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'SATAN'S PLAYGROUND,' 'OCEAN,' 'HALLOWEEN 9!' - CATCHING UP WITH DANTE TOMASELLI

One of the tricky things about being absent from the site so long is that we fell way behind reporting on our old buddy Dante Tomaselli. Fortunately, Tomaselli (er, he's the one on the left) was the first major supporter of Horror Express for which we will always be grateful and he kept in touch with us even if we were slow to post on his progress. As can be expected, Tomaselli's efforts have hit some setbacks and even more breaks. We have been corresponding with Tomaselli through a series of e-mails which details his current progress.

First up, Tomaselli tells us that SATAN'S PLAYGROUND will be released this year by Anchor Bay. This is Tomaselli's third feature after DESECRATION and HORROR. It revolves around the supernatural goings on in New Jersey's Pine Barrens, a region teeming with great horror folklore that hasn't gotten enough attention from horror films in the past. After some very positive preview screenings, Anchor Bay picked up the rights to SATAN'S PLAYGROUND and will release it this summer.

Next up is THE OCEAN, Tomaselli's fourth film starring Felissa Rose (SLEEPAWAY CAMP) and Judith O'Dea (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD). As Tomaselli put it to us, the film is about "a medium who travels to Puerto Rico to reunite with her troubled family, while receiving psychic portents of an apocalyptic aquatic disaster." (Man, my old journalism teacher would kill me for using those orphan quotes.)

The production hit a bit of a snag recently. It's the absolute nightmare every independent filmmaker dreads. Tomaselli was in Puerto Rico with his cast and crew, ready to begin shooting when at the last minute, the rug was pulled out from under them. An investor apparently was not able to come up with the cash to support the project and Dante and co had to pull the plug. THE OCEAN is Tomaselli's most ambitious project to date and should require a $1 million budget (as opposed to $500,000 for HORROR) to complete.

"It all felt so cruel, to have the movie dangling in front of me like this, so unfair," Tomaselli told the Express. Unfortunately, this meant that Adrianne Barbeau had to pull out of the production since she had only a small window in which to fit THE OCEAN into her schedule. Currently, Margot Kidder is slated to take her place. Likewise, Vincent Pastore (THE SOPRANOS) will step in for Tom Atkins, although Atkins will likely still be featured in a cameo.

All of this means that yes, THE OCEAN will see the light of day. "I have THE OCEAN rushing through my veins," Tomaselli said. "I see it as clear as slides projected in my mind... and I hear it. I've been planning the soundtrack for months. I can't escape the film. I know it will be my best work. I made three movies, I create this one too. But I thought at the point it would get easier. It never does."

After this brief, Tomaselli contacted us to note that things are finally looking up for THE OCEAN. He is currently in talks with Brian Yuzna (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, DAGON, SOCIETY, etc.) to produce the film. "He's looking over the materials right now... the screenplay, budget... THE OCEAN will be done eventually. It will. I know it will," Tomaselli said. "I feel I have something here that is so unique, it's almost diabolical. The movie is ready to go... the cast, crew, locations... I just have to secure all the funding."

"I have THE OCEAN running through my veins," Tomaselli repeated, "I won't be able to function properly until it is washed from my system."

Perhaps even bigger news recently was that Tomaselli is tipped to direct (drumroll please)... HALLOWEEN 9! There is already a petition online HERE and I suggest you give it a look. The petition came about from the website Gutsandglory.com and not from Dante himself. Although now that Tomaselli has gotten an immense amount of fan support, he says he would be happy to helm the project.

The HALLOWEEN series is in a major time of metamorphosis. Malek Akkad will be taking over duties for Moustapha Akkad who was tragically killed along with his daughter in the 2005 hotel bombing in Amman. There is currently talk of the ninth HALLOWEEN film being a major turn in the series.

Nothing is concrete of course. Tomaselli has merely been the subject of a grass roots campaign and he has been in contact with Malek Akkad's assistant to direct the installment. Tomaselli descrbed what his approach would be to the next HALLOWEEN film to Splatter Central a while back.

"I am mainly a fan of HALLOWEEN I and II," Tomaselli said. "I didn't care much for the sequels, to be honest, although HALLOWEEN III was different, almost like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. The rest of the sequels were very modern, hip. They just weren't scary. I want to bring back the flavor of the original...evil, atmospheric old-school terror. I am deeply influenced by HALLOWEEN."

"I'd love to bring back Jamie Lee Curtis. Also small roles or cameos for P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis...even John Carpenter," Tomaselli said. "It would be nice to see characters come back like Tommy Doyle. I'd also love to include Adrienne Barbeau, Felissa Rose, Bill Paxton, Ellen Sandweiss, Dee Wallace Stone, Amy Steel...so many more. The casting would be old-school horror."

One rumor Tomaselli put to rest with Bloody Disgusting was that he would be in fact remaking John Carpenter's original HALLOWEEN. "I'd never remake HALLOWEEN," Tomaselli said. "That film is untouchable. I'm completely against that."

We'll keep you up to date on news the moment we get it.

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