New Line and Phantasm! [Archive] - Movie Fan Central Discussion Forums

TooL

03-10-2005, 01:13 AM

'Phantasm' in New Line's airspace

New Line Cinema is in final negotiations with filmmaker Don Coscarelli to bring the cult horror film "Phantasm" back to the big screen. The first "Phantasm," which Coscarelli wrote and directed, was released in 1979. It told the story of a young boy named Mike and his friends, who face off against a mysterious grave robber known as the Tall Man and his killer flying spheres. The film spawned three sequels, all of which were made by Coscarelli. Coscarelli would act as producer on the new version, in which the Tall Man travels from town to town turning the dead into his own army and using his deadly spheres against anyone who opposes him. Mike, who is developing psychic powers, and his brother try to stop him. The movie is being developed as a relaunch and as a possible trilogy about Mike's coming of age.

- Hollywoodreporter.com and bloody-disgusting.com

Elgyn

03-10-2005, 01:22 AM

:( :( :(

I smell "remake".

And dammit, I already had a damn cool remake/alternate sequel planned out in my mind that I wanted to write!!!!
I had a thread about it in General Horror. I`ll try to 'bump' it up.

Oh well. As the old saying goes, "you snooze you loose".

JayWolf

03-10-2005, 01:29 AM

Screw this!

I want to see Coscarelli do his fifth and final Phantasm movie! This bullshit needs to be shot down real quick! :mad:

syxxpac

03-10-2005, 01:35 AM

You know, if they did a remake and couldn't get (or didn't want, if for whatever reason) Angus Scrimm, the "Tall Man" role has "The Undertaker" (from WWE) written all over it. I'd personally love to see him in a horror film.

Ahem. But since this is a topic dedicated to a series in which I haven't even seen one instalment...I shall back out now and be on my way.

*backs out inconspicuously and exits thread*

Elgyn

03-10-2005, 02:13 AM

Originally posted by syxxpac
You know, if they did a remake and couldn't get (or didn't want, if for whatever reason) Angus Scrimm, the "Tall Man" role has "The Undertaker" (from WWE) written all over it. I'd personally love to see him in a horror film.

Dude.

Dude.

No. Seriously.

DUDE.

Worst. Idea. EVER.

No offense meant to you personally man.
You`ve never seen any of the movies, so you don`t understand The Tall Man.

But you know what`s scary? I could actaully picture a major studio casting The Undertaker as The Tall Man.

Scary.......

syxxpac

03-10-2005, 02:28 AM

Yeah, I figured it would be a bad idea, but with people in this world considering a recasting of Ash...well, anything's possible.

TheAxeGrinder

03-10-2005, 11:04 AM

Nothing could replace Angus as The Tall Man, just as you couldn't replace Bruce Campbell as Ash or Kane Hodder as Jason (but they did, the bastards). Problem is, Angus is like 84. How many films could they get out of him?

EVILxxx

03-10-2005, 11:27 AM

Well if Don is at the helm I am not so worried. This is his baby and he can do whatever he wants with it (within reason:p) And Angus is onboard too, so it shouldn't be as painful as it might have been.

MisterTwister

03-10-2005, 11:58 AM

Originally posted by TheAxeGrinder
Nothing could replace Angus as The Tall Man, just as you couldn't replace Bruce Campbell as Ash or Kane Hodder as Jason (but they did, the bastards). Problem is, Angus is like 84. How many films could they get out of him?

Your so Right-Nobody can replace Kane Hodder as Jason-An actor who only played him 4 times out of 10 movies. Yeah fuck Ari Leham, Warrington Gillete, Richard Brooker, Ted White and CJ Graham-Those guys aren't worth a shit!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Get over it already-Hodder is out!!

Anyways-I rather see the fifth and final Phantasm flick before a remake-So no to that.

