2005 Amityville Horror remake...
#1
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Amityville returns to its roots, well, almost
There will be a new remake of The Amityville Horror this summer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384806/
and
http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com/...mityville.html
for full details (there isn't much out there at this time). The Amityville Horror is the story of the family who moved into the house after the family who was murdered there. I wonder if this remake will put more emphasis on the murders, then fade to the Lutz family moving in a year later, who knows?
The project is being produced by Michael Bay, for what that's worth, but we don't know if it will be a full blown remake (ala Psycho - being copied scene by scene) or if it will have some careful details added that the original lacked.
and
http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com/...mityville.html
for full details (there isn't much out there at this time). The Amityville Horror is the story of the family who moved into the house after the family who was murdered there. I wonder if this remake will put more emphasis on the murders, then fade to the Lutz family moving in a year later, who knows?
The project is being produced by Michael Bay, for what that's worth, but we don't know if it will be a full blown remake (ala Psycho - being copied scene by scene) or if it will have some careful details added that the original lacked.
#5
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Originally posted by QuiGonJosh
Yeah a flick about the hoax would be great...but a remake of the original film? No thanks...I'll just watch the excellent original...
Yeah a flick about the hoax would be great...but a remake of the original film? No thanks...I'll just watch the excellent original...
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Well considering Michael Bay's track record in terms of history-based movies, I'd say he'll try and throw in a long and boring love story subplot which goes on for the better half of the film.. and then go back on track to the amittyville story.
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Fangoria (#230) reported that MGM and Dimension are teaming up to make "the" new Amityville film. Previously each Studio had planned on producing seperate screenplays. I wonder which way they'll portray the film.
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Lutz family move into a bargain house where the previous tenants, the DeFeos, were murdered by one of the DeFeo sons.
Lutzes have strange, spooky dreams, hear noises, the house is always cold, and so on. The house is a drain on their finances and they're having money troubles.
The lawyer of the original killer, Jay Anson works with the Lutzes to adapt the story into a book. Anson writes a "ghost story" - not a totally factual account.
As the popularity of the story increases, so do the urban myths about the house, eg
- built on an indian burial ground (false)
- supernatural forces drove out the builders of the house (well, they'd hardly stay in a house until it's built)
- the DeFeos engaged in demonic practices (no evidence of this)
- no family has dared stay in the house (untrue: only the DeFeos ever expereienced a tragedy)
The house has a present owner, who's quite pleased with it, now that the tourists have died down.
Lutzes have strange, spooky dreams, hear noises, the house is always cold, and so on. The house is a drain on their finances and they're having money troubles.
The lawyer of the original killer, Jay Anson works with the Lutzes to adapt the story into a book. Anson writes a "ghost story" - not a totally factual account.
As the popularity of the story increases, so do the urban myths about the house, eg
- built on an indian burial ground (false)
- supernatural forces drove out the builders of the house (well, they'd hardly stay in a house until it's built)
- the DeFeos engaged in demonic practices (no evidence of this)
- no family has dared stay in the house (untrue: only the DeFeos ever expereienced a tragedy)
The house has a present owner, who's quite pleased with it, now that the tourists have died down.
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I live about 2 miles from where the first film was partially shot, the house was totally renovated after the movie because of gawkers. It used to stand out if you were to drive by the house but now it's difficult to locate if you don't know where it is.
#16
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I saw the first Amity around the age of 6 or 7 (begged my parents to let me watch it) and it scared the ever loving shit right out of me. I slept right next to a staircase that looked almost identical to the one in the movie. I remember staying up all night that first night waiting for the wall to start "bleeding."
Somewhere around the age of 16 or so, I worked up the courage to rent it, and upon another viewing, I thought it sucked big time. I read the book as well, and found that to be more entertaining.
I'm somewhat looking forward to the re-make. It has the potential to be good. However, I'm not holding my breath.
