Platinum Dunes’ remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street is slated for release on April 30. Several Nightmare related products are scheduled for release, to coincide with the new film.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Blu-ray
Scheduled for April 6, 2010
Click here to order

“1, 2, Freddy’s coming for you.” And here he is, phantom fiend Freddy Krueger in all his razor-fingered infamy. Wes Craven (Scream movies) directs this trendsetting first in the slash-hit series. The premise is simple: Freddy (Robert Englund) homicidally haunts the sleep of Elm Street teens. The results are terrifying and mind-blowingly innovative. There’s another film debut too: Johnny Depp. He plays the ready steady of the hottie mcsmarty (Heather Langenkamp) who figures a clever way to flambé the fiend. But ever-say-die Freddy will be 3, 4 back for more…even returning to the screen in a killer 2010 remake of this diabolical original. Sweet dreams!

Features
+ Ready Freddy Focus Points: See alternate takes and learn filmmaking secrets behind the nightmare by jumping to video highlights while watching the movie.
+ Two commentary tracks: (1) Director Wes Craven, co-stars Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, and cinematographer Jacques Haitkin, (2) Wes Craven, co-stars Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and Ronee Blakley, producer Robert Shaye, and co-producer Sara Risher
+ Alternate endings
+ Three featurettes: The House That Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror; Never Sleep Again: The Making of A Nightmare on Elm Street; and Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares.

Nightmare on Elm Street Collection
Scheduled for April 13, 2010
Click here to order

“Don’t fall asleep” — words to live by for Elm Street teens. Not a problem for fans wide awake with fear (and glee) as they experience these first 8 Nightmare movies released from 1984 to 2003. Each features Robert Englund’s masterfully macabre incarnation of slouch-hatted, razor-fingered Freddy Krueger, who mixes wicked wit with even wickeder mayhem as he haunts teens when they’re asleep and most vulnerable. A newspaper article about children who died after having fearsome nightmares provided the real-life springboard for filmmaker Wes Craven’s breakthrough series. Perhaps that underlying reality helps make these shockers so unnerving. Or maybe it’s just that we all like a good scare…and that this series consistently, imaginatively delivers some of the best.

Disc 1: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Includes: Commentary by Director Wes Craven, Co-Stars Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon and Cinematographer Jacques Haitkin Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare.
Disc 2: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Includes: Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 3: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Includes: Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 4: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Includes: Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 5: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Includes: Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 6: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
Includes: Original 3-D End Sequence Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 7: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
Includes: Commentary by Wes Craven Cast/Crew Biographies Jump to a Nightmare
Disc 8: Freddy Vs. Jason
Includes: Commentary by Director Ronny Yu, Robert Englund (Freddy) and Ken Kirzinger (Jason) Jump to a Death

Freddy Krueger 2010 Remake Doll
Scheduled for April 14, 2010
Click here to order

Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls series presents the latest incarnation of nightmare demon Freddy Krueger from the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street starring Jackie Earl Haley (Watchmen’s Rorschach). The infamous maniac comes dressed in his trademark striped sweater and removable fedora, along with his newly designed glove. Fifth panel window box.

The infamous maniac from the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street returns as a Living Dead Doll! Dressed in his trademark striped sweater, the terror of Elm Street comes with a removable hat and his newly redesigned lethal glove. Freddy is packaged in a collector-friendly fifth-panel window box. The world of horror–and your collection–will never be the same!

Freddy Krueger Mez-Itz Figure
Scheduled for April 14, 2010
Click here to order

The terror of Elm Street is re-imagined as a Mez-It, 6′ tall roto-cast vinyl collectible! The disfigured dream-stalker joins Mezco’s designer toy vinyl line and comes complete with his removable hat and his trademark lethal glove. Features 5 points of articulation, Freddy comes packaged in a collector-friendly window box.

Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash Vol. 2: The Nightmare Warriors
Scheduled for July 20, 2010
Click here to order

Beneath the bloody waters of Crystal Lake, an immortal evil wakes and begins a new cycle of violence. Six months after the events of FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH, a power-hungry government bureaucrat unleashes the denizens of the Necronomicon – including the banished spirit of the Springwood Slasher, Freddy Krueger.

The covert government group called Project Black Book is unleashing creatures of mass destruction in its bid to gain control over the Necronomicon. And as the survivors of Freddy and Jason’s murder sprees congregate, the short-lived reunion is shattered by the violent arrival of Jason Voorhees. But when a mysterious stranger arrives to aid in the battle, Jason must confront the one man who has not only survived his murderous rampages but has also “killed him” in the past.

