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In October, Dimension released the teaser trailer for Piranha 3DD, just a week after the studio moved the movie from its November 23rd opening for an unspecified 2012 release date. The move seemed to suggest that the sequel to 2010's Piranha 3D was in trouble, but the trailer, which revealed more bikini-clad bodies and David Hasselhoff's cameo seemed to counter any negative speculation by appearing to be a movie shot in the same campy spirit as the original.
In the intervening months, however, no new date for Piranha 3DD had been announced. Until now. Digital Spy (via The Playlist) recently reported that Piranha 3DD would be released on DVD in the UK in March, a move that appeared to damn a theatrical release. With a DVD release only two and a half months away, would Dimension have enough time to mount a promotional campaign for Piranha 3DD? Shock Till You Drop turned to director John Gulager (Feast) for answers, and the director responded with an email that explained what was happening with Piranha 3DD.
what did Gulager say about the US release? >> Posted 01.03.12 by Ryan -
Those who enjoyed the guilty pleasure of Piranha 3D have to be curious about what director John Gulager and screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton had in mind for the sequel, appropriately titled Piranha 3DD. Details have finally emerged. WARNING: If you don't want the sequel spoiled, proceed with caution. But, really, is there a way to spoil Piranha 3DD?
Want more details? Proceed with caution >> Posted 03.31.11 by Ryan -
For those that think there's been enough sequels and remakes coming out of Hollywood, we have bad news: they're making more. It's easy to see why remakes and sequels continue to get made. The top four grossing movies for 2010 were, in order, Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, and Twilight Saga: Eclipse, all sequels or remakes. The remakes of The Karate Kid and Clash of the Titans came in 11th and 12th, proving the box office value of remakes.
Almost a month in to 2011 and there are plenty of remakes and sequels in the works, including some many might have never guessed were being suggested, such as the remake of 1986's About Last Night....
Variety reports producer Will Gluck (Easy A) and Sony Screen Gems are working on a remake of the romantic comedy, which starred Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. Based on the 1974 David Mamet play Sexual Perversity in Chicago, the original kept the play's opening monologue (performed by Jim Belushi) and essentially tossed out the rest, while earning $38 million at the box office. Gluck will supervise the hiring of a screenwriter and director for the remake.
A Star is Born (Again), The Collection, and Tron 3 >> Posted 01.23.11 by Ryan -
News of a sequel to director Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D was overshadowed by the verbal battle between James Cameron and producer Mark Canton over the validity of Piranha's 3-D (Cameron said Piranha 3D was "what we should not be doing in 3-D", while Canton said Cameron didn't recognize "how much of a fun-filled experience" Piranha 3D was). However Cameron feels about Piranha 3D, Dimension is pushing for a sequel, and have hired a director and screenwriters to help the sequel reach theaters by August 2011.
Deadline reports that Dimension has "assembled the team behind [2006's] Feast," including director John Gulager and screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, for the sequel, titled Piranha 3 DD. The trio worked on all three Feast movies, while Dunstan and Melton wrote the past four Saw movies, including the upcoming Saw 3D. The move indicates that Dimension wants to continue the tongue-in-cheek tone that Aja established amongst the gore in the first movie. The characters that survived the first movie "might be back" for the sequel, according to the report.
Whether Cameron approves of the hirings is unknown. 1981's Piranha 2 was Cameron's first directing job, even though he was fired from the movie after a few days.
Posted 10.20.10 by Ryan -
Saw 3D began its pre-Comic-Con reverie by revealing a new, "eye-popping" motion poster and informally announcing that Saw 3D, the seventh in the Saw franchise, would be the last.
A new teaser trailer for the sequel also has been released during the convention. Check it out after the jump, along with the movie's official synopsis.
See the trailer and synopsis >> Posted 07.24.10 by Ryan -
Saw VI was the first in the Saw franchise to lose its opening weekend (Paranormal Activity ticket sales topped it), so when screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan started work on the 3-D sequel, the writers admitted that the sequel could be the franchise's last. Most self-respecting horror fans laugh off such comments, having heard them too many times to believe it.
If Saw VII 3D proves to be the final chapter, though, the series is going out Lost-style, bringing in past Saw characters like Cary Elwes's from the first Saw. Melton and Dunstan couldn't reveal much to Bloody-Disgusting about Elwes's return other than to say it's not old footage," but Dunstan did explain why the sequel is bringing back older characters.
read what Dunstan and Melton said >> Posted 05.06.10 by Ryan -
For now, the dust has settled in the "War For October 22," which saw Lionsgate exercise a contract option that pulled Saw VI director Kevin Greutert off of Paramount's sequel to Paranormal Activity and onto Saw VII. Greutert complained about the ordeal online, while Paramount searched for a new director. With both movies now quietly working toward their identical October 22, 2010 release date, Saw VII co-screenwriter Patrick Melton told Dread Central what it was like when Greutert arrived on the set with only a few weeks to prepare and began rewriting the script.
It was a very hard situation to replaceyour director two weeks before the beginning of production. Kevin'smind was in a completely other space, prepping his own movie inParanormal 2, and so he was getting up-to-speed as Saw VIIwas going into production. It's pretty hard to wrap your brain around, "How am I going to shoot this next scene?" if you've never even thoughtabout it before. He has a lot of ideas, but it's a bit hard and extreme toimplement all of these ideas because sets have been built, people havebeen cast, props have been bought or created, and with the Saw filmsthey are so specific in set design because of the traps. It becomesvery problematic and difficult to change things a whole bunch right inthe middle of it.
