Movies
Mark Smith Talks Untitled Paramount/Platinum Dunes Feature
A few weeks back it was announced that Paramount had set up an untitled horror project penned by Mark L. Smith (Vacancy, The Hole 3D) with Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form along with Room 101’s Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Area 51). The project was kept under wraps, so we caught up with Smith to see if we could get any nuggets of info out of him. Bloody Disgusting: The Variety article announcing this project states that Paramount is keeping the logline “under wraps”, but that it’s in the vein of “I Am Legend”, “Aliens”, and “The Descent”. Doesn’t get much cooler than that! What else can you tell us about the story and how you became involved in writing it?
Mark L. Smith: “I was playing around with something post-apocalyptic, and Steven Schneider gave me a nugget of an idea involving some genetic work gone terribly wrong. So I took part of his idea and combined it with the world I wanted to explore… and we ended up with this story.”
Bloody Disgusting: How has the experience been working with BOTH Platinum Dunes and Room 101 on the project? Both companies are known for high caliber horror films, how are the creative juices flowing?
“They’ve all been great to work with. Platinum Dunes knows exactly what audiences want, and how to deliver it. And Steven and I have been developing the story together for well over a year, so we’re pretty much always on the same page creatively. He and I are actually doing several projects together right now that are all over the spectrum genre-wise.”
Bloody Disgusting: Have you guys been talking to any directors about this yet, and if so which ones? Do you personally have a “dream” director in mind for it?
“They haven’t officially gone out yet, but I know several directors that have approached the producers… don’t think I’m supposed to say who though. And yes, I’ve got someone I think would be perfect… and he’s interested, so we’ll see if I get lucky.”
Bloody Disgusting: You’re quickly becoming a name in horror, what attracts you to the genre? What are some of your favorite films?
“I love the visceral reaction you can create with horror films… nothing beats being able to really scare someone. I do it to my kids all the time… they hate me. As far as favorite films… is JAWS considered a horror film? I’ve heard that debated, but for me, that set the bar… I love a slow build in horror/thrillers, where you have time to really get invested in the characters, rather than have them just be “victims in waiting”.”
Bloody Disgusting: You’ve written the thriller Vacancy and the children’s horror film The Hole, what makes this very different from those?
“It’s a little more sci-fi and thought provoking. There are also a lot of twists and turns in this story as opposed to a Vacancy, where a couple is trapped in a motel room, or The Hole where a pair of brothers find a bottomless pit in their basement that holds their darkest fears. Those were a little more straight-forward. This new one taps into some different emotions.”
Released by Eli Roth’s label The Horror Section last year, Joe Begos (VFW, Christmas Bloody Christmas) horror movie Jimmy and Stiggs is getting an official spinoff movie.
Variety reports that director Sebastián De Caro has acquired the Argentine spin-off rights to Jimmy and Stiggs from The Horror Section, and he’s not planning a straight up remake.
“The film will follow new characters facing the same extraterrestrial threat in Argentina, expanding the universe Begos created into new territory,” Variety details in their report.
Eli Roth and Joe Begos will Executive Produce the upcoming spinoff movie.
“Working with Eli Roth and Joe Begos is an incredibly exciting adventure,” De Caro said. “Jimmy and Stiggs struck me as a brilliant kind of madness — it blew my mind with its energy and humor — and the chance to expand that universe in my own country is the biggest creative challenge I’ve ever taken on.”
Eli Roth said in a statement shared by Variety this afternoon, “Horror is truly global, and any story can be applied to local culture. I cannot wait to see how this film honors and expands the universe of a wildly original film by the one and only Joe Begos.”
Meanwhile, you can watch Joe Begos’ Jimmy and Stiggs on Digital outlets now. The drug-fueled, neon-soaked alien invasion splatterfest is written and directed by Begos, who shot the film in his apartment during the pandemic.
A perfect storm of lousy news sees out-of-work filmmaker Jimmy spiral into a bender, during which he claims to have been abducted by aliens. Fearing their return, he contacts his old friend Stiggs to help him gear up for war. Begos stars alongside Matt Mercer (Contracted), practical alien puppets, and a whole lot of gore captured on 16mm film.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “The world needs more playful, gonzo small-scale-yet-apocalyptic horror films like Jimmy and Stiggs. It’s a movie that has constant tricks on display and perpetually sprays blood in the audience’s face, but there’s an earnest center to it all.”
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