Mr-Blonde

03-10-2005, 12:05 PM

Hmmm-- what I'd be interested in seeing is a no-holds barred WWE cagematch between the Tall Man and the Undertaker. Winner takes the role! Of course the Tall Man gets to use his collection of various deadly orbs. :D

http://img221.exs.cx/img221/6528/angushead3hu.gif

VS.

http://img121.exs.cx/img121/7940/undertaker2kp.jpg

spacemonkey

03-10-2005, 12:23 PM

Those news sound exciting! Cant wait to see where this is going to go....as long as Coscarelli is involved in a new Phantasm, Im all for it! This could be great.

countchocula

03-10-2005, 05:30 PM

Phantasm's plot threads aren't even finished yet, and they want to wipe the slate clean? This is bullshit. Make Phantasm's End, and let the franchise rest in peace. It doesn't need to be "relaunched." Goddamn Christ, we'll never get any new horror icons if we just keep digging up the old ones.

Mr-Blonde

03-10-2005, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by countchocula
Goddamn Christ, we'll never get any new horror icons if we just keep digging up the old ones.

Couldn't agree more w/ this statement. When I think of horror icons it's all about films from the past (30's, 40's, and 80s) and nothing recent springs to mind. Well maybe the Jigsaw Killer from Saw and that's about it.

A.J. Hakari

03-10-2005, 05:42 PM

Shit, if they get Tyra Banks to play Rocky, I'm all aboard. :cool:

heavy!!!

03-10-2005, 06:35 PM

message to the corporate whores funding the remake craze...

'kill yourself it the only way to save your souls, your fucked and your fucking us, kill yourself seriously'

Bill Hicks

Blindrift

03-10-2005, 07:41 PM

Casting the tallman is gonna be hard. Scrimm owns that role like Perkins owned Norman Bates.

John Lithgow is a great actor, and is tall, but a Scrimm he is not. Plus he is far too known. For the character to work, it has to be someone new.

If they wanna go with a face, then I can only think of one person, Tony Todd. The man is big and has great presence, and we all know he can play dark and evil very well. Though I'm sure his being black may hamper the idea. To me it doesn't matter, long as the character of the tall man is preserved.

Cronos

03-10-2005, 08:30 PM

Phantasm is one of the few films ive thought would be a good idea to remake, its far from perfect and a much better job could be done with the story now, although i dont know how they would replace Angus as the Tall Man (unless they got him to play the role, which would kick ass)

the dead one

03-10-2005, 09:26 PM

Yeah...lets just redo the whole series...NOT!
Just give Don the cash to complete what has ALREADY been started, Phatasm IV Oblvion was a preamble for the grand finale!

Any other time these major studios wouldnt give a guy like Coscarelli the time of day...NOW, they want to remake? What the HELL happened to Phantasm 5? It HAS go to the point where they actaully think that we are ok with this kind of tactic...STOP SUPPORTING REMAKES...STOP Feeding the corporate HOLLYWOOD machine!! FUCK THIS IDEA!!!!!!

NO! FUCK NO! JUST MOVE ONTO PHANTASM 5 AL-FUCKING-READY!! FUCK THOSE UNCREATIVE ASSHOLES AT NEW LINE CINEMA!! FUCK THEM IN THIER UN-CARING, CAPITOLISTIC GREEDY ASSES!!

Elgyn

03-10-2005, 11:37 PM

Originally posted by EVILxxx
Well if Don is at the helm I am not so worried.

Ehhhh......he`ll be producing, not directing. Which means he`ll still be involved, but it won`t be the same. But since I wasn`t too keen on his Parts 3 and 4, maybe that`s not such a bad thing. I guess.

And Angus is onboard too, so it shouldn't be as painful as it might have been.

I don`t think it`s been stated anywhere that Angus is onboard, dude.:(

Elgyn

03-10-2005, 11:42 PM

Originally posted by Blindrift
Casting the tallman is gonna be hard.

John Lithgow is a great actor, and is tall, but a Scrimm he is not. Plus he is far too known. For the character to work, it has to be someone new.

