castlevania Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The dead have risen from the grave! If you're a Castlevania fan who thought you weren't going to be subjected to a big-screen version of your beloved game, think again. In the midst of the news frenzy coming out of SDCC, Bloody Disgusting got the chance to speak with Saw co-creator James Wan, and he confirmed that he has just signed to direct the video game adaptation for producer Paul W.S. Anderson. Wan tells BD, "I'm very fresh on this project, so its early stages and I'm still trying to work things out, but the producers love my vision for it"

The Castlevania video game franchise mainly centered on a war between the vampire hunting family known as the Belmonts and the big bad blood-sucker himself, Dracula. The game is one of Konami's biggest titles, and was considered one of the best action-platform games around. But as we were soon to find out, it wasn't going to be an easy transition from the console to the big screen.

If you haven't been keeping track, (and who could blame you) here's a brief history on the troubled flick: the announcement of a feature film Castlevania first came about in 2007, but over the next two years little ground had been made. For starters, there were personnel changes and then there was the double-whammy known as rewrites. The last anyone had even heard from the project was that Sylvain White (Stomp The Yard) had reportedly been hired to direct. But then the writer's strike hit and the project ran into a brick wall -- but that was then, and this is now.

After the jump: find out what Wan has planned for the Belmonts...

So remember back in 2007 when no one could understand why Warner Bros. had chosen to hire Tim Story (Taxi) to direct a feature film version of Vertigo's The Losers? Well, it looks like WB might have come to the same conclusion as we did because Variety reports that Story has now been replaced by Sylvain White. Personally, I haven't been able to wrap my head around either of WB's choices for the comic book flick. It is nothing against either one of these guys, but keep in mind that White directed Stomp the Yard and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer .

The Losers was originally a DC title about a group of WWII bad-a**es, but in 2003, Andy Diggle revived the title with a few minor changes for Vertigo. The 'new' Losers still centered on a Special Forces team, but the story was now set in the 1990's with the team reporting to the C.I.A. and a mysterious handler known as Max. When the team is betrayed by Max during a dangerous operation and left for dead, the group reunites for revenge.

White has already been setting up some other 'fan boy friendly' projects for 2009, and even though he won't be heading to Castlevania any time soon, there is still his adaptation of Frank Miller's Ronin for WB, and the futuristic thriller Static for Columbia Pictures. James Vanderbilt (Wolverine, Spiderman 4) has already completed the Losers script for Warner Bros, and even though the jury might still out on White's skills, at least Vanderbilt has enough comic book cred for the both of them.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that White has left his mall sensibilities behind him for good, because I don't think I could take a teen version of The Losers -- could you?

Much like the characters in the best-selling game, Castlevania is the movie that will not die. So far the film has undergone personnel changes and became one of the many causalities of the writers strike; but you can't keep a so-so idea down, and it looks like the project is up and running again. Talk of the film has surfaced again now that a script review for Paul W.S. Anderson's screenplay has appeared over at CC2K -- But I should warn you, it's not looking good.

Early previews on Kotaku, described the script as the story of an, "adult Trevor Belmont who, with his fellow "battle-hardened" brother Christopher, is ordered by his king-through man of god Lucius-to dispatch you-know-who." But, according to CC2K's tipster, the latest incarnation of the story is more of a rip-off of Bram Stoker's Dracula with very few similarities to the Belmonts that fans know and love.

Originally, Anderson was going to direct as well as handle the script, but as we all know, he later dropped the project to work on Death Race. Enter Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) to take over directing duties, and who is still committed to the project despite the lack of a solid start date.

Having never played the games, I can't say I'm all that worried about the changes Anderson has potentially made to the Castlevania 'canon'. But I know that fans probably feel a little differently; so get it all off your chest, believe me, you'll feel better.

[Thanks: Ain't It Cool News]

So it looks like it's not just the big productions that are now DOA thanks to the writer's strike; it's hitting some of the 'the little guys' too. Variety reports the next two features that have been put on hold are the big-screen adaptations of Castlevania and the period action flick, Ironbow: The Legend of William Tell.

