Movies
A ‘Paranormal’ Sequel Possible at Paramount
While the project was originally intended to be a remake, Paramount Pictures took the chance with the original $15k indie film and has won at the box office. While fan reactions are certainly mixed on Paranormal Activity, Paramount recognizes the franchise potential and a sequel could be in development soon. You can read all about it beyond the break.
In an article over at the LA Times they report that Paramount Chairman Brad Grey said in an interview over the weekend that a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is very possible. “We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do ‘Paranormal 2’ and we’re looking to see if that makes some sense.”
Costing only $15k ($11k depending who you ask), why wouldn’t Paramount jump on the crazy train and develop a sequel? I have a suggestion, why not find filmmakers who scoff at ACTIVITY and dare them to make something better with the same amount of money? I love a good challenge.
The LA Times also adds that “Paramount has an extra reason to make a sequel to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY beyond trying to duplicate its success: Although the studio has only domestic rights to the current film, it would have worldwide rights to a follow-up, Grey noted.”
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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