Movies
John Carpenter Wrote a Script for ‘Judgment Night’
Director Stephen Hopkins dropped this fun little nugget at the Q+A following the 25th-anniversary screening of his Judgment Night at the ongoing Cinepocalypse film festival here in Chicago. According to the filmmaker, the producers had wanted to create a film in the spirit of The Warriors and had commisioned several screenplays. One of the writers: John Carpenter. No word on what it was about, but it’s interesting to think what would have happened if they moved forward with a Carpenter-penned version of Judgment Night.
The 1993 masterpiece, about four friends who get lost in the streets of Chicago on their way to a boxing match, boasted one of cinemas best ensembles: Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven, and Stephen Dorff, with Denis Leary making his feature debut as the film’s antagonist.
ALSO READ: Kevin Spacey and John Travolta Could Have Starred in Judgment Night
“I’d done Predator 2 with Larry Gordon and Joel Silver, who were partners at the time; shortly afterward, they had a very bitter split. Larry Gordon started his own production company called Largo [Entertainment], and I think [Judgment Night] was the first film to come out of that,” Hopkins told the audience at the Q+A.
“They’d actually been wanting to make this film for a long time, and there were all sorts of scripts, from people like John Carpenter and Gary Cunningham – different versions that involved bikers in the desert of LA, and things like that. I was given a lot of scripts, and it was quite a long process. We wanted to work hard to get it right, and not make it about something that wasn’t just about rape – a lot of these urban stories are about that.
“There were months and months of script meetings – there were rooftop motorcycle chases, but we ended up in a grittier vibe. It was interesting for me, because I’d only just made sci-fi movies at that point; I wanted to try something more realistic.” (Thanks to CoS for the transcription.)
Unfortunately, Judgment Night would bomb at the box office after being pulled from theaters following a widely publicized shooting. 25 years later, we can appreciate the classic it has become.
JUDGMENT NIGHT, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven, Emilio Estevez, Stephen Dorff, 1993, (c)Universal
A heist turns nightmarish for Lizzy Caplan (Cobweb) in the offbeat comedy thriller Drag, and the SXSW darling now has an official release date.
Briarcliff Entertainment will release Drag in theaters on January 29, 2027.
The thriller follows “two estranged sisters who attempt to rob a secluded home in rural upstate New York. What begins as a simple burglary spirals into a nightmarish ordeal after one sister throws out her back and becomes immobilized on the second floor. As tensions rise and panic sets in, the sisters are forced into a painful and increasingly absurd fight for survival before the homeowner returns.”
It’s described as “Equal parts thriller and physical comedy,” which “explores sibling rivalry, physical pain, and the uniquely chaotic bonds of family.”
Lucy DeVito (“Little Demon”), John Stamos (“Full House”), and Christine Ko (“Dave”) also star.
The release announcement comes with a new look at Drag, introducing the estranged sisters caught in a heist nightmare.
Drag is co-written and co-directed by Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer, marking their feature debut.
The film is produced by Danny DeVito, Lucy DeVito, and Jake DeVito through Jersey Films 2nd Avenue.
Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg called Drag “a brilliantly original film that’s suspenseful, hilarious, and completely unpredictable. The cast led by Lizzy, Lucy, John, and Christine are the magic that makes the concept work. Audiences are in for a huge treat.”
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