The Last House on the Left

Last House & Terminator nominated for Saturn Awards

The nominations for the Saturn Awards were released earlier today. The Last House on the Left is up for Best Horror Film and The Sarah Connor Chronicles is nominated for Best DVD Television Release. You can find the complete list of nominees here.

BEST HORROR FILM
The Box
Drag Me to Hell
Frozen
The Last House on the Left
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Zombieland

BEST DVD TELEVISION RELEASE
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season
Primeval, Volume 2
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season
Life on Mars: The Complete Series

Stephen King includes Last House and The Road on his Top 10 list

Stephen King has posted a list of the Top 10 Films of ’09 on his column at Entertainment Weekly. He put The Last House on the Left at #2 and The Road at #3. His number one is The Hurt Locker. Here is what he wrote about the films:

2. THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

Easily the most brilliant remake of the decade, and not just because the 1972 original was such a crapfest. This beautifully photographed — but hard to watch — movie is the standard by which all horror/suspense films should be judged: The acting is superior (Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul is especially fine), the story makes sense, and, most importantly, Last House’s moral compass points to true north. We don’t want these creeps back for six or eight sequels; they are monsters, and we want them dead. This film is on par with The Silence of the Lambs.

3. THE ROAD

Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the apocalypse comes to the screen with all its spare and deadly beauty intact. It’s often painful to watch (at my screening I actually heard the projectionist sobbing as the film neared its end), but Viggo Mortensen’s performance as the dedicated father is Oscar bait.

the last house on the left,garret dillahunt,aaron paul

2009 in review

Okay, it’s the last day of the year and this blog will be a year old tomorrow, so I am posting a recap of everything that’s happened in 2009.

Hope everyone has a great time tonight and a fantastic year ahead.

See you in 2010!

_________________________________________________________________________________

The year started with Terminator promo and press tours. The show returned with the last nine episodes in the Friday slot in mid-February.

garret dillahunt,john henry,terminator,the sarah connor chronicles

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming Winter’s Bone in Missouri. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January. If anyone plans on going, the Sundance screening schedule is here.

The Last House on the Left opened on March 13. The reviews ranged from excellent to free branding campaign and the film made it to several lists of best horrors of the year. In October, it won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009.

garret dillahunt,krug,last house on the left

Toward the end of the month, Garret played his fifth character on T:SCC, the Skynet virus from the future. Previous four were George Laszlo, Cromartie, the Beastwizard and John Henry.

In late March, the first pictures from Burning Bright appeared online. Burning Bright was later renamed to Ravenous and it still awaits theatrical release. In November, it was screened at the AFM. The first reviews were pretty positive.

garret dillahunt,burning bright,ravenous

In early April, Water Pills had its U.S. premiere at the Florida Film Festival. Jasmine Jessica Anthony walked away with a grand jury award for best performance.

garret dillahunt,water pills

Also in April, two series finales aired two days apart. Garret snuffed the TV crew and gave Damian Lewis his final headache in Life on April 8. Life season two was released on DVD on August 25.

garret dillahunt,roman nevikov,life

The Terminator finale aired on April 10. Despite cancellation, the show made it to #8 on the list of  the Top 10 Most Pirated Shows in 2009. Last year, it was the only new show among the top 10, at #4.

garret dillahunt,terminator

In the meantime, Garret joined Delroy Lindo and Roslyn Ruff in Things of Dry Hours, a play by Naomi Wallace about communists in 1930s Alabama. Rehearsals started on April 21.

garret dillahunt,theatre,things of dry hours,delroy lindo

The first trailer for The Road hit the web on May 15.

garret dillahunt,gang member,the road

On May 18, Fox announced that they would not be picking up Terminator for a third season. Even though there has been talk of a possible TV/DVD movie, Terminator rights are currently up for grabs and in limbo until February 2010.

On May 20, Garret appeared in the season finale of Criminal Minds.

garret dillahunt,criminal minds,mason turner

Two days later, Things of Dry Hours went into previews at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show premiered on June 8 and ran through June 28. Critics liked the cast, but were divided on the writing.

garret dillahunt,things of dry hours,delroy lindo,roslyn ruff

At some point over the spring/summer, Garret was cast in Madeleine Stowe’s Unbound Captives, an independent western epic with Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. If they get financing in time, the film will go into production in March (at the earliest).

In late July and early August, Garret filmed two TV guest appearances,  on CSI and Lie to Me, and a short film, One Night Only.

Garret Dillahunt, Tim Roth, Lie to Me

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD in mid-August.

garret dillahunt,last house on the left,krug

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming the season three finale of Burn Notice. The episode will air in March 2010.

garret dillahunt,burn notice,john mahoney

The trailer for One Night Only was released on September 2.

garret dillahunt,one night only

On September 3, The Road had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Ten days later, it was screened in Toronto.

