Newest take on Dracula legend has Proyas at the helm
The amazing
Alex Proyas (
Dark City, The Crow, I, Robot) will direct
Dracula Year Zero, Universal's origins tale about Vlad the Impaler.
The script chronicles the epic origin of Dracula, weaving vampire mythology with the true history of Prince Vlad the Impaler. It depicts Dracula as a flawed hero in a tragic love story set in a dark age of magic and war, repositioning him more as a vengeful hero than the monster seen in Bram Stoker's classic novel.
The project, being produced by
Michael De Luca, is one of several in the works about the Romanian royal who inspired Bram Stoker's vampire tale.
Proyas was attracted to the script by
Matt Sazama and
Burk Sharpless, enthusing over their "fresh take on the legend."
He said the project manages to play off the horror and the sympathy you have for a character that "sells his soul to the Devil to save his kingdom and family."
The scribes, who set up the project a year ago, said the goal was to show Vlad when he was still vital and to explore the fact that he's considered a hero in Romania for fending off the Turks.
"Usually when you see him, he's past his prime and 100 years old,"
Sazama said.
"In our movie, he's at the height of his powers,"
Sharpless added.
"
Dracula Year Zero" reunites
Proyas with
De Luca, who shepherded "
Dark City" when he was a New Line exec. It's also one of several monster movies in the works at the studio, which is prepping a third installment in its "
Mummy" franchise and a "
Wolf Man" redo starring
Benicio Del Toro.
"One of the cool things about this is that we're doing it at Universal,"
Sharpless said. "This is the home of monster movies."
The script was the first spec sale for the writing partners, who are busy on a couple of other Universal projects, including
Zack Snyder's "
Cobalt 60."
Dueling Dracula projects set up around town include "
The Historian," a contempo book about the search for Vlad the Impaler's grave that
Brad Caleb Kane is adapting for Sony's Red Wagon shingle, and "
Castlevania," an adaptation of a popular video-game for which Rogue recently signed up director
Sylvain White ("
Stomp the Yard").
Omen's director bringing "The Book of Lost Things"
Director
John Moore (
The Omen) has optioned feature rights to dark fantasy "The Book of Lost Things" by bestselling Irish author
John Connolly.
Published last year, book centers on a 12-year-old English boy whose mother died and father remarried. When a portal to another world opens, the boy enters a land of beasts and monsters, where he must undertake a quest to earn his way back out.
Cover Art and Full Details revealed for "The Tripper" DVD
Fox Home Entertainment has announced horror satire
The Tripper on DVD, which stars
Thomas Jane, Jason Mewes, Lukas Haas and
Jamie King.
This
David Arquette directed film will be available to own from the 30th October, and should retail at around $27.98.
The film itself will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Surround track.
Extras will include an audio commentary by director
David Arquette and actors
Thomas Jane, Paul Reubens and
Richmond Arquette, deleted scenes, a blooper reel, a behind the spleens featurette, Presidential Campaign Tour footage, and trailers.
You can view the cover art
here.
"Trick 'r Treat" not releasing on Halloween
One of the best horror films this year is Warner Bros.
Trick 'r Treat, which has now moved to an undisclosed 2008 date from it's original October 5 plan.
The movie has four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.
First Official Images from "Doomsday"
Today Rogue Pictures supplied the first official look at
Doomsday, which is slated for release next year.
"
Doomsday," written by
Neil Marshall (
The Descent), is set three decades after a lethal virus tore through a major country, leading to the country's walling off. When the virus, known as the Reaper, resurfaces in another country, an elite group is dispatched to the infected country to find a cure. There, they end up shut off from the rest of the world and must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.
You can view the images
here.
New Trailer:-
Final Official Trailer for All The Boys Love Mandy Lane(Releasing on July 20).
(References - bloody-disgusting.com, variety.com, dvdactive.com, ign.com, hollywoodreporter.com)