Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I was just commenting that we're overdue for a Quija Board movie

About an hour ago, I remarked to a fellow aficionado of horror and trashy movies that it had been a while since I'd noticed Parker Brothers getting free advertising for their spirit-channeling Ouija Board via a horror movie.

And, in a coincidence that rivals a spirit telling me what I had to breakfast via a planchette and a strip of letters, I opened my email box to find a note from a staffer at Toronto-based Dark House Films letting me know about the premiere of their latest movie, "The Unleashed".

Check out this preview:



It looks like not only will Parker Bros. see a bump in Quija Board sales, but the movie-viewing audience will be treated to a classic creep-fest full of the ghosts and demonic possession.

"The Unleashed" is set for release in August, but there will be a special premiere on June 25 at The Queen Elizabeth Theater in Toronto. If you live in that area, go check it out and report back what what you see! (It's a little too far for me to drive....)

For more information on the movie and the premiere, click here.

A scene from "Unleashed"
(Where a pair of horror characters once again show that you should NEVER play with the Quija Board you find in the attic of an old house.
The five minutes of fun are followed by mayhem and madness!)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Freedom of expression dying in Denmark?(Another documented case of Islamophobia)

From the Danish Free Press Society:

Free speech is under attack in Denmark. Please help us preserve it.

Those who have been following the Danish cartoon crisis and several subsequent attempts by radical Muslims to kill and bomb Danes and Danish institutions may be excused for believing that Denmark is in the forefront of the battle for free speech. And indeed it used to be that way.

No longer. For the past year the Danish public prosecutor has been waging a lawfare offensive against outspoken critics of Islam and Muslim practices.

On December 3, 2010, Member of Parliament Jesper Langballe was convicted of “hate speech” – or as the judge in the lower court of Randers put it: “racial discrimination” – for having called attention to honour killings in Muslim families.

Next in line is Lars Hedegaard, President of the Danish Free Press Society and The International Free Press Society, who will stand trial in the lower court of Frederiksberg on January 24, 2011.

His crime has been to point to the great number of family rapes in areas dominated by Muslim culture. This well documented fact has brought him an indictment under the Danish penal code’s “racism” clause: Article 266b.

Both MP Langballe and Lars Hedegaard have long ago emphasised that they did not intend to accuse all Muslims or even the majority of Muslims of such crimes. This has made no impression on the public prosecutor.


We fear that the public prosecutor intends to stifle open debate on Islam and Muslim culture. And we fear that he is doing so with the tacit approval of the governing parties, which first signalled their intention to remove the racism clause from the penal code but have recently recanted.

If the authorities succeed in silencing such critics as Jesper Langballe and Lars Hedegaard, who will dare speak out?

We must put a stop to these attempts to undermine free speech if we wish to preserve Denmark as a free country. And where Denmark – that former beacon of free speech – goes, the rest of the West may follow

You can help us.

Please send a few words to katrinewinkelholm@gmail.com in defence of Lars Hedegaard’s freedom of expression. We will then publish them in The Free Press Magazine, Sappho.dk.

Please do what you can to spread the word about the trial of Lars Hedegaard.

Kinds regards

Ahmed Mohamud
Vice President, The Danish Free Press Society

Katrine Winkel Holm
Chief Editor, Sappho.dk

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sandra Bullock: Most Desirable Neighbor

In a season of silly Top Whatever lists, the survey determining what famous person Americans would most like to live next to has got to be the silliest. (Of course, it's intended to be silly; it's undertaken every year as a promotional effort by a Seattle-based real estate firm.)

Sandra Bullock was the most popular wanna-have-as-a-neighbor celebrity with over 25% of all Americans wanting the actress next door... although more than 25% also responded that they didn't want any of the choices in their neighborhood! The full survey results are linked below.

Sandra Bullock Named Most Desirable Celebrity Neighbor for 2010, While Cast of Jersey Shore Voted Least Desirable


Sandra Bullock is welcome to move in next to me any time she wants. I'll even buy the morning mochas every so often.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Is your favorite scary moment in the 'Chiller 13'?

Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments (2010)
Director: Shane O'Brien
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

'Tis the season for Top X countdown lists, and cable channel Chiller appropriately enough brings a selection of horror movie hits to the table.

