Inferno to Lead Halloween Box-Office Weekend

Following a Thursday-night opening that generated $800,000, director Ron Howard's Inferno, the third film in the series kicked off by The Da Vinci Code, will lead box-office receipts this weekend with an opening somewhere in the mid-$20-million range, analysts expect. It's the only big new release over a weekend when Boo! A Madea Halloween and Ouija: Origin of Evil may benefit from ticket-buyers in a spooky mode — or not, as some of them will be distracted by Halloween parties and/or World Series games.

John Wick's David Leitch May Take Over Deadpool 2

Following the unexpected departure of Blur Studios' Tim Miller from the helm of Deadpool 2, John Wick co-director David Leitch is said to be the frontrunner for the job. Given John Wick's fan reputation as the quintessential R-rated action movie of the 2010s, Leitch (who recently wrapped shooting on The Coldest City with Charlize Theron, James McAvoy and Star Trek Beyond's Sofia Boutella) may be one of the few directors fans will trust to fill Miller's shoes. [Mashable]

Scott Francis Named CTO of THX

Scott Francis, a former CTO of entertainment services at Technicolor, is the new CTO at THX. THX, best known for its audiovisual quality certification program for movie theaters, was purchased by PC hardware and accessores maker Razer last week. [Variety]

Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker Has Some Tips for Scriptwriters

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British journalist-producer-presenter Charlie Brooker — best known these days for his series Black Mirror, which recently made the jump from British Channel 4 to Netflix — says writers shouldn't get too comfortable at their desks if they want to be productive. "My advice for writers is always: write standing up, and get Scrivener, and write in 25-minute bursts, and get a PlayStation," he says. [Little White Lies]

How The Walking Dead Killed George Romero Zombies

Night of the Living Dead director George Romero says his brand of low-budget horror has gone out of vogue with as zombie stories rise to blockbuster status. "Because of World War Z and The Walking Dead, I can't pitch a modest little zombie film, which is meant to be sociopolitical," he tells IndieWire. "The moment you mention the word zombie, it's got to be, 'Hey, Brad Pitt paid $400 million to do that.'" [IndieWire]