Karen Gillan, John Travolta, Ethan Hawke, and Taissa Farmiga Join 'In A Valley of Violence'

One of the keys to the small-budget success of Blumhouse Productions, beyond just selecting genre films that are inexpensive and have wide appeal, is their penchant for perfect casting. We've seen the success they've had with Ethan Hawke on The Purge and Sinister, doing well enough that both have sequels on the way. And now as horror maven Ti West prepares his next film, In A Valley of Violence, Blumhouse is again turning to Hawke and another repeat castmember to fill out the cast.

Hawke is set to lead In A Valley of Violence and he'll be joined by Karen Gillan, who recently starred in Blumhouse horror, Oculus. Also coming aboard are John Travolta and Taissa Farmiga (The Bling Ring) in what is being described as a revenge Western. Hawke will play a drifter with nothing to lose by seeking revenge on the thugs who killed his friend. Farmiga and Gillan are sisters running the town hotel and help Hawke's character with his plan. Nothing on Travolta's character yet but we have to assume he's one of the villains, right?

West's latest film, The Sacrament, opens in June which is when In A Valley of Violence begins shooting. Gillan will be seen next in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy as Nebula. [Deadline]

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Ethan Hawke and John Travolta Join Ti West's ''In a Valley of Violence'

When was the last time John Travolta starred in a horror? Was it Carrie way back in 1976? Whenever it was, it's not a genre we typically see him in, while Ethan Hawke has become a veteran after starring in Sinister and The Purge. Now the two will team up to star in the next film from horror director, Ti West.

Travolta and Hawke will lead In a Valley of Violence, a revenge Western which West will write and direct. Plot details are being kept under wraps but it will be set in the 1980s. Blumhouse Pictures, the studio behind Paranormal Activity and Hawke's aforementioned hits is on board for this one, and it's kind of cool to have Travolta in the fold. It'll be a good way for him to get beyond the whole "Adele Dazeem" thing.

This is a change of pace for West, who last directed The Sacrament, a horror opening in May and starring Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, and AJ Bowen.[THR]

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New Trailer for Ti West Horror 'The Sacrament', Produced by Eli Roth

Eli Roth knows a thing or two about movies following Americans who get in over their heads while on vacation abroad, and Ti West is no slouch in the horror realm either. So the combination of the two should bode well for The Sacrament, which West is directing with Roth lending a hand as producer. Last week a red band trailer for the film was released, and now a new all-ages version takes you into the heart of darkness.

Featuring an impressive cast that includes Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Upstream Color stand-out Amy Seimetz, Kentucker Audley, and Gene Jones, the film follows two VICE reporters in Central America documenting a friend's search for his missing sister. They wind up Eden Parish, an isolated religious community led by a charismatic, mysterious figure known as "the Father". As you can imagine, things don't go too well after that.

The Sacrament hits VOD on May 1st, with a theatrical run on June 6th. Check out the green and red band trailers below.


The Sacrament - Red Band Trailer by Dread Central

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Sure Shots: Michael Keaton; Ti West; Daniel Craig

* I always thought Michael Keaton's directorial debut, The Merry Gentleman, was a film that was sorely overlooked even after its festival success. Keaton proved himself to be a real actor's director, not surprisingly, so it's been a shame that it's taken this long for him to take another stab at it. He'll next direct Buttercup, a dramedy about a woman who is forced to take responsibility for her father after repeated drunk driving violations. In so doing she learns to accept him and trust the other men in her life. Sounds like a friggin' riot. The script was written by Alice O'Neil, and the film has had a ton of talent previously attached to it. Jennifer Aniston and Alan Arkin were set to star at one point, along with Sarah Polley and Niki Caro circling the director's gig. We'll see if Keaton's the guy to finally bring Buttercup to light, and maybe he can even be convinced to star? [Variety]

* Ti West has had a busy year already, having already directed the excellent horror The Innkeepers, and having provided a segment for V/H/S, which is doing great On Demand right now. He's not finished, though, as a press release confirms he'll direct The Sacrament, which you've probably guessed is yet another horror. Eli Roth is producing, which is funny because West directed Cabin Fever 2, a sequel to Roth's breakthrough feature. Plot details on The Sacrament are being hidden for now, but the title would indicate there's something religious and freaky going on. Filming begins later this month in Georgia.

* Daniel Craig has reportedly upped his contract to remain as James Bond for two more movies after Skyfall. To me this indicates the studio's confidence in the film's and Craig's success, despite the lukewarm reaction to Quantum of Solace. If he does indeed stick around, that would be five movies for Craig, one more than Pierce Brosnan. It also means he'd be the iconic super spy for the celebratory 25th film in the James Bond franchise. [MI6]

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Ti West to adapt 'Bedbugs' for the big screen

Ti West has quickly established himself as the horror maven to watch, with movies like The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, the latter turning out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year so far. Most recently he was set to direct The Side Effect, a sci-fi thriller with Liv Tyler set to lead, but it's been kinda quiet on that front for awhile. Throwing a bit more murk into the mix comes the latest story from Deadline, stating that West has signed up to adapt Ben Winters' horror novel, Bedbugs.

Tango Pictures secured the film rights to the book, which sounds a lot like the movie Bug. The story follows Susan and Alex Wendt, who move into a beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn with their young daughter. Soon after, Susan wakes up with what she thinks are bedbug bites, but nobody else in the family has received a single nibble. Is she crazy? Or is something else afoot?

So clearly this is more of a psychological thing than an actual scare fest, and West has proven to be good at handling both. At this point he's only on board to pen the script, but don't be surprised if he winds up as director when all is said and done.

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Liv Tyler to star in Ti West's 'The Side Effect'

Well, that Ti West guy works fast. The horror maestro behind The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, has been doing a good deal of chatting about his latest film. Titled The Side Effect, he hopes to get it off the ground next month, having finally secured funding. Although it also deals with pharmaceuticals, don't get it confused with the Steven Soderbergh film, The Side Effects. The two are very different

Now that it appears to be a done deal, Deadline reports that Liv Tyler is the first to join the sci-fi thriller. She'll play Catherine Rigby, a woman working alone in outer space as some sort of experimental test subject. After she mysteriously becomes pregnant, she tries to figure out how it happened but eventually begins to fall victim to paranoia.

While 2011 saw Tyler in two movies, not many people saw either one. She co-starred in the poor man's Kick-Ass, the superhero movie known as Super. And she also starred in the indie thriller, The Ledge, which I don't think ever got a national release and is currently available on DVD.

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