Somewhere around the age of 16 or so, I worked up the courage to rent it, and upon another viewing, I thought it sucked big time. I read the book as well, and found that to be more entertaining.
I'm somewhat looking forward to the re-make. It has the potential to be good. However, I'm not holding my breath.
#18
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Originally posted by Scot1458
The story of the actual killer is very intersting. Total wack job + drugs killed his entire family for money.
The story of the actual killer is very intersting. Total wack job + drugs killed his entire family for money.
#19
Moderator
Originally posted by Mr. Cricket
I saw the first Amity around the age of 6 or 7 (begged my parents to let me watch it) and it scared the ever loving shit right out of me. I slept right next to a staircase that looked almost identical to the one in the movie. I remember staying up all night that first night waiting for the wall to start "bleeding."
Somewhere around the age of 16 or so, I worked up the courage to rent it, and upon another viewing, I thought it sucked big time. I read the book as well, and found that to be more entertaining.
I'm somewhat looking forward to the re-make. It has the potential to be good. However, I'm not holding my breath.
I saw the first Amity around the age of 6 or 7 (begged my parents to let me watch it) and it scared the ever loving shit right out of me. I slept right next to a staircase that looked almost identical to the one in the movie. I remember staying up all night that first night waiting for the wall to start "bleeding."
Somewhere around the age of 16 or so, I worked up the courage to rent it, and upon another viewing, I thought it sucked big time. I read the book as well, and found that to be more entertaining.
I'm somewhat looking forward to the re-make. It has the potential to be good. However, I'm not holding my breath.
Spoiler:
Question: to those who saw the sequel (ahem prequel), which I plan on renting, how does it compare to the first film?
Last edited by Giles; 01-29-04 at 08:43 AM.
#20
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I grew up watching the first movie, The Amityville Horror so I always thought it was a better-than-decent haunted house story, even to this day. There aren't any over-the-top special effects, and we never really see the "monster." The house is the monster, and that is enough.
The interior setting of the house in the first movie always impressed me, and that is why I didn't like the sequel, Amityville II: The Possession, as much. They didn't use the same interior, and the house looked real cheap. But aside from that, I first saw it at 16 and liked it a lot. Upon repeated viewings and learning more and more about the actual Defeo family and the way they died, I enjoyed the movie less and less.
As long as you watch the sequel without acknowledging it is "very loosely based" on the Defeos, it is less-than-decent (quite a bit of it ripped off The Exorcist) but okay.
Loosely based matieral:
1) Eldest Son kills family
2) Eldest son tries to kill father before the fatal events, and he couldn't go through with it (the real story is, a year before the Defeo murders, Ronnie Jr tried to kill his father but the gun jammed).
That's it.
The interior setting of the house in the first movie always impressed me, and that is why I didn't like the sequel, Amityville II: The Possession, as much. They didn't use the same interior, and the house looked real cheap. But aside from that, I first saw it at 16 and liked it a lot. Upon repeated viewings and learning more and more about the actual Defeo family and the way they died, I enjoyed the movie less and less.
As long as you watch the sequel without acknowledging it is "very loosely based" on the Defeos, it is less-than-decent (quite a bit of it ripped off The Exorcist) but okay.
Loosely based matieral:
1) Eldest Son kills family
2) Eldest son tries to kill father before the fatal events, and he couldn't go through with it (the real story is, a year before the Defeo murders, Ronnie Jr tried to kill his father but the gun jammed).
That's it.
#21
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Remake Update
Trio Joins The Amityville Horror
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Monday, August 2, 2004
Philip Baker Hall, Jesse James and Chloe Moretz have joined the cast of MGM and Dimension's The Amityville Horror remake, which begins shooting Monday.
