B-D have received an official release on the film: Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers – oh my! Starz Entertainment Group has produced an original new film entitled Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. The film provides a comprehensive and original look at the importance, prominence, and newfound legitimacy of the horror film genre and, more specifically, the sub-genre of the “slasher film.” The feature-length documentary contains an abundance of clips from classic films of the genre, as well as many current hits, and interviews with pre-eminent actors, directors, and producers, many of whom are themselves founders and masters of the genre. Based on the book of the same title by Adam Rockoff, the film premieres on Starz in October. Read on for more details…
Official release:
FREDDY’S DEAD?
STARZ ENTERTAINMENT GROUP PRODUCES SLASHER DOC
GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM
Original Production Traces the History, Popularity and Resurgence of Genre
Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers – oh my! Starz Entertainment Group has produced an original new film entitled GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM. The film provides a comprehensive and original look at the importance, prominence, and newfound legitimacy of the horror film genre and, more specifically, the sub-genre of the “slasher film.” The feature-length documentary contains an abundance of clips from classic films of the genre, as well as many current hits, and interviews with pre-eminent actors, directors, and producers, many of whom are themselves founders and masters of the genre. Based on the book of the same title by Adam Rockoff, the film premieres on Starz in October (EXACT DATE TBD).
Rockoff’s book studied and lauded such seminal films as Halloween, Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Psycho, Prom Night, When A Stranger Calls, Sleepaway Camp, Last House On The Left and Black Christmas. The film includes clips from many of these seminal films, as well as interviews with icons, filmmakers and cultural critics.
GOING TO PIECES is executive produced by Michael Ruggiero, vice president of programming for SEG. “Slasher films have always been extremely popular with audiences,” said Ruggiero. “Everyone has their favorite film with each having a fan base. These films are intricately explored for every nuance in magazines, websites and blogs. But there has never been a stand alone tribute documentary until now. It’s also interesting to note how the socio-political climate at the ’80s had it’s affects on the genre. Truly a sign of the times, everything from Reaganomics to the AIDS epidemic found its way into these films in one form or another.”
Those appearing in GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM (alphabetically) include John Carpenter (dir. Halloween), Bob Clark (dir. Black Christmas), Wes Craven (dir. The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream trilogy), Sean S. Cunningham (dir. Friday the 13th), Amy Holden Jones (dir. Slumber Party Massacre), Jeff Katz (prod. upcoming Friday the 13th sequel and exec. producer Snakes on a Plane), Henry Manfredini (composer Friday the 13th and all sequels), Armand Mastroianni (dir. He Knows You’re Alone and Friday the 13th television series), Gregory Nicotero (special effects/makeup Day of the Dead, Evil Dead II, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Child, Scream, Kill Bill Vol. 1-2), Betsy Palmer (actress Friday the 13th – “Mrs. Voorhees”), Tom Savini (special effects/makeup Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Maniac, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II), Robert Shaye (Chairman and CEO of New Line Cinema – prod of A Nightmare on Elm Street and its sequels), Joseph Stefano (screenwriter of Alfred Hitch****’s Psycho), Anthony Timpone (editor of horror magazine Fangoria), Stan Winston (dir. Pumpkinhead, special effects/makeup Friday the 13th Part III, Aliens), Joseph Zito (dir. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Bloodrage) and Rob Zombie (dir. The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses).
The film is produced by Candy Heart Productions’ Rachel Belofsky and Rudy Scalese and directed by Emmy®-nominee Jeff McQueen. Rachel Belofsky has come to prominence in the industry as the Founder and Director of LA’s Screamfest Horror Film Festival, arguably the world’s most important horror festival. Scalese joined Screamfest and Candy Heart Productions in the summer of 2004. As both an expert and an ardent fan of slasher films, Scalese brought the project to Belofsky, who also produced the award-winning women in racing documentary Fast Women. They both felt the time had come for a comprehensive study and tribute to the films that had made such an impact upon them, their colleagues, and their festival participants.
“There’s such a rich history of film to cull from, we started to make a short list of seminal films to draw upon,” said Belofsky. “That short list quickly became very long, as did the list of interviews. It’s a real testament to the significance of these films.” Scalese adds, “To look at the body of the work of the Slasher films is a reminder of what began as a tiny group of films that became the little engine that could and left a significant imprint on the history of American cinema.”
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