Movies
“The River” Producer Channels Fourth ‘Paranormal Activity’
Even though casting is well underway, THR learned that Paramount has just now tapped “The River” and “Prison Break” producer Zack Estrin to pen Paranormal Activity 4.
The logline for the film is being kept under wraps, although Bloody is being told by insiders that the latest film will be modern day and feature “technology friendly kids” and a “bizarre neighbor.” As previously reported exclusively on Bloody Disgusting (Jan. 5), Paranormal 3 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman are expected to return for the fourth film but a source said deals have not been finalized yet for the duo.
Paranormal Activity 4 will open nationwide on October 19.
The first Paranormal, which cost about $15,000 to produce (before all of the extra post-work) and opened in a limited run in September 2009, went on to gross $193.4 million worldwide. Paranormal 2 cost about $3 million to produce and grossed $177.5 million worldwide.
Theo James Krekis‘ short film Jealous People are Ugly People premiered earlier this year at SXSW and has since inspired a massive bidding war for its feature film expansion.
New Line Cinema has emerged victorious in the latest feeding frenzy over next-generation digital horror IP and its creators, Deadline reports.
Krekis will adapt Jealous People are Ugly People, directing from his own script.
In the short film, “Vasilly has become painfully jealous of his best friend, Luke. But things aren’t going so well for Luke. Every time he shares some good news, he starts to suffer from strange and violent repercussions. Disturbed by the uncanny timing, Vasilly recalls his Yiayia’s warnings about the Greek superstition of the evil eye – and starts to believe his own envy might be to blame for Luke’s bad luck.”
SXSW described the short film as ” a darkly comic psychological thriller about male jealousy, inherited superstition, and the corrosive power of repressed ambition.”
Jennifer Monks and Michelle Stein will produce the feature take alongside Isaac Klausner, John Fischer, Ben Levine and Ethan Cappello. Josh Mack and Lauren Botchan are overseeing for New Line.
Jealous People are Ugly People joins New Line’s upcoming horror slate that also includes Santiago Menghini’s The Revenge of La Llorona on February 26, 2027, and The Conjuring: First Communion on September 10, 2027.