We’ve come a long way with movie magic. CGI technology and filmmaking techniques have made anything on the big screen possible. However, occasionally directors decide to go the practical route, as sometimes technology doesn’t capture a moment the same way tangible effects do. This was the case in Pete Davidson’s upcoming horror movie, The Home, where director James DeMonaco decided to use Davidson’s actual eye for one of the freakest scenes in the film, and things almost got dangerous.
The SNL alum recently sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and he talked about becoming a dad for the first time, as well as making The Home with the team that made The Purge. One of the scenes that is teased in the trailer features Davidson tied to a chair with a contraption holding his eye open, reminiscent of the famous eye scene in A Clockwork Orange.
dinosaurs come to life in Jurassic Park, they should realistically be able to digitally put Davidson’s eye in a contraption just by using some green stickers and VFX post-production work.
However, DeMonaco had other plans, and instead employed three doctors to be present while they actually put Davidson’s eye in some monstrous contraption. The King of Staten Island star was understandably shocked by the idea, saying:
So I get to set, and there’s three doctors there, and they all look, you know, not – they’re a little concerned. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ and my buddy James [DeMonaco], the director, goes, ‘They’re here for your eye.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean?’
Apparently, DeMonaco thought Davidson’s eyes were just too distinctive to be recreated digitally, and the shot wouldn’t be believable without using his actual eye.
The whole thing became worse when Davidson’s co-star had a hard time getting his lines right and made the situation go on longer than it should have. Eventually, one of the doctors had to step in to prevent any actual damage being done to their leading man’s vision. The actor recalled:
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I heard, in the corner, one of the doctors went to the director and goes, ‘Yeah, in about 30 more seconds there’s gonna be some real damage.’ So I take the thing off. I’m like squirting it with water and stuff. I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ And then we’re watching it in video village and the director goes, ‘Yeah, it didn’t have to be your eye.’
Clearly, this was a case of a director being a little overzealous when it came to realism in movies. However, I do think the film benefits from Davidson telling this story, as it will likely make the scene even scarier knowing the actor’s actual safety is at risk.
This is some serious commitment from Davidson, who probably could have refused or asked for a double to be used. The 31-year-old might be new to the horror movie game, but he is seemingly all in and is ready to put himself in the hot seat for the sake of a good shot. It seems like this experience didn’t sour things either, as the comedian has expressed interest in joining The Purge franchise. I’m here for this era, and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
You can see Pete Davidson in The Home when it hits the big screen on July 25, 2025. For more information on other exciting titles heading to the big screen this year, make sure to consult our 2025 movie schedule. Also, fans of the comedian should check out our feature on Davidson’s best movies and TV shows, to see where else you can watch the actor.
Spoiler alert! This story discusses the Season 4 premiere of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which aired on July 23. Stream the episode with a Hulu subscription if you don’t want to know how the celebs did.
A new season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is underway on the 2025 TV schedule, and the talent in the premiere was impressive to say the least. Ken Jennings brought Matt Damon out in a quest to donate seven figures to charity, and I admitted going in that I’d be disappointed if they walked away with anything less than $1 million. However, the Jeopardy! host ended up exceeding my expectations by avoiding one specific pitfall when it comes to the “Ask the Audience” lifeline.
Jimmy Kimmel pointed out multiple times during the episode (in reference to his infamous feud with Matt Damon), Ken Jennings did not need a partner to help him on one of the best game shows of all time, but it’s certainly more fun to see the celebs have someone to talk out their answers with. However, that’s where many get in trouble with the “Ask the Audience” lifeline, and I was so relieved to hear Jennings say this upon seeing the $250,000 question:
Jeopardy!’s biggest winners for a reason. This has been a huge pet peeve of mine on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, hearing the celebrity contestants explain all the reasons why they’re leaning toward one answer or another before asking the audience what they think. OF COURSE, they’re going to second-guess their own knowledge and go with the celeb’s logic.
