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A Haunting in Venice

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A Haunting in Venice
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKenneth Branagh
Screenplay byMichael Green
Based onHallowe'en Party
by Agatha Christie
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHaris Zambarloukos
Edited byLucy Donaldson
Music byHildur Guðnadóttir
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Studios
Release dates
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million[2]
Box office$122.3 million[3][4]

A Haunting in Venice is a 2023 American mystery film produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green, loosely based on the 1969 Agatha Christie novel Hallowe'en Party. It serves as a sequel to Death on the Nile (2022) and is the third film in which Branagh stars as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.[5] The ensemble cast includes Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh.

A Haunting in Venice was released in the United States on September 15, 2023, by 20th Century Studios. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $122.3 million worldwide.

Plot

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In 1947, Hercule Poirot has retired to Venice, having lost his faith in God and humanity, with ex-police officer Vitale Portfoglio as his bodyguard. Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver persuades Poirot to attend a Halloween party and séance at the palazzo of famed opera singer Rowena Drake, wishing to expose Joyce Reynolds—a World War I army nurse turned medium—as a fraud. The palazzo, a former orphanage, is believed to be haunted by the spirits of orphaned children who were locked up and abandoned to die there during a city-wide plague; rumors claim that the spirits torment any nurses and doctors who dare enter.

Rowena has hired Joyce to commune with her daughter Alicia, who committed suicide after Alicia's fiancé, chef Maxime Gerard, ended their engagement. Among the guests are Rowena's housekeeper Olga Seminoff, Drake family doctor Leslie Ferrier and his son Leopold, and Joyce's Romani assistant Desdemona Holland; they are joined by Maxime right before the séance, and during it Poirot reveals Desdemona's half-brother Nicholas—and Joyce's second assistant—hiding in the chimney. Joyce suddenly speaks in Alicia's voice, saying that one of the guests murdered her. Poirot confronts Joyce, who insists he lighten up, gives him her mask and robe, and cryptically says they will not meet again. Seconds later, an unknown assailant nearly drowns Poirot when he is apple bobbing, while Joyce falls from an upper story and is impaled on a courtyard statue.

With a storm cutting off the palazzo, Poirot interviews the guests, during which he witnesses manifestations of Alicia's ghost and hears a young girl humming a tune. The investigation yields perplexing results:

  • Leslie, severely traumatized by his experiences at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, is in love with Rowena.
  • Maxime, who was not initially invited, ended his and Alicia's engagement because Rowena disapproved of him, and Alicia was obsessed with keeping her mother happy.
  • Nicholas and Desdemona have been stealing from Joyce, intending to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, which they became enamoured with after partly seeing Meet Me in St. Louis at a displaced persons camp.
  • Leopold claims to hear the same voice(s) Poirot has been hearing, a claim later also made by Leslie.

When the guests discover an underground chamber containing children's skeletal remains and bees, Leslie suffers a panic attack and nearly kills Maxime. He is locked inside the music room to recover, Rowena giving Poirot the only key. After examining Maxime's invitation, Poirot deduces Ariadne sent it and is conspiring with Vitale: Vitale, who investigated Alicia's death and resigned from the police as a result of the case, gave Joyce private details, while Ariadne had hoped to use Poirot's inability to explain the supernatural as a plot for her next book. Leslie is then found dead with a knife in his back.

Gathering the remaining guests, Poirot reveals Rowena caused the deaths of Alicia, Joyce and Leslie, hoping to pass them off as part of the children's curse. Obsessed with keeping Alicia for herself, Rowena poisoned her with small doses of the honey of Rhododendron ponticum (see Mad honey), weakening and then caring for a hallucinating Alicia (the same honey seemingly caused Poirot's visions) to isolate her from Maxime when they planned to reconcile; the night of Alicia's suicide, Olga unknowingly gave Alicia tea containing a fatal dose and Rowena, fearful of exposure, staged everything. When blackmail threats arrived, Rowena suspected either Joyce or Leslie. She attempted to drown Poirot, realized that she had mistaken him for Joyce, and then pushed Joyce to her death. Later, over the palazzo's internal phone line, she forced Leslie to stab himself by threatening to kill Leopold. When Poirot confronts Rowena on the roof, Alicia's ghost seems to appear to them both, pulling Rowena down off the building and into the canal where she drowns.

As dawn breaks, Poirot parts ways with Ariadne and Vitale, but chooses not to report the latter's fraud. Later, Poirot privately confronts young Leopold, the true blackmailer who needed to support himself and his father: Leopold had identified the poisoning signs that his physician father missed and realized Rowena's first starring role was in Mitridate, re di Ponto, an opera, whose lead character, Mithridates VI Eupator, is the "king of poisons". Poirot suggests Leopold and Olga clear their consciences by financially helping the Hollands begin anew in St. Louis. His faith mostly restored, Poirot returns home to accept new cases.

