Dead of Night (The upcoming Dylan Dog movie)

[Double Down]

Brandon is reteaming with Sam Huntington, his Superman Returns co-star, in the comic book adaptation Dead of Night. Directed by Kevin Munroe, the film began shooting in New Orleans in late February.
The film is based on Tiziano Sclavi’s Italian comic Dylan Dog.
Routh is playing the Dylan Dog, a detective drawn into the world of the supernatural. Huntington will play Dylan’s sidekick Marcus.

Here is MoneyTV's Don Baillargeon interviewing Platinum Studios President Brian Altounian a week ago about the project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJFDGkjnF8


And here is Brandon Routh talking about the movie on Monday night at the Watchmen premiere:
http://video.about.com/movies/Brandon-Routh-Interview.htm


Routh took a break from filming to attend the Watchmen premiere.

 

[Octoberist]

iv'e heard that Groucho Marx won't be in the movie, nor is he in the Dark Horse reprints.

which sucks actually, due to copyrights.

But at the sametime, couldn't the movie call Groucho something else? Kinda like how Elvis wasn't called Elvis in True Romance?

 

[Double Down]

This is what the director says:
"We can't call him Groucho. ... We have to do what Dark Horse did whenever they published the books." (When Dark Horse Comics published six books in 1999 and one more in 2002, they had to change the character to a clean-shaven man called Felix because of disputes with the Groucho Marx estate.) "There's a few nods in there for the fans, but legally, ... I don't know how the Italian comic got away with it. Good for them. But we do have the character, and we do actually have a really good cast member signed. ... Yeah. In spirit he is there, but in name he cannot be."

http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/dead-of-night-gears-up-for-new-orleans-shoot-all-they-need-is-money.php

I think they just want to avoid even the potential for being sued. The budget isn't very big to begin with.

 

[Octoberist]

i'm just wondering if Marcus will be a down to earth character, or something outragous. I've never read the books but I know bits and piece of the books. I think Dark Horse finally are reselling their English adaptations of the books. I swear, last year on amazon.com, every book was in Italian!

 

[Double Down]

The Dylan Dog Case Files (Paperback) comes out April 15. It's 680 pages long and it's in English. Currently, it's preselling for $16.47 at Amazon ($24.95 retail). I plan on getting it.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Definately watching this, sounds right up my alley and I'm glad to see Routh get a few more roles under his belt. Guy was a great Superman.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

For those unfamiliar with the character:
http://www-en.sergiobonellieditore.it/dylan/servizi/il_mio_nome.html
The cover of the very first Dylan Dog issue:

Mike Mignola's version of the same cover:

And Corrado Roi's version from one of the Italian reprint series

 

[Etienne]

Subscribing to this thread.

 

[stargazer]

Cool thread! I CAN'T wait to see Brandon and Sam in this movie; Loved them as Supes and Jimmy in Superman Returns. Hope they get this movie just right.

 

[Cool Monty]

I can't wait to see what DRAC's creature effects look like. You just know every monster in this movie is going to look top of the line.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

For those unfamiliar with the character:
http://www-en.sergiobonellieditore.it/dylan/servizi/il_mio_nome.html
The cover of the very first Dylan Dog issue:

Mike Mignola's version of the same cover:

And Corrado Roi's version from one of the Italian reprint series

These covers look awesome, are the comics any good at all?

 

[stargazer]

These covers look awesome, are the comics any good at all?

I haven't read them yet, but yes, they are supposed to be VERY good. The books have sold more than 56 million copies ww, and has been translated to more than 10 or so languages. It's supposed to be high literature, I've heard. I can't wait to get a copy of The Dylan Dog Case Files trade (in English), which is coming in April:

http://www.amazon.com/Dylan-Dog-Cas...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235710129&sr=8-1

 

[Double Down]

Antonello, do you have any insights into what Marcus' character will be like in the movie?

 

[Octoberist]

I haven't read them yet, but yes, they are supposed to be VERY good. The books have sold more than 56 million copies ww, and has been translated to more than 10 or so languages. It's supposed to be high literature, I've heard. I can't wait to get a copy of The Dylan Dog Case Files trade (in English), which is coming in April:

http://www.amazon.com/Dylan-Dog-Cas...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235710129&sr=8-1

The art reminds me of Mike Allred kinda, so yeah, it's surreal and awesome.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I haven't read them yet, but yes, they are supposed to be VERY good. The books have sold more than 56 million copies ww, and has been translated to more than 10 or so languages. It's supposed to be high literature, I've heard. I can't wait to get a copy of The Dylan Dog Case Files trade (in English), which is coming in April:

http://www.amazon.com/Dylan-Dog-Cas...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235710129&sr=8-1

I wonder if they are coming out in England in this format also, will have to have a look and maybe purchase them!

