Chris Bishop Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Universal Summons 'Jeff the Immortal'
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Universal », Scripts »
It goes to show, sometimes inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places. Variety reports that Universal has just picked up the 'supernatural comedy' Jeff the Immortal. Written by Chris Bishop, the story revolves around "...a slacker who discovers he has supernatural powers but uses these new-found powers for selfish reasons." This is where the unlikely inspiration comes in; it turns out Bishop came up with the idea for Jeff the Immortal after watching the Christopher Lambert fantasy classic film Highlander. Instead of an immortal Scottish clansman embroiled in an epic battle, Bishop decided to go with aimless slackers -- this is a comedy after all.Chris Bishop started his comedy writing career on The Drew Carey Show back in 1995, and has worked on and off in TV since then. Jeff the Immortal will be his first feature film script. Bishop has also just handed in a first draft to Warner Independent for the remake of Night of the Living Dorks (Nacht der lebenden Loser, Die), a 2004 German comedy about three losers who bungle a voodoo ritual and wind up as the living dead. On board to produce Jeff for Universal is Marc Platt Productions. Platt is also behind Angelina Jolie's comic book flick Wanted and the Jonathan Demme comedy Dancing with Shiva. Since Jeff is still in the early stages of production, there is no word on a director or star. But lately, comedies have proven they can pull in the box-office, so I would guess that Universal will want to get to work as soon as possible.
Indie Bites: Dorks, Donkey Punches and Demonology
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Independent », Thrillers », Deals », DIY/Filmmaking », Cinematical Indie »
Here's a D-licious, highbrow collection of news for the weekend:- A few years ago, there was a little German horror comedy called Night of the Living Dorks. Three dorks do a voodoo ritual, later die in a car accident, come back as zombies and then try to make the most of their condition. Since zombies are so hot right now, it was only a matter of time before we got a remake, and now it's here, at the hands of Warner Independent Pictures and Chris Bishop, who will write the script. I'm sure it will be whatever you think it's going to be. The group of producers on the film hail from Vertigo, who are responsible for remakes like The Departed, so that bodes well for the flick.
- Continuing with the ultra-mature and serious fare, there is Donkey Punch. Yes, that's the real title. A debut feature for Warp X, as well as writer/director Olly Blackburn, the film follows a group of people delighting in a hedonistic weekend in Spain. One afternoon, too much drugging and sexing leads to an accidental death on a yacht, which results in them having to fight to survive. Whether there will be an actual "donkey punch" in the film, I don't know. The flick will start shooting in South Africa next week, and it stars Jaime Winstone (who is in the just-picked-up Daddy's Girl), Tom Burke, Nichola Burley and Julian Morris.
- Rounding out this collection of D-starting horror, we've got The Demonology of Desire. It's a second film from Rue Morgue founder-turned-short film director Rodrigo Gudino, and Twitch has some gory stills to feast on. The premise: Ramona makes a wish that is answered when she meets Eric. However, there's "dark fantastical depths" to the boyhood crush, and the film reportedly mixes fable, romantic thriller and artcore horror. Vague, eh? The stills show a cage and some bloody flesh, if that helps clear things up for you.
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