I agree. John Lithgow as The Tall Man? Nah, no way man. I mean he`s not a bad actor....and he`s played villianous/psycho roles before...but I just don`t think he`d be a good Tall Man.
Hell, all the teenybopers in the theater would be saying "Dude, it`s the guy from '3rd Rock From the Sun'!"

If they wanna go with a face, then I can only think of one person, Tony Todd.

You know.......that`s actually not too bad of an idea. It would be very different....but I guess he could probably pull it off.

the dead one

03-10-2005, 11:49 PM

I have a proposal and would like to make a serious appeal to those who are TRUE fans of "Phantasm"!!!!

Its time to make our voices heard other then here...how many schmoes would like to get an on-line petition out to those ass-bites at New Line, to let them know OUR true feeings regarding this shit idea of re-tooling Phantasm!

I dont want to hear...whats the point? Take a stand! It is better to let these so-called studios know how we the genre audience feel about these types of problems that have plauged this biz long enough...like the 'Isley Brothers' song goes...We gotta' FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE!:cool:

Lets Show New Line who has the BALLS...

Elgyn

03-11-2005, 12:04 AM

I admire your passion dead one, but a petition isn`t going to change a damn thing.:(

spacemonkey

03-11-2005, 08:27 AM

Im not against remakes cause even though they are rehashing old ideas, they also breath new elements into them. And this is coming from a huuuge Phantasm Phan. I love that series!

And I honestly woldnt mind seeing a modern take on Phantasm! I think it would kick ass...and if it makes money, maybe theyll give Coscarelli the money for Phantasms End. If Coscarelli is smart he'll make a deal where he will let them make their "retooling" of the series, if and only if they give him the funding for Phantasms End.

Hello, anyone remember how Land of the Dead came to fruition?

spacemonkey

03-11-2005, 08:49 AM

Hey people heres some news to set the record straight on the [b]Phantasm films! This is from AICN:

Angus Scrimm is definitely back. So is Reggie Bannister. Oh - and Bruce Campbell joins for the 2nd and 3rd films "He's integral & heroic. He, Jody & Reggie are ultimately Mike's true friends!"

The trick is all about Mike - New Line sees Mike as being the Luke Skywalker of Horror. Fact is, in 1979 - Bob Shaye wanted to buy PHANTASM. And then with PHANTASM 2 - he lost it to Universal. And we all are well familiar with how Universal treated this series like a pox upon mankind instead of the AWESOME work that it is!

The word is the script will be having, it looks like, Stephen Susco giving it a polish. The first film will have Michael at age 15 or so. The films will really hone in on Michael vs The Tall Man. The vision for the three films is essentially the story of Michael and his abilities versus the Tall Man's mission to lead his army of dead slaves and chrome constructs over humanity. In that unique fusion of horror and sci-fi. Coscarelli will be the Lucas of these projects - overseeing and keeping it true. Fact is, Don has had to bend over backwards to make the originals - compromised by budget short-comings, studio interference and just plain uncoolness. Now through that adversity - he created something unique and cool in the world of horror. Here, the hope is he'll get to see his dream given the treatment fans have always said it deserved. Essentially - this is Phantasm with "MORE BALLS THAN EVER BEFORE!"

And this is from Coscarelli himself over at Fangoria.com:

"[Development executive] Jeff Katz, who is the new horror go-to guy at New Line, has been quarterbacking the plan. The plan is to make new films, faithful to the series and respectful of the PHANTASM fan base. I will not be directing, just producing. However, the project will be influenced by a new screenplay I co-wrote with Austin writer Stephen Romano—although New Line will probably be bringing on a major writer to collaborate."

So in conclusion:

[list=1]
This will be new films faithful to the series, not remakes
Coscarelli wont be directing, only producing and overseeing
Angus Scrimm, Regie Bannister are back
Bruce Campbell will join the series in the 2nd and 3rd installments
[/list=1]

Sounds good to me!

Elgyn

03-11-2005, 11:36 AM

Originally posted by spacemonkey

So in conclusion:

[list=1]
This will be new films faithful to the series, not remakes
Coscarelli wont be directing, only producing and overseeing
Angus Scrimm, Regie Bannister are back
Bruce Campbell will join the series in the 2nd and 3rd installments
[/list=1]

Yeah I just read that stuff over at AICN.

