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Russian ‘Empire V’ to “Redefine the Vampire Genre”

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Fans of Timur Bekmambetov’s Day Watch franchise get ready for more Russian vamps as cult Russian novelist Viktor Pelevin‘s vision of modern Russia as a vampire nation is to be turned into a feature film by New York and Moscow-based writer-director-producer Victor Ginzburg, who has acquired the rights.

Ginzburg, who released his first feature last month, an adaptation of Pelevin’s “Generation P” — a bizarre journey through the drugs and power-driven world of advertising in Russia in the early 1990s — says Empire V is a loose sequel that takes off in even more weird directions.

This film is going to redefine the vampire genre — which Pelevin has already done in the book,” said Ginzburg.

More inside.
It is an unbelievable discourse on current human society and its obsession with blood, beauty and money, which at the core is a coming of age story of a young vampire and a love story set in contemporary Moscow.

For those who have seen “Generation P” — with psychedelic mushroom-induced trips into the realms of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar figure, but o vampires — the word ‘sequel’ may be misleading.

The first film’s hero, Babylon Tatarsky is, Ginzburg, says “an accidental figure who figures for five minutes” in the sequel.

Ginzburg, who is in funding talks with a western investment fund and major television channels in Russia, says he has a first draft of a script for the sequel and is mulling whether to shoot in Russian or English and whether or not to make it in 3D.

He hopes to be in pre-production by spring 2012.

I know people think Russian films don’t travel,” Ginzburg said. “But I’m an American filmmaker, and to me Pelevin is more like William Burroughs or William Gibson — somewhere between a state of mind and a state of shock.

Generation P — a $7 million indie-financed project that was four years in the works — has made $5 million at the Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh box office since it was released mid-April with 540 prints.

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.

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‘Drop’ – Violett Beane Joins the Cast of Christopher Landon’s New Thriller

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Pictured: Violett Beane in 'Death and Other Details' (2024)

Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) is staying busy here in 2024, directing not only the werewolf movie Big Bad but also an upcoming thriller titled Drop.

The project for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes is being described as a “fast-paced thriller,” and Deadline reports today that Violett Beane (Truth or Dare) has joined the cast.

Newcomer Jacob Robinson has also signed on to star in the mysterious thriller. Previously announced, Meghann Fahy (“White Lotus”) will be leading the cast.

Landon recently teased on Twitter, “This is my love letter to DePalma.”

Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach wrote the script.

Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller and Cameron Fuller — “who brought the script in to Platinum Dunes” — are producing the upcoming Drop. Sam Lerner is an executive producer.

THR notes, “The film is a Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse production for Universal.”

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