The executives at New Line Cinema were clearly blown away by last year’s horror release Barbarian (watch it HERE) – which was distributed by 20th Century Studios – as they have made it very clear over the last week that they are eager to be in business with the creative team behind that film. They made an eight figure deal with writer/director Zach Cregger to ensure that his next movie – something called Weapons – will be a New Line Cinema project. They signed a first look deal with Barbarian producers BoulderLight Pictures so they will develop high concept genre properties for the company. And now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that New Line Cinema has put a thriller called Companion on the fast track to production, with Cregger producing alongside BoulderLight and Vertigo’s Roy Lee.
Drew Hancock wrote the screenplay for Companion, and Cregger was so impressed by it that he considered making the film his directorial follow-up to Barbarian. Instead, Hancock will be making his feature directorial debut with Companion while Cregger focuses on Weapons. All we know about Weapons is that it’s “tonally in the vein of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia“, but that’s more than what’s being revealed about Companion. Details on this one are being kept completely under wraps.
Hancock’s previous writing credits include episodes of Supah Ninjas, Blue Mountain State, Fred: The Show, Suburgatory, Faking It, Mr. Pickles, and My Dead Ex (which he co-created), as well as the movie Fred 3: Camp Fred. While he has never directed a movie before, he has directed episodes of Acceptable TV and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as a Tenacious D music video.
I really liked Barbarian, but I’m still surprised at how deep New Line Cinema is diving into “the Barbarian business”. It reminds me of the Stephen King quote, “I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker.” In this case, New Line Cinema believes the future of horror is the people who brought us Barbarian.
What do you think of New Line Cinema joining forces with BoulderLight Pictures and Zach Cregger to bring us Companion and, presumably, several other genre projects? Share your thoughts on this news by leaving a comment below.
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