The Gothic family fantasy film exceeded expectations to debut with an estimated $26.9 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, while audiences showed considerably less interest in Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9." "House" was easily the biggest draw on a quiet weekend at movie theaters, where the other three new wide releases all disappointed or outright flopped.
For a second, the new creepy children’s movie starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett looked like it might be kicking off a kid’s horror franchise, but as Lewis Barnavelt’s Magic 8-Ball would say “Don’t count on it.”
So, for now, there isn’t any big post-credits scene or ending to tease a sequel — the next book in this series is called The Figure in the Shadows — but don’t expect a new movie with that title to come out anytime soon. Which is too bad, really, these books are great, and the new film is worth your time, too. A sequel could still happen, of course, it just depends on how everyone likes this movie.
The director of frightful flicks such as “Hostel” and “Death Wish” has his first family film, “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” out Friday. The movie is based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs with drawings by famed illustrator Edward Gorey. Interpreting that late artist’s work for the screen was a childhood dream come true for Roth, a superfan. “Edward Gorey is my favorite,” Roth tells The Post. “I have Gorey art all over my house. I’ve found original prints, original drawings of his. I knew instantly the Gothic style.”
Before there was “The Boy Who Lived,” there was Lewis Barnavelt, a 10-year-old orphan who brushed shoulders with wizards, witches, sorcerers, ghosts, and his share of occultists. With the film adaptation of John Bellairs’s 1973 novel, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, releasing on September 21, a new generation of readers will have the opportunity to discover Bellairs’s storytelling. The film stars Owen Vaccaro (Daddy’s Home), Jack Black (Goosebumps) and Cate Blanchett (Ocean's 8), and is directed by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), marking the horror director’s first “family-friendly” film.Thanks, Matia!
In 2011, Bradley J. Fischer and James Vanderbilt of Mythology Entertainment approached screenwriter Eric Kripke (creator of "Supernatural") for the film project. As a child of the 1980s, Kripke was very familiar with Bellairs. Kripke recently told Entertainment Weekly that “when I was 10, I fell in love with this book.” In fact, the only fan letter Kripke ever wrote as a child was to Bellairs.
...recognize that kids can handle being scared, and don’t need to be coddled. They capture the spirit of youth without condescending to it, and have continued to do so even as the middle grade and young adult markets have matured—for many in a later generation of readers, Bellairs’ books filled the Potter-sized hole in their hearts after that series ended.
Before Amblin Entertainment's spine-tingling, magical adventure opens in theaters, journey inside The House with a Clock in Its Walls as it comes to life before your eyes. Experience magic and puzzles as you explore movie props and special effects before you ultimately escape. The experience is safe for kids, but will include a few light scares from the house itself.Where
The Tenacious D frontman is prepared for inevitable comparisons to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise due to the film’s notes of “wizardry and witchcraft”. The House with a Clock in Its Walls is also based on a book of the same name, the first in an 11-part (sic) series, however, Jack admitted he was unfamiliar with the 1973 novel by John Bellairs until he won the role.
“I didn’t know the books. But I quickly read this book when I got the part,” he shared. “I was a big fan of (the book’s illustrator) Edward Gorey’s, so it was cool to see a collaboration between him and another writer. And yeah, I really dug it. And I really dug what the screenwriter did in the adaptation (sic).”
