NEWS

2.5.23

TITANIC: 25 YEARS LATER WITH JAMES CAMERON DROPS TODAY

The special I have been working on for the last little bit premieres today on National Geographic TV and on Hulu tomorrow. It will be on Disney+ as soon as all the international subtitling is finished. I supervised the hour’s assembly and wrote and produced the second half, which features action footage of celebrated director/world ruler James Cameron conducting grueling laboratory tests to determine whether the fictional character Jack could have survived the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic if he climbed aboard a fictional piece of debris with the fictional character Rose. Spoiler alert: human bodies are not built to survive immersion in 28˚F water for extended periods of time.

 

1.29.23

101 SCARIEST NOMINATED FOR FANGORIA CHAINSAW AWARD

101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time is up for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award in the category “Best Nonfiction Series or Miniseries.” This is a big deal in the horror community and it’s certainly a big deal to me. Fangoria and Cinefantastique were lodestars of my youth.

 

10.26.22

101 SHMMOAT EPISODE 8 DROPS TODAY on SHUDDER

The final episode of The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time debuts today on Shudder. The response to this series has been terrific, and even those who disagree with the (meaningless) rankings seem to enjoy watching it, perhaps almost as much as my colleagues and I enjoyed making it.

 

9.13.22

ALL THREE SEASONS OF ELI ROTH’S HISTORY OF HORROR SEASONS ARE NOW ON BLU-RAY

Those of you who believe you should not have to pay over and over again for “content” may be interested to know that all three seasons of Eli Roth’s History of Horror are available on Blu-Ray, free from the whims of corporate giants and the ever-changing currents of streaming. Nineteen episodes, all written and directed by me, plus some special features, though most of the special features are on the first season disc because of budget cuts.

 

9.7.22

101 SCARIEST HORROR MOVIE MOMENTS OF ALL TIME BEGINS TODAY ON SHUDDER

Episode 1 (of 8) covers the first 13 of 101 indelible moments from the genre. Master filmmakers and genre experts celebrate and dissect the most terrifying moments of the greatest horror films ever made, exploring how these scenes were created and why they burned themselves into the brains of audiences around the world. New episodes roll out every week on Shudder. I wrote, directed, and produced all eight episodes. The first and last episodes were edited by the great Joe LaMattina. The other episodes were edited by Joe, Caleb Emerson, Daniel Strange, and Andrew D. Lewis. This series came out very well and I can’t wait for everyone to see it. (By the way, the rankings are meaningless. The countdown is a way to hook viewers and expose them to a mix of classic films and masterpieces they might not be familiar, e.g. Threads and Pulse.)

 

12.1.21

THE SCIENCE OF AVATAR

I have signed on for a few months as Series Producer for the forthcoming Disney+/National Geographic series The Science of Avatar. This involves a return to science adventuring, including shoots at the National Ignition Facility, UC Berkeley, MIT, and on a research vessel off the shores of Catalina Island. I have missed this kind of thing and am looking forward to HARD SCIENCE.

 

10.1.21

HISTORY OF HORROR UNCUT SEASON THREE PODCAST

I produced and the redoubtable Chris Heckman engineered another batch of premium jaw-wagging for Shudder, built out my long interviews with MEAT LOAF (his last extended interview before his death), EDGAR WRIGHT, MIKE FLANAGAN, JOE HILL, JENNIFER TILLY, JEFFREY COMBS, GIGI SAUL GUERRERO, MAX BROOKS, LEX SCOTT DAVIS, and Eli’s sessions with CATE BLANCHETT, JAMIE LEE CURTIS, and QUENTIN TARANTINO.

 

9.25.21

HISTORY OF HORROR SEASON 3 BEGINS

This season’s episodes are, in air order, SEQUELS THAT DON’T SUCK, INFECTIONS, PSYCHICS, APOCALYPTIC HORROR, HOLIDAY HORROR, and MAD SCIENTISTS. As usual, I wrote and directed all the episodes. Mad Scientists is perhaps my favorite of the series, and if, as I suspect, this is the final season of HoH, I will be happy to have that be the final statement.