First up was Castlevania, which had been struggling to make it to production. This might not be the worst thing in the world when you consider the script problems the film was having in the first place; it was probably in serious need of some tweaking. Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) had been signed to direct and the film was due to start shooting in South Africa this April. Rogue Pictures had hoped that Castlevania would have been the start of a new franchise for the studio. Rather than waste the $40 million budget, Rogue decided to focus on some of their other projects that were slotted for 2008 that were ready for production. Instead, Rogue is going to work on the remakes of Near Dark and The Last House on The Left.

Hopefully Spyglass, who was behind the action adventure story Ironbow: The Legend of William Tell, also has another project ready to occupy these long lazy strike days. Ironbow was written by Count of Monte Cristo scribe, Jay Wolpert. Director Kevin Reynolds (Tristan and Isolde) had just been signed and the film was ready to begin casting. But, the need for some re-writes to the story of the 15th-century Swiss crossbow legend William Tell who returns home to lead his people to independence (and maybe some fruit target practice) has put the film on hold for now. Well, at least these two films are in good company as 'victims' of the strike, along with Angels and Demons, Shantaram and Pinkville. So if the strike doesn't end soon, I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot more of these kinds of announcements in the near future.

Since most people expect don't expect much from video game flicks, it can't come as much as a surprise that the big screen version of Castlevania has already been sent back to the drawing board. Back in 2005, Paul W.S. Anderson had signed on to write and direct, and up until January 2007 he was still committed to the project; promising a spring start date for production. But the lure of Anderson's next project, Death Race, must have been strong, since he dropped Castlevania to work on it full time.

Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Rogue Pictures has hired Ian Jeffers to completely re-work the script and Sylvain White to helm the flick. White was the director behind the straight-to-video horror I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and the teen dance flick Stomp The Yard. Jeffers is relative newcomer, and Death Sentence was his screen writing debut.

For those not familiar with the best-selling Konami game series, Castlevania focused on The Belmonts, a family sworn to protect the human race from Dracula. The game has evolved over the years, but the producer for the film, Jeremy Bolt, told IGN back in June that the film has "a fair amount of references. We always try to give the fans something that respects their love of the game but also give them something completely new. So we've added a whole new spin to Castlevania". According to Bloody Disgusting, the addition of Jeffers means that Anderson's original script for the project has probably been scrapped -- which might come as a relief to die-hard fans out there. Castlevania is set for release in late 2008.

Yes, there is more news on Castlevania. Like it or loathe it, the adaptation keeps moving forward! The latest news is that Sylvain White, the guy behind Stomp the Yard, has signed onto to direct the live-action film. This makes things interesting. Is it a good move? Perhaps. White found success with Stomp, but he also helmed Trois 3: The Escort. The guys behind Castlevania seem to be hopeful -- White gets seven-figures for the job, which shoots in South Africa and Romania in the late fall. The script, which was penned by W. S. Anderson, is about the clash between Vlad the Impaler (Dracula, people!) and the Belmont family, who have "unleashed the original vampire" and must fight to defeat him. White says: "Most of the vampire films have been present or set in the future, from Blade to Underworld, and I was attracted by the chance to make a dark, epic period movie that almost has an anime feel to it."

The directorial chair was originally Anderson's, but he stepped down to re-make Death Race 2000. It's just as well, he can't be the name behind every single old-school Nintendo game. Beyond his Castlevania script, he's also got Spy Hunter in pre-production, and I wouldn't be surprised if something like Zelda or Ghost and Goblins followed. My dream is for an interactive Track and Field -- where the movie has you maniacally hitting on those damned little buttons until your fingers blister, just to get your guy across the finish line (unless you had that great controller with the turbo button). If only technology would catch up...