Premiering on Friday, December 17 at 8pm, "Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments" looks back at the scariest films of the past 10 years. This hour-long countdown intersperses clips from the selected movies with opinions on the specific films the scenes were selected from, and horror movies in general, from a diverse group of actors, filmmakers, comedians, and horror movie experts. It is the first original documentary produced for Chiller.

Featured participants includes the star of "Orphan" Isabelle Fuhrman; actress Betsy Russell of the "Saw" anthology; actor Tony Todd of the "Candyman" and "Final Destination" films, as well as dozens of other horror flicks; renowned special makeup effects supervisor Greg Nicotero of "The Walking Dead" television series and countless other projects; comic book and screenwriter Steve Niles, best known for "30 Days of Night"; comedians Dan Gurewitch & David Young of collegehumor.com); and horror film directors Lucky McKee ("May") and Ti West ("Cabin Fever 2"), among others.

Focusing on big screen, big studio releases that every horror movie fan has at least heard of, the hour-long program leads off with #13 on the list, Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell". My heart sank a bit when a scene from this movie was chosen as the least scary as that's a film that would be near the top of my list of the scariest movies of the past decade if I were to compile one. However, as the show progressed, I found myself agreeing with just about every choice made and commented upon by the hosts. After all, the program isn't about the best horror movie or even the scariest, but about the scariest moments from the past ten years of horror films. And as much as I found "Final Destination" to be absolutely stupid--and I remain amazed that it spawned all the successful sequels that it did--the moment from it that made the list is indeed a very scary one. The same is true of "Orphan" and a number of other films spotlighted and discussed.

I won't spoil the program by mentioning any more of the movies selected, as part of the fun of a show like this is watching the list be revealed. Horror fans, from the casual to the hardcore, will also find the commentary from the featured hosts amusing and enlightening, more often than not at the same time. The musings and comments from horror veteran Tony Todd are particularly interesting, and the comedy duo of Dan Gurewitch & David Young are funny in ways that only horror geeks through-and-through can be.

"Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments" is a fast-paced, highly entertaining show that horror fans will consider time well spent. The one drawback to watching it will be that you'll be wanting to either rewatch or seek out to experience for the first time every movie featured.

For more about the program and air-times, click here to visit chiller.com and consult your local television schedule to see what cable channel Chiller can be found on. If you want to have your appetite whetted, check out the broadcast ad, and a clip from interview with Tony Todd discussing "Candyman".



Wednesday, December 8, 2010

In 3-D and Sniff-O-Rama!


According to an email from Charles Band of Full Moon Features, "Massively far-out and exciting news: We are going to produce and release our first theatrical film in years: EVIL BONG 3-D: THE WRATH OF BONG!!! Not only will it be in 3-D but also in Sniff-O-Rama -- our very own spin of the long lost art of 'scratch and sniff'!!!"

Band also wrote, "We shoot next month, and the release date is 04.20.11 -- NATIONAL POT DAY!!!"

For more information, I am preparing a post for click here to read a preview article at The Charles Band Collection, or watch Band's latest Vidcast embedded below:



(And if you own or operate a movie theater, you need to call Mike Kerz at 1-847-647-3124 and book this picture. That goes double if you're in the Seattle/Tacoma area. I want to see this movie! I know I'm not a big fan of 3-D, nor have I been terribly kind in my reviews of the other "Evil Bong" films... but this is a film/stunt/old-fashioned ballyhoo exercise I have to witness!)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I was right AND wrong about "Auschwitz."

As I mentioned previously, I wrote an email to Uwe Boll to ask about "Auschwitz", because I was confused by the existence of a preview for a movie that doesn't exist according to his resume at IMDB Pro.

I was RIGHT in-so-far as no one had bothered asking whether this was a real movie or not.

"You are the only journalist asking me anything," Boll wrote. "Everybody else is just writing and guessing."

I was, however, WRONG in my speculation that the preview was some misbegotten attempt at promoting "Bloodrayne: The Third Reich."

In the time-honored method of budget-minded B-movie producers everywhere, Boll shot a second movie back-to-back to back with the WW2-themed third entry in the "Bloodrayne" series and that movie is "Auschwitz."

