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Studio 666

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Studio 666
Theatrical release poster
Directed byB. J. McDonnell
Screenplay by
  • Jeff Buhler
  • Rebecca Hughes
Based onStory
byDave Grohl
Produced by
  • John Ramsey
  • James A. Rota
Starring
Cinematography
  • Michael Dallatorre
  • Eric Leach
Edited byByron Wong
Music byRoy Mayorga
Production
companies
  • Roswell Films
  • Therapy Studios
Distributed byOpen Road Films
Briarcliff Entertainment
Release dates
  • February 16, 2022(2022-02-16)(TCL Chinese Theatre)
  • February 25, 2022(2022-02-25)(United States)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3 million[1][2]

Studio 666is a 2022 Americancomedy horror filmdirected by B. J. McDonnell from a screenplay by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story byDave Grohl,who stars, alongside hisFoo FightersbandmatesNate Mendel,Pat Smear,Taylor Hawkins,Chris Shiflett,andRami Jaffee,portraying fictionalized version of themselves.

Whitney Cummings,Leslie Grossman,Will Forte,Jenna Ortega,andJeff Garlinco-star in theensemble cast.In the film, the Foo Fighters move into a cursed mansion to record a new album.

Studio 666is the first non-documentary to feature the Foo Fighters; the band was previously the subject of the filmFoo Fighters: Back and Forth(2011) and the television seriesFoo Fighters: Sonic Highways(2014). The film was released theatrically in the United States on February 25, 2022, byOpen Road Filmsand Briarcliff Entertainment. It received mixed reviews.

Plot

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In 1993Encino,Skye Willow, drummer of theheavy metalband Dream Widow, is crawling along the floor with a broken leg, followed closely by band's frontman, Greg Nole, who is holding a hammer. Skye sees the body of another band member, who has had his jaw broken by Greg, before Greg drives the hammer through her forehead and repeatedly hits her head with it, crushing her skull. Greg then hangs himself from a window.

In 2019, theFoo Fighters—Dave Grohl,Taylor Hawkins,Rami Jaffee,Nate Mendel,Chris Shiflett,andPat Smear—are pressured by their manager Jeremy Shill to overcome theirwriter's blockand record a new album. The group move into the mansion, where Grohl becomes fascinated with the house as a source of inspiration. One of their tech helps, Krug, is electrocuted by a wire and the band decides to dedicate their album to him.

Grohl finds a basement containing satanic objects and is possessed by Nole's demonic soul after listening to a demo tape. Under the demon's control, Grohl forces the band to continue production on the album. Later, a delivery man named Darren, who had earlier tried to give Grohl a demo tape, is decapitated outside the manor by an unknown figure with hedge clippers. The next day, as Shiflett is cooking on the grill, the same figure pushes his face onto it. Shiflett attempts to escape but he has his head smashed with the grill cover and is stabbed repeatedly in the neck, before the figure is revealed to be Grohl.

The band later finds Darren's corpse, but Grohl convinces them not to call the police and takes their phones. After watching Grohl eating Shiflett's remains, the band soon learn of the mansion's backstory and Grohl's possession with the help of a neighbor, Samantha. To exorcise Grohl, they need to find a book needed to free him of the possession. As Samantha and Jaffee have sex, they are both killed when Grohl sneaks under the bed and drives a chainsaw through their heads, before cutting them in half. Hawkins is pressured by Grohl to finish the song while Mendel and Smear retrieve the book from the basement. Hawkins finishes the song and is partially decapitated by Grohl with a cymbal.

Mendel and Smear free Grohl from the possession, and the souls of the Dream Widow band members send the demon to hell. However, Jeremy and real estate developer Barb Weems ambush the remaining members, revealing that they planned the whole thing. While Smear is fixing a car from underneath, Mendel is stabbed in the eye, causing him to accidentally hit the gas, which runs over Smear's head and runs over Barb. As Mendel gets out of the car to help Barb, she stabs him through the chin and dies alongside him. Grohl battles Jeremy only to back down in horror when Jeremy tells him of the album's success and the start of his solo career. One year later, Grohl, the only Foo Fighter survivor, prepares to perform a solo concert, with marks of possession around his eyes.

Cast

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Foo Fighters:

Other:

Production

[edit]
Writer and lead actorDave Grohl

In November 2021, it was reported that a film starring theFoo FightersentitledStudio 666had been shot in secret. John Ramsey andJames A. Rotaproduced the film, while the bandmates served as executive producers.Hatchet IIIfilmmaker B. J. McDonell directed the film, working from a script written by Jeff Bulher and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story from Grohl inspired by their experiences recording their tenth album.[3]

Filming took place in the same house the band recorded their albumMedicine at Midnight.[4]Nearing the end of filming in early 2020, production was shut down due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.Production resumed inLos Angelesmonths later, becoming one of the first films to do so during the pandemic.[5]Six days of filming were planned to finish the film, but it would ultimately span three weeks due to the regulations put in place to film safely.[6]

Music

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Grohl recorded a whole album of heavy metal songs for the in-movie fictional band Dream Widow.[7][8]The album was released on March 25, 2022, consisting of eight tracks.[9][10]

Release

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Theatrical and marketing

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Studio 666was released theatrically on February 25, 2022, byOpen Road Films.[11]The film held its world premiere at theTCL Chinese Theatreon February 16, 2022.[12]According to social media analytic RelishMix, the marketing campaign made 97.9 million interactions online, "in line with horror genre norms".[13]

Home media

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The film released as adigital renton March 18, 2022.[14]The film was released toBlu-rayandDVDon May 24, 2022, byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment.[15]

