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Shooting has wrapped on the 30 Days of Night sequel, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, and producer J.R. Young told ShockTilYouDrop that fans of the first movie will be very pleased with what he described as a "war movie".
I think the second film definitely stays within the world of the first film and it stays true to the second graphic novel in the series for those fans out there. The story is within that world but there are differences and a lot of that is due to the graphic novel. The first film is very much a survival film and this next one is all about revenge. There's an action component. The last one is a western, this one is more of a war movie. It's taking the battle to the vampires.
Seeking revenge will be Kiele Sanchez, taking over for Melissa George who could not work out her schedule to return. Ben Ketai, who made two 30 Days of Night shorts that premiered on the web, will direct from a script he co-wrote with 30 Days creator Steve Niles. While Ketai is currently working on editing the movie, once he finishes Young and the Ghost House Pictures team, including director Sam Raimi, will consult on the project. Meanwhile, Young is waiting for a release date.
We haven't been given a release date yet. We have a post schedule as to when we want to have the film done by. Then it goes into the studio's hands and they'll figure out when the best date will be. There has been talk about a DVD release. We always work toward to make the best film we can and let it go out where they see fit.
Posted 12.23.09 by Ryan -
The current trend in Hollywood to "reimagine" or "reboot" a movie franchise rather than create a sequel continues. This time, it's a horror movie that has already been rebooted in recent years. The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, according to Bloody Disgusting, are planning on rebooting The Amityville Horror less than five years after producer Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes reimagined the 1979 original.
Based on the 1977 book The Amityville Horror: A True Story by Jay Anson, the original movie starred James Brolin and Margot Kidder as newlyweds who are driven out of their house in Amityville, New York, by evil entities from beyond the grave. The 2005 version starred Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George and was marketed by MGM as being based on new information about the supposedly true events.
Other than the news that an unspecified director may already be in talks to direct the reboot, there's no other information about the project. MGM, which is currently in the midst of a financial crisis, retains certain rights to The Amityville Horror and had been planning on developing a related project, The Amityville Tapes.
Posted 12.02.09 by BrentJS -
Less than two weeks ago, the first still image from the set of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days was released showing Kiele Sanchez taking over for Melissa George as Stella. 30 Days creator and Dark Days writer Steve Niles originally said that they decided to cast "slightly younger" because they hoped to make more movies based on the multitude of 30 Days graphic novels.
However, in a recent interview with Bloody Disgusting, he said that there were other issues that factored in the decision.
Schedule. The enemy of all casting. [Melissa George has] got a million gazillion things going on right now, so we couldn't fit it.
As far as plans for another film after Dark Days, possibly based on the Return to Barrow graphic novel, Niles said the main concern right now is getting Dark Days "in the can."
If that goes well, we're set up to move forward. We got a great young cast that we can bring along if this works out well, and we';ll be ready to keep going with the story. Plus, the comics are done. God, what do we have, like seven different graphic novels now if it actually took off?
30 Days of Night: Dark Days is expected to debut in 2010.
Posted 11.20.09 by BrentJS -
It's only been a little more than two weeks since it was announced that Kiele Sanchez would be stepping in to replace Melissa George as Stella in the sequel to 30 Days of Night, but the production is already underway in Vancouver. Irish Rican of AICN visited the set and returned with the first still image from Dark Days, showing a bloodied and bruised Sanchez wielding a massive knife.
30 Days of Night and 30 Days of Night: Dark Days are closely based on the comic books by Steve Niles, who also co-wrote the script for Dark Days. There are plans to adapt other books in the series, which factored into the decision to bring in Sanchez to play the lead role.
30 Days of Night: Dark Days does not have an official release date as of yet, but it is expected to debut in 2010.
Posted 11.10.09 by BrentJS -
When the cast for 30 Days of Night: Dark Days was revealed, there was still no word on whether Melissa George would reprise her role of Stella for the sequel. But now we know. 30 Days co-creator and Dark Days co-screenwriter Steve Niles told Dread Central that Kiele Sanchez will take over for George.
She's been in Lost, and she's really good. We are really happy about the casting. We are casting slightly younger on this because of our hopes of moving right into (film versions) of the other books. There's what, ten (30 Days) graphic novels now? So we are hoping at the very least that we can tell the main trilogy, which is 30 Days of Night, Dark Days, and Return to Barrow.
Niles says the movie will follow the comic even more closely than the original.
If people remember the comic at all, Stella's original plan was to expose the vampires (for what they were) because the one thing she discovered from having her town destroyed was that basically what vampires fear most in the world is having their existence proven. Just like in the comic, her initial idea is to tell the world the truth of what happened in Barrow, Alaska, because it was covered up as an "accident" like every other vampire attack. So that's her first mission, but then she realizes that hunting them might be more fun and more effective.
Niles says the sequel will also introduce characters that will blur the line between good and evil.
In the comic, we do get exposed to our first sympathetic vampire — a character who has fought his hunger and who has found other ways (of feeding) other than killing people to survive. We also bring in a new character we are really excited about: Agent Norris. He's the equivalent of the "Ben Foster" character (from the original). He's thehuman spy, and he's this really despicable FBI agent who wants to become a vampire and who abuses the power of being a law enforcement officer on top of wanting to be a vampire. He can do a lot of damage.
Dark Days is currently in production.
Posted 10.23.09 by Ryan -
The cast of the upcoming sequel to 30 Days of Night has been divulged, just in time for the month-long shoot in Vancouver, which starts today. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days will follow Stella (played by Melissa George in the original) as she travels to Los Angeles to join a group of vampire hunters and seek revenge against those who attacked her town and killed her husband.
Bloody-Disgusting revealed the cast list, which includes Mia Kirshner (The L Word) as the lead vampire Lillith, Harold Perrineau (28 Weeks Later), Diora Baird (the upcoming Night of the Demons), Kiele Sanchez (A Perfect Getaway), Monique Ganderton, and Rhys Coiro (Entourage) in an unspecified lead role.
There's still no word on whether George will return as Stella, though 30 Days creator Steve Niles wants her back for the sequel.
Posted 10.20.09 by Ryan -
30 Days of Night: Dark Days is starting production in Vancouver this month, but its studio is yet to confirm whether Melissa George, who played heroine Stella in 30 Days of Night, will return. Steve Niles, the comic book's creator and co-screenwriter of Dark Days, told MTV he wants George to return for the sequel.
What we want to do is try to get Melissa back. Basically, she's the only survivor of the first movie, really, so there weren't that many people to bring back because they got killed. So we're going to try that, and all the other casting is new characters. We're actively doing that right now.
Stella will have a larger role in Dark Days, which sees her traveling to Los Angeles to join a group of vampire hunters and seek revenge on those who attached her Alaskan home town and killed her husband (Josh Hartnett).
Posted 10.15.09 by Ryan