Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Today's Blind Items - Dead Of Winter - A Dancing Boy Blind Item



It's hot, I know, but this picture will come as no relief. It was taken by an old friend of mine, who is also my forthcoming visual f/x man, during a shoot - last winter - for a new series.

It seems that on the first day of shooting the man behind it all – the legendary writer, I mean – showed up on set with an antique box, given to him (as a birthday present) by another writer of the same genre. She had purchased it at a junk shop in her native city which was owned by a practioner of this one religion (associated with the city). She was told that it would bring good luck to all who owned or came in contact with it, provided they follow one simple rule: never open the box. He brought it along to the shoot for that very reason, and with the same warning.

It was enough for everyone but this one intern (who attends the university with the name of the town/shooting location) – I guess intelligence doesn't ensure common sense or self-control.

What was in the box?

Nothing, or at least nothing visible to the naked eye. Within minutes, however, there were strange goings on. Gear and lights would flicker on and off, sometimes recording images and sounds neither of the cast or crew. In one case, scaffolding collapsed just before the camera rolled, nearly injuring a dozen or more extras.

The final straw, at least for the legendary southern-born actress (who had herself starred in the adaptation of the writer's first novel), was the children.

Several of them had begun acting up on set and off, speaking in voices that weren't their own, and taunting certain adults in town – including local clergy.

“Do something!” she said, in a heated call with the suits.

Knowing they had a problem on hand, the affected were sent to a hospital in the nearby city for evaluation, where after a battery of tests it was concluded that nothing was physically or psychologically wrong with them.

Meanwhile, a team of religious leaders (including the founder of the southern California megachurch), celebrity mediums (including the son of the late psychic, who appeared numerous times on this one former talk show, and predicted – along with her son – my eventual return to Hollywood [there is a tape, in other words – two, actually]), and exorcists (including the former law enforcement officer turned author) was assembled.

They didn't all get along, of course, or share the same perspective, but the consensus view was that the box had contained the departed spirits of a slave ship, sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during the 1700s. On board were also convicts, being transported away from the mother country – these, it seems, were the troublemakers.

The pastors prayed for the souls of the dead, and the mediums urged them to go toward the light. Five exorcisms were performed, three on cast, two on crew (whose confidentiality will be respected).

And by the end of seven days, it was all over. A party was held in the town square, and members of the cast and crew, along with locals, commingled in the late fall sun. Shooting began again.

Which brings us to the night of the photo. The forecast was for a cold night, but not unseasonable. The thermometer dropped from 40 to 30 to by the time this picture was snapped 20. Within minutes, clouds gathered overhead, and snow began to fall - lightly, at first, and eventually at a crushing rate. The cast and crew could barely make it back to the vans before being buried alive. When the night clerk at this one motel where some of them were staying left work, nearly all the rooms had tv sets sitting out on the balcony.

I don't know about you but I'll be watching the premiere today. The rumor is that some of the footage – of ghostly voices, and images – made it into the final cut.

55 comments:

J said...

Makes me miss "insideher" blind items.

Tricia13 said...

Anne Rice/New Orleans/Voodoo and Stephen King?

sandybrook said...

If you say so Dancing Boy. Spend more time with your therapists less time here ok?

Brayson87 said...

Well at least now we know where to find the ark of the covenant.

nonyabusiness said...

More bullshit from the Dancing Boy.

Tricia13 said...

sissy Spacek actress/Carrie the film

Brayson87 said...

This is scarier:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/24/southern-california-home-sales-crash-a-warning-sign-to-the-nation.html

Tricia13 said...

URI Gellers son the medium/Tonight Shiw with Johnny Carson I think was the show—-SC Megachurch guy-Ron L Hubbard?/Scio?

Joseph P Blow, Kokomo PD said...

But since they opened the box, the show's going to suck, right?

hhstarr said...

Well he is doing better the at the writing thing. I actually understood this one without Cail’s translations. But now I know he is auditioning to write for the XFiles reboot. Ridiculous tales like this lend no credibility to his other yarns. Hogwash!

Sarton Bander said...

@Brayson87
There seems to be some link between prices rising and demand falling...

AJ said...

Castle Rock on HULU.

Unknown said...

No need to translate this one, right? Seems understandable enough, however silly it might be.

I like their shotgun approach to dealing with evil spirits. "Let's just bring in a few of every kind of spirit-handler." Even though if any of them were serious about it, they'd probably suspect the other spirit-handlers of being possessed themselves.

Brayson87 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yep. King/Rice/New Orleans/voodoo/Sissy Spacek/Carrie. The intern was from Fitchburg Universoty, Fitchburg, MA. The show is Castle Rock.

I was almost an extra in it (couldn't coordinate a day to take part.) Many friends were extras in it. This was made in my backyard, so to speak. None of my friends ever talked about this. I think its bunk.

Brayson87 said...

Hey anyone else notice that all of Stephen King's good books came from the 70's and 80's? After that pretty blah, like the well ran dry.

SteveD said...

Viral marketing for DB's pitch for an Exorcist-Expendables franchise.

atoukzug said...

If DB starts writing about the monkey paw in his dresser, I'm done with CDaN for good...

Anonymous said...

Also, bish pleez, heavy snowfalls were kike every third day in New England this winter. Ain't nothin special about that night.

atoukzug said...

"All other stuff a cash grab."

