Rob Zombie to direct new 'Halloween'

[Pepsi]

Rocker-turned-filmmaker Rob Zombie is resurrecting Michael Myers, one of the big screen's favorite horror villains.

Zombie will write and direct a new "Halloween" movie, serving up what is being called as a brand-new vision for the long-running horror series. He will also serve as a producer and a music supervisor on the film.

An October 2007 release is being planned. Disney's Miramax Films will co-finance the development with former Miramax chiefs Bob and Harvey Weinstein's Dimension Films.

The movie will not be a sequel or a straight-ahead remake of the 1978 original -- which helped director John Carpenter cement his name in the horror business -- but a reimagining that will infuse new blood into the Myers story.

"The look and the feel is going to be completely different," Zombie said in an interview. "'Halloween' started off as a very terrifying concept, a terrifying movie. But over the years, Michael Myers has become a friendly Halloween mask. When it came to the point where you could buy a Michael Myers doll that was cute-looking and press its stomach and play the 'Halloween' theme, you knew the scare factor was gone.

"But I think the story and the situation is scary. All it needed was someone to come in and to take a totally different approach to make it scary again. To me, that's the challenge and that's the fun."

Needless to say, the movie will not pay heed to the numerous sequels. The last Halloween film, "Halloween: H20," came out in 1998.

"Everything that has come before does not figure into this one," Zombie said. "That series is done."

And while Zombie aims to keep the scares and the character more real, the mask will remain.

"That's an iconic image that can't go away," he said.

Zombie wrote and directed "House of 1000 Corpses" and last year's "The Devil's Rejects," which proved to be extremely profitable theatrically and on DVD. A lot of horror movies have been thrown his way, but he wanted to be choosy when it came to his third film.

Zombie is a fan of the original and said he sought Carpenter's blessing.

"He said, 'That's awesome, go for it,"' Zombie said. "He was very supportive, which I thought was very important. I feel like 'Halloween' is his baby, and I wanted to be very respectful."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[ROC]

Well, it is one of those situations where the series can't get any worse, so someone fresh like Zombie should be able to do something good with the material. Me, personally, thought it should've ended with H20 because just seeing the shotgun shelled-sized plot holes and overall awfulness of Resurrection just wasn't worth it. Still, if you're gonna keep doing shit like Halloween, might as well trying something different.

EDIT: And why doesn't the article mention Resurrection?

Edited June 5, 2006 by just ROC...

[Pepsi]

EDIT: And why doesn't the article mention Resurrection?

[ROC]

EDIT: And why doesn't the article mention Resurrection?

it knows better.

[Rashid]

Rob Zombie directing a new "Halloween" movie 'eh. Looking back at Zombie's 2 past films (House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects) I look forward to this. He knows what he's doing, he's great with horror. I'm also looking forward to his animated comedy about wrestling, "El Superbeasto" which is based off his comic book series.

Though I've never seen a "Halloween" movie before, I'll definitly see this. Though I'd rather if New Line got to Zombie first so he could direct the new FT13 movie.

[zero]

And I just came. Usually I dread the remakes, but Zombie is the new face of horror. He's the only person who could not only exceed expectations for this movie, but even surpass the original.

[Hewey]

Should be interesting, As long as they don't remake the original, I'll be happy. Though, With the way he described it, It sounds like there will be another a new series, Kinda like when they ignored parts 4,5,6 from H20.

Edited June 6, 2006 by Baby Hewey

[Vilge Duin]

And William Shatner's visage will continue to haunt yet another generation. Excellent.

Pretty much I take it Zombie is restarting the series in his own way (along the lines of what was done with Batman Begins). If so, than perfect. Insteading of remaking or creating a sequel, just take the basic concepts and elements and make it your own.

[livid]

MTV.com is reporting that Rob Zombie has commented further on the announcement over the weekend that he has been tapped to revive the successful "Halloween" franchise, some 28 years after accomplished horror director John Carpenter's influential slasher flick first introduced the world to Michael Myers, an escaped mental patient who massacred his family on Halloween night.

In a message posted on Zombie's MySpace page last week, the rocker shot down rumors that he'd been in discussions with Dimension Films to breathe new life into the pale-masked Myers.

"I don't know how this story all got started but I am not making 'Halloween 9'," he wrote in a post dated June 3. The next morning, he clarified the situation in a separate post, writing, "I am not making 'Halloween 9'. That series is done, complete, over. But what I am doing is starting totally from scratch. Call it a remake, an update, a re-imagining or whatever, but one thing that [is] for sure is this is a whole new start — a new beginning with no connection to the other series. That is exactly why the project appeals to me. I can take it and run with it."

Before accepting the job, Zombie told Variety he'd reached out to Carpenter, seeking his blessing.

"The original 'Halloween' is hallowed ground to me, and I talked to him about it and he was very supportive of what I wanted to do," Zombie said. "He said, 'Go for it, Rob. Make it your own.' And that's exactly what I intend to do. Over 25 years and a lot of movies, a very scary character became something of a Halloween cliché, with Michael Myers dolls that play the Halloween music when you press their stomachs. By the end of the sequel cycle, there was little connection to the original. I take that film very seriously, and I want to make it terrifying again."

Zombie's "Halloween" film is slated for an October 2007 release.

Source: blabbermouth.net

Edited June 7, 2006 by Livid

[zero]

Seriously, I haven't been this excited for a movie since I finally heard House of 1000 Corpses was getting released. Zombie is one of the few people that could actually pull this off without pissing all over the source material. I just don't wanna wait a year.

Edited June 7, 2006 by Zero

[apsham]

I have been getting interested in Zombie recently, he seems like an interesting person. My father has hordes of his music, and I just recently saw his Cribs. I might actually check this out, his last two movies were a little too much gore oriented for me to really like though.

[Plankton]

Though I've never seen a "Halloween" movie before, I'll definitly see this.

[TGC]

A ton of casting news has taken place as we headed into X-Mas that I wanted to share. Below is a link to an article on insidepulse.com The Loomis casting was verified by aicn among others. I think this movie is going to be absolutely awesome.

Casting info for a young Michaels Myers, Loomis, and of course The Shape his own damn self.

[ROC]

Seriously, Malcolm McDowell as Loomis is brilliant casting. He and Pleasance have entirely different looks, but McDowell finally gets his first role in a while where he isn't there just to chew scenery and then be wasted.

[sirdavinator]

I've only seen Resurrection. That was horrible. I hope this isn't the same. I gotta see Zombie's two movies sometime.

Edited December 27, 2006 by sirdavinator

[tristy]

I mark for Malcolm McDowell. Huzzah!

[zero]

Apologies for the bump, but the trailer must be seen!

Official Trailer

Holy shit.

[Hewey]

Fuck, that looks awesome. Can't wait to see it. From the trailer, looks like they'll be showing more of Michael as a child, which is something the original lacked.

My only complaint is the mask, I wish they had gone with the original.

[zero]

It's not that different from the original though. Zombie's biggest point was making Michael Myers terrifying again and not something you could turn into a cute plush doll. I think the mask requires some slight alterations for that... and the music is much more important.

[slain]

Holy shit!

I can't wait until August!