The Hollywood Reporter says Hall has signed on for the role of Father McNamara, while James and Moretz are taking on the roles of the family's children, Chelsea and Billy. The three join Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George and Jimmy Bennett in the film which British commercial helmer Andrew Douglas is directing from a screenplay by Scott Kosar. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller of Platinum Dunes are producing for Radar Pictures, whose Ted Field will executive produce.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Monday, August 2, 2004
Philip Baker Hall, Jesse James and Chloe Moretz have joined the cast of MGM and Dimension's The Amityville Horror remake, which begins shooting Monday.
The Hollywood Reporter says Hall has signed on for the role of Father McNamara, while James and Moretz are taking on the roles of the family's children, Chelsea and Billy. The three join Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George and Jimmy Bennett in the film which British commercial helmer Andrew Douglas is directing from a screenplay by Scott Kosar. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller of Platinum Dunes are producing for Radar Pictures, whose Ted Field will executive produce.
#23
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I didnt think the original was very good and I wasnt scared for a second. I did read the book when I was in my teens and, well, that scared me.
So did all the events within the house all turn out to be a hoax or was it just based on something real that happened?
The story of the actual killer is very intersting. Total wack job + drugs killed his entire family for money.
#24
DVD Talk Hero
Originally posted by riley_dude
I didnt think the original was very good and I wasnt scared for a second. I did read the book when I was in my teens and, well, that scared me.
So did all the events within the house all turn out to be a hoax or was it just based on something real that happened?
I didnt think the original was very good and I wasnt scared for a second. I did read the book when I was in my teens and, well, that scared me.
So did all the events within the house all turn out to be a hoax or was it just based on something real that happened?
http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dyn...mityville.html
#25
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Thread Starter
More News
More news:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040924f.php
"Back when MGM and Dimension Films both announced their plans for another 'Amityville Horror' film, it looked like things might get quite interesting over the next year- that was until the two studios shook hands and made one great deal- a deal to make one "good" movie. It wasn't until the announcement that Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller's Platinum Dunes Company would be the producers of the film that made everyone sigh a huge breath of relief. Whether you liked it or not, after the unorthodox remake of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' you knew there was a new force in horror, a group that could bring life back to our beloved but dying genre- and that group was Platinum Dunes.
When I found out 'Amityville Horror' was filming Buffalo Grove, IL, my hometown of 24 years, I nearly freaked out. So when I found out where they were shooting the interior to the film, I had to make a hard decision- walk or drive? I chose drive because I'm a lazy arse... So when I walked into the building where they were shooting there were pictures pinned all over the walls like something you'd see in a detective movie. The wall contained many valuable clues to the movie from having the storyboards for the entire end sequence pinned up (I avoided it at all costs) to tons of 70's pictures (Kiss to Alice Cooper to Super Sugar Crisp cereal). There were also tons of fake newspaper clippings about the 'original murders' in the Amityville house before the Lutz's moved in for nearly 1/4 the cost.
Before we entered the set, we were shown some exterior shots of the new Amityville house, which we were informed that a lot of fanboys didn't appreciate. The house is bigger, better and scarier; I had no problems with the slight new look. Once we entered the stage area I got good bumps because it was so flipping amazing! There was an entire roof with the northwest children's room attached that was built right in the building. You could go inside and check it out- it was one of the creepiest rooms I've seen since I was on the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland. This tiny room belonged to the little girl in the movie who gets locked in the closet; it bared a cross on the wall, had a hallway attached to it and contained that dreaded closet that she eventually gets locked in. Outside they built a replica boathouse and another roof of the house for some more exterior shots that they needed to have more control over. There was also the car from George's company.
Back inside and next door to the "roof" was the basement, which was custom built to look like the originals. The dark gray and decaying stone walls with the fake spider webs everywhere gave me a sense of dread just standing there. There was a wooden staircase that lead to the basement and to the right there were tons of boxes for the Lutz's to unpack. The entire day we were there they shot scenes from the basement. The scenes we got to watch them shoot where when George and Kathy Lutz check out the house before they buy it and then we got a special treat- a serious Ryan Reynolds! Later in the evening we got to see a small scene where Ryan Reynolds is about to lose it, this time Ryan is no laughing matter...