IF this info turns out to be true..........then I guess this new trilogy might actually be pretty cool.
It sounds like basically the 2nd and 3rd movies are going to be "Phantasm`s End".

BUT.....if they end up just making a flashy MTV remake (with a new Tall Man), then I`ll be pissed.

Gluttony

03-11-2005, 12:48 PM

I don't see how you could remake Phantasm without losing something integral to the plot as a whole. I think we need the answers to the series' many questions before we do either reamke or add ons.

If they could do the end of Phantasm first, then I would be all for it. But this way, it justs looks like nobody has the answers and they're trying to cover it up. I don't want to believe that... but.

Phantasm is a favorite film of mine, a one shot conglomeration of mind bending story telling, dreams, and surrealism. I don't see it working with these new films, but at least they aren't remakes.

countchocula

03-11-2005, 07:51 PM

Oh, please. These are remakes. They're not calling them remakes for fear of a backlash, but they're remakes. The storylines as they exist in parts one through four will be erased, and the "new movie" will be called Phantasm. Not Phantasm 5 or Phantasm Reborn, but Phantasm. Coscarelli is starting afresh for no reason whatsoever.

Elgyn

03-12-2005, 01:08 AM

Gluttony

03-12-2005, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by countchocula
Coscarelli is starting afresh for no reason whatsoever.

Maybe he doesn't know how to end it. That's my guess anyway.

Psychocandy

03-12-2005, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by countchocula
Oh, please. These are remakes. They're not calling them remakes for fear of a backlash, but they're remakes. The storylines as they exist in parts one through four will be erased, and the "new movie" will be called Phantasm. Not Phantasm 5 or Phantasm Reborn, but Phantasm. Coscarelli is starting afresh for no reason whatsoever.

How do you know that it's "for no reason whatsoever". Perhaps he feels that with a significantly larger budget he'll be able to realise the series the way he always wished it could be. I love Phantasm. I like Phantasm 2 even more than the first one. The third movie was a disgrace and as a result I didn't bother seeing the fourth instalment. The only problem I see with a remake is the recasting of The Tall Man. Angus Scrimm is synonymous with the role and after having racked my brain I can't think of anyone who could be a suitable replacement. Scrimm must be too old for the role now so I’m working on the assumption that recasting would be necessary. Hmm.

As far as petitions are concerned. They are the biggest waste of time ever. I'd even be willing to bet that about 90% of horror fans who would sign such a petition would be the first ones in line to see the remake. The studio knows this and even if they believed that petition signers would refuse to see the flick does anyone believe that they would give a fuck? No? Waste of time.

countchocula

03-12-2005, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by Psychocandy
How do you know that it's "for no reason whatsoever".

I don't. Surely there are better ventures for Coscarelli to pursue. As I said before, the story isn't even completed yet! What if Moustapha Akkad had decided to follow Halloween 5 up with a remake of Halloween? That's what is happening here, and I don't like it. This is already an epic horror series. I'm shocked that Coscarelli doesn't acknowledge it as such. If he does, he wouldn't be pulling this shit.

Psychocandy

03-12-2005, 07:44 PM

Originally posted by countchocula
I don't. Surely there are better ventures for Coscarelli to pursue. As I said before, the story isn't even completed yet! What if Moustapha Akkad had decided to follow Halloween 5 up with a remake of Halloween? That's what is happening here, and I don't like it. This is already an epic horror series. I'm shocked that Coscarelli doesn't acknowledge it as such. If he does, he wouldn't be pulling this shit.

I've already stated my preference for the first two movies and my hatred of the third. I watched the first movie again recently and, though it pains me to admit it, it would definitely benefit from an updating. A lot of it has dated badly.

