Sci-Fi News and Reviews

Rob Zombie Takes On Michael Myers

Musician/director Rob Zombie is resurrecting Michael Myers (the iconic horror villain, not the "Austin Powers" Myers) with a new "Halloween" film that will have a "brand-new vision," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Zombie ("House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects") will write, direct and serve as music supervisor on the film.

The movie will not be a sequel or a straight remake of John Carpenter's 1978 classic that introduced the masked psycho killer Myers. Instead, it will be a "reimagining" that will infuse new blood into the Myers story.

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

Of course, since Zombie is a fan of the original, he obtained Carpenter's blessing on the project. It's unclear if Carpenter will have a role (producer/consultant) on the new film.

Though still dubbed "H9" on the "Official Website of Michael Myers," Zombie insists that there will be little similarities between the previous "Halloween" installments and his film.

"The look and the feel is going to be completely different," Zombie said. " '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."

This announcement seemingly puts the breaks on the previously planned series installment, "Halloween: Retribution," which stalled due to the legal separation of Miramax and Dimension Films from Disney and the untimely death of series executive producer Moustapha Akkad (his son Malek is producing Zombie's film). Casting was already underway with Billy Dee Williams, Bryce Inman and Leelee Sobieski set to star.

With all these changes, fans might be nervous about how their beloved Myers will be portrayed. Will he still don the famous William Shatner mask? Not to worry. It's here to stay. "That's an iconic image that can't go away," Zombie said.

Look for the reimagined "Halloween" to hit theaters by October 2007. -- Shannon Nolley

---

Posted by Shannon on June 5, 2006 11:34 AM
Permalink |





More Recent Stories:
• Story Arcs - Ruining Sci-Fi?
• "True Blood" Season 2
• Money Drives "Dollhouse", "Chuck" Renewals
• "Dollhouse" - Prospects and Review
• Great Month for Sci-Fi Movies
• "Flash Forward"
• "Pushing Daisies" Final Episodes
• Sci-Fi Shows in Danger
• My 3D Experience
• NASA Space Station Naming Contest