When the announcement was made that Saw VI director Kevin Greutert was hired to direct the sequel to Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity, it seemed like an ironic choice, considering Paranormal clobbered Saw VI at the box office. Even more ironic was that Paranormal Activity 2 was scheduled to do battle with the Saw franchise again, scheduling the sequel's opening alongside Saw VII on October 22. Lionsgate, apparently, didn't appreciate the irony.
Deadline Hollywood reports that Lionsgate has exercised a contractual option on Greutert which forces him to leave Paranormal 2 and helm Saw VII instead. Greutert will not have much time to prepare as Saw VII starts production in two weeks. The previously hired director David Hackl will be given another project to work on by the studio and likely a pat on the back for his work on the sequel's 3-D pre-production, which Hackl has been working on since last September.
Greutert seems disturbed by the move, clearly desiring to move on from the Saw franchise, for which he has been an editor since the beginning. According to ShockTillYouDrop, Greutert posted a statement to his fans on his website, before later removing it.
I'm in the middle of something really terrible right now, as anyone who has come to this site probably knows. While I fight for justice in this, the important thing is to avoid giving in to hatred and anger, because these emotions are life killers.
Hopefully we will all arrive at an amicable solution. Thank you to everyone who is working with me on this.
Lionsgate has long blamed Paranormal for Saw VI's poor box office showing, even though they did make a profit. Paramount has yet to announce a replacement for Greutert.
Posted 01.27.10 by Ryan