early film-career boosts to William Katt and John Travolta.

    Still, as many times as you’ve watched Spacek wreak telekinetic vengeance over her bloody prom-night humiliation, there’s a lot you may not know about “Carrie.” Celebrate the 40th anniversary with these need-to-know facts.

    1. “Carrie” was both Stephen King’s first novel and his first to become a movie. Back then, he was still obscure enough that the makers of the film’s trailer misspelled his first name as “Steven.” See below:

    2. Directors Brian De Palma and George Lucas staged open auditions together for both “Carrie” and the original “Star Wars.” Both sought Amy Irving for their female lead, and William Katt almost ended up starring in Lucas’ movie instead of De Palma’s.

    3. Eventually, of course, Lucas cast Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia (after De Palma had picked Sissy Spacek over Fisher for Carrie) and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, while Irving and Katt wound up in supporting roles in De Palma’s film. Even so, Irving and Fisher ended up becoming close friends.
    4. Irving and Katt (above) had dated a year before making “Carrie.” Their screen test included a makeout scene in the back of a car, a scene that didn’t end up in the movie.

    5. Spacek was already 26 when she was cast as a teen having her first period. (Her husband, Jack Fisk, was the film’s production designer.) In fact, all of the principal stars were well past their teen years.
    6. For Carrie’s religious-fanatic mother, De Palma considered Louise Fletcher, then fresh off her scary, Oscar-winning performance as Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

    7. Eventually, however, he sought out Piper Laurie (above), even though she hadn’t made a film in 15 years, since her Oscar-nominated turn in “The Hustler.” She had all but retired from acting to raise a family and was reluctant to return in what could have been a two-dimensional role. But De Palma convinced her that she could bring some dark humor and even sex appeal to the character beyond what was scripted.
    8. The prom sequence was shot on an MGM soundstage that had been the site of another celebrated fire scene, the burning of Atlanta in “Gone With the Wind.”

    9. To keep the red stains on her prom dress and all over her body consistent throughout the three days it took to shoot the prom sequence, Spacek slept in the bloody gown. Yeah, it wasn’t really pig blood, just corn syrup and food coloring. Still, De Palma said that it made Spacek smell like gummy candy that had been sitting on a radiator.
    10. During the prom shoot, Soles got hit so hard with the water jet from the fire hose that she burst an eardrum. She didn’t regained her full hearing for six months.

    11. Nancy Allen, who played mean-girl Chris, started dating De Palma during the shoot. They were soon married and made three more movies together.
    12. During the “Carrie” shoot, De Palma also fixed up Steven Spielberg with future wife Irving (above). Soles has said De Palma invited his filmmaker pal to the set because of all the attractive actresses, and that the “Jaws” director asked several of them out, including her, but that Irving was the only one who didn’t turn him down.

    13. Irving recalled the matchmaking a little differently. She said De Palma fixed them up by sending her to read for Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” for a part she was obviously not old enough to play. Either way, Irving and Spielberg were soon living together, though they didn’t get married until 1985. They had one child before they divorced in 1989.
    14. At the end of the movie, Carrie and Margaret’s house was supposed to be destroyed by a rain of boulders, but the conveyor belt moving the pebbles toward the tiny model house jammed. So De Palma just burned the little house down.

    15. The notorious dream sequence at the end was shot in reverse (with Irving walking backwards and cars driving in reverse), then played forward. De Palma borrowed the hand-thrusting-from-the-grave shot at the end from the climax of “‘Deliverance.” De Palma wanted to use a stunt woman, but Spacek insisted on doing the shot herself.
    16. Fisk buried her (because De Palma was too squeamish to do it himself) in a pit under a board covered with pumice stones. There, she received a signal to reach out and grab Irving’s arm. The rocks scratched up Spacek’s arm, but she felt the result was worth it.

    17. Studio executives watching an early test screening were appropriately terrified by that last shot; they hadn’t known it was coming, since De Palma had purposely left it out of the script.18. Since it was not taken from King’s book, that final moment startled King, too, when he first watched “Carrie.” “Man, I thought I was going to sh** in my pants,” he recalled of the scene years later.

    19. King’s first time seeing “Carrie” was during a sneak preview on Halloween night in 1976, three days before it opened. As he has recalled a number of times, he and his wife Tabitha attended the screening in Boston, where the sneak was the second half of an unlikely double feature with the Redd Foxx comedy “Norman… Is That You?“
    20. The Kings were the only two white people in the theater, and the author worried that an African-American audience that had come to watch the “Sanford & Son” star’s sex farce wouldn’t be receptive to his high-school horror story. “They’re not gonna have any sympathy at all for this little white girl and her menstrual problems,” he remembered thinking. But the audience got into “Carrie.” When he saw two large men seated near him jump out of their seats and clutch each other during the final scene, he knew “Carrie” would be a hit.

    21. Indeed, “Carrie,” which cost $1.8 million to make, earned $33.8 million at the box office, making it a smash by 1976 standards.

    22. “Carrie” earned Spacek an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Laurie, making them two of only a very few performers who’ve ever been nominated for their roles in a horror movie.
    23. The film has spawned numerous follow-ups, including a sequel, a notorious flop Broadway musical, and the 2013 remake with Chloë Grace Moretz. All of which King thought were superfluous. Why bother, he wondered in 2011, “when the original was so good? I mean, not ‘Casablanca,’ or anything, but a really good horror-suspense film, much better than the book.”
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