A film lives many lives before it ever hits the screen. The script is usually revised multiple times before a single foot of film is exposed (or the digital equivalent thereof). I’m not just talking about smaller stuff like dialogue polishes and the addition or deletion of scenes. Many times the core story is reworked in profound ways. Sometimes it’s downright shocking how different the final film can be from the initial drafts.
In this new (semi-regular) feature for Bloody-Disgusting, I’m going to take a look at some early drafts of scripts for horror films that you may have already seen and discuss the differences, whether they took a turn for the worse, better or just different. There are also a handful of scripts for sequels and remakes that never happened that are worth checking out - just to see what might have been.
These aren’t script reviews, and only rarely will I be breaking the stories down on a beat-by-beat basis. I’m just going to point out some cool, interesting and/or disastrous choices that happened along the way. Each installment will be different, and each installment will be fun. I’ll also be including sample pages (when available)* so you don’t have to take my word for it!
*This applies only to older and previously released films that are already part of the culture. We're not in the business of leaking or sabotaging projects in development.
First up is Joe Dante’s Gremlins, written by Chris Columbus. Hit the jump to check it out!
Repo! The Genetic Opera obsessors dig on yet another character banner from Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich's The Devil's Carnival, which displays Emilie Autumn as the "Painted Doll."
Also starring Bill Moseley, Slipknot's The Clown, Ivan Moody, Briana Evigan, J. Larose, Alexa Vega, Ogre, Paul Sorvino, Marc Senter, and Sean Patrick Flanery, The Devil's Carnival is a 45-minute experimental short about a carnival run by the devil.
Watch the official website for more fun or to interact leading up to the short's completion.
I'm crazy excited for Paco Plaza's REC 3: Genesis, which is why there just isn't enough news to keep me satisfied. In fact, it's been a bit too quiet (I can only assume it's going to premiere at TIFF this coming September). So just to keep the title in the news, two new posters have begun internet circulation, one of which is 100% fan-made. The fan-designed version is a take on The Social Network one-sheet that exclaims, "You don't get a perfect wedding without killing a few zombies." Pure gold. The other is said to be a cell phone snap of a new teaser that adds a chainsaw to the madness. We have not confirmed its validity...It's just something pretty to look at.
"Koldo and Clara are about to celebrate the most important day of their lives: their wedding.
Everything appears to be running smoothly and the bride and groom and their families are enjoying a wonderful day; that is until some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness. Before they know what’s happening, the bride and groom find themselves in the middle of a hellish ordeal, as an uncontrollable torrent of violence is unleashed on the wedding.
Amidst the chaos, Koldo and Clara become separated and begin a desperate search for one another. What started off as an idyllic day quickly descends into a nightmare of the worst kind…"
This coming Tuesday, February 7th will see the premiere of ABC's "The River", a new series from Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli. "The River"'s 8-episode Season 1 is teased with the following new on air promo that shows the audience's reaction to the horror series.The audience reaction trailers are a bit played out IMO.
"Famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Greenwood) went looking for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon and never returned. The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. To the millions of kids who grew up watching his nature show, Dr. Cole was a hero. To his own son, Lincoln (Anderson), he was more of an enigma. Now, six months after he vanished, Lincoln is finally ready to bury the past when Dr. Cole's emergency beacon suddenly goes off. At the urging of his mother, Tess (Hope), Lincoln reluctantly joins her on a search for his father. To fund the rescue, they agree to let Dr. Cole's cagey ex-producer, Clark (Paul Blackthorne), film the mission documentary-style. The mixed crew of old friends and new acquaintances includes the sexy and resourceful Lena (Eloise Mumford), loyal mechanic Emilio (Daniel Zacapa), and lethal bodyguard Captain Kurt Brynildson (Kretschmann)."
Vin Diesel is going image crazy posting another dirtied up look at Riddick in the R-rated David Twohy-directed sequel to Pitch Black. This one goes heavy on the Apocalypse Now imagery.
It was revealed yesterday that Riddick also sees the return of Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Vaako and introduces to the series previously announced cast member Jordi Molla as Santana, the arrogant captain of the mercenary ship; Matt Nable (Killer Elite) as Boss Johns, a man looking for answers; Katee Sackhoff (TV's Battlestar Galactica) as the Nordic mercenary Dahl; and Bokeem Woodbine (Total Recall) as bounty hunter Moss. Rounding out the cast are Dave Bautista (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), Conrad Pla (Immortals), Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto), Nolan Funk (Aliens in America) and two-time Grammy Award-nominated singer Keri Hilson.
Already featured in magazines, below you'll now find a clean look at Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green in Twentieth Century Fox's Prometheus. The duo apparently have oxygen and are standing in front of some alien writing. I believe it says, "This is not a prequel to Alien, but actually, it is." Just a wild guess.
On June 8 Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. It'll be presented in real 3-D.
Aspect Film has inked a 3 picture deal with Blanc/Biehn Productions, for its new genre label Chiller Films.
