Connect with us

Movies

Aronofsky Takes on the Supernatural in ‘Black Swan’

Published

on

I’m dying for Darren Aronofsky to do something mainstream. While I have high hopes for RoboCop, it’s pretty exciting to see him developing something original as well. Some good news hit the Hollywood Reporter last night as they broke the news that Aronofsky’s long-gestured Black Swan could soon be taking flight – thanks to Natalie Portman. Read on for the skinny.
Natalie PortmanAfter being set up in early 2007 at Universal, the project — a supernatural thriller set in the world of New York City ballet — has been reconstituted after being put into turnaround by the studio. It has been making the rounds to studios and specialty divisions, several of which are keenly interested.

Among the elements giving it a boost: Natalie Portman is attached to play the lead.

Several other changes have occurred since the Aronofsky-helmed project was first developed by Universal.

Mark Heyman, a development exec at Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures, has done a rewrite of John McLaughlin’s original script for the pic, which Mike Medavoy’s Phoenix Pictures and Protozoa are producing.

Aronofsky, meanwhile, has gone on to helm the critical and commercial favorite “The Wrestler,” putting him in high demand.

“Swan” centers on a veteran ballerina (Portman) who finds herself locked in a competitive situation with a rival dancer, with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. But it’s unclear whether the rival is a supernatural apparition or if the protagonist is simply having delusions.

Those who’ve read the script say it’s a spine-tingler with elements of “The Others,” the Nicole Kidman breakout in which viewers are left to discern what’s real and what’s imagined.

If a sale happens imminently, “Swan” could begin shooting as early as this year. Aronofsky has not committed to a movie that’s ready to go, though he has been developing the “Robocop” reboot at MGM.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Movies

‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Adds “Chucky” Actor Teo Briones and More to Lead Cast

Published

on

Chucky Actor Teo Briones
Pictured: Teo Briones in "Chucky" Season Two

The Final Destination franchise is returning to life with Final Destination: Bloodlines. With filming now underway, THR reports that three actors have joined the lead cast, including “Chucky” actor Teo Briones.

Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game) join Teo Briones, who played Junior Wheeler in season two of “Chucky,” as the leads in the sixth installment of the horror franchise.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) are directing the fresh installment that also includes Richard Harmon (“The 100”, Grave Encounters 2), Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones (The Book Of Boba Fett), Rya Kihlstedt (Obi Wan Kenobi), and Tinpo Lee (The Manor) among the cast.

Production is now underway in Vancouver.

What can we expect from the upcoming Final Destination 6? Speaking with Collider, franchise creator Jeffrey Reddick offered up an intriguing (and mysterious) tease last year.

“This film dives into the film in such a unique way that it attacks it from a different angle so you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s an amazing setup and then there’s gonna be one wrinkle that can potentially save you all that you have to kind of make a moral choice about or do to solve it.’ There’s an expansion of the universe that – I’m being so careful,” Reddick teased.

Reddick continued, “It kind of unearths a whole deep layer to the story that kind of, yes, makes it really, really interesting.”

Final Destination: Bloodlines is written by Lori Evans Taylor (“Wicked Wicked Games”) and Guy Busick (Scream), with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) producing.

Producers on the new movie for New Line Cinema also include Dianne McGunigle (Cop Car) as well as Final Destination producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.

This will be the sixth installment in the hit franchise, and the first in over ten years. Each film centers on “Death” hunting down young friends who survive a mass casualty event.

The latest entry is expected in 2025, coinciding with the original film’s 25th anniversary.

 

Continue Reading