Gary Kurtz is a name many of us have seen, but probably few of us fully realize it. Anyone who has seen the first two STAR WARS flicks will have looked upon Kurtz’s name, as he produced the two seminal films. Eventually, as happens to all men, he got fed up with George Lucas’ bullshit and cut ties with him. And while he’s toiled in the industry ever since, we hardly ever hear his name ring out. Until now.
Kurtz is currently producing a supernatural WWII film called PANZER 88, which sounds like a blast and a half. The plot follows the five-man German crew of the Ilsa — a King Tiger, the biggest tank of its day — on a mission to the frigid and fearsome Russian border, where they tread into an ancient mystery by stirring a powerful entity.
Kurtz calls it a “visceral, reality-based story with horror overtones, and the idea is to have be like the best of the graphic novels these days.”
Peter Jackson’s effects shop WETA is creating the film’s antagonist, which you can get an idea of in the above image.
Director Peter Briggs (co-writer on HELLBOY), who worked on the original screenplay with Aaron Mason and James Cowan, had the following to say: “We’re aiming to do for the tank genre what ‘Hunt For Red October’ and ‘Crimson Tide’ did for submarine flicks. Only, with a supernatural twist. We’re upping the ante with visuals, equipment, and scenes that have never been seen in a World War II milieu. In retrospect, it’s strange nobody’s thought to do this in quite this way before…”
Shooting on the $20 million film begins this winter.
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