Movies
Keep Your Lips Sealed, ‘Pontypool’ Sequel on the Way!
While I wasn’t a huge fan of the film (read my review from the 2008 Toronto Film Festival), the buzz behind Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool is extremely positive. While the lot of you wait to see the film later this month (IFC releases it in limited theaters and on VOD May 29th), acclaimed director Bruce McDonald is already prepping his return to the director’s chair with Pontypool Changes, a sequel to his highly anticipated psychological thriller that follows a small-town radio station DJ (Stephen McHattie) discovers that recent madness in the local population may be caused by a virus transmitted through speech, reports Twitch Film. Read on for the skinny.
From a press release posted by Twitch Film:
“Producer Jeffrey Coghlan confirmed rumors in Cannes today that the Pontypool sequel is scheduled to lens in early 2010, reuniting McDonald with Pontypool screenwriter Tony Burgess, who adapted the original from his book “Pontypool Changes Everything”.
Horror fan and blog sites are already buzzing and early reviews for Pontypool are calling the tensely intelligent thriller McDonald’s best film ever and one of the scariest films in years.
Pontypool, named after the small town in which it’s set, features veteran character actor Stephen McHattie, (Watchmen, 300, A History of Violence), as a cantankerous radio DJ trapped within the station’s walls as a deadly virus consumes the town, turning its citizens into cannibalistic zombie-like creatures. IFC In Theatres releases the film May 29th day and date on its VOD platform, which reaches more than 50 million homes in the US.
The early demand surprised Coghlan who said, “Fan and distributor reactions have been overwhelming, and the script for the sequel takes a whole new side to the story and really opens it up for more action, and more scares. It’s brilliant.”
Pontypool has it’s final marketplace screening in Cannes on Monday May 18 at 5:30 pm with worldwide sales being handled by Forward Motion Entertainment.”
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.