EDIT:just checked, out here April 15th also. When is the movie due out exactly?

 

[Double Down]

I wonder if they are coming out in England in this format also, will have to have a look and maybe purchase them!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dylan-Dog-C...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236453787&sr=1-1

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^Yeah just saw, thanks anyway though DD, its appreciated!

 

[Double Down]

Ah, no problem.

No release date for the movie has been created yet.

 

[Octoberist]

I know it's an indie production but which studio do you think will pick up the rights to distribute the movie? Warner Bros? Paramont? Sony/Columbia?

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^Oh right, doubt it'll be too far away, maybe late this year or early next?

Just had a brief look through the case files, and one thing putting me off is that they are in black & white!

 

[Double Down]

Someone on imdb suggested Linda Cardellini for the female lead in the movie. That's an interesting suggestion.

 

[Octoberist]

btw, where did the title "Dead of Night" come from? Is it based on one of Dylan's stories?

 

[Double Down]

I know it's an indie production but which studio do you think will pick up the rights to distribute the movie? Warner Bros? Paramont? Sony/Columbia?

With Gilbert Adler producing and Brandon Routh starring, you could easily see Warner Bros. doing it. But Legendary Pictures would make a lot of sense.
However, would anyone be surprised if it was Lionsgate?

 

[Double Down]

Here is a November interview from ShockTillYouDrop.com. It has a lot of good info. There are two things I didn't know:
1. They are planning more than one movie.
2. The movie begins where the comics left off.

EXCL: Munroe on Dylan Dog Film Dead of Night
Source:Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor November 15, 2008
The next two months will be productive ones for the Dylan Dog feature film Dead of Night. Director Kevin Munroe (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles '07) informs ShockTillYouDrop.com that final financing is closing in and that by the beginning of December prep gets underway for, fingers crossed, a January principal photography start in New Orleans this January.

Munroe came aboard the adaptation of Tiziano Sclavi's popular Italian comic book character in April with Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) already attached to star as suave supernatural investigator. Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly wrote the screenplay.

On the casting tip, The Hollywood Reporter says Sammo Hung is in talks to star. Munroe adds, "We're coming up with a cast list and talking to a few actors. We've sent the script off to get feedback and gauge interest. The good thing is that Josh and Tom wrote such a good script, it just really attracts people, so I think within a month we're going to start releasing names of who's coming aboard."

The director is relishing this time working with a creature makeup effects artist (who he's keeping mum on right now) to visualize the myriad menaces Dylan Dog will face in his first adventure on the big screen. And Munroe is most certainly going to make this debut count. "We've got werewolves, zombies and vampires - and a few sub-categories of those," he reveals. "His world is everything and the kitchen sink so with this one we don't have anything quite as broad as, say, Hellboy II where you go to the [Troll Market] with different creatures, but here it's a little bit more classic for the first movie and in the second [film] you go a bit deeper."

Wait, a "second movie"? Is Dead of Night an origin story that sees the rise of Dylan Dog? "If this was the only Dylan Dog movie to ever hit the market, I'd be bummed but I'd be satisfied that it has a definitive beginning middle and end," he clarifies. "It's an origin story to the audience in the sense that it's the first time you get to see him. What I was attracted to was that it's an origin story without every showing him being recruited into this whole world. When we meet Dylan at the beginning of this movie, he's at the lowest point of his life. He's already left that life he had in the comic books. And the whole movie is about him getting back up on the horse. So, as an audience member you're introduced to all of these things. You get to see how much of a bad-ass he is, not because he's stepping through to prove it but because he's done it before in another life. It's a next step for him."

Munroe is cognizant of the fact that the genre is riddled with various films about investigators prowling the world for things that go bump in the night, but he's of the belief that it's not about the party, but what you bring to it that counts. "It's really cool because the curse and the blessing of Dylan Dog is that it's all very familiar territory. I still maintain it's presented in such a fresh way. In the same way you think you've seen every alien movie, and then Men in Black comes along and you realize you never looked at it from that film's point of view. Dylan Dog does that well."

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=8529

 

[Octoberist]

With Gilbert Adler producing and Brandon Routh starring, you could easily see Warner Bros. doing it. But Legendary Pictures would make a lot of sense.
However, would anyone be surprised if it was Lionsgate?

I don't know. Lionsgate had two comic book movie bombs (Punisher:War Zone and The Spirit), I don't know if they would risk unless Tyler Perry is in the movie. I know that's the wrong attitude to have if you're a studio, but then again, it's always about the bottom dollar. Who knows?

I do think that Summit could pick it up, since it's the biggest studio to come out of no where!