The BBC reports that Michael Clarke Duncan, best known for his role as convicted murderer John Coffey in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Green Mile, has died at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack.

Duncan, a former bodyguard, only began acting in his thirties. While he had a variety of roles, The Green Mile was the film which brought him instant fame and much acclaim as an actor. He was Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actor for the role.

He had other genre roles in films such as Armageddon, alongside Bruce Willis, Daredevil, with Ben Affleck, and Sin City. The Guardian‘s obituary contains a number of film clips from Duncan’s short-lived, but highly memorable, film career.

British-born Hollywood film / TV director Tony Scott, brother of Alien director Ridley Scott, has died in an apparent suicide. It is reported that he jumped from a bridge in Los Angeles.

The director was mostly known for his fast-paced action adventures such as Top Gun, but had involvement in several genre blockbusters which included directing The Hunger (1983) and producing Prometheus (2012), directed by his brother Ridley.

Read the full BBC report HERE

The BBC reports that award-winning Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who created ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, has died at the age of 86.

Rambaldi was a “monster-maker” who created special effects for many films besides ET, including Alien, King Kong, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Dune. He received Oscars for his work on ET, Alien and King Kong.

Read the full BBC report HERE

Grayson Pictures is to give a UK DVD release to the rarely seen Singaporean military chiller Curse on 10 September 2012.

Set in on the Island of Pulau Hantu in the south of Singapore. Curse tells the terrifying tale of a military squad sent to an island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a group of soldiers. Accidentally disturbing a burial site, they unleash a terrifying supernatural curse…

Curse is directed by Esan Sivalinhgam who said of the shoot: “We expected it to be one hell of an adventure but it turned out to be the adventure from hell”. Facing torrential downpours, extreme temperatures, venomous reptiles plus censorship issues and stumbling across a real burial site, it was a miracle the film was completed in its fifteen-day schedule.

Curse will be the first release by newly-created Grayson Pictures and more details of release, including artwork, more stills and special extras will be announced soon.

Grimm Up North have a very limited allocation of Early Bird Festival Passes available at the incredible reduced price of £45.00 (+£2 booking fee). They are available at this price, exclusively from the Grimmfest website, for a short time only. To secure your ticket click HERE.

The festival pass allows full access to every screening and event from Friday 5 – Sunday 7 October 2012 at the Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester (excluding the opening night gala on 4 October).

Also, the first three films have been announced. They premiere a new HD version of Frank Henenlotter’s 1982 low budget cult classic Basket Case, due for  release in late October 2012. Recently released nationwide in its home country to rave reviews, new Spanish horror comedy Attack of the Werewolves will get its English premiere at Grimm Up North. Last but by no means least they have the recently announced Cabal Cut of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. Full details HERE.

Plus, there will be special guests to be announced later, Q&As, signings and much more. Keep an eye on the GrimmFest website for more information as it’s announced.

Chris Marker, the French film-maker whose short film La Jetée (The Jetty) inspired several leading science fiction authors and film-makers, has died at the age of 91.

His 1962 dystopian short inspired authors such as William Gibson and J.G. Ballard. Terry Gilliam‘s 1995 film 12 Monkeys was also directly inspired by La Jetée.

You can read tributes to the film-maker HERE and HERE

Telos Publishing have two new releases available now. Ape-Man: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to 100 Years of Tarzan by Sean Egan, covers the Tarzan phenomenon from beginning to end. Telos Movie Classics: Hulk by Tony Lee is the first in a projected series of film guides focussing on cult and other films of interest. The Telos Movie Classics guides are intended to be: “A series of guides to some of the most talked-about films ever produced. From classics and acclaimed features to lesser-known or overlooked works, but all deserving of critical appraisal.”

About Ape-Man, the Telos website states: “This book traces Tarzan’s history in prose, film, comic strips, comic books, radio, stage, television, computer games and merchandise, charting the rise of one of the most popular and iconic characters in fiction. Included is the last ever interview with Danton Burroughs (grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs), plus exclusive comments from Michael Moorcock, Hugh Hudson, R.A. Salvatore and the oldest surviving screen Tarzan, Denny Miller, amongst many more. The book also examines the massive changes in public attitudes towards Africa, race, hereditary peers and wildlife conservation that may finally deal Tarzan the fatal blow that any number of sinister safaris and high priests of mysterious lost cities failed to.”

About Hulk: “From its 1962 comicbook origins in The Incredible Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, director Ang Lee’s classic movie Hulk (2003) updates and reinvents the story of how scientist Bruce Banner is transformed into a giant rage monster, and becomes a new antihero for the 21st century …. This book reviews the movie’s narrative complexity and its varied genre elements – including science fiction, tragic drama, action thriller, doomed romance, and modern fairytale – and studies the mythological references, realised by an artistically innovative editing style and groundbreaking visual effects.”

Full details at the Telos website HERE

Actor Richard Lynch has died at his home in California at the age of 76. He was a regular horror movie “villain”, appearing in films including Scarecrow (1973), Bad Dreams (1988) and Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of Halloween. His last role was in Zombie’s upcoming film, The Lords of Salem, due to be released later this year.

Lynch also appeared in numerous TV SF series such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Read the BBC report HERE

Entertainment industry publication Variety, and other film industry websites, report that R.B. Russell’s novella Bloody Baudelaire is currently being filmed in Portland, Maine, US by 3:1 Cinema and Fischer Productions. Directed by Francisco Orvañanos, it has the working title Backgammon, and stars Noah Silver (The Borgias), Brittany Allen (Emmy award-winner for All My Children) Alex Beh (CSI: Miami), Olivia Crocicchia (Rescue Me) and Christian Alexander (The Lying Game). The screenplay is by R.B. Russell, Todd Niemi and Francisco Orvañanos.

Bloody Baudelaire was first published by Ex Occidente in 2009, and has recently been included in the reprint collection Ghosts (Swan River Press, 2012). Both are currently out of print. Ray Russell’s agent, Artellus Ltd, is currently looking for a mainstream press to reprint the novella.