roducer Joel Silver, whose films have reputedly earned a combined gross of
$3 billion, is setting out to redefine horror movies the same way he did
action (the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon series) and
science fiction (The Matrix). With producer/director Bob Zemeckis
(Back to the Future, Forrest Gump), Silver has created Dark Castle
Entertainment to produce films that emulate the spirit, if not the clunky
techniques, of 1950s horrormeister filmmaker William Castle. The company's
first feature is House on Haunted Hill, a remake of the 1958 Castle
movie of the same title, one of Silver's favorites. It's not the duo's first foray
into horror: They are part of the producing team that rejuvenated TV horror
with HBO's Tales from the Crypt. But Silver has several other SF
and fantasy-themed projects on the burners as well. He took a moment to
speak with Science Fiction Weekly during the promotional tour for
House, which opens Oct. 29.
Tell us what it is about William Castle's films that appeals to you.
Silver: I've always loved his movies. I was fortunate, I met Bill
when I first came to California in the mid-1970s. He was a wonderful guy,
and his movies were inspiring. My partner on this movie, Bob Zemeckis, felt
the same way. It was a unique situation that we got together with
[co-producer] Terry [Castle, William's daughter], and were able to make
this picture. It's a movie that we really felt that we
could look at today and make something new and fresh with, while still
preserving the quality of the original movie.
With your and Zemeckis' company Dark Castle, you've set out to
capture that original spirit, but take it in a new direction. Can you talk
about that?
Silver: We intended to create a company that would work
with the spirit of the late William Castle. We were fortunate we had Terry
with us, because the spirit is embodied in her as well. It's more than just
the movie. Bill was a brilliant innovator of promotional activity. The way
he did promotions for his movies was incredible. And we're the same kind of
thing. We're doing a big promotion over the weekend and when the movie
opens [giving away game cards to ticket buyers for a chance to win cash
and prizes.]...[At his movies, Castle] would park ambulances in front of
the theater and sell death insurance. We're going to give out a million
dollars, which is essentially what the character gets a chance to do in the
movie.
[To Terry Castle] Do you think your father would have approved of this new version of House on Haunted Hill?
Castle: Oh yeah. My dad would have been scared watching it. He would
have loved it. A little jealous that he couldn't be playing with Joel
because he would like to be a part of the new millennium.
Let's talk about The Matrix II. Do you have any news you can tell us?
Silver: We're going to make Matrix II and III
together. It's a unique situation where...the story does continue.
Other sequels I've been involved in, we've had to sit down and figure out a
story. But in this movie, the story is continuing. Essentially, the boys
[writers/directors the Wachowski brothers] intended to make Matrix
because they wanted to find a way to make a superhero movie today where the
audience would accept superheroes in a way that wouldn't feel to them
like Saturday morning television. And they made the first movie to set up
that world. In the sequels, you're going to see that Neo has superhuman
powers, and they can really do what they've always wanted to do.
Are we going to see Zion, the last human habitation, which was only
talked about in the first film?
Silver: Oh, you're going to see Zion.
Any other plot elements you can tell us?
Silver: I can't really tell you that much. But it's going to be
incredible.
Does Carrie-Anne Moss, who played Trinity, return?
Silver: Yes, Carrie-Anne will be in it. Her deal's not done yet. But
Keanu's [Reeves, who plays Neo] deal is done, and Laurence
Fishburne [Morpheus]. And it's all coming together.
Let's talk about the proposed feature film version of Wonder
Woman. Do you have someone picked to play her?
Silver: I'm not really sure what I'm going to do on that yet. But
I'm playing with the idea of trying to do something with that. And we're
talking about that.
Do you have a script?
Silver: We're working on that.
What can you tell us about the feature film version of the popular game
Dungeons & Dragons?
Silver: They finished shooting that. They were shooting in Europe
and they finished shooting about a month ago. And I guess I'll see a cut of
that in a few weeks. It's pretty incredible. It wasn't a very hugely
expensive film, but because they were able to get all these incredible
locations in Eastern Europe, it's pretty fantastic. It's going to be a very
good creation of the Dungeons & Dragons aesthetic in a motion
picture.
Release date?
Silver: Not sure about that yet.