Warner Bros. released a new “banner” for Platinum Dunes’ A Nightmare on Elm Street today.

A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 30, 2010.

Rooney Mara, Jackie Earle Haley, and Kyle Gallner explain their reinvention of the horror classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

See here for the interviews… Read the rest of this entry »

As promised, MySpace posted the second trailer for Platinum Dunes’ A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Freddy Krueger returns in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ a contemporary re-imagining of the horror classic. A group of suburban teenagers share one common bond: they are all being stalked by Freddy Krueger, a horribly disfigured killer who hunts them in their dreams. As long as they stay awake, they can protect one another… but when they sleep, there is no escape. Jackie Earle Haley stars as Krueger.

MySpace posted the new movie poster for Platinum Dunes’ upcoming remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Here is what they say:

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW NIGHTMARE.

While Warner Bros. Pictures A Nightmare on Elm Street doesn’t arrive in theaters until April 30, the studio wants you to dream of the day by torturing us with all sorts of goodies from the forthcoming redo. This morning various websites brought you their reports from the filming locations in Chicago, IL, while this evening you’ll be dreaming of good ol’ Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) thanks to this brand spanking new one sheet! What do you guys think of it?

Watch MySpace this Thursday for the final trailer!

A Nightmare on Elm Street is slated for release April 30, 2010.

Also, be sure to check out Part 1 of our set visit here.

Rusted tools sit atop an aging workbench, glimmering in the light of an eerie green backdrop. Makeshift gloves with metal blades attached to the fingers can be seen nailed to the nearby wall, their shadows looming over the decayed woodwork. Boiler pipes and wet concrete surround the area, and give way into darkness. Movie audiences would instantly recognize this setting from a horror film, and they’d be right! The Nightmare on Elm Street Companion, along with a group of select press, is on the set of Platinum Dunes’ upcoming reboot of the horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street.

A Nightmare on Elm Street, originally released by New Line Cinema in 1984, introduced audiences to villain Freddy Krueger, the dream demon who stalked and killed teens in their dreams. Nightmare proved a success at the box office and ushered in seven popular sequels, making the diabolical Freddy Krueger a household name (seemingly) overnight. New Line Cinema, often referred to as “the house that Freddy built,” announced in 2008 that they partnered with production company Platinum Dunes to give audiences a fresh look at the terrifying world of Nightmare.

Reboot territory is certainty not new to Platinum Dunes—the production team of Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, and Michael Bay—known for their successful horror “re-imaginings” of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, and most recently, Friday the 13th. For this film, experienced music video director Samuel Bayer (David Bowie, Nirvana, Green Day) was brought on to head the picture, working from a script written by Wesley Strick (Cape Fear, Doom). Academy Award-Nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Little Children) will star as Freddy Krueger, along with relative newcomers Rooney Mara (Urban Legends: Bloody Mary) as Nancy Thompson and Kyle Gallner (Smallville) as Quentin.

The date is June 25, 2009, and it is a mild summer day in Chicago, Illinois where the cast and crew of Nightmare have been filming since mid-April. Crews busily attend to prepping a dream scene, as Mara and Gallner wait to be called on set. Producers Fuller and Form monitor crew progress, while Bayer assists with camera setup and positioning. Excitement is definitely in the air for this project and the Platinum Dunes team seems to be in good spirits:

“To us, it’s one of the best concepts for a horror film,” comments Fuller, on what attracted Platinum Dunes to Nightmare. “You fall asleep, you die. All you have to do is stay awake [to survive]. We find ourselves attracted to a very charismatic antagonist; charismatic either in their weaponry or their personality. I feel like Freddy is the jewel in the horror crown.”

As the crew continues to move props into place, Patrick Lumb, head of production design, briefly explains the scene’s look and what inspired the film’s visual design. “The inspiration for the film really came from the script,” says Lumb. “With all films, when I design them, it normally starts from script, which was kind of fun on this project because the script was good, but it’s been quite fluid, there’s been a few changes throughout. [With] this basement set, we could have made it all gray, concrete, dripping walls and, you know, loads of rust all over the place—so we’ve tried to do something a little different. It’s still a spooky, scary environment. The walls are fluorescent green—they’re not now because we’ve aged it down—but you try to make things slightly different. The closer things are to reality, I think the scarier they are.”

It isn’t long before movement winds down and everyone is told to take their places, the set is now ready. Mara is called in first and takes her position on an old dirty mattress, while Gallner follows and takes his position in a chair across the room. The two rehearse their scene a few times before Bayer shouts, “action!”