Terminator: The Complete Season Two was released on DVD on September 22.

On September 24, the CSI season 10 premiere aired. “Family Affair” is one of the five hours of television nominated for an ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Award this year.

garret dillahunt,csi,family affair

Speaking of CSI, in a fine display of Terminator fanboyism, the last episode before the break, Better off Dead, had a bunch of people stealing Cromartie’s music and killing each other. Also, a killer described as a Terminator.

On October 13, Oliver Sherman, an independent drama with Molly Parker and Donal Logue, went into production in North Bay. The film will most likely premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, but Canadians might get an early screening in the spring.

garret dillahunt,oliver sherman

On October 21st, Garret appeared on Lie to Me.

garret dillahunt,lie to me,honey

And two days later, on Law & Order: SVU.

garret dillahunt,mariska hargitay,svu

The Road finally saw its U.S. premiere at AFI fest in early November. On Thanksgiving, it got a limited release. Even though the film has been vastly overlooked in the early awards season, the reviews were mostly positive and it scored a few acting nods (Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee) from several critics’ societies (Broadcast Film Critics, Utah Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics).

Garret Dillahunt,Gang Member,The Road

On November 13, Garret appeared on White Collar.

garret dillahunt,white collar

And the next day, One Night Only had its premiere in New York.

garret dillahunt,one night only

In November, Garret was cast in two new projects. The comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, was filmed earlier this month. If it gets picked up, it will be aired in the 2010/11 season.

The other project, John Sayles’ film Baryo, starts shooting in February in the Philippines. The crew is already there, building the set and preparing for the shoot. You can follow the updates on the new production blog, at johnsaylesbaryo.blogspot.com.

And that about wraps it up. If 2010 is even half as eventful, it will be another excellent year.

The Last House on the Left wins a Reaper Award

The Last House on the Left has won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009. Wes Craven’s 1972 film has also won an award, for Best Slasher. Relevant bits from the press release and the full list of winners after the jump.

Martha MacIsaac,Garret Dillahunt,The Last House on the Left,2009

The announcement came at a red carpet gala awards dinner and cocktail party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 13. The 2009 Reaper Awards were presented by Home Media Magazine and DreadCentral.com. (…)

The Best Slasher Award went to two recipients this year, Laid to Rest from Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Last House on the Left from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/MGM.

Reaper Awards 2009 Winners:

Best of Show
Hellraiser Box Set, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best DTV Release
Alien Raiders, Warner Home Video

Best Packaging
Hellraiser Box Set, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best Boxed Set or TV Series
Dexter: The Complete Third Season, Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS/Showtime

Best Re-release
Friday the 13th: Deluxe Editions (Parts 1-6), Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Blu-ray Disc
Ghostbusters, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Indie/Foreign
[REC], Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Theatrical
The Last House on the Left (2009), Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Zombie
Quarantine, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Slasher
The Last House on the Left (1972), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/MGM

Best Slasher
Laid to Rest, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best Ghost Story
The Haunting in Connecticut, Lionsgate

Best Vampire/Werewolf
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Re-mastering
Hellraiser, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Lifetime Achievement
Michael Felsher, Red Shirt Pictures [Press release]

The Last House on the Left Q&A – Garret, Monica Potter & Wes Craven

The Last House on the Left Region 2 Blu-rayThe Last House on the Left will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 2 on October 19. British film site Stale Popcorn posted their Q&A sessions with Garret, Monica Potter and Wes Craven. Here is a snippet:

Q: How is Krug different in this movie to the villain in the 1972 version?

A: Times have changed, and I wanted my guy to be more of a rageaholic, without the drug influence. And the father angle is explored further in this movie as well.

Q: Krug must be one of the most horrific characters you have ever played.

A: Yes, but I also felt sorry for him. I know people who are angry at what life has handed them – albeit not to that extreme – and take it out on everyone around them.

Q: And it’s even more tragic here due to the fact that he also has a kid…

A: And a good kid who, despite Krug, is kind of normal and ultimately does what is right, so it’s tragic that he doesn’t have a proper father.

Q: So, your character is multi-layered then?

A: That’s what I liked about him. His complexity made my job interesting.

Q: It seems that as an actor you like to challenge yourself with very different roles, going from one extreme to another…

A: I know, but I thought that’s what we were supposed to do as actors: one day you are the king and the next you are the beggar. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I can pull off a character that is very far from me or from the last character I played. It’s important to me.

Q: When you think of a villain that has impressed you on screen, which film comes to mind?

A: I really like Terrence Malick’s BADLANDS because that villain – a serial killer – is very interesting.

To read the whole thing, go here.