In Hollywood’s eyes, it’s never enough to have just one movie on a previously untapped subject matter – you have to have at least two competing for audiences’ affections. We think it’s the law.
So, hot on the heels of Dante’s Peak and Volcano (volcanoes!), Armageddon and Deep Impact (meteors!) and Robin Hood and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (we’ll get back to you on this one!), we now have two competing Dracula origin stories.
In the red corner stands Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year Zero, an epic tale starring Sam Worthington as a Romanian warrior who succumbs to vampirism to help defend his homeland and save the woman he loves. It also comes in handy when cleaning those hard-to-reach spots near the ceiling.
In the blue corner, just in case you’d forgotten it ever existed, is Summit Entertainment’s Vlad, a rock’n’roll, action-centric recounting of the early days of Vlad the Impaler before he became a fanged fiend.
Both projects are moving forward nicely, but today it’s Vlad’s turn to hog the spotlight, with the news that Scott Kosar has been brought on to rework Charlie Hunnam’s screenplay. Yes, that Charlie Hunnam – the Brit actor from Sons Of Anarchy and Green Street.
There’s no word yet on why Hunnam has been replaced on a project he originated, but we imagine his busy workload has something to do with it. Anyway, Kosar is a decent choice, if you consider that he wrote the eerily effective The Machinist and ignore the fact that he also wrote The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake,** The Amityville Horror **remake and the upcoming do-over of The Crazies. On the bright side, his track record would seem to suggest that Vlad isn’t going down the lovey-dovey, moped-up Twilight route.
Anthony Mandler, a music video director, will direct, while Brad Pitt – yes, the Brad Pitt – and Dede Gardner will produce.
So, readers: Vlad vs Dracula: Year Zero. Do you have an early favourite already?
(And yes, we know the pic we're using is not Scott Kosar, but it is Dracula. Just remove a few wrinkles, give him longer hair, and you're probably on the right track.)