Matt Damon and Ken Jennings, however, kept it quiet, with the Jeopardy! GOAT deciding:
Let’s ask the audience, then once the votes are in, we can speak freely.
Jimmy Kimmel praised their “smart strategy” of not leading the audience in a specific direction by sharing their thoughts out loud, and it worked! The audience collectively confirmed what Ken Jennings and Matt Damon were both thinking. If they’d talked it out beforehand, there would have been no way to know if the audience members actually knew which animal engaged in “vertical sleeping” or if they were just trusting the smarts of the celebs on stage.
This very issue plagued Drew Carey and Aisha Tyler in the first half of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s premiere. This was another pair who had the potential to go the distance, with Carey winning $500,000 in his first appearance on the show back in 2000 and Aisha Tyler competing on Celebrity Jeopardy! multiple times.
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However, they talked at length about their $32,000 question and whether Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Tina Turner or Britney Spears had more No. 1 Billboard Top 100 hits and even almost picked Spears before turning to the audience for help. I was shouting at the TV not to do it, and of course, the “Toxic” singer got the majority of the poll responses (rather than Houston), handing the Whose Line Is It Anyway? hosts a quick exit.
Jimmy Kimmel joked that he blamed the audience for leading them astray, but Drew Carey recognized their mistake, saying:
I think we talked them into it.
I’m so glad Ken Jennings and Matt Damon didn’t follow suit. As for whether they took home the million, we’ll have to wait and see. The episode ended ahead of their $500,000 attempt, so tune in when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire returns at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 30, on ABC.
I’m just hoping that future contestants are paying attention and will follow Ken Jennings’ Millionaire strategy.
Lionsgate, which is releasing the adaptation of Stephen King novel The Long Walk this fall, is staying in business with the best-selling super-author.
The company has optioned the rights to King’s 1999 novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, setting JT Mollner, the filmmaker behind the well-regarded thriller Strange Darling, to write and direct the adaptation.
The project marks a return to King country for Mollner, who wrote the script for Long Walk, which was directed by Francis Lawrence and opens Sept. 12.
Roy Lee, the producer of Long Walk and Strange Darling, will reteam with Mollner for Tom Gordon. Also producing will be Christine Romero, Ryan Silbert and Andrew Childs. Nathan Kahane, who is transitioning from his post as Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president to independent producer, will also join the project in a producorial capacity.
King’s psychological horror novel centers on the harrowing survival story of a nine-year-old girl named Trisha as she struggles to stay alive after getting lost in the woods alone. With only her Walkman radio playing baseball games to keep her company, the girl’s love of pitcher Tom Gordon begins to manifest in hallucinations that may save her life.
“JT is a filmmaker we believe has a bright future,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman. “Throughout his work, he creates characters, and especially young characters, that are so compelling, heartbreaking, and emotional that they pop off the screen. And of course, that’s what Stephen King does on the page as well. The story of survival and perseverance in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is timeless. We’ve loved this tale for a long time, and JT is the perfect choice to adapt and direct this King fan favorite.”
Meredith Wieck will oversee the project for Lionsgate alongside Pavan Kalidindi. Phil Strina negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.
Lee has, over the years, amassed an enviable body of work adapting King’s work, including It and It: Chapter Two, as well as Doctor Sleep, and Salem’s Lot. Long Walk, which will have a panel in Hall H Friday at San Diego Comic-Con, adapts King’s 1979 horror novel and stars a list of next generation Hollywood talent.
Mollner previously wrote and directed the indie psychological thriller Strange Darling, which was released in 2024 and scored a critically acclaimed 96 ercent on Rotten Tomatoes. The film received the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ best thriller award in 2025, as well as the STIGES Film Festival Grand People’s Choice Award. In addition, Mollner was honored with the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival best director award for the movie.
Mollner is repped by UTA, World Builder Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen.
