‘John Wick 2’ To Start Shooting

A sequel to John Wick is slated to begin production for Lionsgate this fall — which means any day now. This is terrific news.

John Wick was the sleeper hit — if an action movie can be considered a sleeper — of 2014, with Keanu Reeves in the title role of a hitman forced out of retirement to wreak destruction on an epic scale. Reeves will be back for John Wick 2, along with co-directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, and writer Derek Kolstad. It instantly became a cult favorite.

As for capturing lightning in a bottle again, Stahelski said:

“We have ideas for days and without blinking twice we know we can outdo the action from the original. It’s the matter of story and how much you like the character. That’s always the most important. If there’s great action but you have a character that no one likes and doesn’t have charisma you’re not going to watch it. Look at any great action star, whether it’s Harrison Ford or Liam Neeson or Robert Downey Jr., pick a name, you love the guy first. Good action, bad action, you just love them in action. So we want to make sure we have a story and a character that everybody loves and then we’ll dress it with action that we promise will be awesome.”

The Art of H.P. Lovecraft

As a final special tribute on this, the 123^rd anniversary of the birth of H.P. Lovecraft, I’ve gathered a little gallery of artwork inspired by his writings.

Obviously I did not draw/paint any of these, so mad props (and all rights) to the talented artists who did the heavy lifting here.

‘Machete Kills’ Teaser Is Hilarious!

This trailer could not be any more off-the-wall if it tried — but what else would you expect from this Robert Rodriguez sequel to a film (Machete) that started out as a joke trailer in Quentin Tarantino‘s 2007 Grindhouse project? Don’t think, just watch it.

My favorite aspect of this clip is the retro-’70s exploitation feel, chiefly fueled by the gravel-voiced narration. This looks like a fun rental; not sure it’s worth a ghastly cineplex admission.