Movies
New Director Getting Behind the Camera for ‘Prisoners’
The “hottest script in town” might have found its director as it’s being reported that Antoine Fuqua , director of Training Day, is in final negotiations to get behind the camera for Aaron Guzikowski’s hot spec script Prisoners. The project is being fast-tracked, with preproduction set to begin shortly for a likely January or February shoot. “Prisoners” is set up at Alcon, which will release it via Warner Bros. next October. You can read more about the project, how it lost its stars and a more details synopsis below.
Guzikowski created a stir when “Prisoners” first went out earlier this year, with the script attracting interest from high-profile directors such as Bryan Singer. Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale were also attached to star, and a number of studios were keen to pick up the package. None of whom are attached a anymore.
But producers eventually decided to sell to Alcon, which bested entities such as Summit and Relativity, and reconfigured it without cast and with a slightly lower budget (about $30 million-$40 million) so that it could move forward more quickly.
Guzikowski’s dark tale centers on a small-town man who, after his daughter and her friend are kidnapped and the cops fail to solve the crime, takes matters into his own hands, holding hostage the person he suspects committed the crime. He also comes into conflict with the big-city detective assigned to the case. The story has drawn comparisons to a number of hit thrillers involving distraught or grieving parents, including “Taken” and “Mystic River.”
Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson are producing along with 8:38 Prods.’ Kira Davis and Madhouse’s Adam Kolbrenner, with Madhouse’s Robyn Meisinger exec producing.
The CAA-repped Fuqua is best known for “Training Day,” his Oscar-winnining cop drama bout two LAPD narcotics officers. He most recently helmed “Brooklyn’s Finest,” the Ethan Hawke/Don Cheadle Sundance opener that was picked up by Overture from Senator Films. The Millennium/Nu Image pic, a gritty tale of interlocking stories involving a group of New York cops and gangsters, drew mixed reviews in Park City, but Fuqua has been working for several months to re-cut the film.
Movies
‘Desperation’ – Sam Raimi and ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ Directors Teaming for Stephen King Movie
Stephen King’s 1996 novel Desperation is headed back to the screen, with Jeff Sneider breaking the news on The InSneider that Sam Raimi, Stephen King, and Final Destination Bloodlines directors Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky are coming together for the film.
Sam Raimi will produce the upcoming Desperation movie, while Stein and Lipovsky are on board to direct. Searchlight Pictures is the studio attached to the feature film project.
Published in 1996, Stephen King’s novel Desperation was previously turned into a made-for-TV movie starring Ron Perlman, Tom Skerritt and Steven Weber back in 2006.
Wikipedia reminds, “Desperation is a story about several people who, while traveling along the desolated Highway 50 in Nevada, get abducted by Collie Entragian, the deputy of the fictional mining town of Desperation. Entragian uses various pretexts for the abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to ‘rescuing’ a family from a nonexistent gunman. It becomes clear to the captives that Entragian has been possessed by an evil being named Tak, who has control over the surrounding desert wildlife and must change hosts to keep itself alive.
“They begin to fight for their freedom, sanity and lives before realizing that if they are ever to escape Desperation, they must trap Tak in the place from which he came.”
Desperation was published at the same time as Stephen King’s own “mirror novel” titled The Regulators, which shares characters but takes place in an alternate universe.
The union of Sam Raimi and Stephen King is an exciting one for fans of both Raimi and King, and there’s a nice bit of full circle history there too. As you may recall, it was Stephen King’s review of The Evil Dead that Raimi credits for saving and legitimizing his indie debut feature.
And the rest is history! Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
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