Father Geek here with an interesting Special Report filed today direct from our Euro-Aicn Offices in Paris, France. It's about a rare cinema bird, a Spanish Science Fiction motion picture. XXPAIN is our reporter and I have an assignment for him and our Euro-editors. Former top tier Mexican television and cinema Director (now living in Austin, Texas) Guillermo del Toro (CRONOS, MIMIC) has just left for Spain where he will be filming an intense thriller/horror film called THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE with an outstanding world famous Spanish cast. We here at AICN World Headquarters want you guys to keep us closely informed on this project, it has the promise of becoming Spain's most successful film on the international market, as well as one kickass flick.
Waz up? Darth Bond here at Paris EuroAICN HQ. I'm really happy right now 'cuz Almodovar won an Oscar, yeih!! Anyhoo, I thought I would share with you some news from Spain: This is a really interesting article written by XXpain about Quiroja and his new film called REIGN, which sounds like an interesting project, take a look:
I am XXPAIN. I work in a production company in Spain. Here, Elio Quiroga, a well known young director, is developing with a local company a sci-fi movie. An authentic sci-fi flick. That, in Spain... well... sounds freakish, but it's true.
QUIROJA
Elio Quiroga directed 3 years ago a low budget movie called "Fotos" (photos), an "Almodovar-like" melodrama with fantastic/horror elements, awarded in the Sitges Festival (Best Screenplay, Special Award of the Jury). It has become a cult movie here, for audiences and critics, because of its strangeness and oddity. Among the fans of the movie are people like Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna or Pedro Almodovar.
Quiroga is working on two new projects as a director. First of all, "Bugs", is a horror movie in the "Disturbed Behaviour" line, mixed with video-games, the Internet, etc., to be shoot in English, with Brian Yuzna as executive producer. "Bugs" will be made under the label of The Fantastic Factory, a horror-movies-factory project conceived in Spain by Filmax, a big fish company here. Other projects to be made with the Fantastic Factory label are "Faust", directed by Brian Yuzna (in post-production), "The Nameless", directed by Jaume Balaguero (screened in Spain last Christmas; a really interesting horror movie), "Beyond Reanimator", directed by Stuart Gordon (of course), "Arachnid", directed by Jack 'Hidden' Sholder (in preproduction), and so on. You can find also further (not much) info about the Factory in www.filmax.com. The site is really bad designed though, -I've been warned. Although, Filmax is considered a very lazy company here (nobody takes them very seriously) the Fantastic Factory is looking real good by now, and the international sells are doing well for them, specially with the Yuzna-Gordon-Sholder names. They also want to make the "Hammer of the XXIst century"... Well, time will tell.
REIGN
The second project to be directed by Elio Quiroga is huge, and the most interesting for me. The working title is "REIGN", and it's a damned big sci-fi flick. Taking place in Madrid, year 2110, the movie has a big budget (really big for Spain), and... although I cannot tell you very much about the story -the script is so well protected by the producers that sometimes I think those offices are a Fort Knox subsidiary (they are realy that paranoid and stupid about it), it's co-written by Elio Quiroga with Antonio Trashorras and David Muñoz, who are also the writers of "The Devil's Backbone", the new film by Guillermo del Toro, to be shoot here pretty soon as well.
Anyway, I know about a few more things: "REIGN" will have the most extensive digital FX ever made for a Spanish movie. They are by now designing the vehicles, buildings, props, etc, with the help of artists such as Juan Gimenez ("The Caste of Metabarons"), Javier Pulido (Marvel "Star Trek", "Hulk"; Vertigo "Hellblazer") or Fernando de Felipe ("Black Decker")... and many more. They are casting more designers practically every week. Juan Gimenez is very well known among US audiences for his work in the Heavy Metal movie and Heavy Metal magazine. He's, along with Moebius, widely considered as one of the best fantastic illustrators and designers of the world. His work for the movie is being absolutely amazing. Also, the producers are in negotiations with Dane, the British futuristic fashion designer, in order to have his dress designs in the movie as well.
By now, on the CGI and FX front, they are making some tests and models, working with some local FX companies; the people behind Jaleo, the postproduction sofware, are helping a lot, and are modelling in Sumatra, Maya, SoftImage, etc. The biggest challenge, as far as I know, for the FX front of the movie is to find enough CGI FX companies in Spain to make the project because of the lack of render farms in Spain. Guillermo del Toro watched last Christmas, in Madrid, a little promo of the movie with some CGI that was just made for internal purposes. He loved it. I was there. Guillermo is an expert in FX, and he was truly impressed with the shots.
Well, Quiroga and his pals have been at least 3 years conceiving this movie in complete silence; that guy seems to be very confident with his projects, and rumours of strong confidentiality clauses for the designers are being noticed around here. The principal photography is scheduled for winter 2000; the pre-production will take, more or less, 9 months, and they'll have a postproduction of about half a year. Some rumours of a USA major -or something like this- interested on the project are also circulating.
I'll keep you promptly informed on the develop of the project. For sure, you'll be the first to receive new designs and art as soon I can put my hands on it.
Best wishes from Spain (where making movies is pain), :-D
XXPAIN.