Cast

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Additionally, Rowan Robinson stars as Alicia Drake, Rowena's deceased daughter, while Amir El-Masry portrays Alessandro Longo, a young man seeking Poirot's help, and Vanessa Ifediora plays Sister Maria Felicitas, a nun.

Production

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Development

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The president of 20th Century Studios, Steve Asbell, revealed in March 2022 that a script for a third Hercule Poirot film had been written by Michael Green, with Kenneth Branagh set to return as director and star.[6][7] The film was loosely based on Hallowe'en Party, a lesser-known Poirot novel, for the plot.[7][8] The film was confirmed in October 2022, with Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Yeoh among the cast.[9] Branagh described the film as a "supernatural thriller" rather than a full-fledged horror film.[10]

Filming

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Filming began on October 31, 2022,[9] with production occurring between Pinewood Studios, on D Stage and Q Stage, and Venice.[11][12]

Locations and sets

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The real Campo San Boldo

For the haunted palazzo, a film set was built in Pinewood Studios, of the immediate surroundings of the palazzo, as well as all the interiors. For inspiration a number of real palaces was used, like the Doge's Palace, the Ca' Sagredo Hotel and the Palazzo Pisani Gritti, also a hotel.[13][14] The piano nobile (or bel étage) of the building has a fresco inspired by "The Wedding of Psyche", a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.[15] The set of the exterior of the palace was based on the Venetian square Campo San Boldo. Some nighttime scenes were actually shot at that location.[16]

Garden of the Palazzo Malipiero, looking towards the Grand Canal
Ponte dei Conzafelzi

Another set of the palazzo was built in the English town of Reading. This was a one third scale model, to be used for scenes of water splashing against the palace.[17]

The home of Poirot consisted of several locations. The roof terrace, which can be seen at the beginning and the end of the film, is part of the Venice Conservatory. The garden belongs to the Palazzo Malipiero.[13] The Palazzo Malipiero is in the Campo San Samuele. Apart from the garden of the palace other exteriors can be seen in the film, for instance in the scene where Poirot tries to escape the crowd of potential clients waiting at his front door.[12]

San Giorgio Maggiore Island was used for a market scene.[13] The Campiello dei Miracoli and Campo Santa Maria Nova were used for the scene where Ariadne Oliver tries to entice Poirot to participate in a séance.[18][19] The Piazza San Marco can be seen early in the film, just like the top bell and the figures of St Mark's Clocktower, also on the square.[12]

The Grand Canal was used in the film as well as some of the smaller canals, like Rio dei Mendicanti and Rio del Pestrin. Poirot crosses the iron bridge, Ponte dei Conzafelzi, on this latter canal.[19]

Music

[edit]
Main article: A Haunting in Venice (soundtrack)

Hildur Guðnadóttir composed the score for the film in April 2023, marking the first in the series not to be composed by Branagh's frequent collaborator Patrick Doyle.[20] The film's soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on September 15, 2023.[21]

Release

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A Haunting in Venice was released in the United States on September 15, 2023, by 20th Century Studios.[22] The film had its red carpet premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square at the West End London on September 11 with none of the cast members in attendance due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[23]

The film was released on digital platforms on October 31, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on November 28.[24]

Reception

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Box office

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A Haunting in Venice grossed $42.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $79.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $122.3 million.[4][3]

In the United States and Canada, A Haunting in Venice was projected to gross around $12 million from 3,305 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] The film made $5.5 million on its first day, including $1.2 million from Thursday night previews (up from Nile's $1.1 million). It went on to debut to $14.3 million, an improvement from Nile's $12.9 million opening, and finished second behind holdover The Nun II.[25] The film made $6.3 million in its second weekend, finishing in third.[26]

In the United Kingdom, it became the second highest-grossing horror film of 2023, grossing approximately $12.5 million.[27]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 293 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "A darker and spookier spin on Branagh's Poirot, A Haunting in Venice is a decent Halloween snack whose undemanding mystery gets a lift from nifty visuals and an all-star cast."[28] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[29] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, same as the first two installments, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 73% overall positive score, with 48% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[25]

Jason Zinoman, writing for The New York Times, called the film a "whodunit with a splash of horror" and wrote: "In straddling genres, Haunting can get stuck in the middle. But there's fun to be had there. What's consistent is the elegant visuals – striking cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos – which mark this movie's real genre as lavish old-fashioned Hollywood entertainment."[30] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said: "What lingers from this movie isn't the usual assemblage of clues and red herrings [..] but a free-floating air of grief, much of it rooted in the characters' turbulent memories of the war just a few years earlier".[31] Similar sentiment was echoed by Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post who described the film as "moody", they both praised the cast's performances.[32][31] Saibal Chatterjee wrote for NDTV: "A Haunting In Venice, a couple of jump scares notwithstanding, may not chill you to the bones but as a story focused on the emotional and psychological fallout of a devastating war, it works brilliantly".[33]

