Vincenzo Natali

Vincenzo Natali’s Adaptation of NEUROMANCER Moves into Pre-Production with Eye Towards Q1 2012 Start Date

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 19th, 2011 at 2:07 pm

The film adaptation of William Gibson’s seminal sci-fi novel Neuromancer has come very close to death over the past several years.  At one point, Torque director Joseph Kahn was attached to helm the flick, but then news on the project went silent, and eventually Kahn walked away.  He was then replaced by Vincenzo Natali (Splice), but when Splice tanked at the box office, it looked like the project was dead again.  But thankfully, the film lives with Natali still at the helm.  AICN reports that the rights have been sold off at Cannes and distributors have been secured.  Seven Arts Pictures COO Kate Hoffman adds that principal photography will take place in Canada, Istanbul, Tokyo, and London, visual effects work has already begun, and that the production is eyeing a first quarter 2012 start date.

Hit the jump for a refresher on what Natali had to say about his take on the project.

Shooting Has Started on Stalker Thriller 388 ARLETTA AVENUE :) Starring Nick Stahl, Mia Kirshner, and Devon Sawa

by Ben Garman    Posted: December 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 am

Shooting has begun on writer-director Randall Cole’s Hitchcockian thriller 388 Arletta Avenue . Don’t be put off by the annoying smiley, the film is described as a “wickedly smart mystery-thriller” by executive producer Vincenzo Natali (Splice), which sees a slight change in direction for Cole, who usually helms comedies (he directed Real Time in 2008 and the disappointing rom-com 19 months in 2002). The film plays with ever present fears surrounding the use and abuse of technology, specifically CCTV, and details a scenario in which a deadly stalker is able to constantly spy on and manipulate a couple using hidden cameras. It’s not a particularly star studded cast, but then horrors never are. The film features Nick Stahl (Sin City), Mia Kirshner (Vampire Diaries) and Devon Sawa (Final Destination) and will be produced by Splice producer Steve Hoban, and Mark Smith (The Spine). Hit the jump for the full synopsis and more.

Joe Dante, Paco Plaza, Vincenzo Natali, Xavier Gens, and Ryuhei Kitamura Join Horror Anthology PARIS I’LL KILL YOU

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 28th, 2010 at 3:44 pm

In a response of sorts to the 2006 film Paris, je t’aime (which in English is “Paris I Love You”) a number of horror directors have signed on to direct segments in Paris I’ll Kill You.  So far, directors attached include Joe Dante (Gremlins), Paco Plaza ([REC]), Vincenzo Natali (Splice), Xavier Gens (Hitman), and Ryuhei Kitamura (Midnight Meat Train). THR reports that the film will be produced by Darryn Welch (Night Train) and Mathieu Robinet (Flawless).  Lesser known directors that will also be helming segments include Christopher Smith, Joern Heitmann, and French duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo.

Paris, je t’aime included romantic-themed short films from directors like Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander Payne, and the Coen brothers.  That film spun off the star-studded New York, I Love You with even more directors helming segments, this time centered around New York City, and producers are currently planning films dedicated to Shanghai and Jerusalem.  Producers of Paris I’ll Kill You are pitching the film to studios with the same type of franchise-like plan, with more horror-themed films.  Personally, I think this sounds like a really cool project and can’t wait to get a first look at it.  Let’s hope this one’s successful enough to guarantee a second one.  I’d love to see today’s masters of horror team up for one truly terrifying flick.  What about you? What director’s would you like to see included in the project?

SPLICE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: October 14th, 2010 at 5:55 am

The horror genre is very pliable, but studios often chase the familiar, and for good reason. A Nightmare on Elm Street is an easy sell, and remaking something gives it a built-in cache of awareness. A small, weird title about a mutant that borrows from David Cronenberg’s sensibilities is a harder sell, simply because the audience doesn’t know what to expect, and it’s obviously strange. Such may have been why Splice – which didn’t get that much traction – came out this summer and fell away quickly even though it’s one of the most interesting and accomplished horror films in quite some time. Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley star as geneticists working on creating spare parts for humans. When they use some human DNA, they accidentally create a baby mutant. Oh well, maybe it will be reborn on home video. My review of Splice on Blu-ray after the jump.

Richard Stanley to Pen Vincenzo Natali’s Adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s HIGH RISE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 10:18 am

Hardware and Dust Devil director Richard Stanley has come on to write the screenplay for director Vincenzo Natalie’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s novel, High Rise.  In an interview with Bleeding Cool [via Twitch], Natali said:

Richard’s writing a draft right now … for years I had worked on High Rise myself, pretty much alone. At one point Rudy Wurlitzer had written a draft, He’s quite a well known screen writer. That hadn’t really worked out, and at a certain point, I just felt tapped out. So Jeremy Thomas suggested Richard who he had worked with in the past, so Richard’s come in and he’s really injected new blood into it. I think we’re going to nail it, I think it’s going to be great.

Hit the jump for the synopsis of Ballard’s novel plus a recap of Natali’s other projects.

SPLICE Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 3rd, 2010 at 10:22 pm

Splice is for mature audiences only.  That note not only applies to the content of the film, but to its themes.  It’s a fun, entertaining movie but also one that’s deceptive and will unnerve audiences in unexpected ways.  The trailers for the movie depict it as a jump-scare film, but it’s nothing so disposable.  Splice is a movie that will stick with you if you’re willing to intellectually engage with it.  But there will come a point in the film that will shatter your expectations and mature audiences will become totally captivated by its bold decision.  Immature audiences will most likely check out completely and fail to see that Splice is not only entertaining, but it’s creepier than most “horror” films in recent memory.