"It will appear on IMDB soon," he wrote.

Boll went onto explain that he was hoping to show the Holocaust as ugly as it was.

"I made the movie because there is not one movie made that shows the holocaust as it really was," he wrote. "All the movies made show us the SPECIAL people, the heroes, but nobody focused on the subject matter. This is what I do in my movie,
and I think in times where 50% of the planet basically say THERE WAS NO HOLOCAUST - I think it's not so bad to show that AUSCHWITZ happened."

He further added that part of the movie will be a documentary.

So, love him, hate him, or be completely indifferent towards him, it seems that Uwe Boll is putting forward something approximating a serious film. I think that deserves some consideration.

Uwe Boll making movie about Auschwitz?

I woke up this morning to find corners of the web abuzz over a preview of a very strange next project for director Uwe Boll: a movie about the Holocaust, or at least one of the key death camps run by the Nazis, titled ""Auschwitz".

Here is the clip that's the subject of the talk (and it's not a pleasant one, so beware):



What I find odd is that Boll has no such film on his resume. He has three films in varying degree of production, yet none of them are "Auschwitz". Can it be that this is actually a weird attempt at promoting the upcoming "Bloodrayne: The Third Reich" movie?

I dropped Boll a line through his production company, as I saw no sign that anyone else has done so yet. Watch this space, as I'll report back whatever I hear.

--
Click here for Uwe Boll's response to my query about "Auschwitz".

Thursday, August 19, 2010

For those in the New York City area...

The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero has announced a major protest in Lower Manhattan this Sunday, August 22 (which means there are going to be that many more people for Nancy Pelosi to order investigated for daring to oppose a monument to Muslim terrorists):

Join construction workers, firefighters, veterans, 9/11 families and first responders, human rights leaders, and residents of the Ground Zero neighborhood will unite for a major protest at the Ground Zero mosque site.

Protesters to demand that the State Department answer: why are you sending Imam Rauf as an envoy across America and the globe on the taxpayers’ dime?

WHO: The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero and:

the Blue Collar Corner;

The Bravest;

9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America;


Women United International;

Stop Shariah Now;

ACT! For America and ACT! Manhattan;

Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam;

and many other organizations and leaders to be announced, as well as local residents living in the Ground Zero area.

WHEN: Sunday, August 22nd at 11:00 a.m

WHERE: Park Place, at northeast corner of Church Street and West Broadway, Manhattan

WHY: To push back against those attempting to impose harsh Shariah Islam, stealth jihad or terror on our nation. We will not be moved!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Something of interest to film students

Christian Gamboa of Star Costumes sent me a most interesting email today.

"We recently launched the first-ever Horror Scholarship," he wrote. "It's a $1000 scholarship designed to provide assistance to students studying to work in the horror industry."

As someone who has nothing but Humanities degrees to my name, and who studied creative writing, film and a little journalism while at university, I think an initiative like this is a great thing. Anything that actually encourages people who are trying to enter a creative field to learn the underlying craft necessary to produce exceptional work is a Good Thing. Too much garbage is being produced by too many "self-taught" individuals... a trend that's been accelerating since the late 1980s.

In the briefest and most general of terms, applicants might qualify for the Star Costumes Horror Scholarship if they are over 18 and pursuing an advanced degree in an area of film studies, with an intent of working in the horror genre. The deadline for applications is, appropriately enough, October 31, 2010.

For details (and the actual facts about the scholarship and the application process), click on the logo below.







(Now, if only someone would start a fund for impoverished crabby writers with a love for the trashier side of fantasy and horror....)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

How can you tell it's 'the wrong hair'?

Under most circumstances, I couldn't care less about Paris Hilton and her hair, but this article caught my eye.

Paris Hilton sued for wearing the wrong hair

If you don't want to waste your time reading about Hilton, she's being sued for allegedly failing to wear a particular brand of hair extensions after being paid US$3.5 million to do so.

And I am left wondering: How can the company that believes they were wronged tell Hilton was not wearing THEIR hair extensions? Do you women folk swap hair extension tips while you luxuriate in public rest rooms? Was Hilton's failure to honor her contract discovered because there is a way to tell virgin hair from non-virgin hair? (Apparently, the product Hilton agreed to lend her name and face to is made from the hair of European virgins--or so the online listing for Hairtech International products imply, as the first paragraph on this random page shows. Maybe she was busted because virgin hair would look decidedly unnatural on someone as well-used as Paris Hilton?)