Matt Zoller Seitz acclaimed the screenplay, direction and production values and said: "Movies are rarely directed in this style anymore".[34] He added that it was an "empathetic portrayal of the death-haunted mentality of people from Branagh's parents' generation". Seitz and critic Michael Phillips (the Chicago Tribune) named it best of Branagh's Hercule Poirot films.[35] The latter found the cast's acting "pretty crafty". About the performances, Mark Kermode said: " [...] everyone is given a 110 percent but not in a completely scenery chewing fashion, in a way that mixes old-fashioned and newfangled".[36]

Some critics pointed out that the film struggled in its character development. Kristen Lopez, writing for TheWrap, felt that almost all the characters were underdeveloped due to the attention given to the production values, but praised the performances, singling out Reilly, Dornan and Yeoh.[37] The Guardian's chief film critic Peter Bradshaw also thought the film wasted its cast, awarding it two out of five stars.[38]

In a negative review, critic Caryn James found the film "uninvolving" and said: "The new film is much pokier in its pacing, with duller characters".[39] She commended Branagh, Fey and Cottin's performances, while stating that so many actors in the cast were "sleepwalking". In an equally negative review, David Fear of Rolling Stone called the film "anemic and sluggish" and said audiences would be "bored to death."[40]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
British Film Designers Guild Awards February 25, 2024 Best Production Design – Major Motion Picture – Period John Paul Kelly, Peter Russell and Celia Bobak Won [41]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 15, 2023 Original Score — Horror/Thriller Film Hildur Guðnadóttir Won [42]
International Film Music Critics Association Awards February 22, 2024 Best Original Score For a Horror/Thriller Film Nominated [43]
Las Vegas Film Critics Society December 13, 2023 Youth in Film (Male) Jude Hill Won [44]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 19, 2023 Best Performance by an Ensemble The cast of A Haunting in Venice Runner-up [45][46]
Best Youth Performance (for a performer under the age of 18) Jude Hill Nominated
Irish Film and Television Awards April 20, 2024 Best Production Design John Paul Kelly Won [47]

Future

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In October 2024, executive producer James Prichard hinted at possible future installments, stating that much like A Haunting in Venice, future films could potentially break from the norm and add other elements besides the supernatural. "If Ken [Branagh] wants to do more, and Michael [Green] wants to write more, we'll certainly do another. There's a lot of material still to go, so we're not going to run out of inspiration."[48]

