After "Paranormal Activity", Peli goes into "Area 51"!

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As Paramount Pictures broadens "Paranormal Activity" from underground midnight screenings to round-the-clock showings in 40 cities this weekend, writer-director Oren Peli has already scared up a start date and the financing for his follow-up.

He starts production next week on "Area 51," which will employ the "found footage" narrative structure of his last film and tell the story of three teens whose curiosity leads them to the notorious "Area 51" part of Nellis Air Force Base in the Nevada desert.

"Paranormal Activity" cost just $11,000; this time Peli will be working with a relatively whopping $5 million budget, with financing locked through Aramid Entertainment Fund and Incentive Filmed Entertainment. IM Global will handle worldwide sales, while CAA will shoot for a domestic deal.

Returning as producer is Jason Blum, who produced "Paranormal Activity" through his Blumhouse Prods. banner. Room 101's Steven Schneider and IM Global topper Stuart Ford are executive producers.

"I'd rather not say anything about 'Area 51' except that I am very pleased to be working with the same team who stood by me for the two or three years it took 'Paranormal Activity' to get into theaters," Peli said.

[henke]

I'm a sucker for ufo-stories. I'll be following this project closely.

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"Paranormal Activity" is one of the most impressive theatrical releases of the year, what with its miniscule budget and still-rapidly-climbing box office performance.

As a result, everyone has been all sorts of curious to hear more about director Oren Peli's next project, titled "Area 51."

Obviously, the film will likely deal with the titular American military base which has been home to all sorts of conspiracies, in particular aliens. Up until now, we’ve heard murmurs that the film was about three teenagers exploring Area 51, and that it will employ a similar narrative to Paranormal Activity. Further details remained tightly under wraps. Peli has been adamant in his refusal to share any details about the movie, which is described as another "found footage" effort in the vein of "Paranormal."

Now, the first details have come to light via Latino Review. One of their "trusted sources" got to look over a script/story outline for "Area 51," dated September 2009.



***SPOILERS WARNING***





Let the spoilers begin... you have been warned.


The story will follow four friends: geek and apparent ringleader Chris, skeptic Paul, follower Rob and Natalie, whose father claims to have been abducted by aliens. The story gets underway when the group makes their way to Las Vegas, where they meet up with a former Area 51 employee who shares what he knows of the facility and the security measures in place there. What he wants is video proof of the extraterrestrial(s) being held there, a rumor he never confirmed during his tenure.

The group does some additional investigative work, uncovering more details about the base's security systems. Protective measures that include "motion detectors, thermal imaging, ammonia detectors, armed guards, as well as 'ray guns.'" That's where the script details end. The tipster does mention that the outline reads much like the "Paranormal" script probably did, as "a scene-by-scene breakdown with a list of various props, actors, and the general interactions between the actors and their surroundings."




***END OF SPOILERS***


There are no real surprises here. It's mostly just the setup for the "group of friends investigating Area 51" detail revealed a few weeks ago. As Peli proved with "Paranormal," the joy lies in the execution rather than the setup. And if his debut effort is any indication, fans will be pleased when "Area 51" eventually does hit theaters.


http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exc...-revealed-8514