Sunday, September 9, 2018

Film News: Eli Roth has 'House' sequel 'ready'

Are fans ready for more Lewis Barnavelt? Eli Roth has a story "ready" for a  The House with a Clock in its Walls sequel, according to Celebretainment:

Friday, September 7, 2018

Film News: Roth, Black and the "Black Satanic Goat"

Celebretainment reports 'House' director Eli Roth let loose a "black satanic goat" to trash Jack Black's trailer during the filing filming of The House with a Clock in Its Walls:

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Film News: 'House' Leads Studio Television Ad Spending

If you've been seeing a lot of Lewis Barnavelt recently there's a reason.  Variety reports  that Universal Pictures claims the top spot in television spending with The House With a Clock in Its Walls:

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

#HousewithaclockReadalong Happening This Month

Author and blogger and Richard Denney is celebrating John Bellairs again this month.  Richard and friends are reading - what else? - The House with a Clock in its Walls to celebrate the upcoming film in just a mere 15 days.  That's around 1,296,000 ticks to go! Not that we're counting - or reusing that joke again.  Share your thoughts with Richard and friends...happy reading, all.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Monday, September 3, 2018

Film News: Black Tackling ‘Scary Side of Kids’ Cinema’

In an interview with Film News UK, Jack Black discusses his role of Jonathan Barnavelt:
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).”

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Film News: Jackson’s 'Thriller 3D’ to Play on IMAX Screens with ‘House'

The Associated Press reports that Michael Jackson’s estate and the IMAX company are partnering to digitally remaster Michael Jackson’s Thriller 3D for a special theatrical presentation ahead of director Eli Roth’s The House with a Clock in Its Walls.

Film News: The New Shocking Is Doing a PG Movie

At an editing bay on the Universal Studios lot recently, director Eli Roth screened scenes from The House With a Clock in Its Walls for Chris Lea of Vulture and the two chatted about why Roth wanted to do a kids’ film now:

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The Day Caroline Vandriel met John Bellairs

We sense columnist Caroline Vandriel may not be alone in some of these thoughts:
A few weeks ago, while online, I happened upon a movie trailer for “The House with a Clock in its Walls”. While I was intrigued by the casting (Jack Black and Cate Blanchette), I was thrown by the visual styling of it. The music track, title lettering, and overall tone was reminiscent of the Harry Potter films, and I assumed it was a knock off, which irked me. Knock offs are rarely as good as their original counterparts, and, to my way of thinking, it’s cheating. I decided to check out the book it was based on, fully anticipating being bored and annoyed. I was wrong.

Read more of her "creepy cool" comments in the Aug.7 edition of the Eckville Echo.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Interview: Derek Piotr

If you’re looking for something to complement your reading why not select some of the sounds of Derek Piotr. He's an experimental musician - really a producer and composer - and recently shared his thoughts on being a life-long fan of John Bellairs’s books.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Marshall to roll out red carpet for 'The House with a Clock in Its Walls'

Nick Buckley of the Battle Creek Enquirer reports on some of the ways that John Bellairs's hometown of Marshall will welcome in the film adaption of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

An Interview with #PriscillaBellairs

Back in May, Priscilla Bellairs sat down with Dr. Chris for an enlightening interview on the Radio of Horror . If you missed the original broadcast, here's the audio. Happy listening!

Friday, June 8, 2018

Film: Composer Builds Scoring Stage Just for Classic Wurlitzer Pipe Organ

Variety reports [June 6] how composer Nathan Barr is giving new life to a decades old Wurlitzer pipe organ and how  it's 21st-century debut for movie audiences comes this September in The House With a Clock in its Walls:

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Memoriam: Richard Peck

Author Richard Peck has died at the age of 84. 

Don't Look and It Won't Hurt (1972) was his first of 40 novels for young readers.  His writing earned him the 1990 Margaret Edwards Award, the 1990 National Council of Teachers of English/ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

His 1975 novel, The Ghost Belonged to Me, introduced readers to Blossom Culp who would go on to feature in four of Peck's novels.  Ghost was one of three stories included in Once Upon a Midnight Scary, the 1979 program hosted by Vincent Price that included, in addition to Peck's novel, adaptations of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The House with a Clock in its Walls.