Almost a year ago, we heard that filming had wrapped on the documentary Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, which – as you may have guessed from the title – chronicles the life and career of iconic actor Robert Englund. Now Variety has learned that Cinedigm has packed up the North American distribution rights to the documentary, with the plan being to give it a theatrical release before sending it to the Bloody Disgusting streaming service Screambox sometime in late spring. The streaming release is expected to come along sometime around Englund’s 75th birthday, which will be on June 6th.
As genre fans know, Englund shot to fame portraying one of Hollywood’s most iconic horror characters: Freddy Krueger. A classically trained actor and feature director, Englund’s early credits included cult surfing movie Big Wednesday. His career was cemented by his portrayal of supernatural serial killer Krueger in Wes Craven’s fertile Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. More recently the veteran actor scored a key role in the fourth season of Netflix hit Stranger Things.
Director Gary Smart spent two years assembling interviews for Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, talking to the likes of Lance Henriksen, Eli Roth, Tony Todd, Bill Moseley, Lin Shaye, Heather Langenkamp, Englund’s wife Nancy Booth, and of course Englund himself. Smart wrote Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story with Neil Morris and also produced the documentary alongside Christopher Griffiths, John Campopiano, Adam Evans, Michael Perez, and Hank Starrs. Laurence Gornall served as executive producer. The film is a Cult Screenings UK Ltd Production, in association with Unannounced Films.
Smart provided the following statement: “Both Chris and I have been fans of Robert since we were children, and now to have the opportunity to not only become friends with Robert but to also celebrate his amazing career in this love-letter documentary is truly a ‘dream’ come true for us.“
Englund added: “This old veteran character actor was surprised and flattered to find he was the subject of the documentary Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares. Collaborating with directors Gary Smart and Christopher Griffiths and the rest of the team was a joy as they are genre fans like me. For Yours Truly, watching the film is a bit like Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn attending their own funeral. Gary, Chris, and Adam managed to find old movies and TV shows I’d forgotten I was in. I’d come back from the dead! All kidding aside – it’s an accurate memory of a working actor’s journey – dreams can come true.“
Englund is awesome, so I will definitely be watching Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story when it’s released. Will you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.