Those of you who regularly read The King Beat are already well-aware that 2025 has been a special blessing for Stephen King fans. A little over half-way through the year, we’ve seen the release of two new King movies (The Monkey and The Life Of Chuck) and the debut of a new King TV show (The Institute), and the months to come include two more upcoming King movies (The Long Walk and The Running Man) and the debut of another new show (IT: Welcome To Derry). For Constant Readers, our cup runneth over… but those of you who are still screaming for more really need to put writer/director Zach Cregger’s Weapons on your radar: it’s not an adaptation, but it’s King coded to the extreme.
You don’t need to just take my word for it, as I had the great pleasure of talking with Cregger about it this week, and discussion of Stephen King’s influence on the new horror movie is the headlining story of this week’s column. But that’s not all, as there is also some very exciting home video news to discuss, both in the realm of physical media and streaming. There’s a whole lot to go over, so let’s dig in!
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)
Weapons’ Zach Cregger Explains How The Shining And The Trailer For Needful Things Helped Inspire The Upcoming 2025 Horror Movie
the 2025 movie at the start of this week, I couldn’t help but perceive these links, so when I spoke with the filmmaker on Monday during the feature’s Los Angeles press day, King was the first thing I asked about… and my read of the upcoming horror story was substantiated.
The Shining. Speaking to taking inspiration from King, Cregger told me,
Subconsciously. 2:17 has to have come from that. It has to have. And look: I’m a [Stanley] Kubrick guy when it comes to The Shining; I definitely like worship that movie, and I thought of changing it to 2:37. But then I was like, ‘You know what? My first impulse has gotta be the one I stick with,’ so I kept 2:17.
For those of you who aren’t aware, Room 217 is the heart of terror in Stephen King’s The Shining, inspired by the haunted room at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado where the author stayed and got the initial idea to write the book. Per J.W. Rinzler and Lee Unkrich’s The Making Of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, it was changed to Room 237 in Stanley Kubrick’s controversial adaptation due to concerns from Tad Michel, the general manager of the Timberline Lodge – the Oregon hotel that was used for exterior shots of The Overlook Hotel in the film. Michel was worried that the movie would cause people to fear booking Room 217 in his establishment, and he asked for the number to be changed to 237, 247 or 257 because those rooms didn’t exist at the Timberline.
There is more King in Weapons than just that special string of numbers, though. Zach Cregger also name-dropped Needful Things – Stephen King’s epic novel from 1991 that was adapted as a feature by director Fraser Clarke Heston two years later. In the book, a mysterious and malicious man named Leland Gaunt arrives in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, and after setting up a little antiquities shop, he sets about getting the community to tear itself apart by requesting that his customers play little pranks on each other that ultimately snowball into chaos. Getting surprisingly specific, Cregger acknowledged not simply the tome or the film as having an impact on his work, but the excellent trailer for the latter. He continued:
You know, the Needful Things trailer promised something that my imagination just went nuts with when I saw that as a kid. And I had a different experience when I watched the movie, but the trailer, I was just really into a small town just imploding over one central mystery. And so I think that might have also been present when I was writing.
You can check out the very cool trailer for reference below:
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Needful Things Official Trailer #1 – Max von Sydow Movie (1993) HD – YouTube
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For what it’s worth, the theatrically released version of Fraser Clarke Heston’s Needful Things doesn’t totally capture the spirit of the book that Zach Cregger properly identified and appreciated from the trailer – but the extended cut that was later made for television is much more faithful to the source material and a superior work (and yes, I gave it a full-throated endorsement during the interview).
Curious about the larger influence of Stephen King on Weapons? You won’t have to wait much longer to discover them for yourself, as the Zach Cregger film, which has started generating massive buzz, will be in theaters everywhere on August 8. Be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming weeks for not only more from my interview with Cregger, but also stars Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, and Josh Brolin.
Venn diagram of collectors and King fans, and both major studios and boutique labels have done a brilliant job working on beautiful restorations and collecting fascinating special features.
This summer alone, we have seen the arrival of two titles in the format, with Neon putting out Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and Vinegar Syndrome putting together a tremendous set for George A. Romero’s The Dark Half, but this week, it appears that Constant Readers have another fresh release to look forward to: a new edition of Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot.
