One of the many crimes of Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd — cutting a chorus that includes Anthony Stewart Head, leaving him with a one-shot cameo in the Pirelli scene. Rest in Peace to a great character actor.

StokerCon begins tomorrow and I’ve read 4 out of the 5 Bram Stoker nominees for Best Novel. Can I finish the fifth before the con swallows me whole? Probably not, but I can try.

Celebrating the first day of Pride by frantically packing to fly to Pittsburgh for a convention of horror writers. These things are somehow both deeply related and also irrelevant to each other

In Orange County, they call upsetting gubernatorial candidates “relatable”

Apple Podcasts is a baffling mess of an app. Every update over the last decade hasn't meaningfully improved the user experience, it's just added new layers of puzzlement. If only my career as a podcast writer didn't rely on people continuing to use the dang thing.

Framing the question around “longing for inconvenience” shows you how much Tech has warped everyone’s brains. It’s not like changing a CD was difficult and yet for some reason it’s now being rebranded as someone wanting to be Amish.

Worst crossovers ever: The King and I, Tonya

Bob & Carol & Ted & Grogu

Due to concerns about AI in the music industry, Florence and the Machine have chosen to split and pursue solo careers

*person who has only seen early-2000s rom-coms, watching Verdi’s FALSTAFF* “Getting a lot of John Tucker Must Die vibes from this opera…”

*Top 15 TV shows, gut instincts only* The Twilight Zone Hannibal Sense8 M*A*S*H Buffy the Vampire Slayer Twin Peaks Farscape The Terror Midnight Mass Future Boy Conan Boardwalk Empire Mindhunter Black Sails Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace The Goes Wrong Show

This one’s also from The Two Towers — the scene where Gollum has an argument with himself (“Leave now and never come back”) was written & directed by Fran Walsh, while Peter Jackson was off filming a different scene with the main unit. The asleep “Sam & Frodo” in the background are just dummies.

John Milton wrote PARADISE LOST after he went blind. It took him half a decade. Using plagiarism software to hack out an adaptation for the faith-based slop crowd is not only offensive, it's fundamentally at odds with the spirit of the work. deadline.com/2026/04/roge...

Movie versions of ANIMAL FARM and THE SHEEP DETECTIVES coming out back to back feels like a recession indicator somehow

“Have you seen Rashomon?” “I’ve only seen clips.” One of the most quietly unhinged things I’ve overheard at the Academy Museum

Doing internet research in the early-2000s: "Don't just trust what you read on Wikipedia." Doing internet research now: "Wikipedia is the only website you can trust."

Back when Alan Moore did his Legaue Of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1999 issue, I thought he was being a bit harsh deconstructing and violently parodying Harry Potter. Now, he was not harsh enough.

in honor of Akira Kurosawa's birthday, here's another photo of the director admiring Toshiro Mifune on the set of Yojimbo

Oh this is a fun prompt. Top GBA games! (Among the first video games I played, a few of which I actually took filmmaking lessons from)

I can’t get over “pensively, out of the blue, one afternoon”

Found myself wondering how many variations of "Sam Loomis" have been used in modern horror stories... and how many of them know that the name didn't originate with John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN...

For anyone craving spooks this weekend, here’s a brilliant piece of short horror writing courtesy of @hanmarin.bsky.social! Marin is *so* good at weaving an atmosphere.

Has anyone done this yet

Was watching an episode of Columbo the other day and suddenly pre-Halloween Jamie Lee Curtis appeared as a cranky diner waitress!

Since it's March, I feel like going through the Oscar Nominees and picking my favorites in each category! These aren't predictions, these are what I personally would like to win: PICTURE - One Battle After Another DIRECTOR - Ryan Coogler! ACTOR - Wagner Moura ACTRESS - Renate Reinsve

The Washington Post should face legal consequences for sending this email the morning after axing one-third of their staff

Intrusive thought: Peter Jackson and the Olympians.

This is nothing. ICE and DHS need to be outright abolished. Call Schumer's offices and make it known.

After FilmQuest, I was interviewed on Horror Happens Radio about writing, filmmaking, and the genre in general! Listen to part 1 here: soundcloud.com/astrangemani...

Heard someone on a podcast describe the state of the internet by saying "the truth is paywalled by the lies are free" and I think that saying is living rent free in my head now

It’s an awards season sandwich, with a random documentary I watched for work in the middle!

Jack Lemmon photographed by Gjon Mili on the set of The Apartment

Celebrating the end of 2025 with a $6.95 royalty check from an indie film I helped cut almost 2 years ago

Every holiday season for the last half-decade, I’ve been on a quest to convince my friends who don’t regularly watch movies to watch TOKYO GODFATHERS They love PAPRIKA, so this should be a slam dunk And yet

Make a Bond Film Casual The Man with the Golden Gum

The #1 movie when you were 10 years old is how your 2026 is going to go

Rob Reiner is so much more than just a director, but I am struck at his ability to be so versatile during that great span of movies he made. Rather than dwell on the constant, horrible conversations, I want to celebrate someone who I hope will be remembered as an artist for real human emotions 🧵

Season's Greasons

While writing a list of Christmas specials, I wound up abbreviating "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as "Charlie B Christ" No I will not be changing it

Is A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS a Halloween Movie or a Christmas Movie? As someone who didn’t grow up with the movie, I was familiar with this question from afar, but now having seen it, I’m a little surprised with my answer. … it’s a Christmas movie, y’all.

As an independent filmmaker, there’s no greater compliment than hearing via word of mouth that a queer punk venue is doing a screening of your short film from 5 years ago WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE

No Other Choice No Other Choice No Other Choice Avatar

It’s raining in LA and my author copies for DRACULA BEYOND STOKER #7 have arrived! Seeing your words in print is a wonderful feeling. 10/10 would recommend.

Go celebrate Zohran’s win by watching Mississippi Masala on @criterion.bsky.social

“The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood.” Happy Halloween, Bluesky folk.

In an attempt to sell tickets to gamers, the musical Hadestown will rebrand itself Hades2n

To celebrate this Halloween season, I wrote a piece for the Horror Writers Association about the one time I spent a fall working at Halloween Horror Nights! Read at the link below! horror.org/halloween-ha...

For work I'm reading about a New York Socialite who disappeared forever after two of her short stories were rejected for publication, and y'know what? Not to make light of an over 100 year old tragedy, but that's kind of a mood.

“May be”

Messing with the heads of my LA friends by calling it “blunch” instead of “brunch”