Oh, the horror!
Zemeckis, Silver set up Dimension rival
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Producer Joel Silver and director Robert Zemeckis have teamed to form Dark Castle Entertainment, a WB-based film company dedicated to producing midbudgeted horror pics.
The company's first pic will be a remake of "House on Haunted Hill," to be directed by William Malone. The $18 million to $20 million pic begins shooting Jan. 28 in Los Angeles. Geoffrey Rush and Elizabeth Hurley are in talks to star.
Silver and Zemeckis will be equal partners in the company. They will both produce Dark Castle's pics, while Zemeckis may choose to direct the occasional title.
Dark Castle, which retains international rights to its pics, has appointed London-based J&M Entertainment to handle its foreign sales. NatWest Group will provide the gap financing for the slate.
Challenging Dimension
Dark Castle represents the first studio-based challenge to Miramax's Dimension Films, which has dominated the horror genre over the past two years.
Silver said he and Zemeckis, who were previously partnered with Richard Donner, Walter Hill and David Giler in HBO's "Tales from the Crypt" series and its two feature spinoffs, planned to back remakes and original pics.
Dimension has found success with tongue-in-cheek slashers such as "Scream" and more conventional horror fare such as "Halloween: H20" and "The Faculty."
Taste for the classics
Dark Castle's taste appears to skew more towards the classic horror pics of the 1950s and 1960s. Silver said Dark Castle would draw inspiration in particular from the films of William Castle, who directed the original "Haunted" in 1958, which starred Vincent Price. Zemeckis, an avid fan of the horror genre, considers "Haunted" among his favorite pics.
"We will invoke the spirit of William Castle," Silver said, "but our pictures will be cool and smart."
The "Haunted" remake will be produced by Zemeckis, Silver and Gil Adler, with Dan Cracchiolo and Steve Richards exec producing. The script was penned by Dick Beebe from a story by Beebe and Malone, based on a screenplay by Robb White. Malone, previously directed several "Crypt" episodes. He also wrote the screenplay MGM's upcoming sci-fi thriller "Supernova."
Making a cool mil
In the remake, five strangers are offered a million dollars each to spend one night in a house with a hideous past. As the occupants learn more about the history of the house, which was once an insane asylum headed by a deranged doctor, they come to understand the true power of evil.
"Haunted" should not be confused with DreamWorks' similarly-themed "The Haunting of Hill House," starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Liam Neeson, directed by Jan De Bont. While both are horror pics, De Bont's film is a remake of Robert Wise's 1963 melodrama "The Haunting," starring Richard Johnson and Claire Bloom.
Silver last produced "Lethal Weapon 4," starring Mel Gibson and directed by Richard Donner, which took $130 million domestically and was WB's highest-grossing film in 1998. His next release is the WB actioner "Matrix," starring Keanu Reeves.
Zemeckis is prepping two films, which DreamWorks and Fox are co-financing and co-distributing: drama "The Castaway," starring Tom Hanks, and thriller "What Lies Beneath," starring Harrison Ford.
