Movies
[News Bites] Cannes Edition: Eli Roth Returns to Horror, ‘War of the Dead’ Acquired, ‘Last Exorcism’ Director Plays Game Of ’13’ & Another ‘Possession’ Tale
Screen Daily has blasted through the Canes market and delivered a series of small updates all contained in this edition of News Bites. It begins with the news that Worldview Entertainment will finance and produce The Green Inferno, Eli Roth‘s directorial follow-up to the Hostel franchise. Plot points on the horror-thriller remain under wraps and production is set to begin in autumn in Peru and Chile. Roth co-wrote the screenplay with Aftershock co-writer Guillermo Amoedo from an original story by Roth. Roth recently directed the pilot episode of Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove.”
The Little Film Company has licensed the sci-fi thriller War Of The Dead (review) to eOne in the US, Momentum in the UK and Alliance in Canada. Marko Makilaakso directed the story “set during the second world war as an elite troop of US and Finnish forces encounter a terrifying enemy deep in the frozen forests.”
IM Global president of international sales Jonathan Deckter and the team expect a torrent of interest on a roster that includes Gold Circle’s supernatural thriller The Possession Of Michael King from first-time director David Jung. “Grieving the loss of his wife, documentary filmmaker Michael King sets out to disprove the existence of the supernatural, with horrific consequences…”
IM is also selling 13, a remake of a Thai horror film, with The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm attached. It’s unclear what movie this actual is, but doing some research makes me believe it’s a remake of 13: Game of Death (pictured above), about a down-on-his luck salesman offered $100 million to play a “game show” featuring 13 secret challenges. The catch? The tests grow increasingly intense and morally questionable, but if he quits he loses everything. Chookiat Sakveerakul directed the 2006 original.
Lastly, Fox will distribute Spanish teen comedy Promocion Fantasma (Ghost Graduation) in North America and Latin America, reports Variety. Fox has committed to a U.S. theatrical release on the Spanish-language film. 20th Century Fox and Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment recently revealed they are co-developing an English-language remake. Helmed by Javier Ruiz Caldera (Spanish Movie), “‘Graduation’ centers on a high-school teacher with paranormal abilities who tries to tutor a group of students through their graduation exams — despite the fact they died in a school fire 25 years earlier.“
Fangoria Studios and Panick Studios are turning horror comic Black Diamond into a film, and Variety reports that Ernest Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) will direct.
Black Diamond comic book creator Brendan Columbus will write the screenplay.
Black Diamond follows Owen and Victoria Welch on a family ski trip that spirals into a nightmare. When their son is abducted by a mysterious cult, the couple is pushed to the brink and faced with a soul-crushing ultimatum: sacrifice another child or lose their own forever.
The comic book series from Panick Entertainment is described as a “chilling folk horror thriller blending Hitchcockian psychological tension with the dread of The Wicker Man.”
“Black Diamond was my attempt to put everything I love about thrillers on the page,” Columbus tells Variety. “I want to make sure it feels like you physically can’t leave the theater or else you’ll miss the next twist or turn. With his masterful cinematic eye and his great story sense, Ernest is going to scare the hell out of everyone with this one.”
“Black Diamond immediately grabbed me because its horror is rooted in impossible human choices,” says Dickerson. “It taps into parental fear, morality, isolation, and survival in a way that is so unsettling and emotionally real. That combination will make for a very suspenseful and exciting cinematic experience.”
Ernest Dickerson is directing and executive producing the feature film. Black Diamond will notably be Ernest Dickerson’s first feature film as director since Double Play in 2017, though he has in more recent years been directing for an impressive string of television shows including “The Man in the High Castle,” “The Purge,” “Raised by Wolves,” “Bosch,” and “DMZ.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.