Last year we were excited about Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (the directors of INSIDE) getting behind the camera of Dimension's planned Hellraiser remake. After they left the project, we lost all interest... until we saw Martyrs. When we broke the news that director Pascal Laugier would be bringing Pinhead back to the big screen, we immediately found ourselves excited again. Hopefully he can put his stamp on the film without the Weinstein's trampling all over it. Beyond the break you can read about his ambitions and promises for the remake, while he also reveals that Dimension is already planning to remake MARTYS here in the States (why?).
Pascal Lagier recently chatted with Aint it Cool News about his forthcoming release of MARTYRS. During the interview he talked a bit about why he chose to remake HELLRAISER for Dimension Films.
"First of all, HELLRAISER is a child's dream coming true," he tells AICN."I saw the first when I was 13, I remember precisely the shock it had on me because it was so new, so fresh, so it's very hard to resist the temptation to do HELLRAISER, you know? So of course. When you come from my culture it's like amazing you're even proposed to do HELLRAISER. So of course I felt about it a lot. Right now I have no reasons to refuse the opportunity because IF I disagree with the producer I would leave the project. You know, I'm not forced to do ANYTHING I don't want. So, let me write the first draft, let me tell you what all the American producers have reacted to the reading of the first draft and I will tell you if I'm in good hands or if I'm gonna leave a hellish experience but in ANY CASE, I won't betray Clive Barker's work. I want to do a fresh film filled with a lot of unexpected and surprising things. At the same time, I want it to be connected to the real, original material."
He continues, "I'm talking about the novella and the first film that are very close to each other. We'll get the chance to have much more money than even Clive had in the first film, so it will be of course more epic, it will be bigger, and I hope that it won't be softer. And right now I trust the guys in Dimension [Films] You know? It's all a matter of human relationship. I talk a lot with Bob Weinstein, he cares about the projects, he's a movie buff, he knows a lot about cinema. But at the same time he's Bob Weinstein and he's a very realistic money maker. So it will be a battle, and I hope that a balance will be found so the film will be close to my vision. What can I say? I'm not sure. I can't sign with my blood that I'm gonna achieve...
"I felt it was a good idea to do a new HELLRAISER. And we all know that the franchise has been killed by really, really cheap and bad direct-to-DVD sequels - I'm talking about HELLRAISER 4, 5, 6 - that we all hate. And we all know that the franchise deserve something more ambitious, you know, and more serious so for me it's a huge chance to be allowed to handle it."
Pascal also reveals that a MARTYS remake is in the works over at Dimension Films, who will release the original on DVD and Blu-ray February 24th.
"You're the first one I [tell]," he reveals to AICN. "Yeah right now we are negotiating the rights to eventually remake MARTYRS in America."
i LOVE this man (Pascal). he's so honest and forthright about the situation w/ the Weinsteins! LOL.
that is SO fucking refreshing to hear instead of hearing someone pussyfooting around trying to kiss ass w/ them.
i am SO dying to see (the original) MARTYRS. i hope that it doesn't have the same DVD release delay that [REC] got (thanx so much Sony,,,,NOT!).
i hope this works out for him regarding HELLRAISER. the French (among other NON-American filmmakers) have been delivering some AWESOME horror movies!!!
You got to love the guy's ambition and attention to Clive's original. If he speaks the truth, we could get an amazing remake with the proper financial backing and screenplay.
After reading this I feel better about this remake. Pascal seems very down to earth and honest and I like that he wants to do the thing his way or he's out. Just thought I'd mention also that Hellraiser 4 was released in theaters not DTV.
muhh, he's not getting me exited. not one bit. all these crap remakes start of with 'yeah, it'll be special bla bla bla...' sorry, but so far non of the remakes, after Dawn of the Dead, did anything for me. [I loved fellow frenchies Heute Tension, but didn't like Aja's take on Hills have eyes]. Why not make the Scarlett Gospel and kill of pinhead for good (while giving us another adventure for Harry D'Amour).
A lot of what he said about Hellraiser sounded like what Alex Aja said about Hills Have Eyes... and if he can deliver 1/2 the goods of Aja, this will be a good remake.
It must be difficult to push your vision and retain the trust of the studio at the same time. Pascal obviously understands the relationship and I think Dimension appreciate the reasons people would want to see a Hellraiser remake. I'm looking forward to this!!
Pascal seems very quick to talk bad about other Hellraiser movies before he has even started work on his.It won't go down very well with Dimension if he keeps doing this. When Dimension start chopping up his movie and editing it and demanding new endings he may be able to understand how some of the other Hellraisers may have turned out. Dimension always make sure they are incharge and never let Directors get the better of them. So Beware pascal don't feel safe with Dimension just yet you have lot's of work ahead of you.