I also think you're overstating the case when you describe it as an "epic horror series". It's far too disjointed and I feel that Coscarelli was making things up as he went along rather than following any sort of plan. Perhaps a lot of this was down to the budgetry restrictions that plagued each movie (though the second one does look like it cost a lot more than the rest).

I also made it clear that I haven't seen the fourth movie. This is mainly because i've yet to read a solitary good review.

So what we have is a series made up of a good but dated first movie, a highly entertaining second movie, an appalling third movie and a universally panned fourth entry. But throughout we also have various big ideas that haven't been fully explored (I assume this is once again the fault of the budgetry constraints). I honestly think that with a decent budget Coscarelli could do something special with some of these ideas.

drdash

03-13-2005, 10:39 AM

i'll give this a chance. i don't know how they can top the first 2 films, and i hope scrimm is the tall man. i relly cannot see anyone else yelling "boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!" like him. i also had my reservations about dotd '04 and tcm '03 and i loved those flicks.

ciao
drdash

countchocula

03-13-2005, 12:51 PM

Originally posted by Psychocandy
I've already stated my preference for the first two movies and my hatred of the third. I watched the first movie again recently and, though it pains me to admit it, it would definitely benefit from an updating. A lot of it has dated badly.

I also think you're overstating the case when you describe it as an "epic horror series". It's far too disjointed and I feel that Coscarelli was making things up as he went along rather than following any sort of plan. Perhaps a lot of this was down to the budgetry restrictions that plagued each movie (though the second one does look like it cost a lot more than the rest).

I also made it clear that I haven't seen the fourth movie. This is mainly because i've yet to read a solitary good review.

I'm not the only one who views it as an epic franchise. It's the closest horror fans have to a Star Wars or a Lord of the Rings (unless you overlook Evil Dead's errors in continuity). I'm not saying that every film is perfect. I agree that the original is outdated, and honestly, I feel that it's mediocre. However, I love the series as a whole, and I want to see it come to an end before anybody even thinks about starting over from scratch.

For the record, I dug Phantasm: OblIVion and gave it a positive review. You should give it a chance. It's similar to the first film in tone. I don't know why it's maligned by so many genre hounds.

EVILxxx

03-13-2005, 04:45 PM

Well if this does come to be I hope Angus will be around long enough. The dude is pretty old. :(

Elgyn

03-13-2005, 11:47 PM

Originally posted by Psychocandy
I feel that Coscarelli was making things up as he went along rather than following any sort of plan.

As much as I love the original (and like the sequels)........I`ve always had the same feeling, honestly.

Elgyn

03-13-2005, 11:52 PM

Originally posted by countchocula

For the record, I dug Phantasm: OblIVion and gave it a positive review. You should give it a chance. It's similar to the first film in tone. I don't know why it's maligned by so many genre hounds.

I thought "OblIVion" was alright......but it had some big problems. First off, for much of the movie, literally nothing happens! Don`t believe me, try watching it again!
Second, it`s obvious that Coscarelli had some big ideas for the movie, but was seriously hampered by budget constraints.

That being said, the movie DOES come closest (of all the sequels) to capturing the original`s eerie, dreamlike atmosphere. And that, in itself, is worth something.
And the last frames are great ("It`s just the wind.....").

So I guess any serious "phans" who haven`t checked it out yet, should definetly do so. Just keep your expectations relatively low.

Elgyn

03-13-2005, 11:58 PM

Originally posted by EVILxxx
Well if this does come to be I hope Angus will be around long enough. The dude is pretty old. :(

I wouldn`t worry too much. The old timer recently hosted a Halloween marathon of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"........and he seemed surprisingly sharp and looked healthy! He even said "BOOOYYYYY!!!!" at one point and damn if it didn`t sound exactly the same!

Now according to the article at AICN (not always the most reliable of sources, ahem) Scrimm is supposed to be onboard for these reimagining/remakes/whatevers......and if that`s the case, then I supposes I will tolerate this business.