 

9.28.20

HISTORY OF HORROR UNCUT SEASON TWO PODCAST

I produced season two of the surprisingly popular History of Horror Uncut podcast for Shudder (apparently it’s a top 5 Apple podcast selection), with the able help of engineer Chris Heckman. The 45-to-90 minute episodes debut once a week through December, starting today. The lineup is BILL HADER, MEGAN FOX, ARI ASTER, ROB ZOMBIE, KEN FOREE, NANCY ALLEN, GREG NICOTERO, ELI ROTH, ANDRE OVREDAL, ROGER CORMAN, JOEL SCHUMACHER, MARY HARRON, DON MANCINI, BARBARA MUSCHIETTI, and TOM SAVINI. The episodes are built out of the extended interviews I conducted for the series.

 

1.11.21

HISTORY OF HORROR SEASON 3 NOW IN PRODUCTION

AMC has commissioned six more episodes of Eli Roth's History of Horror for October 2021. Producing this during a global pandemic should prove quite interesting.

 

10.10.20

HISTORY OF HORROR SEASON 2 BEGINS

This season’s episodes are HOUSES OF HELL, MONSTERS, BODY HORROR, WITCHES, CHILLING CHILDREN, and NINE NIGHTMARES. Featuring another powerhouse lineup of filmmakers and cinephiles, including Bill Hader, Ari Aster, Nancy Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Piper Laurie, Megan Fox, Patty McCormack, Ashley Laurence, Chris Hardwick, Kier-la Janisse, William Katt, Leonard Maltin, Joe Dante, Rachel True, Katharine Isabelle, Keith Gordon, Mick Garris, Laraine Newman, Dana Gould, Tananarive Due, Andre Ovredal, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Bryan Fuller, and many more lovely people.

 

2.5.20

HoH SEASON ONE WINS 2020 REELSCREEN AWARD

Season One of Eli Roth’s History of Horror was named the Best Arts and Cultural Program at the 2020 Reelscreen Awards. The award itself is a lovely Lucite cube that is now sitting on my piano.

 

4.10.19

HISTORY OF HORROR UNCUT PODCAST ROLLS OUT MAY 3

AMC/Shudder will soon release podcasts built from the hundreds of hours of interviews conducted for the series. These are largely-uncut versions of my very lengthy chats with Edgar Wright, Bryan Fuller, Diablo Cody, Victor LaValle, Tippi Hedren, Tony Todd, Catherine Hardwicke, Josh Harnett, and Bruce Campbell, plus Eli Roth's encounters with Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, and Greg Nicotero.

 

9.10.18

KURT HOSTS MONSTERPALOOZA SCREENING SEPT. 14

The first episode of Eli Roth's History of Horror, ZOMBIES, will have a sneak preview Friday, September 14th at SON OF MONSTERPALOOZA, in the theater of the Marriott Burbank Convention Center & Hotel. The 43 minute film will screen at 8:30. I will answer questions afterward. Thanks to mainman Tony Timpone for setting this up!

 

9.8.18

HoH SLASHERS PT. 1 SCREENS AT BEYOND FEST OCT. 2

Eli Roth will host a screening of ZOMBIES October 2nd at Hollywood's famous Egyptian Theater. This year's Beyond Fest features an amazing retrospective of David Cronenberg's work, so if you're in the City of the Fallen Angels, don't miss it.

 

6.8.18

SHOOTING WRAPS ON ELI ROTH'S HISTORY OF HORROR

The week of June 4th saw the last batch of interviews conducted for History of Horror. My last stand included interviews with the Soska Sisters, Leigh Whannell, Michael Dougherty, Lin Shaye, Candice Acola King, Julie Corman, Kristen Bauer van Straten, Bob Murawski, and the Very Revd Canon Ian Elliot Davies. On June 7th I directed Eli Roth's last one-on-one interview with the great Jordan Peele. When the smoke cleared I found I had interviewed 93 of our 99 subjects, and honestly, every single one of them was fascinating.