George A. Romero’s 1968 classic zombie frightener Night of the Living Dead will rise again next year as a 3-D CG-animated feature entitled Night of the Living Dead: Origins. The remake marks commercials director Zebediah De Soto’s movie debut.
Origins plot remains familiar: a group of strangers attempt to survive the night in a zombie infested town. But, De Soto is determined to bring a new scope to the genre through the CGI technology he and his effects studio New Golden Digital is working on.
I wanted to make this look like a living Monet; it’s expressionism. It’s going to be the first zombie movie played on a epic scale. This is the ‘Empire of the Sun’ of zombie films. … I lived through the L.A. riots and saw the city on fire; I remember seeing people running, people getting pulled out of cars. And with 9/11, these images have been ingrained on people of my generation. I just thought that is the way it would really be, a lot of chaos.
Actors Danielle Harris (Halloween), Alona Tal (“Supernatural”), Jesse Corti (“Heroes”), Cornell Womack (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Bill Moseley (Devil’s Rejects), and Joe Pilato (Wishmaster) have all signed on to voice Origins characters. Old school Romero fans will recognize Pilato from the legendary director’s 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead and Moseley from the 1990 Night of the Living Dead live-action remake.
Namco Bandai Games is laying out the welcome mat for fans of the man vs. demon combat classic Splatterhouse. The company is drumming up interest with a series of screen-shots from its Splatterhouse reboot. Gotta say, it looks pretty damn mean.
No guts, no glory
Originally launched in 1989, Splatterhouse is getting a much needed face-lift (more detailed violence and better bone-crushing moves) and will be out and swinging come Sept. 2010. In the meantime, enjoy the following gallery:
Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures has signed a seven-figure deal with 30-year-old Uruguayan director Fede Alverez to helm a giant robot invasion film based on his short Ataque de Panico (Panic Attack). The short, which had been circulating online, quickly drew the interest of Hollywood studios looking to produce the next low-budget blockbuster (think Paranormal Activity or District 9).
Alverez, a commercials director in his homeland, filmed the four minute 48 second short for a reported $300-to-$500. Raimi will mentor Alverez during the production much like Peter Jackson did with Neill Blomkamp on District 9. Ghost House is now looking for a writer to pen the script.
(UPDATE: Alverez will direct The EvilDead remake for Ghost House)
Disney has announced plans to remake its 1979 classic space-adventure The Black Hole. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Mouse House has entrusted the high-profile project to the duo behind its upcoming sci-fi actioner Tron: Legacy: director Joseph Kosinski and producer Sean Bailey. Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) is attached to write.
The Black Hole was Disney’s first PG rated film and, budgeted at $26 million, its most expensive production at the time. The original story involved a group of explorers who board a marooned ship hovering near a black hole and encounter a mad scientist and his army of robots. The cast included Anthony Perkins (Psycho, Edge of Sanity), Robert Forster (D-War, Maniac Cop 3), Yvette Mimieux (Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell) and Ernest Borgnine (Gattaca, Escape from New York).
Disney isn’t saying much at this point, but Maximilian–the original flick’s big menacing red robot–will be back (my inner-child just got a boner).