Michael Biehn, director of The Victim and star of Grindhouse and a string of James Cameron box office hits that include The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss, will shortly commence filming of The Farm, Up and Down and The Predicator (working titles), which he will run through Blanc/Biehn Productions; the production outfit he owns with Jennifer Blanc-Biehn.
Each of the three grindhouse movies will star Michael Biehn and will be shot in sequence in a 45 day period, with three different directors to be announced. Executive producing along with Blanc/Biehn Productions will be a director that Michael Biehn has worked with before and has great relationship with.
By clicking the image above you'll find the new hi-res image gallery for Open Road Films and Liddell Entertainment's Silent House (review), their "real-time" supernatural thriller that promises that on March 9 "the silence will kill you."
Martha Marcy May Marlene's Elizabeth Olsen stars in the horror flick featuring "88 minutes of real fear captured in real time."
The pic, which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, was co-directed by filmmaking duo Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, who left audiences terrified with the hit film Open Water.
" 'Silent House' is a uniquely unsettling horror thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah, a young woman who finds herself sealed inside her family's secluded lake house. With no contact to the outside world, and no way out, panic turns to terror as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house."
The screenplay was written by Laura Lau and based on the Uruguayan film La Casa Muda, written by Oscar Estevez. Visit the Facebook to become a fan.
Clancy Brown (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Burrowers, John Dies at the End) and Ethan Peck (In Time) have joined the cast of Nothing to Fear, the horror thriller being directed by creature and storyboard artist Anthony Leonardi III as the feature producing debut of former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash and his new horror label Slasher Films, says THR.
Anne Heche, James Tupper and Willa Holland are already on board for the movie which "centers on a family whose journey towards a better life in a small town is savagely derailed by a charismatic but emotionally conflicted man of the cloth." Brown is set as the evil pastor while Peck will play a townsperson with a past.
Producing with Slash are partners Rob Eric and Michael Williams.
Tony Oller, who played Danny on the Disney Channel’s “As the Bell Rings,” has been offered the young male lead in Universal’s upcoming horror sci-fi thriller Vigilandia, TheWrap has learned.
Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane and Edwin Hodge star in the movie, which James DeMonaco wrote and is directing.
Oller most recently starred alongside Dennis Quaid in Beneath the Darkness. Before that, he was one of the stars of the Nickelodeon series, "Gigantic."
Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are producing through Blum's Blumhouse and Bay's Platinum Dunes. Why Not Productions also is producing.
The movie is scheduled to begin shooting on February 13.
Rodrigo Cortes' Red Lights debuted at Sundance to mixed word of mouth (Mr. Disgusting's review here). The Buried director's psychological thriller stars Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy and Elizabeth Olsen.
Acquired by Millenium Entertainment for theatrical distro, the pic begins "when a psychologist’s investigation into paranormal activity focuses on whether or not a world-renowned psychic is actually a fraud, her results are far from expected."
And now some character one-sheets are beginning to emerge. I kind of like these, they're slightly derivative but look cool. And I'm still eager to see the film, hopefully I like it more than some of the other people I've spoken to.
Hit the jump to check them out as well as take another look at the trailer!
Oh man. I can already tell that covering ATM is going to bring out the worst in me. And by that I mean bad puns. I mean, just look at the headline for the article. Not funny, but I couldn't help myself.
IFC Midnight will be releasing David Brooks' thriller on VOD and Digital Platforms (iTunes, Amazon Streaming, XBox ZUNE, PS3 Video Unlimited) on March 2nd before opening in theaters on April 6th. Penned by by Chris Sparling, whose previous credits include the Ryan Reynolds-starrer Buried, the flick stars Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), Josh Peck (The Wackness), Alice Eve (Entourage).
The trio play co-workers who make a late-night visit to an ATM and find themselves fighting for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.
What are some of your worst ATM related jokes? Or am I gonna have to bill you for insufficient puns? Hit the jump to let me know and check out the full poster!
Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement that Insidious 2 would feature the return of writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan, we hit up Whannell for a brief, exclusive, interview about the sequel. We also touch on the Saw franchise and get an update on Cooties, a film he haven't had an update on since last April!
In the first film, "Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) make the terrifying discovery that the body of their comatose boy has become a magnet for malevolent entities, while his consciousness lies trapped in the dark and insidious realm known as The Further."
Now in theaters everywhere is CBS Films' The Woman in Black, the latest Hammer production that stars Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe.
Mr. Disgusting isn't a huge fan of the film, "What's most troubling is 'Eden Lake' director James Watkins' inability to craft a "real" scare...there are two should-be terrifying moments that fall completely flat on its face." Full review here. Other people seem to like this film, even though I agree that it's a flat "horror for beginners" tale with way too many ineffectual jump scares.
CBS Films released a new clip today, and if you want an idea of what the second act of this film is all about - just imagine this scene playing over and over again for about 45 minutes. If that sounds like your thing, then by all means go see it.
Hit the jump to check out the clip. And if you've seen the movie then write your own review to tell all of Bloody what YOU thought!
