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With reports of a buyout in their future, Overture Films has put a hold on several projects including the latest Steve Niles' (30 Days of Night) property for the big screen, Freaks of the Heartland. The film was about to begin casting under the lead of director David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls) but we'll have to wait out a "90-day hold" to find out the future of Overture's titles, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Freaks of the Heartland is a six-part story published in 2004 by Dark Horse Comics and illustrated by Greg Ruth. The story revolves around Trevor Owen, who resides in the small town of Gristlewood Valley. He tries to protect his "monster" of a younger brother and other local children who are not quite what they seem from the avenging townsfolk.

Creepy mountain people are always a plus in my book so let's hope that Overture can pull things together and make it happen. I wasn't a huge fan of the other Niles' adaptation, 30 Days of Night, even though I adore the comic (all bow to the great Ben Templesmith!). This is one story I have yet to check out. Do you recommend it?

It sounds like Overture's upcoming release schedule remains in tact, which includes Breck Eisner's remake of Romero's The Crazies and Let Me In, a remake of the Swedish vampire tale, Let the Right One In. Perhaps those are the breakout hits Overture needs to stay in the running.

Before great publications like Fangoria came about, there was Famous Monsters of Filmland, a 1958 magazine put out by Warren Publishing who is known for other amazing mags like Creepy and Eerie. Editor Forrest J. Ackerman enthusiastically approached every issue about the classic monsters he loved like the Wolfman and King Kong. Eventually he branched off to interviews with the people behind the scenes, including makeup artists and screenwriters--you know, the people who often go overlooked. The magazine obviously showed that Ackerman had a deep reverence for creatures and creators alike, which made the publication one of the most popular go to horror/sci-fi/fantasy sources of the 1960's. The magazine folded in 1983 after 191 issues, but according to their website (and thanks to H101 for Tweeting the news), FM is back from the dead!

According to the website, FM wants to stay quiet about a lot of the details but they did offer some tidbits to look forward to:

- In order to make sure that FM gets as wide a release as possible, we've teamed with IDW Publishing. Not only are they one of the largest comic publishers in the country, recipient of Diamond Distributor's "Publisher of the Year" award 4 times, publisher of such hit comics as 30 Days of Night, Joss Whedon's Angel, Locke and Key, and Transformers; they also happen to be huge monster kids.

"Famous Monsters is partially responsible for my lifelong love of horror, so to be involved in helping the magazine relaunch itself into the dreams-or nightmares-of new generations of fans is amazingly gratifying to me," said Chris Ryall, IDW's Publisher/Editor-in-Chief. "Phil's plans for the magazine are respectful to the brand's history and very forward-thinking at the same time, and I'm happy to be a part of it."

Check out more details about this development and my horror anthology recommendation after the jump.

Whedonites have been having a rough time of it lately with the cancellation of Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods delayed until 2011. However, the good word came yesterday from Dread Central that a series of motion-comic webisodes based off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight has been put into motion.

Buffy's TV reign sadly ended with Season Seven in 2003 but Dark Horse Comics has been continuing the Buffy canon since 2007 with Buffy Season Eight. The comic series follows the events of the TV show's final season and is produced by Joss who wrote the first story, The Long Way Home. Originally only supposed to contain 25 issues, Whedon announced in September that the series would continue into Season Nine. Georges Jeanty has been the lead penciller for Season Eight but other artists have contributed to the series, including Jo Chen who has turned out some stunning work.

Casting directors are currently looking for voice actors to play all the usual suspects as well as the characters Twilight (the Big Bad) and Lady Genevieve Savidge, a British socialite slayer with an evil plan. If you're a voice actor or just plain curious--check out the casting call info after the jump. Let us know if you audition!