That same month, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell confirmed that other Agatha Christie stories will be adapted including And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, and a Miss Marple film.[49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "A Haunting in Venice (12A)". BBFC. August 15, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 13, 2023). "A Haunting In Venice Hopes To Scare Nun 2 From Top Spot At Box Office – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "A Haunting in Venice – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "A Haunting in Venice (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 19, 2023). "Kenneth Branagh Battles Supernatural Forces in 'Haunting in Venice' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Kit, Borys (March 3, 2022). "10-Plus Movies a Year for Hulu, 'Avatar' (For Real!), More 'Free Guy': 20th Century Studios President on Company's Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Massoto, Erick (March 3, 2022). "A Third Hercule Poirot Film Has Been Written, Says 20th Century Studios President". Collider. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Dubiel, Bill (September 15, 2023). "A Haunting In Venice Book Changes: 10 Biggest Differences To Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Kit, Borys (October 10, 2022). "Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jude Hill Join Kenneth Branagh in Agatha Christie Mystery A Haunting in Venice". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Davids, Brian (April 26, 2023). "Kenneth Branagh Talks 'A Haunting in Venice' and How His Murder Mystery Franchise Overcame; Death on the Nile' Misfortune". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Panaligan, EJ (October 10, 2022). "Kenneth Branagh's Third Hercule Poirot Film A Haunting in Venice Casts Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh and More". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c A Haunting in Venice Filming Locations: Poirot's Palazzos and Canals by Jane, 15 September 2023, retrieved 22 July 2024
  13. ^ a b c On Location: Venice Takes On a Sinister Air in ‘A Haunting in Venice’ by Emily Zemler, retrieved 22 July 2024
  14. ^ How “A Haunting in Venice” Production Designer John Paul Kelly Built a Possessed Venetian Palazzo by Daron James, 13 September 2023, retrieved 29 July 2024
  15. ^ Behind the scenes of A Haunting in Venice with production designer John Paul Kelly by Paula Benson, 27 September 2023, retrieved 22 July 2024
  16. ^ Where Was 'A Haunting in Venice' Filmed? All About the New Agatha Christie Movie's Eerie Backdrop (Exclusive) by Erin Clements, retrieved 22 July 2024
  17. ^ Where Was a Haunting in Venice Filmed? by Keira Ezzo, retrieved 22 July 2024
  18. ^ Locations of A Haunting in Venice by Stephen Scourfield, The West Australian, 21 October 2023, retrieved 22 July 2024
  19. ^ a b A Haunting In Venice Filming Locations: How Much Was Filmed In Venice by Antonella Gugliersi, 18 September 2023, retrieved 23 July 2024
  20. ^ "Hildur Guđnadóttir to Score Kenneth Branagh's 'A Haunting in Venice'". Film Music Reporter. April 26, 2023. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  21. ^ DeVore, Britta (September 13, 2023). "A Haunting in Venice Unveils a Three-Song Sample of Hildur Guðnadóttir's Score [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  22. ^ Grobar, Matt (October 11, 2022). "Marvel Shifts Release Dates For 'Blade', 'Fantastic Four', 'Avengers: Secret Wars', Next 'Deadpool' Among Disney Moves". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  23. ^ ""A Haunting In Venice" – Special Screening – VIP Arrivals". Getty Images. September 11, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  24. ^ "A Haunting in Venice (2023)". www.dvdsreleasedates.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  25. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony. "'Nun 2' Scares Off Poirot To Become Mother Superior Of Box Office With $14.7M Second Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 24, 2023). "The Nun 2' Puts 'The Expendables' In Detention At Box Office In What's Shaping Up To Be A Low Weekend For 2023 At $52M". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  27. ^ Falk, Graham (December 22, 2023). "Highest grossing horror films of 2023 in the UK". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  28. ^ "A Haunting in Venice". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 5, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  29. ^ "A Haunting in Venice". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  30. ^ Zinoman, Jason (September 13, 2023). "'A Haunting in Venice' Review: A Whodunit With a Splash of Horror". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  31. ^ a b Chang, Justin (September 14, 2023). "Review: With 'A Haunting in Venice,' Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie series hits its stride". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  32. ^ Hornaday, Ann (September 8, 2023). "Review | 'A Haunting in Venice': Branagh's Poirot returns in moody mystery". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  33. ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (September 16, 2023). "A Haunting In Venice Review: Kenneth Branagh's Classic Whodunit Breaks Genre Norms". NDTV. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  34. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (September 15, 2023). "A Haunting in Venice movie review (2023)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  35. ^ Phillips, Michael (September 14, 2023). ""A Haunting in Venice" is best of Kenneth Branagh's mysteries so far". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  36. ^ Mark Kermode reviews A Haunting in Venice – Kermode and Mayo's Take. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023 – via YouTube.
  37. ^ Lopez, Kristen (September 9, 2023). "'A Haunting in Venice' Review: Poirot's Best Adventure Yet". TheWrap. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  38. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 9, 2023). "A Haunting in Venice review – Branagh's Agatha Christie whodunnit given horror makeover". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  39. ^ James, Caryn (September 9, 2023). "'A Haunting in Venice' Review: Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey Join Kenneth Branagh in His Snoozy Agatha Christie Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  40. ^ Fear, David (September 16, 2023). "'A Haunting in Venice' Will Bore You to Death". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  41. ^ Frost, Caroline (February 25, 2024). "'Saltburn', 'Poor Things', 'Black Mirror', 'Silo' Among British Film Designers Guild Awards Winners – Complete List". Deadline. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  42. ^ Grein, Paul (November 2, 2023). "Songs From 'Barbie' Pace 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations (Full List)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  43. ^ "IFMCA Award Nominations 2023". IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association. February 8, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  44. ^ "AwardsWatch - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards: 'Oppenheimer,' Bradley Cooper, 'Godzilla Minus One' Top Winners". AwardsWatch. December 13, 2023. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  45. ^ "AwardsWatch - San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Nominations". AwardsWatch. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  46. ^ "AwardsWatch - San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Awards: Kelly Fremon Craig's 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.' Named Best Picture". AwardsWatch. December 20, 2023. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  47. ^ "The IFTA Awards 2024: The complete list of winners". RTÉ. April 20, 2024.
  48. ^ Smith, Neil (August 15, 2023). "A Haunting in Venice producer on why the franchise is leaning into the supernatural: "We can't do the same thing over and over"". Games Radar. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  49. ^ Kit, Borys (October 24, 2024). "A Secret 'Predator' Movie, An 'Alien' Sequel and 'Speed 3' on the Table: A Chat with 20th Century Studios Boss Steve Asbell". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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