But if anyone can do it, it's Kevin. He'sbeen involved in every single Saw movie, and he directed the last oneso he knows the limitations of the crew and the limitations of theresources, and so he's been able to adapt pretty quickly, and it'slooking good. Because we are playing with the idea that this may be thelast Saw movie and we are trying to wrap things up, it's made it a tonmore ambitious.
Melton says that Greutert and his crew are "half through" its production schedule, and, considering it may be the last Saw movie ever made (and what horror franchise hasn't made that promise), that Saw VII, or as it may be called once it makes it to theaters, Saw 3D: Endgame, will be "bigger" than the previous sequels.
In this one we have bigger traps and more traps and more characters — especially characters from the past — than we've had inprobably any other Saw movie. It's definitely the most expensive andambitious Saw movie that we've done. Some of it is in response to lastyear's Saw VI, which, while being the most critically acclaimed Sawfilm in a while, didn't do particularly as well (at the box office) aseveryone would have hoped, so we are going pretty far with this one interms of the scale and intensity of the traps and the amount of twists,especially into the third act, which is just a plethora of twists andreveals.
I can't speak much of what the film is, but once you see it, you'llunderstand that there is quite a bit of resolution (to the series).There is a place where it can go, but it's been undecided at this pointif the series will continue. If we end it with this one, then theentire franchise and story will be wrapped up in a nice pretty package.
The "package" will also be in 3-D, which Melton says won't be employed for cheap scares.
Have you seen Jaws 3D lately? It's dreadful. Thatlocked-off shot of the shark coming towards the screen is just awful,but that was the "3D moment" with the shark coming out into theaudience. The whole 3D thing is tricky because on one hand it's agimmick, but on the other it can make the theater-going experience abit more fun. It is a bit of an experiment with Saw VII because the Sawfilms are fast and sort of wildly cut, which doesn't work all thatparticularly well with 3D. If it works, it'sgoing to be great because it's going to have that pace and ferocitythat the Saw films have but also those fun, in-your-face moments in 3Dwith the traps and the blood.
Posted 03.16.10 by Ryan -
Kevin Greutert wasn't happy when Lionsgate exercised its contract option on the Saw VI director, forcing him to abandon the upcoming sequel to Paranormal Activity and instead direct Saw VII only a week before production was set to begin. On Sunday, Greutert wrote in to the HouseofJigsaw fan forums to announce the start of shooting.
Well, team, it's hard to believe, but I start rolling high res 3D video on this movie tomorrow morning. It's still an unreal fog to me (the experience, not the 3D video, although come to think of it ... well, never mind that for now...), having one week to prep the most expensive SAW film of all. We've attempted a comprehensive rewrite on the script since I got here, but it's tough: the sets are built, the traps are built, the storyline is set, and any major changes mean throwing out existing stuff, and it's hard to find the time, money and will to do things a different way.
The good news for Greutert is that he likely won't be pulled from another movie to work on another Saw sequel. In a recent UK radio interview with Demon FM, screenwriter Patrick Melton said he felt that Saw VII, now called Saw VII Endgame will likely be the final chapter of the long-running franchise.
I mean, I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing's official yet, but that's where we're hoping things will go.
While box office will ultimately dictate the future of the Saw franchise, Melton says that they are not letting that deter them from thinking Saw VII will be the final chapter.
Oh, I think anytime something is very successful, in films especially, there's the automatic thought: "make another." So I think the more money something makes the more likely there's going to be a sequel. However, no one wants to see the Saw franchise beat down into the ground and opening at five million dollars and no one really caring. That's why a decision is close to being madeand an announcement is probably close to being made that this is the grand finale. I think certain powers that be will always be hesitant to say that so distinctly, but that's where our marching orders are leaning towards. We're not putting "Saw VII" at the top of our script books, we're putting "Saw: Endgame". So that's how we feel about it.
Posted 02.09.10 by Ryan -
With Saw VI due to open in theaters October 23, director David Hackl has announced on his Facebook page that pre-production on Saw VII began this week.
SAW VII 3D pre production begins TODAY!! Eat, breath, sleep, traps traps traps,traps.....3 f____in' D. CRAZY! The story is always the most important thing in my opinion. This time I want it to be a game for everyone. I want to create the effect of feeling like you are right in a trap.
Looks like Saw is following suite with many other franchises and making the sequel in 3-D. Hackl says that's why pre-production has started so early.
Yeah the prep for 3-D is definitely longer as is the post period.
Screenwriters of the previous three Saw movies, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton have already been retained for Saw VII. While Melton says Saw VI should feel resolved, clearly there's more Saw stories left to tell. Saw VIII is also in the planning stages.
Posted 09.19.09 by Ryan -
Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the screenwriters for Saw IV, Saw V, and the upcoming Saw VI, spoke to ShockTilYouDrop about the project at San Diego Comic-Con and, despite the fact that a sequel has already been announced, Melton claims Saw VI will feel resolved:
Part four was too confusing, part five wasn't confusing enough and this one hits the mark right in the middle. We have a really good 'A' story which makes all of the Tobin Bell flashbacks feel organic and not forced. There's good pacing and finally there's a resolution. Finally. Six could be done and that's it, there could be no more. In terms of the John Kramer storyline, we put a nice bow on it. It's fulfilling for people, I think.
Melton and Dunstan will be back to write Saw VII with David Hackl, who helmed Saw V, returning to direct. While details on Saw VII are minimal at this point, Dunstan says that VI will tackle some contemporary issues:
It's also timely. There are a couple of elements to the story that take advantage of our current climate.
If the latest "Wheel of Death" clip is evidence, Dunstan and Melton have certainly gone political. WARNING: This clip is not appropriate for work, so if you're not at home enjoy this new teaser trailer instead:
Posted 07.28.09 by Ryan