Tag: Dennis Kelly

Posted on in Film News

Guillermo del Toro’s Next Stop-Motion Film ‘The Buried Giant’ Officially Lands At Netflix

On the hells of the critical success of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio with a Best Animated Feature Film nomination for next month’s Academy Awards ceremony, the genre filmmaker is looking to return to the world of stop-motion animation with another upcoming project titled The Buried Giant and based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go). Previous reports had revealed del Toro is already working on a script with Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Matilda The Musical) and they’ll begin designing the film very soon with animation studio ShadowMachine reuniting with the director after working on Pinocchio.

Earlier in the week, it was officially announced by Netflix that The Buried Giant will indeed join the streaming service’s upcoming originals in development. The news was posted on the streamer’s official Twitter account (See Below).

In post-Arthurian Britain, the wars that once raged between the Saxons and the Britons have finally ceased. Axl and Beatrice, an elderly British couple, set off to visit their son, whom they haven’t seen in years. And, because a strange mist has caused mass amnesia throughout the land, they can scarcely remember anything about him. As they are joined on their journey by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and an illustrious knight, Axl and Beatrice slowly begin to remember the dark and troubled past they all share.

It’s unclear how long we’ll have to wait before an official release date for The Buried Giant as stop-motion animation is time consuming process, but this news gives the impression that Netflix is very much invested in more animated films from del Toro. He’s also reportedly attached to helm a new version of live-action Frankenstein film for them as well.

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Film News

Guillermo del Toro Says His Next Stop-Motion Animated Film Is ‘The Buried Giant’

While Pinocchio isn’t the first time director Guillermo del Toro has dabbled in animation, but the film’s critical success, including recent Oscar nominations, is likely going to push him to continue making films within that media for years to come. Thankfully, del Toro is now giving folks an idea what he’s looking at tackling next and it is yet another adaptation.

During a chat with The Telegraph (via The Playlist), del Toro has explained that while it won’t be his next feature film, he’s looking to turn the 2015 Kazuo Ishiguro (author of Never Let Me Go) novel The Buried Giant into an animated film. Not only that, he’s already working on a script with Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Matilda The Musical) and they’ll begin designing the film in two months. Extremely exciting news for folks that want to see del Toro continue making various animation projects.

“The next stop-motion film I’m making is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, which I’m currently co-writing with Dennis Kelly, and we start the design process in two months,” del Toro told The Telegraph “I’m shooting a live-action feature first. But in the meantime, we’re developing a look-book, and in about two years if everything goes well, we’ll start production.”

Below is a synopsis of the novel del Toro intends to adapt:

In post-Arthurian Britain, the wars that once raged between the Saxons and the Britons have finally ceased. Axl and Beatrice, an elderly British couple, set off to visit their son, whom they haven’t seen in years. And, because a strange mist has caused mass amnesia throughout the land, they can scarcely remember anything about him. As they are joined on their journey by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and an illustrious knight, Axl and Beatrice slowly begin to remember the dark and troubled past they all share.

One would have to assume that The Buried Giant could end up on Netflix given del Toro’s strong working relationship with them and signs that his next live-action film will land at the streaming service as well.

What’s On Netflix previously reported that the next live-action film from del Toro is expected to be a version of the classic Mary Shelly novel Frankenstein at Netflix with actor Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina) said to be attached to the horror project as Doctor Frankenstein. I previously discovered last year that the filmmaker is expected to be using existing illustrated artwork for the film from Swamp Thing co-creator Bernie Wrightson (the doctor eerily looks like Isaac) and they have seemingly got permission from the late artist’s estate to do so. Guillermo’s desire to make a Frankenstein movie goes back ages to when he was trying to lineup an adaptation at Universal Pictures, long before their Dark Universe plans.

SOURCE: THE TELEGRAPH

Posted on in Film News

George R.R. Martin’s ‘Sandkings’ Getting A Netflix Movie Directed By Gore Verbinski

Another George R.R. Martin adaptation is on the way at Netflix.

Collider reports that Martin’s novelette Sandkings will be getting a feature film at Netflix from director Gore Verbinski and Dennis Kelly writing the script.

Veteran director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) is teaming with original Utopia creator Dennis Kelly on a feature adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s 1979 novelette Sandkings that is currently in the works at Netflix, Collider has exclusively learned.

Here is what the story is about.

The story follows a wealthy playboy named Simon Kress who collects dangerous, exotic animals. One day, he stumbles across a mysterious establishment called Wo & Shade, where he purchases a terrarium filled with four colonies of creatures called sandkings, which grow to fill whatever environment they are kept in. Each colony consists of a large female called the maw, and numerous insect-like mobiles that she controls via telepathy. In addition to finding food for the maw, the mobiles also construct a sandcastle around her to protect the maw from invading colonies. Indeed, the four colonies — white, black, red and orange — often engage in coordinated wars with one another, especially once their new owner makes them fight over food by starving them. Simon begins taking bets on the outcomes of these wars, which leave some of his friends impressed, and others disgusted. Eventually, the sandkings escape Simon’s terrarium and begin to take over his house as their hunger — and Simon’s desperation — intensifies.

Sandkings was adapted into an episode of The Outer Limits in the 1990s and takes place within Martin’s Thousand Worlds universe, which is also the setting of his sci-fi horror story Nightflyers that got a feature film and short-lived series.

Martin is busy producing multiple spinoff series at HBO set within the Game of Thrones franchise.

Verbinski directed films like The Ring, The Mexican, Disney’s Pirate of The Caribbean trilogy, and a lackluster Lone Ranger film. He famously attempted to make a feature film based on the video game BioShock that went nowhere and was one of the many directors that tried to make a solo Gambit film for 20th Century Fox before the X-Men rights returned to Marvel. Gore most recently made A Cure For Wellness.

SOURCE: COLLIDER