Movies
‘Paranormal’ Director Heads to ‘Area 51’ Next Week
As Paramount Pictures broadens Paranormal Activity from underground midnight screenings to round-the-clock showings in 40 cities this weekend, writer-director Oren Peli has already scared up a start date and the financing for his follow-up. He starts production next week on Area 51, which will employ the “found footage” narrative structure of his last film and tell the story of three teens whose curiosity leads them to the notorious “Area 51” part of Nellis Air Force Base in the Nevada desert.
“Paranormal Activity” cost just $11,000; this time Peli will be working with a relatively whopping $5 million budget, with financing locked through Aramid Entertainment Fund and Incentive Filmed Entertainment. IM Global will handle worldwide sales, while CAA will shoot for a domestic deal.
Returning as producer is Jason Blum, who produced “Paranormal Activity” through his Blumhouse Prods. banner. Room 101’s Steven Schneider and IM Global topper Stuart Ford are executive producers.
“I’d rather not say anything about ‘Area 51’ except that I am very pleased to be working with the same team who stood by me for the two or three years it took ‘Paranormal Activity’ to get into theaters,” Peli said.
David Molner, chairman of Incentive and Aramid Capital Partners, said the early returns on “Paranormal Activity” reminded him of the word of mouth momentum built years ago by “The Blair Witch Project.”
“Everyone looks for a franchise, and we really think Incentive has found its first one in this new property from Oren and Jason,” Molner told Daily Variety. “These are two first-class talents.”
Movies
‘Ebenezer’ Official Trailer – Ti West Turns Johnny Depp into ‘A Christmas Carol’ Icon Scrooge
Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) is back with the upcoming Ebenezer starring Johnny Depp, a fresh new take on the classic tale of A Christmas Carol from Charles Dickens.
Johnny Depp will play Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s Ebenezer, and Paramount is bringing the film to theaters on November 13, 2026. Watch the official trailer down below.
The tagline? “The name you know. The story you don’t.”
Andrea Riseborough (Possessor), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Tramell Tillman (“Severance”), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars franchise), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games franchise), Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”), Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and Ellie Bamber (“Willow”) also star.
Deadline had detailed in a recent report, “This version, a thrilling ghost story set in Dickens’ London, follows one man’s supernatural journey to face his past, present and future and fight for a second chance. Stephen Deuters and Jason Forman to executive produce.”
Nathaniel Halpern wrote the adaptation for Ti West to direct.
Written by Charles Dickens, the classic tale of A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the screen countless times over the years, with notable film adaptations including Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, Scrooge (1970) starring Albert Finney, A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) starring Michael Caine, and A Christmas Carol (2009) starring Jim Carrey.
A Christmas Carol is classically a period piece ghost story. As Luiz H.C. wrote here on Bloody Disgusting, “Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol paved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade.”
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