Please help educate a curious bachelor whose female friends would just turn away and laugh. How can you tell if Paris Hilton is wearing the hair of a virgin in this photo from a 2008 media event held specifically to promote the Band-It hair extension product from HairTech International?



(While contemplating the mysteries of telling one brand of hair extensions from another, perhaps you would be interested in reading reviews of movies featuring Paris Hilton at Terror Titans.)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Coming soon to a bookstore near you....


"150 Movies You Should (Die Before You) See" has been in the works for some time; has been through two distinctly different incarnations; and has plenty of stuff to entertain and amuse those who love watching bad movies (as well as those who love hating bad movies).

Now, if only I can convince someone that the world DOES need a book that contains both movie reviews and themed recipes that are easy to prepare (for hosting the bad movie parties).

If you want to help a fellow out, you can pre-order the book at a discount from Amazon.com by clicking on the link below. A portion of every dollar you spend goes to feed my two hungry cats!



Tuesday, June 15, 2010

'Glen or Glenda: The Musical' coming soon?

Do you have any spare change under that couch cushion or in that car ashtray? Would you like to be part of musical theater and cinematic history? Then perhaps the show that writer/composer Michael Penny is trying to raise funds for will interest you.

Penny is hoping to stage "Glen and Glenda: The Musical."

Click here to visit Penny's pitch-page at Kickstarter.com. There you can read a little bit about his ideas and the PBS-style "pledge rewards" you can get for your contribution to his project. He states that he is hoping to raise US$10,000 by August.

On the face of it, that sort of sounds like a set-up like the guys from "The Producers" might be trying to pull off, but I there might be a potentially good idea here. AT the very least, I'd love to see a version of "Glen or Glenda?" with a real soundtrack score. Further, as I said in my review of "Glen or Glenda?" there's something special about this flick... and maybe Penny's adaptation can bring it out more clearly.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

There's only one Wonder Woman for me!

According to WENN, Jennifer Love Hewitt is fighting hard to play the title character in the big-screen, been-in-preproduction-a-LONG-time version of "Wonder Woman".

"I think Warner Bros is getting ready to make Wonder Woman and I really want to play Wonder Woman," Hewitt is quoted as saying. "I am obsessed with Wonder Woman."


Other names that have come up in connection with the Wonder Woman role in recent years are Sandra Bullock (who, as much as I love her, is too old for the part), Eliza Dushku (just wrong), Megan Fox (too young), and Beyonce Knowles (too talentless, and only brought up because of the dumb notion that Everything Is Better With Black; save her for the big-screen version of "Isis").

Out of the actresses who have come up, only Hewitt is fit to fill Wonder Woman's red boots. Here's hoping someone at Warner Bros is going to wise up and hire her forthe part, no matter who ends up on the director's chair.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Now they want to ban historical war games

A board game has been designed around the a 17th century conflict between Indian tribes and English settlers. Called "King Philip's War" and slated to be released by a game company co-owned by fantasy author Bob Salvatore and former baseball player Curt Schilling, it's a war simulation game based on a bloody and violent clash of the same name between colonists in New England.

Not surprising, community activists with chips on their shoulders and a desire to rewrite history so their side are innocent vicitms who did nothing all day but frolick in the forests before the Evil White Man happened along want the game stopped because they consider it offensive.

Click here to read about this outrage.

When you're done there, click here for another possible outrage.

(What's next? "Axis and Allies" or "War in the Pacific" needs to be banned because it's offensive to neo-Nazis and the Japanese?)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Shades of things to come?

Hugo Chavez continues to silence his opposition....

Owner of Anti-Chavez TV channel arrested

Here in the US, Our Glorious Leader and his cronies have been directly targeting media outlets and media personalities who have dared to be critical of him. Next time some of you out there decide to support the government cracking down on what is and isn't acceptable political speech and commentary, keep in mind what goes on in Venezuela and other dictatorships that don't have protected Freedom of Speech.

