Movies
New Director Getting Behind the Camera for ‘Prisoners’
The “hottest script in town” might have found its director as it’s being reported that Antoine Fuqua , director of Training Day, is in final negotiations to get behind the camera for Aaron Guzikowski’s hot spec script Prisoners. The project is being fast-tracked, with preproduction set to begin shortly for a likely January or February shoot. “Prisoners” is set up at Alcon, which will release it via Warner Bros. next October. You can read more about the project, how it lost its stars and a more details synopsis below.
Guzikowski created a stir when “Prisoners” first went out earlier this year, with the script attracting interest from high-profile directors such as Bryan Singer. Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale were also attached to star, and a number of studios were keen to pick up the package. None of whom are attached a anymore.
But producers eventually decided to sell to Alcon, which bested entities such as Summit and Relativity, and reconfigured it without cast and with a slightly lower budget (about $30 million-$40 million) so that it could move forward more quickly.
Guzikowski’s dark tale centers on a small-town man who, after his daughter and her friend are kidnapped and the cops fail to solve the crime, takes matters into his own hands, holding hostage the person he suspects committed the crime. He also comes into conflict with the big-city detective assigned to the case. The story has drawn comparisons to a number of hit thrillers involving distraught or grieving parents, including “Taken” and “Mystic River.”
Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson are producing along with 8:38 Prods.’ Kira Davis and Madhouse’s Adam Kolbrenner, with Madhouse’s Robyn Meisinger exec producing.
The CAA-repped Fuqua is best known for “Training Day,” his Oscar-winnining cop drama bout two LAPD narcotics officers. He most recently helmed “Brooklyn’s Finest,” the Ethan Hawke/Don Cheadle Sundance opener that was picked up by Overture from Senator Films. The Millennium/Nu Image pic, a gritty tale of interlocking stories involving a group of New York cops and gangsters, drew mixed reviews in Park City, but Fuqua has been working for several months to re-cut the film.
In case you haven’t noticed, the public domain status of beloved icons like Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella and Mickey Mouse has been wreaking havoc on the horror genre in the past couple years, with filmmakers itching to get their hands on the characters and put them into twisted situations. In the wake of two Winnie the Pooh slashers, well, Pooh is about to battle Mickey.
It’s not from the same team behind the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films, to be clear, but Deadline reports that Glenn Douglas Packard (Pitchfork) will direct the horror movie Mickey vs. Winnie for Untouchables Entertainment and the website iHorror.
Deadline details, “The film follows two convicts in the 1920s who escape into a cursed forest only to be dragged and consumed into the depths of the dark forest’s muddy heart.
“A century later, a group of thrill-seeking friends unknowingly venture into the same woods. Their Airbnb getaway takes a horrifying turn when the convicts mutate into twisted versions of childhood icons Mickey Mouse & Winnie-The-Pooh, and emerge to terrorize them. A night of violence and gore erupts, as the group of friends battle against their now monstrous beloved childhood characters and fight to break free from the forest’s grip.
“In a horrific spectacle, Mickey and Winnie clash, painting the woods in a gruesome tableau of blood—a chilling testament to the curse’s insidious power.”
Glenn Douglas Packard wrote the screenplay that he’ll be directing.
“Horror fans call for the thrill of witnessing icons like the new Aliens and Avengers sharing the screen. While licensing nightmares make such crossovers rare, Mickey vs. Winnie serves as our tribute to that thrilling fantasy,” Packard said in a statement this week.
Producer Anthony Pernicka from iHorror previews, “We’re thrilled to unveil this unique take to horror fans. The Mickey Mouse featured in our film is unlike any iteration audiences have encountered before. Our portrayal doesn’t involve characters donning basic masks. Instead, we present deeply transformed, live-action horror renditions of these iconic figures, weaving together elements of innocence and malevolence. After experiencing the intense scenes we’ve crafted, you’ll never look at Mickey the same way again.”
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