Sure I was excited after I saw all the goodies, but I still needed to know that 'Amityville' was in good hands. To my surprise producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller were both hard at work on the set- but still found a few minutes to get me pumped beyond belief!
Usually when studios and producers get a project moving, there's a reason behind it like money or a great script or just the need for the film. When I heard Brad tell us how they got 'Amityville' going, I knew there was going to be some heart involved, "(Amityville) wasn't brought to us, my partner Drew, grew up right near Amityville, about 20 minutes away. He came into my office one morning in a dramatic fashion and threw a disc down right in front of me and said this is the next movie we're going to make. Drew and I tried to get it done for a couple of months but we couldn't get it done, people just kept saying maybe, but then it all fell together kind of quickly."
One of the fears that seemed to dwell in most of the reporter's brains was whether or not Dimension could deliver us a good movie. Both Brad and Andrew both assure us that "Michael Bay has the final say." They also explained that Dimension has been extremely supportive and have let them do things their way. Even more exciting, Andrew says he's a fan of true horror- and the story, especially since he lived there, "I'm a big fan of the story, I'm a big fan of truth in horror whether it's disputed or not," he continues, "there's a movie out right now called 'Open Water' that we all know that there is no way of knowing what really happened. But of course there is a marketing campaign that says 'Based on a true story.' Personally when I go to the movies and it's a true story, it fascinates me because I'm watching something that happened to real people. I was just a kid when (the murders) happened in 1974, but the idea that this guy murdered his mother his father and his four brothers and sister in the middle of the night and no neighbor heard a gunshot or anything and no one in the house woke up- there's something fascinating about that." After constant rips on the original film from 1979 finally a little respect comes out of Andrew as he continues, "The original movie scared the hell out of me as a kid but when I re-watched it, some of it was kind of hokey to me, some of it worked, some of it didn't."
But the real surprise came when discussion of the famous "red room" came up, Brad explains, "Andrew Douglas (the director) has come up with a different interpretation of the red room. People will be looking for the red room, we are going to deliver not a red room, but something evil is in the basement and we're going to try and unveil something that no one has ever seen before."
Besides bringing a fresh new look and end to the film, the opening sequences are new to the story and will help further the development of the characters, Andrew explains, "We show the family in Deer Park, where they lived in a small house before they brought the Amityville house. We wanted to show the audience where they lived before they moved to this $300,000 house that they got for 80 grand." Brad takes over, "It makes it more understandable that they would buy that house. For us always the hard jump to make is who is going to buy that house? But if you see these people and you kind of understand their situation it makes that bitter pill a little bit easier to swallow."
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040924f.php
"Back when MGM and Dimension Films both announced their plans for another 'Amityville Horror' film, it looked like things might get quite interesting over the next year- that was until the two studios shook hands and made one great deal- a deal to make one "good" movie. It wasn't until the announcement that Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller's Platinum Dunes Company would be the producers of the film that made everyone sigh a huge breath of relief. Whether you liked it or not, after the unorthodox remake of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' you knew there was a new force in horror, a group that could bring life back to our beloved but dying genre- and that group was Platinum Dunes.
When I found out 'Amityville Horror' was filming Buffalo Grove, IL, my hometown of 24 years, I nearly freaked out. So when I found out where they were shooting the interior to the film, I had to make a hard decision- walk or drive? I chose drive because I'm a lazy arse... So when I walked into the building where they were shooting there were pictures pinned all over the walls like something you'd see in a detective movie. The wall contained many valuable clues to the movie from having the storyboards for the entire end sequence pinned up (I avoided it at all costs) to tons of 70's pictures (Kiss to Alice Cooper to Super Sugar Crisp cereal). There were also tons of fake newspaper clippings about the 'original murders' in the Amityville house before the Lutz's moved in for nearly 1/4 the cost.