And, no matter what idiots like Sean Penn say, Hugo Chavez is a dictator. Obama has the personality and bearing of a dictator and only the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are keeping him in check. (Not that the Constitution seems to mean a whole lot to him and his fellow travelers.)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A watch that truly is a piece of crap

Switzerland-based watchmaker Artya is set to release an expensive watch that isn't made gold or titanium but rather a more earthy material--dinosaur dung.

Designer Yvan Arpa said Monday the fossilized feces came from a plant-eater that died about 100 million years ago in what is now the U.S. The strap is made from the skin of American cane toads. It will sell for around $11,000

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Vatican newspaper at odds with Catholic League


"Angels and Demons" opens tomorrow, the latest Tom Hanks-starring, Ron Howard-directed, Dan Brown novel-based movie. The leader of the Catholic League has called for the film to be boycotted because of its anti-Catholic bigotry.

This means that I will be seeing it at as early a screening as my schedule allows, and that I will have a review posted here by tomorrow evening at the latest.

Interestingly, as is usually the case when morons call for a movie to be boycotted sight unseen, those who have actually seen it don't think it's as bad as all that.

Today, WENN says that film reviewers at The Vatican's newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano", who attended a special screening earlier this month, dubbed the film inaccurate but "harmless". (The film's storyline reportedly deals with a renegade element within the Catholic Church dishing out death and mayhem to protect its secrets and gain revenge.)

Also quoted by WENN is one of the movie's stars, Ewan McGregor. He stated, "there's no anti-Catholicism or anti-Christianity in the movie - otherwise I wouldn't have made it."

All in all, it sounds like the overly sensitive and/or publicity seekers are once again giving free (if false) advertising to another movie that already has hundreds of thousands of marketing dollars behind it.

I guess we'll all know the truth tomorrow. Please check in for my review.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

NOW he's sorry...


The sorry sack of shit who was once Osama bin Laden's driver/human buttplug, Salim Hamdan, has been tried and convicted for being the al-Qaeda scum that he is.

Like all these cowardly Lions of lslam he's cries like a baby when called to account for his part in the savage butchery of innocent victims. This guy is more disgusting than most of them. Here's what he had to say, according to the AP and other wire services:

"It was a sorry or sad thing to see innocent people killed. I don't know what could be given or presented to these innocent people who were killed in the US," Salim Hamdan said at his sentencing hearing, speaking in Arabic through an interpreter. "I personally present my apologies to them if anything what I did have caused them pain."


I think the best thing to do is to let this guy present his apologies in person to all the people who were murdered while he was on his knees giving blow- and handjobs to Osama bin Laden. I think the best thing would be to take him out back and shoot him through the head.

After all, as things presently stand,many of people he has caused pain can't hear him apologize BECAUSE THEY ARE DEAD!

Did this bastard try to turn Bin Laden in after 9/11? Did he do ANYTHING to stop what's been going on? Of course he didn't. He has a million excuses for why he didn't do anything, but the fact remains that he went along with the boys of al-Queerda until he was called to account.

He deserves to be executed, as do all the assholes who actively participate in or support terrorist activities.

By the way...

Sunday, July 6, 2008

12,000 to lose their jobs, assholes celebrate



I've heard several people commenting on the fact that Starbucks will be closing some 600 stores with glee in their voices. Somehow, they think this is a good thing. Some believe it will result in little indie cafes opening up (which never happens in Reality... when a coffee shop closes around here, nothing seems to take its place) and others are just assholes who seem to take delight in the fact that people will be losing their livelihoods.

I tend to zip through a Starbucks drive-thru about a week. There is a little coffee shop I prefer that gives me my mochas for less than half of what Starbucks charges, so I go there more because of purely financial reasons. However, Starbucks does generally taste better, although it depends on the barista. (Although, more and more they're both losing out on my money, as I'm making huge pots at home, dumping fat-free vanilla creamer in my cups, and saving lots of cash.)

But I sure as hell am not deriving any pleasure from the news that people are losing their jobs. No one ever forced me to go Starbucks and pay $4+ for a cup of coffee or $3 for a breakfast sandwich (which was quite tasty BTW).

