Nonhosonno Premiere
The new Dario Argento giallo Nonhosonno (the Italian for I Can’t Sleep blurred together to fit into his one-word title canon) is the director’s biggest hit in years on his home shores despite mixed reviews from the national press. . But then the Italian press, who also totally ignored the work of Mario Bava and Riccardo Freda, have never got the true breadth of Argento’s dynamic appeal. I attended the Rome première on January 6 at the Fiamma cinema just off the Via Veneto.

Celebrities in attendance were Dario, Claudio and Fiore Argento, co-scripter Franco Ferrini, Luigi Cozzi, David D’Ingeo (from Phantom of the Opera and Scarlet Diva) and most of the lesser cast and crew. This is how Argento introduced his brilliant return to the thriller format he made well and truly his own with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. “I made this film for myself, but I hope you like it too. It’s my most personal film to date and it recounts the state of my soul and my mood in the new millennium. Because it has a faster rhythm than usual I wanted Goblin to regroup for the soundtrack and their music is a wonderful accompaniment to the strong violence. It shows Turin in a more mysterious and intimate way than Deep Red and I think Max Von Sydow gives one of the best performances anyone has ever given in one of my movies.”

I can’t envisage any real censorship problems for its international release apart from a few short scenes of the female victims being repeatedly punched in the face before they are hideously slaughtered. Argento told me, “When I submitted the film to the Italian censor board I said to them, ‘Look, I’ve been at this game now for 30 years. Audiences like my movies so please give it a general rating for all to see’. They came back after the screening and said, ‘You must be joking. For a general certificate we’d need at least five major cuts’. So much for backing Italian film-makers in their own country”.
Chris Gallant's Shivers review here

Bros Goss
Luke Goss, one half of the Eighties pop duo Bros will play a lead vampire in the Blade sequel directed by Guillermo (Mimic) del Toro. The 32 year-old singer, who acted in the Plan 9 From Outer Space stage musical will play a reaper – an undead creature of the night with such a strong bloodlust that he attacks other vampires – in Blade 2: Bloodhunt. He’ll be starring opposite the returning Wesley Snipes in the $35 million New Line Cinema sequel.

A production source said, “It’s a big break for Luke. He’s had smaller roles in the past but Blade 2 is a real catch. This might rockets him into the big league”. Tcheky Karyo will play the villain. And when del Toro finishes that Horror Fantasy, he’ll direct The Coffin for James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. Based on the comic book series by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston, The Coffin follows a scientist who creates a polymer suit that holds the soul after the body dies. When he’s about to die, the scientist dons the suit, becoming a sort of Frankenstein monster, and seeks a reconciliation with his estranged young daughter.

Bits and Pieces...
The Green Mile star Michael Clarke Duncan will join Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in The Scorpion King, the Chuck Russell-directed prequel to The Mummy Returns… Star Trek legend William Shatner will host a weekly TV scare-fest called William Shatner’s Full Moon Fright Show, to be produced by Full Moon Entertainment, the low-budget Horror house responsible for the ever-popular film series Puppet Master and Trancers… Lamberto Bava’s The Child Who Could Speak to the Dead will start shooting in March in Iowa, where producers Antonio and Pupi Avati have their American production offices…