Movies
Weird! Warner Brothers Is Entertaining The Idea Of A ‘Shining’ Prequel
The Shining is one of my all time favorite horror movies. Actually it’s one of my all time favorite movies, period. No qualifier needed. That being said… I’m not entirely sure how much I need or want a prequel. But we may be getting one regardless.
Per The LA Times, “Warner Bros.is quietly exploring the possibility of a prequel to “The Shining,” the 1980 Stanley Kubrick chillfest that many fans regard as the scariest movie of all time. The studio has solicited the involvement of Hollywood writer-producer Laeta Kalogridis and her partners Bradley Fischer and James Vanderbilt to craft a new take as producers, according to a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to talk about it publicly… The film would focus on what happened before Jack Torrance (of course played memorably onscreen by Jack Nicholson), his wife and their psychic son arrived at the haunted retreat where Torrance soon descends into violent madness. A WB spokeswoman cautioned that any ‘Shining’ prequel was in a very early stage and not even formally in development.”
Now, that sort of leaves open two possibilites. The first would be that the prequel explores what was happening with the Torrance family beforehand. I’m not interested in that at all. I feel like their backstory in Kubrick’s film is handled perfectly. The second possibility – and from the above paragraph, the more likely one – would be that it explores the origins of The Overlook Hotel. The crazy horrible stuff that had been happening there for ages. I’d certainly be more interested in that as a standalone story and, in the right hands, it could be a cool exploration as long as we’re not expecting anything as great as the 1980 film.
The LA Times article makes some interesting points about Kalogridis, but doesn’t really touch on what I think could be the most promising sign. James Vanderbilt. Sure, he wrote the new (and apparently pretty bad) Spider-Man, but he also wrote David Fincher’s Zodiac. If he ends up writing this film, lets hope he tries to bring the same sense of measured, slow-burn menace.
Either way, it’s sort of an interesting idea. But also something we shouldn’t expect too much from. There’s no better way to kill your perception of a movie than to compare it to a masterpiece. Remember Prometheus?
The Evil Dead franchise is alive and well these days, with brand new installment Evil Dead Burn arriving in theaters this summer and Evil Dead Wrath already set for release in 2028.
But one person you shouldn’t expect to see in either movie is Bruce Campbell, who made it clear back when “Ash vs. Evil Dead” was cancelled that his days of playing Evil Dead hero Ash Williams are very much over. Sure, he made a very small vocal cameo in Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, but Campbell is still sticking to his vow of being retired from playing Ash.
In a new chat with Detroit Free Press, Bruce Campbell again makes it clear that he’s moved on from Ash Williams and the Evil Dead franchise has moved on from Bruce Campbell.
Campbell explains, “We’ve done three things: We moved away from the cabin, we’ve moved away from Sam Raimi, we’ve moved away from Ash and Bruce Campbell.”
“Thankfully, Evil Dead Rise made the most of any money we’ve made from any Evil Dead, so far, and it validated the fact that we can get away from those main elements,” Campbell continues. “You’ve got to find a new audience, because the original Evil Dead fans, you get some of them, you’re not going to get all of them, because they like those original elements.”
“They’re Hollywood, they’re studio movies now,” Campbell says of the franchise today. “They’re not indie movies anymore. And that’s where I found that my use has just phased out.”
Bruce Campbell’s hands-on involvement with the Evil Dead movies has come to an end both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Campbell told Forbes this year, “We had a meeting a couple of years ago and the French director of Evil Dead Burn was there to experience his first script development meeting. He turned in a 10-page treatment to say, “Here’s my rough idea. Here’s what I’m thinking, A to Z’ and I think he got 20 pages of notes back.”
“That’s when I said to myself, ‘You guys got this. I think you guys got this.’ I got tired of arguing points with someone who’s 26 years old about story and structure, and all that sort of stuff, and what matters and what doesn’t,” Campbell explained. “So, I just found out it’s way better to just step back. I’m partners with the guys. Nothing else has changed. I just told them, ‘Guys. I’m actually doing my own thing now, and it takes a lot of time and attention. If I can get fewer emails for approvals not clogging my timeline, that’s good for me at this point.'”
Up next from Bruce Campbell? He directed and stars in the indie comedy Ernie & Emma, which follows a pear salesman who embarks on a journey following the death of his wife.
After 25 years as an executive secretary, Emma leaves behind a detailed list of instructions regarding her ashes, which leads Ernie on a series of challenging and reflective escapades.
Campbell is hitting the road with Ernie & Emma. Follow him on Twitter for updates.