An official announcement has not yet been made, but this news comes courtesy of reliable home video scooper/s Dawn On The Discs on Bluesky, which says that Arrow Films is working on a crop of new releases that includes the 1979 adaptation of Salem’s Lot along with the anthology horror Three… Extremes, the comic book movie Spawn, and two John Carpenter titles: In The Mouth Of Madness and Prince Of Darkness. The post doesn’t mention a release window, and it doesn’t confirm that Arrow is specifically putting out a 4K UHD restoration, but Warner Home Video has already made the miniseries widely available on Blu-ray, so one has to imagine that this is going to be a format upgrade.
When it comes to physical media, the early Stephen King adaptations have gotten the majority of the love, and a 4K UHD edition of Salem’s Lot would mean that restorations of the first eight King adaptations would all be available (the other titles being Carrie, The Shining, Creepshow, Cujo, The Dead Zone, Christine and Children Of The Corn). In fact, of the first 22 movies and shows based on King’s work – spanning the years 1976 to 1990 – the only works not available in the ultra-high definition format include Firestarter, Maximum Overdrive, the 1990 IT miniseries, and the anthology shows Tales From The Darkside and the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone.
Arrow Films’ other Stephen King releases include the aforementioned Children Of The Corn and Creepshow 2 – which has a new 4K UHD limited edition set that has a September 30 street date and is now available for pre-order.
Hulu subscription will discover a special treat arriving in the coming weeks.
If you missed Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey when it was in theaters earlier this year and haven’t felt inspired to either rent or purchase it digitally, you should know that the 2025 film starring Theo James, Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Colin O’Brien, and Rohan Campbell will be added to the Hulu streaming library starting on August 7. It’s not a movie for the faint of heart, as it is arguably the goriest King movie made to date, but it’s also super funny in addition to being excessively horrific, so it’s definitely worth checking out if you can stomach it.
Based on the Stephen King short story of the same name, the movie centers on a pair of estranged twin brothers (Theo James) who find themselves reunited thanks to the return of a horrible icon from their childhood: a drumming monkey toy that causes extreme death whenever anybody activates it by turning the key in its back. As I noted in my CinemaBlend review of The Monkey, it’s gory, wild madness, and it’s one of the best horror titles of 2025.
That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as always, I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with another fresh roundup of all the biggest stories coming out of the world of Stephen King. In the meantime, you can do a bit of exploring in the history of King on screen with my series Adapting Stephen King.
The era of Hulkamania may never truly end, but its founding father is sadly no longer with us. One of the biggest and most influential pro wrestlers in the history of sports-entertainment, Terry Bollea — better known to fans around the world as Hulk Hogan — is dead. The WWE Hall of Famer was 71 years old.
After weeks of disputed rumors surrounding his current health status, Hogan passed away on the morning of Thursday, July 24, 2025. 9-1-1 operators reported the involvement of a cardiac arrest at his Clearwater, Florida residence, according to TMZ.
promoting his new wrestling promotion with Eric Bischoff.
Soon after that, the Rocky III co-star was rumored to be on his “deathbed” after his health purportedly dipped in relation to his prior surgery. Hogan’s former BFF Bubba the Love Sponge claimed that he was told family and friends were being called in to say their final goodbyes.
However, those reports were said to be overblown and incorrect by members of the athlete’s camp, to the point where the day before Hogan died, his former manager Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart, posted on X that all was well, and that Hogan was out on the town the night prior, adding even more confusion.
Hulk is doing great, doing phenomenal! Last night at karaoke with Nick was absolutely fantastic, baby!!!”July 22, 2025
Hogan’s new promotion with Eric Bischoff, Real American Freestyle, landed a deal with Fox Nation, and is set to premiere its first televised event on August 30. One can imagine it will kick off with a lengthy tribute to its late co-founder.
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We at CinemaBlend send our thoughts and condolences to Hogan’s family and friends during their time of mourning.