Earlier this month it was announced that "The Walking Dead" was renewed for a third season and bumped up to 16 episodes. That's up from 6 episodes in Season 1 and 13 in Season 2. Just recently Tom Savini (who is lobbying for the part) said that John Hawkes was the producers' choice to play Philip Blake, aka "The Governor", in next year's season.
Apparently that's not the case. An update from Lilja's Library drops a bomb on that rumor along with some additional Season 3 tidbits.
"The small town of Senoia in Coweta County is about to become zombie central for the filming of a hit cable show The Walking Dead. The show is scheduled to shoot in the town in May and construction of zombie sets will begin next week, which will involve 60 local carpenters. Scott Tigchelaar of Raleigh Studios Atlanta says people can expect to see the town a little dirtier than normal to fit the look of the show... It was earlier rumored that John Hawkes would play Philip Blake, the psychotic zombie-killer who declares himself the Governor of Woodbury. Now, it looks like that won't happen. Hawkes' publicist states quite plainly that "John is NOT appearing on The Walking Dead." "
Don't forget that the still ongoing Season 2 returns February 12th on AMC.
Jane Levy (pictured below; Fun Size) is in talks to play the lead in the remake of Evil Dead that Fede Alvarez will direct shortly, says Deadline. She replaces Lily Collins, who exited the film recently.
In FilmDistrict’s remake of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, Levy’s plays Mia, a character that corresponds to Ash, who was played by Bruce Campbell in the original 1981 movie.
Mia is one of five young people who head to the remote cabin where evil awaits. Recovering from a recent overdose, Mia is particularly vulnerable.
Raimi, Campbell and Rob Tapert are producing with Ghost House Pictures. Fede Alvarez is directing and co-wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult) revised the latest draft. The movie is targeted to open April 12, 2013.
Katherine Heigl is going full circle. Having kicked her movie career off with Bride of Chucky (among others), the starlette was just attached to Face Blind and is now in final negotiations to star in the Jim Henson Co.'s The Happytime Murders, which Stuart Ford's IM Global will launch to buyers at the European Film Market next week, says Variety.
Directed by Brian Henson (A Muppets Christmas Carol) and penned by Todd Berger (Kung Fu Panda 2) from a story he wrote with Dee Austin Robertson, "the pic takes place in a world where puppets and humans live together, but the puppets are viewed as second-class citizens. When the puppet cast of an 1980s kids TV show gets murdered one by one, a disgraced detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case."
The film noir puppet comedy has been in development at the Henson Co. since 2008.
In a last second attempt to get your ass into theaters, CBS has released the opening scene from The Woman in Black, which seems to be getting a pass by most critics even though I wasn't a fan.
From Hammer Films, "The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent."
IFC Films has announced American Psycho director Mary Harron's The Moth Diaries for limited release on April 20. No word on the VOD or DVD date. IFC typically releases their films in NYC theaters.
Starring Lily Cole, Scott Speedman, Sarah Gadon and Sarah Bolger, we recently posted the first ever footage from the vampire flick that takes place during a full moon where Lucy takes a dangerous peak inside someone's room. You'll see no bats, but plenty of moths.
"At an exclusive girls' boarding school, a sixteen-year-old girl records her most intimate thoughts in a diary. The object of her growing obsession is her roommate, Lucy Blake, and Lucy's friendship with their new and disturbing classmate. Ernessa is a mysterious, moody presence with pale skin and hypnotic eyes. Around her swirl dark rumors, suspicions, and secrets as well as a series of ominous disasters. As fear spreads through the school, fantasy and reality mingle. What is true and what is dreamed bleed together into a waking nightmare of gothic menace, fueled by the anxieties, lusts, and fears of adolescence."
While Vin Diesel shared a new look at himself as the title character Riddick in the R-rated David Twohy-directed sequel to Pitch Black, a press release confirms the previous casting scoops reported by Bloody Disgusting months ago.
Riddick also sees the return of Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Vaako and introduces to the series previously announced cast member Jordi Molla as Santana, the arrogant captain of the mercenary ship; Matt Nable (Killer Elite) as Boss Johns, a man looking for answers; Katee Sackhoff (TV's Battlestar Galactica) as the Nordic mercenary Dahl; and Bokeem Woodbine (Total Recall) as bounty hunter Moss. Rounding out the cast are Dave Bautista (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), Conrad Pla (Immortals), Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto), Nolan Funk (Aliens in America) and two-time Grammy Award-nominated singer Keri Hilson.
"The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he's encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty.
The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won't leave the planet without Riddick's head as their trophy."
The Official BD Podcast - Featuring discussions on all the latest horror news, reviews, and interviews. Hosted by Tex Massacre, Horror Guy Keenan, and David Harley.
Double Murder - Where horror movies are pit against eachother, featuring originals vs remakes, originals vs sequels, and more. Hosted by Danny! and Tim.
Dead PIxels - Covering all things horror in popular culture. Everything from video games to comic books to tv. Hosted by Reset, BurnTheBlueSky and the BD Video Game Blog.