dave kajganich Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Almost twenty years after it terrorized the boob tube, Stephen King's creepy clown is back.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that It is slated to hit the big screen, courtesy of Lin Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment. Dave Kajganich, the pen behind the 2007 Invasion, has been tapped to adapt King's new work and bring it into the new millennium -- and out of 1958 and 1985. Kajganich is also becoming the new adapting man about town, taking on projects like Escape From New York and another King scare fest, Pet Sematary.

Back to It -- As you might remember, this is the story of a group of kids who take it upon themselves to bring this creepy, shape-shifting creature called Pennywise down, back in '58. They hurt it, flee, and then decide to bind themselves together in case they ever need to fight It again. In one of the most warped rationales ever, this involves not only blood, but the lone girl of the group having sex with all of her boy pre-teen friends. Years later, the thing, who often takes the shape of the classic creepy clown, starts killing again and the friends reunite for another baddie butt-kicking.

I'm betting that the kids become teens so that the sex can become a sexy, marketable aspect of the film, but other than that, I'm curious to see how this gets updated. But how about you? Do you want more It?

Follow me if you want to live.*

*Yes, that's really obvious.

Director Joel Schumacher recently spoke with a Canadian news service about the next movie he's filming, the Nazi-horror film Town Creek. First of all, "there is blood in it, but it's not really a vampire movie," he says. Schumacher also said the first part of the film will be set in 1936, at the height of Hitler's power, and the second half will be set during the present day, the theme being 'ghosts of the past rising up to confront today's world.' "It's about Hitler and Himmler and Goebbels' association with the occult -- this is what they based the Master Race on." He continues "the one thing about the Nazis is that they so loved themselves that they documented everything, and there are these great documentaries on Hitler's obsession with the occult. So it's a 'horror' movie based on that by a very intelligent young writer."

The writer in question is Dave Kajganich, whose sole prior credit is writing the Nicole Kidman thriller The Invasion. The film will hopefully have some impressive visuals -- the effects are being handled by Ian Wingrove, who has worked on everything from Alien vs. Predator to Mission: Impossible to The Avengers, so it doesn't sound like this is a Merchant Ivory drama. No solid plot points were discussed in the interview, nor were any further casting announcements made -- the current roster includes Dominic Purcell, Jesse Metcalfe and Joy McBrinn. Schumacher fans might also be interested in the rest of the article, which delves into Car Wash, St. Elmo's Fire and Schumacher's unlikely mentorship from Woody Allen.

Dave Kajganich has had a lot of lucky breaks. Originally a teacher from Ohio, he decided to hone his skills by writing a screenplay. From there, it was one swift jump to Tinsel Town. First, he sold his Town Creek spec to Warner Bros. Then, he penned Nicole Kidman's upcoming film, The Visiting. Christopher Campbell reported that the Wachowski brothers were brought in to re-write its ending, but Kajganich is still going strong. He signed on for a Pet Sematary remake and is working with Sam Raimi on Monkey's Paw. Top all those goodies off with a spot on Variety's "10 Screenwriters to Watch", and the man is flying high.

Now, his favourite script and first sale, Town Creek, is preparing to be filmed next Spring. In September, Erik Davis reported that Joel Schumacher signed on to direct the film. Now the main roles have been cast. Dominic Purcell of Prison Break and Jesse Metcalfe from Desperate Housewives will star as the revenge-filled brothers who find themselves part of an occult experiment. I assume that "occult experiment" is another word for "vampire Nazis," or Kajganich did some script re-jigging.

While I'm interested to see Schumacher's first vampiric film since the eternally entertaining The Lost Boys, I'm also apprehensive. Can he make a film without the leads needing to be nipply? Better yet, will it be able to stand out in the influx of German-themed movies lately? And, is it about vampire Nazis or not?!

Returning once again to the world of vampires, Joel Schumacher (who also brought us the very awesome 80s flick, The Lost Boys), has signed on to direct Town Creek for Gold Circle. Oh, but this isn't your average vampire movie -- it's got Nazis too! In fact, they're vampire Nazis. Okay, the only way I'll shell out ten bucks to see this is if the following dialgoue is featured:

GUY THAT'S ABOUT TO DIE: Check it out, they're Nazis!

OUR HERO: Oh no, my friend -- they're vampire Nazis! Look out, behind you!

Apparently, the story surrounds a West Virginia man who is forced to question his own morals upon rescuing his brother from the evil clutches of a vampire Nazi. See, this family kidnapped his brother in order to feed him to their pet vampire Nazi, which they keep locked up in the basement. Folks, I kid you not -- that's the plot description. Dave Kajganich (who also adapted the upcoming Nicole Kidman film, The Visiting) wrote the script.