My new Years resolution is to stop wasting time on new horror movies. The genre here in American has hit a all time low and by the looks of what is coming it looks like it will get even worse.It's to bad they have to remake films like Martyrs because Americans are to stupid, lame, and lazy to read subtitles. What a pity!
I'm excited about this remake, but I'd rather comment on this article itself. "After they left the project, we lost all interest..." Really? I guess the B-D staff must not include many hardcore HELLRAISER/Clive Barker fans. I can't imagine fans of either completely losing all interest in a HELLRAISER remake because a pair of directors (out of the thousands of capable directors working in the film business around the world) bowed out. Unhappy, perhaps. Disappointed, maybe. But "lost all interest"? Then there's this bit: "Dimension is already planning to remake MARTYS here in the States (why?)" Come on, Mr. D. You know why remakes are made. In the case of MARTYRS, no matter how good and well-liked it is among horror fans, ask the next twenty-five people you met on the street what they thought of it and they'll all ask you what the hell you're talking about. We've been over this countless times in horror fandom (and every other genre fandom, for that matter) - movies are made to make money for movie studios. MARTYRS will be remade for US audiences because A) it's good enough that B) Dimension thinks they can sell the concept to US filmgoers, but C) a foreign film almost never makes as much money as a US-made film, no matter how well marketed. The real question here - Why do folks who are otherwise so knowledgeable about the horror film business still ask "why?" when they hear about a movie being remade?
I'm glad they are remaking Martyrs because if I wanted to read I would read a book. I don't watch movies to read. The same goes for all subtitle movies.
"I'm glad they are remaking Martyrs because if I wanted to read I would read a book. I don't watch movies to read. The same goes for all subtitle movies."
And it's because of morons like you that this industry is being dumbed down with pointless remakes. Martyrs hasn't even been released yet in a lof countries. If you don't want subtitles don't watch a foreign film. But as most French horrors like Haute Tension don't have much dialogue anyway subtitles shouldn't even be an issue. But I have to say that is probably the dumbest comment I've heard all year. Well done!
I saw all the Hellraiser films except the 3rd one and I thought Hellraiser 4 was more enjoyable than the first one. I mean, I almost felled asleep while watching the first one. The story was really good,the cenobites are really cool,its a good film for its time, but it was kind of boring. I think a remake is a really great idea.No offense, its just an opinion.
Hellraiser 6 was horrible!
Some people commenting on here really fucking suck. I'd pick you out one by one, but I don't want to make your egos flutter. That said, I'm getting tired of bitching about remakes, so insert general discontent here. Blah blah.
I'm looking forward to this! They killed the Hellraiser series a long time ago. Hopefully this will be fucking brutal so that all the noobs who have been weaned on Saw films and shitty horror will be sickened and disgusted. I can see it being a huge hit!
"My new Years resolution is to stop wasting time on new horror movies. The genre here in American has hit a all time low and by the looks of what is coming it looks like it will get even worse.It's to bad they have to remake films like Martyrs because Americans are to stupid, lame, and lazy to read subtitles. What a pity!" true true
----------------------------------------------
hellr aiser 3 was a good film, far from the original but still a great film. Pinhead and the cenobites are easily the BEST horror icons ever made.
Ironically, even though i DIDN't like martyrs (well the 2nd half) i kind of think that this bloke MAY be able to pull it off. (if you've seen martyrs you may understand why?!)
As for the bitching about remaking hellraiser, clive barker has stated so many times over the years that if he had a big budget ,then HE would remake hellraiser HIMSELF!!!
But seen as he's either too busy or just enjoying life, so why not let someone else give it a go.
I personally think he'll do okay with it. If not, then we can all have a good bitch then can't we?! ;D
STILL haven't got to see Martyrs yet, but I know from Saint Ange that Laugier is a very capable director. I also second what chandlnic said: Dimension will not think twice about screwing over a director on their vision, because it's what they do best.
I really hope that this remake does stay true to the novella, which was amazing! All the sequels after 4 were awful, esp. hellworld with lance henrikson(good old ed harley)! Pinhead has always been my fave, better than freddy, jason, and mike myers. If they f!!k this up i will never watch another remake, ever! Instead of another remake they should make weaveworld or the great and secret show into feature films, ala lord of the rings style.
Comments Page 1 of 1 | You have to be logged in to comment! If you don't have an account register now for free! Your account allows you to post comments and reviews, upload videos and images, access or our forums, write personal blogs, and maintain your profile.
Print Story
Send to a Friend
