Brian Nelson Tagged Articles at Cinematical
New Shyamalan Project Traps You in an Elevator. With Satan.
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », RumorMonger », Scripts »
What is Devil? It's a new movie directed by the Dowdle Brothers (the skillful Quarantine) with a script by Brian Nelson (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) from a story by M. Night Shyamalan (uh... well, you know). It is also the coolest high concept I've heard in a long time. The plot of the Shyamalan-produced project was tightly under wraps, but some online sleuthing by Slashfilm this weekend uncovered some hints, including possibly the greatest log line of all time.The logline: "A group of people are trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the devil."
Right off the bat I should say that I have an almost irrational affection for movies that take Satan seriously as a walking, talking character. (As opposed to a tormenting spirit a la The Exorcist, which is also cool, but a whole different animal.) When The Devil's Advocate came out, I was obsessed with it for months. And I always find myself willing to tolerate a lot of crap from movies like End of Days for the same reason. My biases also include a love for claustrophobic little thrillers with a psychological bent. (This one almost sounds like something dreamed up by David Mamet.) And have I mentioned that getting stuck in an elevator is a long-standing phobia of mine?
I'm also a Shyamalan apologist, and his involvement in this isn't surprising: like all of his films, Devil is conceptually brilliant. It's the execution that's in question. The linked Slashfilm post reveals a few more details, none of them as interesting as that ridiculously beguiling conceit, which might be a bad sign.
SXSW Interview: Hard Candy Filmmakers
Filed under: Independent », SXSW », Mystery & Suspense », Cinematical Indie »
After seeing Hard Candy at SXSW, I participated in a roundtable interview with director David Slade (shown above) and writer Brian Nelson. Hard Candy was the first feature film credit for both the writer and director.
Our interview was tricky because Hard Candy is full of suspenseful plot twists that are best not revealed. To avoid spoilers, we had to use a lot of euphemisms about "the ambiguity," "that transgressive thing," "that section in the middle," and so on. So if you haven't seen the movie (it played several festivals, but won't be released into U.S. theaters until April 14), it's perfectly safe for you to read the following interview.
The Return of Jessica Alba?
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Discuss: Who Would be the Most Profitable Director if ...
Warner Bros Will Make Clint Eastwood Fans' Day
Their Best Role: Nicole Kidman in 'To Die For'
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