Vin Diesel Updates Riddick 3: Budget Getting Tight but Could Shoot This Summer
Posted 05.25.11 by Ryan
Vin Diesel is one celebrity who has embraced social media, using his Facebook page to talk to fans and ask them their opinions on his upcoming projects. Diesel even refers to his Facebook account as "Our page," even though he likely is the only one allowed to make administrative changes.
Now that Diesel has the hugely successful Fast Five currently in theaters, the actor already has a couple projects lined up: The Machine, which starts shooting this fall, and a third installment in the Riddick series, which began with 2000's Pitch Black and continued with 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick.
Diesel spoke about Riddick 3 on his Facebook page as early as August of 2009, when he revealed that a third installment was all "about rating" with both Diesel and writer/director David Twohy wanting an R-rating for the next Riddick movie. In February of 2010, Universal made Riddick 3 official, with plans to distribute the movie, and, as Diesel revealed in March, Riddick 3 will get to keep its R-rating if the budget is kept small.
Diesel's latest Facebook update says that the budget is so small he'll be feeling the effects in his own wallet.
GRRRR..
D T the writer/director just landed in New York with the good news. We can start filming this summer. However, there is a catch... in order for us to make a true R rated film, I must work for scale upfront. Not unlike the Find me Guilty experience (which I wouldn't have changed for the world)...
Money is always second to art, integrity and spirit... but the real issue is deeper. Can I suspend my life, to momentarily venture to that dark place... called Riddick. Now, I need to hear from Our collective... you.
An hour later, Diesel followed that message with another that claimed he had received "so many interesting and intelligent responses" to his original post and that he was "off to another meeting with David, the director of Riddick" to see "concept art and discuss the potential schedule." Looks like Diesel is ready to venture into that dark place called Riddick.
Critics shredded Chronicles of Riddick upon release, which may explain why Universal is so hesitant about the movie's budget, but have been cautious about nearly every project's budget of late, delaying their adaptation of The Dark Tower so they could address budget issues, and cancelling director Guillermo del Toro's $150-million-budgeted, R-rated adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness. It's likely Fast Five's success that is keeping Riddick 3 afloat more than either of the previous Riddick movies.
As for what the third Riddick movie (titled Riddick) will be about, story details were revealed when the synopsis was released last May. No changes to the synopsis have been made official, so it is likely the same.
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.
Considering Diesel is still meeting with Twohy about Riddick, it looks like The Machine will still be Diesel's next project (and opportunity for his full paycheck), though it's possble that Riddick could shoot before The Machine. Neither movie currently has a release date.