And if you follow his Twitter, he is an angry, angry man with some serious issues..

Brayson87 said...

@Unknown, I had thought the Dark Tower series was going to be his magnum opus but wow that went south.

@Melvin, "It suddenly got cold and snow began to fall," sounds like a normal weather system lol.

Sara, Making It Work said...

I don't believe in supernatural stuff, but I probably would have been creeped out if I had been there.

Also, no more or less plausible than the bulk of stories on CDAN. (The long blinds anyway.)

Mo said...

I love scary movies what’s it called?

Joseph P Blow, Kokomo PD said...

@ Mo: it is Castle Rock, you can watch the first three epis on Hulu tonight.

Ann R. Key said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J-Mo said...

Did I miss something? Why were the tv's out on the balconies? I'm assuming the were malfunctioning on their own but it's oddly written.

Ann R. Key said...

For the psychic(s): Sylvia Browne, Christopher Dufresne, The Montel Williams Show

Ann R. Key said...

I wouldn't have been hard to find on that shoot... follow the stream of brown. I'm not a believer but I would never mess with a Dybbuk Box or an Ouija Board.

Sara, Making It Work said...

Temps finally got below 100 where I am. It's still damn sunny and I had to stop the yard work by 7:30 though.

Lurky McLurkster said...

I saw you with the box. What's in the box. Tell me what's in the box

Unknown said...

I figured the TVs being out on the balconies was a cute way of saying some kind of Poltergeist action happened. Could there be a connection here to that movie?

Sara, Making It Work said...

@Lurky, YESSSS
My neighborhood grocery store sells meal kits and the signage says in very large print, "What's in the box?"
I mean. Just not appetizing AT ALL.

Unknown said...

@Brayson87, yeah, I've tried to read a few of his newer ones, and they were completely forgettable. It also seemed like the characters all sucked, like he's gone heavy on the "everyone sucks when you're not watching" trope. The best people are just not-evil, but there are no heroes. He wasn't always that way. There are genuinely good people and heroes in The Stand, for instance. Even the miniseries of that was really good.

Ralph: Uh, Nick says that… he says he don't believe in God.

Mother Abagail: [laughs] God bless ya, Nick! But it don't matter! He believes in you.

I don't think he'd write anything like that now.

Joseph P Blow, Kokomo PD said...

So, I read Under the Dome and it pretty much sucked except for one unlikely friendship between a meth head and bible thumper.


I've believed that there has been a stable of Stephen King ghostwriters for quite a while.

shakey said...

I forgot Castle Rock has Stephen King involved. Every time an adaptation of his books hit the screens, they're shit.

Damn. I was looking forward to this.

Sass71 said...

I bought King's new book for my husband for his birthday. So far, he says he feels like King is trying to go into a Michael Connelly direction. I agree, Cell was the last book of his I read and I was disappointed with it.

deadzo said...

WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT JUST FAKE HYPE TO GET US TO WATCH THAT SHIT SHOW. I'M DONE WATCHING MOVIES AND TELEVISION. I'M NOT WATCHING ANYMORE SHIT FROM A BUNCH OF FUCKING DEGENERATES.

Rita said...

A box of Mercury Retrograde

Unknown said...

If I NEVER see another Stephen king adapted abortion of a movie ever again.... it will be way too soon.

I'll give them credit for being consistent though.

Brayson87 said...

@Cail, I always liked the theory that his wife wrote some of his books, she is a novelist too.

Then again just read that he was addicted to alcohol and drugs (cocaine, Xanax, Valium, NyQuil, dextromethorphan cough medicine and marijuana) but got sober in the late 80's, that might explain some things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King#Personal_life

Flashy Vic said...

A bland....I mean blind, so lame that the comments have evolved into a much more interesting discussion about the merits of later Stephen King stories.
Dancing Boys tedious bollocks actually worked out well for a change.

jes7o said...

Stephen King was never the same after he got hit by that van.....

filmfanb said...

real question, if i drop some edibles and vape all night can i write for CDAN?

Unknown said...

@filmfanb, yes, but you'll have to lose that pesky comma habit.

Green Tea said...

The real question is what does DB have on Enty?

Kate k said...

They made me hungry.

orangesoda said...

Lurky wins comment of the day again.

hhstarr said...

My daughters high school has assigned King's book about how to write for two summers in a row. Guess no one learned anything the first time round. Or, like my daughter, they didn't read it. She said he is a boring writer.

cheesegrater15 said...

It's a reference to the end of Poltergeist.

cheesegrater15 said...

Please tell me they put a photo of Brad Pitt next to the sign. 😂😂😂

LulzMcQueef said...

Even with a head cold I can smell the bullshit on this one.

Bill Beard said...

Box of helium?

Cuddlebutt said...

I stopped reading his stuff by the 90's. Repetitive and had unnecessary sexual and female genitalia imagery.

Paul said...

With ONE book, Ghost Story, Peter Straub beat the shit out of everything King ever stole from H.P. Lovecraft, Poe, and Tom Tryon. He's always been a hack. And yeah...no, I don't believe that an entire town would keep this story secret. I see someone is now ghosting Dancing Boy--this one made a stab at clarity.

NicQuerica said...

I stopped reading King's books after he just HAD to throw in the fucking N word for the goddamn umpteenth time, when it was totally unnecessary. He's worse than Lovecraft with that shit, and Lovecraft was a vile, virulent racist.

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