Director Vincenzo Natali Exclusive Video Interview SPLICE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 3rd, 2010 at 8:38 pm

As I said when I first interviewed director Vincenzo Natali at this year’s WonderCon, one of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film festival was Splice. Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and awesome.  If you’re the kind of person that complains Hollywood never does anything original, you’re going to want to check out Splice this weekend.  Here are some clips.

Anyhow, with the movie set for release tomorrow, I recently sat down one more time with this talented director to talk about his film.  During our extended interview we talked about the challenges of getting Splice made, what will be on the DVD/Blu-ray, what’s up with High Rise, Tunnels and Neuromancer, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Adrien Brody Exclusive Video Interview SPLICE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 3rd, 2010 at 4:53 pm

One of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film festival was director Vincenzo Natali’s Splice. Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and awesome.  Trust me, if you’re the kind of person that complains Hollywood never does anything original, you’re going to want to check out Splice this weekend.

Anyway, I recently got to sit down with Adrien Brody to talk about his work in Splice and all the other projects he’s working on like High School and Predators.  As a huge fan of his work in such films as The Pianist, The Brothers Bloom, The Darjeeling Limited, I’ll admit to being very excited getting the chance to talk with him.  Thankfully, he could not have been nicer and while our interview was scheduled for print (meaning no video), he agreed to let me use my new Kodak ZI8 flip camera.  Hit the jump to check out what he had to say:

New SPLICE Internet Trailer

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 2nd, 2010 at 8:14 am

Warner Bros. has released one final “internet trailer” for director Vincenzo Natali’s Splice.  Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and awesome.  Trust me, if you’re the kind of person that always complains Hollywood never does anything original, you’re going to want to check out Splice this weekend.  Hit the jump to check out this lastest trailer and check back tomorrow for my exclusive video interviews with Adrien Brody, Vincenzo Natali, and Delphine Chaneac .

SPLICE – 5 Movie Clips and 18 Images

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 22nd, 2010 at 6:53 pm

One of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film festival was director Vincenzo Natali’s Splice. Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and it looks like a Hollywood produced film.   That’s probably why Joel Silver agreed to distribute Splice through his Dark Castle label (via Warner Bros.) and it’s getting released June 4th.  Trust me, the film is absolutely worth seeing.

Anyway, earlier today I did the press day for Splice and in the near future you can expect interviews with the cast and director Vincenzo Natali.  Until then…hit the jump to check out five clips from the film and 18 images.  I’ve also incvluded the full synopsis:

SPLICE Director Vincenzo Natali Talks HIGH RISE and NEUROMANCER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 10th, 2010 at 2:52 pm

Last week, we excitedly reported that director Vincenzo Natali (Splice) would be taking over the adaptation of William Gibson’s Neuromancer from Joseph Kahn (Torque).  Speaking with io9, Natali clarified that he hasn’t signed the contracts yet, but he does have Gibson’s blessing.  Natali then went on at length about what he finds fascinating about Neuromancer and how he plans to adapt it.  He also spoke about his “social disaster” film High Rise, which he mentioned to Steve this year at WonderCon.

Hit the jump to read what he had to say about Neuromancer and High Rise.  Splice hits theaters on June 4th.

SPLICE Director Vincenzo Natali to Helm Adaptation of William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 7th, 2010 at 12:13 pm

Director Vincenzo Natali (Splice) has signed on to helm Fire Development Inc.’s adaptation of William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer.  THR provides a nice one sentence plot synopsis for the book: “a washed-up computer hacker hired by a mysterious employer to work on the ultimate hack.”   Joseph Kahn (Torque) had been attached since early 2008 and as recently as Monday was telling the /Filmcast how he was still committed to the film and his plans for it.  Not sure what happened in the last five days, but I’d listen to this week’s episode of /Filmcast After Dark to find out.

I think the best news is that if Natali’s been brought on board, it shows that the film may be moving out of development hell and it may get out even faster should Splice turn out to be a hit when it opens on June 4th.

Hit the jump for the Amazon review of the book.

New Trailer for Vincenzo Natali’s Sci-Fi Horror Film SPLICE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 28th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi horror film Splice.  Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and it’s perfectly timed, as real science continues to push the boundaries of what is acceptable.

I saw Splice at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and it was one of my favorites at the fest.  It’s a great film with an awesome third act.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.  While it’s very well cut and it really sells the film, I think the last 30 or so seconds reveals a bit too much.  But you’ve got to sell the film…

Vincenzo Natali WonderCon Video Interview SPLICE – Plus Updates on HIGH RISE and TUNNELS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 7th, 2010 at 9:40 pm

One of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film festival was director Vincenzo Natali’s Splice. Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic scientists that create a new life form with severe consequences, the film is original, dark, twisted, and it looks like a Hollywood produced film.   That’s probably why Joel Silver agreed to distribute Splice through his Dark Castle label (via Warner Bros.) on June 4th.  Trust me, the film is absolutely worth seeing.

Anyway, a few days ago I was at WonderCon and got to speak with Vincenzo Natali.  We discussed what edits he’s made since Sundance, how the film came together, how Joel Silver got involved, some possible next projects like High Rise and Tunnels, and a lot more.  Watch it after the jump:

Trailer for SPLICE Starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am

The first trailer for Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi horror film Splice has gone online.  The film stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as a couple of scientists who don’t care about your “rules”, man.  Of course, those rules might exist for a reason, as the pair discovers when they secretly splice human DNA with preexisting genetically-engineered experiments.  I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It looks like a solid little film and Steve said it was one of the best movies he saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer along with the official synopsis.  Splice hits theaters on June 4th.

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