Paramount Taps Alex Garland to Direct Annihilation
Source: Variety
October 31, 2014
With extremely positive buzz following yesterday's trailer launch for sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, Variety is reporting that Paramount has tapped that film's writer/director Alex Garland to adapt the script and direct the futuristic gothic horror film Annihilation, the first part of novelist Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy.
The studio and producer Scott Rudin (also a producer on Ex Machina) acquired movie rights to the 2014 trilogy last year, with the first book "Annihilation" published in March, followed by "Authority" in May and "Acceptance" in September.
The logline for Annihilation focuses on "a biologist seeking answers about her husband's disappearance," but here's a more complete synopsis of the book:
A team of four (a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor) set out into a place known as Area X. The area is abandoned and cut off from the rest of civilization. They are the 12th expedition. The other expeditions have been fraught with disappearances, suicides, aggressive cancers, and mental trauma.
This is somewhat familiar territory for Garland, whose 1996 novel "The Beach" (as well as the film of the same name) centered on an isolated island frought with danger. Garland, whose writing credits include 28 Days Later, Dredd and Sunshine, made his directorial debut on Ex Machina, which stars Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander, with A24 releasing it on April 10, 2015.
Source: Variety
October 31, 2014
With extremely positive buzz following yesterday's trailer launch for sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, Variety is reporting that Paramount has tapped that film's writer/director Alex Garland to adapt the script and direct the futuristic gothic horror film Annihilation, the first part of novelist Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy.
The studio and producer Scott Rudin (also a producer on Ex Machina) acquired movie rights to the 2014 trilogy last year, with the first book "Annihilation" published in March, followed by "Authority" in May and "Acceptance" in September.
The logline for Annihilation focuses on "a biologist seeking answers about her husband's disappearance," but here's a more complete synopsis of the book:
A team of four (a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor) set out into a place known as Area X. The area is abandoned and cut off from the rest of civilization. They are the 12th expedition. The other expeditions have been fraught with disappearances, suicides, aggressive cancers, and mental trauma.
This is somewhat familiar territory for Garland, whose 1996 novel "The Beach" (as well as the film of the same name) centered on an isolated island frought with danger. Garland, whose writing credits include 28 Days Later, Dredd and Sunshine, made his directorial debut on Ex Machina, which stars Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander, with A24 releasing it on April 10, 2015.
It does not have to be totally original like Ex Mechina, it could be someone else's intellectual property like Dredd, but he should be involved in the production process right from the beginning, for he is very thoughtful guy who can manage the entire project to great results like we could have seen with Ex Machina. He just knows what's important for the story, for the characters, etc. He just has a clear vision of what needs to be in the film to make it work, not like Ridley Scott shooting with just a half-baked script and then cutting Prometheus in editing room to the point it's somewhat silly mess. Give Garland creative freedom, I loved how minimalistic Ex Machina was, yet full of interesting things to think about and full of interesting interactions between characters, etc. Treat him like Nolan, let him write the film, shoot the film and then we can enjoy the spectacle, which you can be assured, will be intelligent, thought provoking and top notch over-all. After Ex Machina he seems to me to be one of few creative people in hollywood, who prioritize quality over quantity and are willing to work on something until it's really done and well polished.
