!!!
Kitty Farmer (Beth Grant): [tearfully]
"Rose, I don't know if you realize what an opportunity this is for our daughters! This has been a dream of Samantha's and all of ours for a long time! I made her lead dancer! Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion! " http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/05/cannes-watch-do.htmlABOUTwww.Variety.com deputy editor
Anne Thompson writes a weekly Variety film column as well as this daily blog.
May 09, 2008
Cannes Watch: Donnie Darko Sequel in Works[Posted by Jeff Sneider]
UK-based sales company Velvet Octopus will be selling a sequel to
Richard Kelly's 2001 cult hit
Donnie Darko at next week's Cannes Film Festival.
Titled
S. Darko, pic is set seven years after the original
Jake Gyllenhaal -starrer and will follow Donnie's sister
Samantha (
Daveigh Chase) as she is plagued by bizarre visions while on a roadtrip to L.A. with her best friend Corey (Briana Evigan, star of
Step Up 2: The Streets). Other cast members include
Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick and
War of the Worlds' Justin Chatwin.
Although neither Jake nor sister
Maggie Gyllenhaal will return, there is no word yet on Frank the Bunny.
Chris Fisher will direct the $10 million film, with which Kelly is not officially involved.
Fox has already snapped up North American rights to the sequel, which starts shooting May 18.
http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=38664&Category=Donnie Darko sequel S. Darko starts shooting May 18Wendy Mitchell in London
09 May 2008 05:00
UK-based sales company Velvet Octopus will be launching sales in Cannes for
S. Darko, billed as the sequel to the 2001 cult hit
Donnie Darko. Fox has already taken North American rights.
Daviegh Chase reprises her role as Donnie's younger sister. The cast for
S. Darko also includes Ed Westwick (
Son Of Rambow, Gossip Girl), Briana Evigan (
Step Up 2) and Justin Chatwin (
Dragon Ball).
Ash Shah's Silver Nitrate and Newmarket Capital are producing. Los Angeles-based
Chris Fisher, who previously made
Nightstalker and
Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders, will direct. The budget is pegged around $10m.
The story picks up seven years after the first film (and Donnie's death) when little sister
Samantha Darko and her best friend Corey are now 18 and on a roadtrip to Los Angeles when they are plagued by bizarre visions.
Fisher said in a statement: "I am a great admirer of
Richard Kelly's film and hope to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality."
Producers have spoken to Richard Kelly about the project but he is not involved in any official capacity at this stage.
Simon Crowe of Velvet Octopus added: "I think there is a new generation of cinema-goers who will be very excited to see this film."
Crowe quipped to
ScreenDaily: "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."
The project starts shooting May 18.
Two other new projects that Velvet Octopus are selling in Cannes are
Sam's Story and
Garfield's Fun Fest.
Sam's Story, directed by Miriam Kruishoop, will star Neve Campbell and Gabriel Macht (soon to appear as Frank Miller's
The Spirit) in the story of a party girl who grows up and falls in love with a single dad. The UK/Nethlerlands co-production is produced by Black Book's San Fu Maltha with Molly Hassell. It will shoot this summer.
Garfield's Fun Fest is a continuation of the cartoon cat adventures, this time full CG animated (not a live-action combination as with the recent Fox hits). The US/Korean production from The Animation Picture Co. is directed by Mark Dippe and Kyung Ho Lee. Jim Davis wrote the script with the Altiere Bros. The voice cast features Frank Welker.
Velvet Octopus' Cannes sales slate also includes UK genre film
Cockneys vs Zombies, Demian Lichtenstein's $25m
Relentless 3D starring Karl Urban, animated projects
The Legend Of Spyro and
Outback 3D, Gabor Csupo's
The Secret Of Moonacre (now in post) and Emily Young's
Veronika Decides To Die starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (which starts shooting May 12).
