The Hollow
Amazon Instant Video
Directed by Miles Doleac
Starring William Forsythe, James Callis, Miles Doleac, Christiane Seidel, William Sadler, David Warshofsky, Joseph VanZandt, Lindsay Anne Williams, Jeff Fahey
Uncork’d Entertainment | Historia Films
Not Rated | 128 Minutes
Release Date: October 7, 2016

The rural Mississippi community of Cutler County is one where the alcohol runs dry, but the crystal meth and Christianity are plentiful and right smack in your face the moment you cross its borders. In this town, Big John Dawson (William Forsythe), the county’s charismatic crime boss and resident legal genius, rules its humidity-soaked stretches like a feudal lord and uses the services of the underworked local law enforcement to peddle his crystal meth to Cutler’s bored citizenry.

The shocking murder of a young eloping couple in Cutler brings the humble little hamlet to national attention when one of the victims is revealed to be the daughter of an Illinois congressman in actor-turned-filmmaker Miles Doleac‘s second feature The Hollow – a gritty, downbeat thriller cut from the mold of neo-noir classics like the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple and No Country for Old Men and the modern Southern Gothic suspense of the first season of HBO’s True Detective and Jeff Nichols’ Mud.

You may not know the name of Mike Diana, but you should. He is an underground comic artist who courted controversy and tackled challenging and provocative subject matter in his self-published series Boiled Angel. His gleefully, graphically grotesque artwork, influenced by comics legends like Bernie Wrightson and Jack Davis, depicted acts of sex and violence and was definitely not for all tastes.

One particular issue of Boiled Angel sold to an undercover police officer in his small Florida town led to Diana being ensnared in an ongoing murder investigation in the town of Gainesville and the first artist unjustly prosecuted and jailed on charges of obscenity. The Kafkaesque turn of events that resulted in Diana being banned during his three-year probation from producing any drawings or writings and becoming a lightning rod for artistic censorship is the subject of The Trial of Mike Diana, a new documentary from cult horror filmmaking legend Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Brain Damage). A Kickstarter campaign has been released for the documentary, and you can learn more about it and watch a trailer below.

It was recently announced that Legendary Pictures had hired Krampus screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields to replace Max Borenstein on writing duties for the upcoming Godzilla 2.

This move was reportedly part of Legendary’s strategy to establish a creative brain trust that will chart the giant monster shared universe they have been developing at Warner Bros., with next March’s Kong: Skull Island set to be the next step in bringing the two iconic beasts together in a Godzilla vs. King Kong feature presently penciled in for a 2020 release.

Deadpool director Tim Miller has exited the production of the sequel, obviously titled Deadpool 2 (for now), over creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds, according to Mike Fleming Jr. at Deadline. Miller had not formally signed on to direct the sequel to this year’s surprise comic book action-comedy blockbuster (which grossed $760 million worldwide) when he decided to step down.

This news comes just two days after it was reported that Miller was looking at several prominent actresses for the role of the mutant assassin Domino, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Swiss Army Man), and Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service). Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) remains one of the top contenders to play the fan-favorite mutant antihero Cable.

This deal is getting better all the time.

Back in August, we reported that Phil Lord and Chris Miller, directors of the upcoming Star Wars Story spin-off that follows a young Han Solo (to be played by Alden Ehrenreich), were looking at Donald Glover, star of Community, Atlanta, and The Martian and the Grammy-winning rap artist known as Childish Gambino, for the role of Han’s fellow charming scoundrel Lando Calrissian.

Today, Lucasfilm has officially announced that Glover will indeed play Calrissian in the as-yet-untitled feature.