I've got a few updates for you from recent stories:

• After bringing you word that Paul W. S. Anderson might be leaving the Castlevania adaptation, it turns out that it's a whole bunch of hooey. IGN spoke with the director, and he's still quite attached to the feature. According to Anderson: "Both Death Race and Castlevania are set up at Universal. The studio wants to make both films, but obviously there is a scheduling conflict which we are trying to resolve. I am very passionate about Castlevania and whatever happens I will remain actively involved in my role as writer and producer." So, that's it, folks. You can yay or nay, but either way... Anderson is here to stay!
• A week ago, Scott alerted us to a spicy video up on YouTube that has director David O. Russell going crazy on Lily Tomlin on the I Heart Huckabees set -- it's basically a screaming, adult male temper tantrum. Now some people seem to think that George Clooney is behind it all. While it may sound like a jump, it seems that this clip was originally shown to Hollywood agents last fall, and sources told Radar that Clooney was the man behind it. So, if he was showing people in the fall, could he be the one to do it today? A Clooney rep laughed at the idea, saying that the actor "doesn't know how to put a video on YouTube. He barely knows how to e-mail." Radar's theory: he joined together with Edward Tise, who is working on Leatherheads with the actor, and was also part of the Three Kings crew. It seems like a bit of a stretch to me, since Clooney does what he can to stay out of the tabloid craze, but maybe he took a bullet for irked Russell* actors everywhere. [via FilmIck]

*Thanks to soundboy64 for the catch!

For some, news that Paul W. S. Anderson was going to head the Castlevania movie was comparable to running sharp fingernails down a chalkboard, for others like our Scott Weinberg, it was enough to get the anxious blood pumping. Depending on your excitement level, you might be happy or ticked to find out that the latest rumors say that the director has left the film. According to sources at Dread Central, Anderson is off the project, but they're not sure if he was unhappy with how things were progressing or just impatient. Cinematical has been covering the film since back in 2005, so it sure isn't moving very fast.

For those not familiar with all things Konami, Castlevania is a long-running video game series that pits the vampire-hunting Belmont family against Dracula. Me, I can take the news or leave it. I try not to get too amped about a video game or comic book adaptation unless I really, really like the director attached, like Sam Raimi. What I am more anxious about is the fact that he isn't dropping out of Death Race 3000. Give him Castlevania, but don't let him mess with the likes of Sly's Death Race 2000! (Yeah, I'm much more of a Goonies II fan than a Castlevania fan.) It's not so much a slight against him, but the desire for some crappy goodness to exist free of a re-visiting.

[via Dark Horizons]

Those gore-lovin' knuckleheads over at Bloody-Disgusting.com spent a few days on the set of Resident Evil: Extinction (surrounded by women like Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Ali Larter, those lucky bastards) and while they haven't come back with their full set report (which, frankly, doesn't even interest me all that much), they've gleaned a few choice nuggets from the cast and crew members.

Oded Fehr will be returning for RE3, and he dropped a vague little tidbit regarding a certain looming sequel: "From what I know ... they're writing one that's totally different, in a different time. Brendan (Fraser) and Rachel (Weisz) are in it." Hmph. The Mummy Returns Again? We'll see.

Stopping by to chat with Ms. Larter, the BD.com boys learned that she will not be reprising her role in the upcoming sequel to House on Haunted Hill -- even though she signed on to star in the second sequel to Resident Evil. Oh well, moving on, the gorehounds hit the mother lode when they sat down to chat with producer Jeremy Bolt, a guy who's made a lot of movies with the fanboy-controversial Paul W.S. Anderson. (Anderson directed Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Soldier, Resident Evil, and Alien vs. Predator, if you must know.) The partners' next project will be a "less parody, more reality TV" remake of Death Race 2000, an NES-to-celluloid rendition of Castlevania, and a sequel to this movie, which looks so sinfully bad that I can't wait to see it.

We've reported a couple of times about the upcoming, Jet Li-starring Tekken movie, as well as the Paul W.S. Anderson-helmed Castlevania (neither of which our gamer readers seem very optimistic about). The studio behind both of those films is the small Crystal Sky Pictures, whose jones for video games movies is now officially out of control: not only did they recently buy the rights to Pac Man, but they're actually committed to turning those rights into a "live-action fantasy adventure."

Um, excuse me? Did you say "live-action?" How is this going to work, exactly? Are people going to be dressed up in giant foam costumes? And will they chase dots for two hours? Uh huh. While no director is currently attached to this project, I think we all know the man for whom this project is crying out. Say it with me now, friends: Uwe. Boll.