Famed British occultist/pornographer/drug addict/megalomaniac Aleister Crowley has long been a folk hero of sorts within the heavy metal community. And now, Iron Maiden
lead singer Bruce Dickinson--another idol of dragon T-shirt wearing basement dwellers everywhere--is bringing Crowley to the screen for the very first time.Dickinson co-wrote the film Chemical Wedding with Julian Doyle, the director. In the already completed movie, acclaimed English actor Simon Callow plays Haddo, a college professor who brings Crowley back from the dead. Interestingly, Haddo was the name of a character inspired by Crowley in W. Somerset Maugham's 1908 novel The Magician.
Chemical Wedding is set to be unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in May. According to Yahoo! Music News, Dickinson plans to fly a bunch of guests out to France in his own Boeing 757 for the premiere. Expect a full theatrical release for Chemical Wedding this summer.
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The legend of the Vault continues to grow. Earlier today, I was invited by Zombo's Closet of Horror to join the newly inaugurated League of Tanna Tea-Drinkers, a not-so-secret society of horror bloggers. I'm pleased by the honor, and especially love the Kharis-themed insignia! Other invited bloggers include Frankensteinia's Pierre Fournier and Kim Paffenroth, author of Gospel of the Living Dead, which sits proudly displayed on the Vault of Horror bookshelf.