“Wake up, Quentin!” Mara yells, as she jumps up and struggles to awaken the sleeping Gallner. After filming multiple shots of this sequence, Bayer excuses the two and requests “the mold.” The film’s FX team brings in a slightly-larger-than-life mold of Gallner’s head and arranges it for the camera. After some testing, the FX team is ready and pushes an eyeball out of the mold’s right socket. Bayer, pleased, films multiple takes of the eyeball effect and later calls for the crew to prepare for the next shot.

Crew rush past us as we are led away from the basement set and meet up with William Dambra, property master, who asks in a sheepish tone, “Wanna see it?” Dambra opens a metal box and unveils Freddy Krueger’s iconic weapon of choice: the bladed glove. The redesigned glove’s workmanship is truly impressive here, paying homage to the original, but still retaining its own unique look. Gone is the backing metal plate of old, replaced with four vein-like metal pieces, which stretch from the wrist to the main four finger pieces. Each finger piece also has a blade affixed to the end of the fingertip, like the original glove, but the blades differ slightly in length, reflecting the difference in finger measurement. No acting is required with this prop either, as it is fully functional. The fingers, with blades attached, bend accordingly and give the wearer free range of “slashing” motion.

“It’s custom made,” explains Dambra. “We made a mold of [Jackie’s] hand, ‘cause I got a chance to see him when we were designing and making it. Then, we made some adjustments once he got here.”

Dambra elaborated upon the glove’s design, answering questions about the materials used to create Freddy’s trademark weapon. “It’s all copper,” clarifies Dambra. “We didn’t paint it, just the heat transfer [used] on the copper [made a] purple tint to it. It came out really well. That’s just a gardening glove – a regular leather gardening glove.”

Surprisingly, it isn’t the functionality one initially notices when trying the glove on, but rather its weight. It makes you wonder just how practical a weapon like this would be for a serial killer. “[The glove weighs] three or four pounds,” mentions Dambra about the glove’s surprising heft. “After awhile, it gets a little heavy.”

We receive word just as Dambra finishes that it is time to meet with the star of the film, Jackie Earle Haley. As Dambra places the branded glove back in its box, we are led away from the set and to the maze of trailers parked outside. After some maneuvering, we approach the star’s trailer, where Haley beckons for us to “come in.”

As we step inside, we see Haley is in full Freddy makeup, having just finished the application process. “It gets a little fuzzy in all of this makeup,” apologizes the actor. “So, hopefully I’ll make some sense.” The face of the new Freddy Krueger is noticeably different from the incarnation(s) audiences are used to. Haley, in the applied makeup, resembles a real burn victim—the detail amazing. A noticeable area of the makeup has also been painted green, for a CGI tissue/muscle effect, which will be added in post production.

“It’s pretty encumbering,” says Haley of the makeup, his pleasant demeanor betraying the sinister visual. “All of this stuff is just glued, from here all the way to the back; every square inch of my back has got appliances glued to it. It feels like crap when you’re sitting around, but it’s oddly motivating for the character between action and cut because it’s just such a weird feeling.”

It is clear from Haley’s makeup that this version of Freddy Krueger is going to be darker and more realistic than the character audiences have grown to love/fear. “I think he’s a bit more serious than what we’ve seen before,” teases Haley. “I’ll leave it at he’s probably a little darker.” As for what this version of Nightmare is all about, Haley adds, “I think we delve in a little bit more and we learn a little bit more [about Freddy].”

So, what are Haley’s thoughts about reinventing the character made famous by Robert Englund? “Well, how could you not play Freddy Krueger?” Haley muses aloud. “It’s such an incredible opportunity. Certainly fun playing the part and working on the film; it’s a kick.”

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A Nightmare on Elm Street Set Visit – Part 2 coming soon!

All photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The team behind Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is looking for the ultimate Nightmare fans to be a part of the upcoming documentary. Click here for details.

Robert Englund’s Hollywood Monster has been added to Books. You can read the site review here.

Also, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors, the six issue follow-up to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, has been added to Comic Books.

Some great artists have submitted their artwork, or other creations, in the last few months. Check out the Fans section to see the latest additions.

The Never Sleep Again team has launched their official Web site. This new site, designed by Justin Cruse of Haberslam Studios, features up-to-the-minute production reports, a cast list spotlighting the more than seventy interviewees spanning all eight Elm Street films, brand-new photo and video content, a fan forum, and links to the documentary’s social networking pages on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Visitors can also register for contests, giveaways and receive exclusive content and information on the soon-to-be-announced DVD pre-sale.

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