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WIRE Buzz: American Gods prays up Marilyn Manson for S3; Tinder chooses its own adventure; more
It's time to get on your knees and pray because Marilyn Manson has been cast in the third season of American Gods, Deadline confirms. Per the report, Manson is playing Johan Wengren, the blood-loving frontman of Blood Death, a Viking death metal band that supplies power to the character of Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane).
"As a long-time admirer of his estimable talent as an author, artist, musician, and actor, it is dope indeed to be working with Mr. Manson in Season 3 of American Gods,” showrunner Chic Eglee said in a statement to Deadline. "Bringing his specific energy, wit, and boundless enthusiasm for all-things-Neil-Gaiman to the role of Johan, a Norse ‘berserker’ in service to Odin, his performance promises to be disturbing, original, and uniquely entertaining."
Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman, American Gods tells the story of how old world deities (like Mr. Wednesday and Orlando Jones' Anansi) attempt to stay relevant in a modern world that is more consumed with technology and consumerism than classic worship. The main threat to these fast-fading gods is Mr. World (Crispin Glover), the deity of 21st Century globalization.
Season 3 of the series is expected to premiere on Starz in 2020. The show co-stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber, Mousa Kraish, Omid Abtahi, and Demore Barnes.
Tinder is known for connecting people romantically, but according to Variety, the dating app has been working on a choose your own adventure series under our noses this entire time. It's been so secretive, that the show is all ready to be streamed online next month.
Consisting of six episodes, the still-untitled project "is set against an impending apocalypse, one of the insiders noted, and asks the question 'Who would you spend your last night alive with?' The show will upload directly to the Tinder app, and users will be able to swipe right or left (the service’s basic function of approving or denying a potential love match) and advance the plot as they see fit," reads Variety's description.
Directed by music video alum, Karena Evans, the series recently finished shooting in Mexico City. While it will first debut on Tinder, the show's producers are reportedly thinking about bringing it to a traditional streaming platform like Netflix. That company already proved it understands the format after releasing Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
That being said, the experimental entertainment (which runs just over two hours and is code-named "Project X") was made to be viewed vertically on a smartphone. The whole thing was shot for around $5 million and stars "up-and-coming" actors.
RLJE Films has scooped up the U.S. distribution rights for VFW, a horror-action movie about a group of elderly war vets who protect a teenager from an unhinged drug dealer and his army of "punk mutants," writes Deadline. The film, whose title is the acronym for "Veterans of Foreign Wars," was written by Max Brallier & Matthew McArdle and directed by Joe Begos (Almost Human).
Stephen Lang (Avatar), William Sadler (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey), Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn), and Martin Kove (The Karate Kid) all play the titular army vets.
“We are so excited to work with the legendary Stephen Lang,” RLJE Films’ chief acquisitions officer Mark Ward said in a statement run by Deadline. “With Joe Begos at the helm, we have no doubt that the movie will create waves at this year’s Fantastic Fest and set the momentum for the upcoming release.”
This news come just days before the project will enjoy its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin this weekend.