Reception

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Box office

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In the United States and Canada,Studio 666was released alongsideCyrano,and was projected to gross $2–5 million from 2,306 theaters in its opening weekend.[16]The film earned $1.54 million in its opening weekend.[17]Men made up 58% of the audience during its opening, with those in the age range of 25–44 comprising 53% of ticket sales and those between 18 and 44 comprising 73%. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 69% were Caucasian, 18% Hispanic and Latino Americans, 3% African American, and 10% Asian or other.[13]The film dropped out of the box-office top ten in its second weekend, finishing twelfth with $342,262.[18]

Critical response

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On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,56% of 126 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Studio 666doesn't quite take its horror-comedy hybrid to 11, but if you're in the mood, this cheerfully over-the-top outing is a lot of fun. "[19]Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[20]PostTrakreported 66% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 46% saying they would definitely recommend it.[13]

Megan Navarro ofBloody DisgustingcalledStudio 666"an entertaining jam session full of gore, laughs, and endearing moments between the band".[21]InPaste,Matt Donato wrote: "It might run its welcome a bit long and struggle with more juvenile gags, but it’s still a proper midnighter that’ll have you barking (in laughter) at the moon."[22]Ed Masley, writing forArizona Republic,said it was "plenty gory" and "definitely rocks", but criticized the humor.[23]Peter BradshawofThe Guardiangave the film one star, saying it "sadly conforms to the horror-comedy tendency of being neither properly scary nor properly funny". He found it "disconcerting" that the premise involved "violent and horrible things that happened back in the 90s", including suicide, alluding tothe suicideof Grohl's former bandmateKurt Cobain.[24]

References

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  1. ^"Studio 666 (2022)".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedMarch 13,2022.
  2. ^"Studio 666 (2022)".The Numbers.Nash Information Services, LLC.RetrievedMarch 13,2022.
  3. ^Shanfeld, Ethan (2022-02-24)."Dave Grohl Talks 'Studio 666' and Recording a Metal Album as Fictional Band Dream Widow".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-03.Retrieved2023-06-03.
  4. ^Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 8, 2021)."Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Unveils Horror Comedy MovieStudio 666;Open Road Lands WW Rights For February Theatrical Release ".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on November 8, 2021.RetrievedNovember 8,2021.
  5. ^Scarlett, Elizabeth (December 31, 2021)."Dave Grohl on Foo Fighters' Horror FilmStudio 666:"There's No Other Band Stupid Enough To Do This!"".LouderSound.com.Archivedfrom the original on January 2, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 2,2022.
  6. ^Lavin, Will (December 31, 2021)."Foo Fighters' Horror FilmStudio 666is "Absolutely Insane" Says Dave Grohl ".Nme.com.Archivedfrom the original on January 1, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 2,2022.
  7. ^"DAVE GROHL Has Recorded Entire New Metal Album".BLABBERMOUTH.NET.February 17, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on February 17, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
  8. ^"EP review: Dream Widow – Dream Widow".Kerrang!.24 March 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-07-05.Retrieved2022-09-10.
  9. ^"Hear DAVE GROHL's New Metal Album As Fictional Band DREAM WIDOW".BLABBERMOUTH.NET.March 25, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on May 31, 2024.RetrievedMarch 27,2022.
  10. ^Gallagher, Alex (2022-03-25)."Listen to Dave Grohl's new metal album as Dream Widow".NME.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-09-10.Retrieved2022-09-10.
  11. ^Strauss, Matthew (November 8, 2021)."Foo Fighters Announce New Horror Comedy MovieStudio 666".Pitchfork.com.Archivedfrom the original on June 1, 2022.RetrievedNovember 8,2021.
  12. ^Willman, Chris (February 17, 2022)."Foo Fighters Kick Out the Jams, and Try to Kick Out the Demons, at 'Studio 666' Hollywood Film Premiere".Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 26,2022.
  13. ^abcD'Alessandro, Anthony (February 27, 2022)."Uncharted&DogKeep Box Office Warm In Second Weekends BeforeThe BatmanConquers – Sunday AM Update ".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 27,2022.
  14. ^Studio666 [@Studio666Movie] (March 13, 2022)."Well I'll be damned. 😈 #Studio666Movie, starring @foofighters, is IN THEATRES NOW & AT HOME ON DEMAND MARCH 18"(Tweet). Archived fromthe originalon March 26, 2022.RetrievedMay 5,2022– viaTwitter.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^"Studio 666 Blu-ray".Blu-ray.May 3, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on May 6, 2022.RetrievedMay 5,2022.
  16. ^Robbins, Shawn (February 23, 2022)."Weekend Box Office Forecast:UnchartedandDogLook to Continue Success as Cyrano and Studio 666 Debut ".Boxoffice Pro.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 25,2022.
  17. ^"Domestic 2022 Weekend 8".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on March 2, 2022.RetrievedMarch 1,2022.
  18. ^"Domestic 2022 Weekend 9".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2022.RetrievedMarch 8,2022.
  19. ^"Studio 666".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.RetrievedFebruary 25,2022.Edit this at Wikidata
  20. ^"Studio 666".Metacritic.Fandom, Inc.RetrievedFebruary 25,2022.
  21. ^Navarro, Megan (February 22, 2022)."Studio 666Review – The Foo Fighters Unleash Their Demons in Gory Splatstick Comedy ".Bloody Disgusting.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
  22. ^Donato, Matt (February 22, 2022)."Foo Fighters Comedy-Horror Studio 666 Hits the High Notes".Paste Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon February 22, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
  23. ^Masley, Ed (February 22, 2022)."Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl Serve Up 'Hilarious Gore' in Uneven Horror MovieStudio 666".Arizona Republic.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
  24. ^Bradshaw, Peter (February 22, 2022)."Studio 666 review – What Possessed Dave Grohl to Make This Frightful Gonzo Grossout?".The Guardian.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
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