But so help me God.......the moment they announce they`re recasting him........:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

TheAxeGrinder

03-14-2005, 01:28 AM

Originally posted by MisterTwister
Your so Right-Nobody can replace Kane Hodder as Jason-An actor who only played him 4 times out of 10 movies. Yeah fuck Ari Leham, Warrington Gillete, Richard Brooker, Ted White and CJ Graham-Those guys aren't worth a shit!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Get over it already-Hodder is out!!

Anyways-I rather see the fifth and final Phantasm flick before a remake-So no to that.

Whoah, dude. No disrespect to the guys who played Jason before Hodder. CJ Graham was awesome in his own right, as was Ted White, but none of them come close to what Kane brought to the table (Graham hinted at it, but really didn't have the presence to back it up). Furthermore, WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION HERE WHEN IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT PHANTASM!?

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the rumoured Phantasm sequel that had Bruce 'Don't Call Me Ash' Campbell in the mix (not as Ash, stupid). If I recall, they did have a sort of treatment for it.

thebloodfeaster

03-14-2005, 09:46 AM

This is really irritating.

Phantasm IS an epic series, even if Coscarelli was making it up as he went along. I strongly suspect he was, but it doesn't matter. What matters is the results.

Psychocandy: Dude, if you loved the first two, there's no reason not to see the fourth. It's not as good as 1 and 2, but it's certainly better than 4 and I loved it in its own right.

I'd be all for this remake stuff if they did Phantasm End first. Remakes never bother me for there own sake, but it pisses me off to have to abandon a story line that I have passionately gotten into.

countchocula

03-14-2005, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by Elgyn
I thought "OblIVion" was alright......but it had some big problems. First off, for much of the movie, literally nothing happens! Don`t believe me, try watching it again!
Second, it`s obvious that Coscarelli had some big ideas for the movie, but was seriously hampered by budget constraints.

I agree with both points, but I still enjoyed the film (3.5/5). It took awhile to grow on me, though. I couldn't stand it upon the first viewing.

Bloodfeaster, you read my mind. Give me Phantasm's End or give me death!

Elgyn

03-14-2005, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by TheAxeGrinder

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the rumoured Phantasm sequel that had Bruce 'Don't Call Me Ash' Campbell in the mix (not as Ash, stupid). If I recall, they did have a sort of treatment for it.

According to the AICN article (which, again, should be taken with a grain of salt), Bruce is supposed to be in the 2nd and 3rd movies of this new trilogy.
Which further supports my theory that the first movie is going to be a remake (more or less), and the 2nd and 3rd are going to pretty much be "Phantasm`s End".

Nightmare_Dreaming

03-14-2005, 07:27 PM

After thinking about how shitty New Lines TCM remake was, I'm suddenly not very excited about this anymore.

SteeleDude

03-16-2005, 02:02 PM

Things change as time marches on. The Phantasm's were made so far apart in time that Coscarelli might have changed his impression of the series--thus the changes we see on the screen. Obviously the series didn't have a strict plotline and with ten years between some installments, the vision changed.

I am all for a remake. And a sequel. The problem with Phantasm's End and Coscarelli probably sees this, is the movie installments are so broken up by huge chunks of time that a solid base of fans does not exist, at least solid enough to make a fourth sequel successful. He needs to start over, reign everyone in hopefully, and then with interest in the series again, make the last one. A remake could do a lot of things for the series. Some of the stranger elements that outdate the original can be updated. I love the original but there are some cheesy moments, and some incoherent moments too. He is a better story teller now and retelling it from the beginning with a clearer picture of the vision would only help.

Here is the problem I forsee. If this really is seen as a trilogy as the report suggests, how could Scrimm honestly be expected to fulfill the whole thing? There could be ways around this, such as Mike become the new tall man, but it will a difficult situation. I've thought it would be cool if they finished the current series with Scrimm and then the remake could feature Mike as the tall man. Then it could come full circle. It wouldn't be a sequel anymore, though Mike as the Tall Man will keep the continuity of the originals. I don't know, just some observations and guesses really. The scary part is if they recast the movies. Reggie is a must. We can't have Phantasm without him.