Trade News: Dracula Gets New Fangs & Frankenstein Is On The Loose

[WyldeMan45]

Finally some damned news on Charlie Hunnam's Vlad, I kept asking in the Dracula Year Zero thread if anybody knew if that was Charlie's script since it sounded so similar, but now I know his is actually titled "Vlad" oddly that's what I suggested they call the Sam Worthington project instead lol.


Two diferent trade stories both involving the resurgance of two classic horror monsters.

The first one is Dean Koontz's big screen version of his Frankenstein novels:

Ralph Winter and Terry Botwick are developing a 21st century Frankenstein, acquiring feature rights to Dean Koontz's "Frankenstein" through their 1019 Entertainment banner.

Project places the doctor -- a socially prominent and successful businessman -- and his super-human original creation Deucalion in modern-day New Orleans. Winter and Botwick are aiming to launch a franchise. "These books have enough twists and turns to keep the public coming back to the theaters for many years to come," the duo said.

The story centers on a pair of street-smart detectives who encounter Deucalion while investigating a murder, leading them to a bizarre array of "engineered" humans.

Three titles in Koontz's series have been published, with the fourth scheduled for release in June.

"Frankenstein" will be produced by Winter and Botwick along with 1019 Entertainment exec Whitney Thomas.

Prior to forming 1019 Entertainment, Winter had a first-look deal at Fox and produced the "X-Men" trilogy, Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" and the "Fantastic Four" movies. Botwick was previously president of Vanguard Films and Animation and president of Big Idea Prods. He also did stints at CBS and the Family Channel.



The first title in the Frankenstein series, "Prodigal Son," was published in 2005 by Bantam Books, followed by "City of Night" and "Dead and Alive." The fourth book, "Lost Souls," will be published June 22, with the fifth and sixth books to follow in 2011 and 2012.
Are those books any good?



Summit doesn’t fear a Son of Anarchy as they’ve brought in screenwriter Scott Kosar to work on Charlie Hunnam’s script for Vlad, an action-thriller based on the life of Vlad the Impaler as a young prince; before he became known as Dracula. Kosar’s previous films include the 2004 Christian Bale flick The Machinist as well as the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, and The Crazies. The film will be directed by music video director Anthony Mandler.

Another pre-Dracula tale trying to get off the ground is Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year Zero, which also follows the historical tale of Vlad the Impaler, but then takes a supernatural route. I’m not sure Vlad will do the same and it could (and may have to) distinguish itself by setting the myth of Dracula in a realistic setting so audiences can see not the Dracula we know today, but how a historical figure inspired Bram Stoker’s tale of the bloodsucker. Year Zero is also looking to land a big name actor, such as Sam Worthington, in the lead role. Vlad may intend to do the same but hasn’t reach that stage yet. It could also just be a smaller production. It will be interesting to see if either or both of these projects go into production, but these days it seems wise to bet on vampires even if they don’t sparkle in sunshine.