World Movie News: The Last 24 Hours
Houdini’s centenary, The Devils’ indefinite run, no Man of Tomorrow teaser, trouble for Klara and the Sun & Bollywood mourns Sanjay Gupta.
Morning, all, and happy Halloween. After yesterday’s sad news of Sir Patrick Stewart, today’s roundup has a centenary with a Halloween twist, plus a few stories from the film business.
A hundred years without Houdini: The great escapologist Harry Houdini died on Halloween 100 years ago today, on 31 October 1926, aged 52, at Grace Hospital in Detroit, where doctors found he had a ruptured appendix and peritonitis. He had finished his last show at the Garrick Theatre on 24 October despite a high fever. More than 2,000 people attended his funeral in New York on 4 November. Houdini also made films, including The Grim Game and Haldane of the Secret Service, which he directed, but he gave up acting when it failed to bring in money. His legend was later brought to the screen in the 1953 film Houdini, with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. It’s fitting that the man who could escape from anything never quite escaped the box office.
The Devils extended indefinitely: As I mentioned on 17 October, Ken Russell’s controversial 1971 horror drama The Devils, a Warner Bros. film, returned to US cinemas as a limited, one-week-only run of the Director’s Cut. That run has now been extended indefinitely. It’s a fittingly unholy way to spend Halloween weekend.
No Man of Tomorrow teaser: DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has confirmed that Man of Tomorrow, the follow-up to Superman, won’t be getting a teaser trailer before the end of the year, so you’ll be waiting a little longer for a first look at the sequel.
Trouble for Klara and the Sun: The Spanish release of Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun has reportedly been scrapped, with more territories across Europe potentially to follow. It comes after its North American opening, which took just $725,000: news I find utterly baffling, since I loved it and many other people I’ve talked to who’ve seen it also love it!
Sanjay Gupta: The Bollywood director died on Friday, aged 57 according to most reports, at his home in Mumbai, after a head injury caused by a fall, according to reports and the filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, who confirmed the news. Gupta made his debut with Aatish in 1994, and broke through with the 2002 heist thriller Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt, which was inspired by Reservoir Dogs. He went on to direct Zinda, Shootout at Wadala and Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil, produced Shootout at Lokhandwala, and was known for stylised, gritty crime films and frequent collaborations with Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham. Pandit remembered him as a wonderful narrator, full of life and passion for filmmaking. Rest in peace.
Birthdays: Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings, turns 65 today, and Dermot Mulroney of My Best Friend’s Wedding turns 63. Also celebrating is Rob Schneider (63), star of Big Daddy.
That’s all for today.
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