I truly can't relate to some of my friends, nor to the dimwits quoted in this article from Reuters. I can't derive pleasure from people losing their jobs. (Well, with some exceptions. I'd celebrate if Melinda Vigliotti of New York lost her job.)

Some coffee drinkers gleeful over Starbucks financial troubles
By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One coffee drinker's bad news is another coffee drinker's good news, it seems.

Financial woes at Starbucks Corp., which is planning to close 600 underperforming U.S. stores and lay off 12,000 employees, is evoking glee and little sympathy from aficionados who say they resent the coffee shop giant and favor small independent cafes.

"I'm so happy. I'm so not a Starbucks person," said Melinda Vigliotti, sipping iced coffee at the Irving Farm Coffee House in New York. "I believe in supporting small businesses. Starbucks, bye-bye."

Seattle-based Starbucks burst onto the national scene in the 1990s and grew to more than 6,000 locations around the world. But with cups of coffee that can cost several dollars, it faces a slowing economy and slowed consumer spending.

"Starbucks has really created a coffee culture, raising awareness of good coffee, which is good for independents," said Carol Watson, owner of the Milk and Honey coffee shop in Chicago. "But on the other hand, they're on practically every corner, and that makes it tough on the little guy too."

In Birmingham, Alabama, retiree Peggy Bonfield, drinking coffee at the Crestwood Coffee Shop, said: "When a Starbucks closes, it makes room for a local business to start. I consider that good news."

The schadenfreude of coffee drinkers drawing satisfaction from another's misfortune is part of the popular culture that enjoys the downfall of companies or celebrities, said Jim Carroll, a Canadian-based trends and innovation expert.

"There are a lot of people out there who take delight in seeing an icon torn down by the masses," he said.

Starbucks fell victim to a rapid change in attitude, fueled by Internet bloggers complaining endlessly about everything from layoffs to its breakfast sandwiches, he said.

"Starbucks was a cool brand, and then all of a sudden it's not a cool brand," he said. "There's this new global consciousness that is out there that can suddenly shift."

New York Web designer Zachary Thacher, who favors Greenwich Village's cafes, said he avoids Starbucks. "They've commoditized cafe culture, which is why I don't go," he said.

But it's not as though Starbucks doesn't have defenders.

"It's convenient," said Anthony Castro, sitting in a Starbucks near his job at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "I know what to expect."

In Birmingham, Crestwood regular Gary Adkins said he felt Starbucks gave employees good salaries and benefits.

Not everyone felt strongly. "It's just coffee," said Marc Poulin, a systems administrator at Zibetto Espresso Bar in New York. "If I was an investor, I'd care."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor, Andrew Stern and Verna Gates; editing by Todd Eastham and Steve Miller)

Monday, August 20, 2007

Accident on 'Valkyrie set'; Thetans at fault?

I wonder if the Scientologists will turn this into a recruiting drive? Maybe their Machines That Go Ping can prove that Thetans were involved!

(Or maybe the Germans will borrow some Machines That Go Ping and show that Tom Cruise needs some more auditing because the Xenu-created poltergeists are harming innocent people!)

From the BBC...

Eleven injured on Cruise film set

Eleven extras have been injured after falling off a truck on the German set of Tom Cruise's latest movie, "Valkyrie."

One man was seriously injured in the accident, which happened when the side of the vehicle burst open as it drove around a corner, Berlin police said.

The other 10 of were treated in hospital but later released. Police said there were "no findings to suggest anyone famous was involved".

Cruise stars in the real-life story of a plot to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944.

The truck, which was made to look like a Wehrmacht military vehicle, is now being inspected for technical defects as part of a police investigation.

"Valkyrie" has faced criticism in Germany, where crew were banned from filming at the former staff quarters where Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who led the plot, was executed.

Rumours circulated that the ban was imposed because of Germany's hostility towards Cruise's Scientologist beliefs.

A government spokesman later said the restriction was put in place to preserve the building's "dignity".

The building, known as the Bendler Block, is now a memorial for Third Reich resistance fighters.

"Valkyrie" - named after Operation Valkyrie, the codename of the failed 1944 plot to kill Hitler - is being directed by Bryan Singer and will co-star British actor Kenneth Branagh.

Filming, which began last month, was called off following the accident on Sunday night. Police said they did not know whether there would be further delays as a result.

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