Before we entered the set, we were shown some exterior shots of the new Amityville house, which we were informed that a lot of fanboys didn't appreciate. The house is bigger, better and scarier; I had no problems with the slight new look. Once we entered the stage area I got good bumps because it was so flipping amazing! There was an entire roof with the northwest children's room attached that was built right in the building. You could go inside and check it out- it was one of the creepiest rooms I've seen since I was on the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland. This tiny room belonged to the little girl in the movie who gets locked in the closet; it bared a cross on the wall, had a hallway attached to it and contained that dreaded closet that she eventually gets locked in. Outside they built a replica boathouse and another roof of the house for some more exterior shots that they needed to have more control over. There was also the car from George's company.
Back inside and next door to the "roof" was the basement, which was custom built to look like the originals. The dark gray and decaying stone walls with the fake spider webs everywhere gave me a sense of dread just standing there. There was a wooden staircase that lead to the basement and to the right there were tons of boxes for the Lutz's to unpack. The entire day we were there they shot scenes from the basement. The scenes we got to watch them shoot where when George and Kathy Lutz check out the house before they buy it and then we got a special treat- a serious Ryan Reynolds! Later in the evening we got to see a small scene where Ryan Reynolds is about to lose it, this time Ryan is no laughing matter...
Sure I was excited after I saw all the goodies, but I still needed to know that 'Amityville' was in good hands. To my surprise producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller were both hard at work on the set- but still found a few minutes to get me pumped beyond belief!
Usually when studios and producers get a project moving, there's a reason behind it like money or a great script or just the need for the film. When I heard Brad tell us how they got 'Amityville' going, I knew there was going to be some heart involved, "(Amityville) wasn't brought to us, my partner Drew, grew up right near Amityville, about 20 minutes away. He came into my office one morning in a dramatic fashion and threw a disc down right in front of me and said this is the next movie we're going to make. Drew and I tried to get it done for a couple of months but we couldn't get it done, people just kept saying maybe, but then it all fell together kind of quickly."
One of the fears that seemed to dwell in most of the reporter's brains was whether or not Dimension could deliver us a good movie. Both Brad and Andrew both assure us that "Michael Bay has the final say." They also explained that Dimension has been extremely supportive and have let them do things their way. Even more exciting, Andrew says he's a fan of true horror- and the story, especially since he lived there, "I'm a big fan of the story, I'm a big fan of truth in horror whether it's disputed or not," he continues, "there's a movie out right now called 'Open Water' that we all know that there is no way of knowing what really happened. But of course there is a marketing campaign that says 'Based on a true story.' Personally when I go to the movies and it's a true story, it fascinates me because I'm watching something that happened to real people. I was just a kid when (the murders) happened in 1974, but the idea that this guy murdered his mother his father and his four brothers and sister in the middle of the night and no neighbor heard a gunshot or anything and no one in the house woke up- there's something fascinating about that." After constant rips on the original film from 1979 finally a little respect comes out of Andrew as he continues, "The original movie scared the hell out of me as a kid but when I re-watched it, some of it was kind of hokey to me, some of it worked, some of it didn't."
But the real surprise came when discussion of the famous "red room" came up, Brad explains, "Andrew Douglas (the director) has come up with a different interpretation of the red room. People will be looking for the red room, we are going to deliver not a red room, but something evil is in the basement and we're going to try and unveil something that no one has ever seen before."
Besides bringing a fresh new look and end to the film, the opening sequences are new to the story and will help further the development of the characters, Andrew explains, "We show the family in Deer Park, where they lived in a small house before they brought the Amityville house. We wanted to show the audience where they lived before they moved to this $300,000 house that they got for 80 grand." Brad takes over, "It makes it more understandable that they would buy that house. For us always the hard jump to make is who is going to buy that house? But if you see these people and you kind of understand their situation it makes that bitter pill a little bit easier to swallow."