WarrenEllis
Latest
Script for animated Castlevania film nearly complete
We don't blame you for forgetting about the three-part animated Castlevania film that was announced almost a year ago by producer Project 51 -- there just hasn't been that much news about it since then. Fear not: the adult-themed cartoon based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is still on track, according to writer Warren Ellis' production blog.While work on the animation of the feature-length film has not yet begun, Ellis has finished his screenplay of the movie, and he anticipates the finalized, producer-approved script to rear its head in a little over a month. Ellis says he's happy with the script so far; that it's "a good film first and a videogame-movie second." He also promises a sweet nude scene with everyone's favorite anagrammatically-challenged dhampir, Alucard -- "Because girls and gay men need fan service too." Well said, Warren.
Warren Ellis planning on three Castlevania films
The official blog of the straight-to-DVD animated Castlevania film that Warren Ellis is writing has become a veritable minefield of information for fans to stagger across and then be blown up by. For example: Ellis (the genius behind comics like Planetary and Transmetropolitan) feels that the story of the film, which is based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, should be broken into three chunks. Also, pirate Grant DeNasty won't be included, or at least not in the first 80-minute film.There's a lot of encouraging info here, especially the post about making a film for adults, and it's well worth poring over. While there's still not a really clear picture of what sort of film this will be, it's already looking better than any videogame adaptation Uwe Boll has ever made. Of course, the same could be said of The Garbage Pail Kids Movie and it was based on trading cards. So hopefully Ellis has set his sights a bit higher than beating Boll.[via GameSetWatch]
Warren Ellis blogs about Castlevania animated movie
Comic book legend Warren Ellis has been keeping a production blog to update fans on his script work for Castlevania: Dracula's Curse, an animated adaptation of Konami's Castlevania III for the NES. The Transmetropolitan author has been candid with details about the 80-minute, direct-to-DVD film, discussing characters he will be cutting out of the film (e.g. Grant DaNasty) and plans to make the story a trilogy. Reassuring us that he won't be butchering the franchise with an Uwe Boll approach, Warren made it a point to emphasize Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi's bothersome involvement: "He remains absolutely passionate about Castlevania. After eight rewrites of pre-production material, I remain absolutely passionate about beating the crap out of IGA in a dark alleyway one day."[Via GameSetWatch]
Shakeup for Castlevania film
Rumor is that director Paul W.S. Anderson (of Resident Evil and AVP) is off the Castlevania film slated for 2009. There's no word yet on who might take over in his place. We can only guess what horrors the studio might have in store for us next. We're not too fussed; this blogger, at least, was way more interested in this other project anyway. Movie adaptations of video games are just risky and almost never work out as well as we could hope. Is it too much to dream that perhaps the Castlevania movie will just disappear? Just spend that money on making more games!
Warren Ellis to pen Castlevania script
At least, we think Warren Ellis is going to write something about Castlevania for someone. Between the cigarettes and the Red Bull, it looks like the man himself isn't too sure, either. In a post on the 13th, he said, "Apparently I can now tell people that I'm writing a Castlevania animated film for Project 51 Productions," so it follows that at some point he wasn't allowed to disclose that just yet. And then today (or for those of us in still on the 16th, tomorrow), he says -- in time-honored wink, wink fashion -- that he has no idea what the fuss was about, he's not doing anything with Castlevania, no sir. So it seems that Ellis will be scripting some sort of direct-to-DVD animated Castlevania title, with support from illustrator James Jean. For the three of you who don't know who Warren Ellis is, it seems far too simplistic to say that he writes comics. He writes a lot (some of it probably on napkins) -- screenplays, video games, anything that someone will pay him for. And he has a truly electric web presence and a legion of devoted fans who would rend flesh from their neighbors upon his very word. He's been a huge presence on the 'net for years, offering himself and his opinions through several blogs and forums, the latest of which is Die Puny Humans, a "future-tracking" community. On the comics front, he's half responsible for the bold and brilliant titles Transmetropolitan and Planetary, and he's turned his pen to other popular franchises like Hellblazer. He even had a notable cameo in Powers, the brainchild of Brian Michael Bendis, which poked fun (and violence!) at Ellis. Needless to say, if you don't know Ellis, you should be ashamed of yourself. For the rest of you who do, this is exciting news, even if Ellis is telling us not to get too excited just yet. If anyone can make hunting vampires with a whip seem as cool as it should be, he's the man. With his writing chops, appreciation for both video games and anime, and overall brilliance, we can't think of a better guy for the job.
