There’s so much film news coming out of Cannes, it’s easy to over look some bits. While a few of these reports may not come true, and are just at the France fest to secure financing, we have one that gets us intrigued. THR reports that Neil Jordan, whose last film Ondine came out in 2009, has signed on to direct Byzantium starring Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton. The movie will center around a mother (Arterton) who turns her daughter (Ronan) into a vampire so the two can go around massacring everyone they see. Occasionally they will also be posing as sisters, so we can look forward to some weird and uncomfortable seduction moments strewn about.
The script was written by Moira Buffini who based it off her youth-oriented stage play. Unlike the stage play, this one will be decidedly darker and more sinister which is a good thing. I also love the fact that this seems to be an actual original movie as opposed to the billions of sequels and remakes we continually report on. A breath of fresh air if you will, even if the vampire sub-genre is wearing out its welcome.
Byzantium doesn’t have a start date but Hanway Films is already in Cannes trying to sell the movie before cameras begin rolling. And if you can’t wait for another movie featuring the leads, you won’t have to; Arterton will be appearing in next year’s Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters alongside Jeremy Renner and Ronan has snagged the lead in The Host, the adaptation of the novel by Stephanie Meyer. You’ll get your fix everyone, don’t worry.
What do you think of Byzantium? Are you excited for another vampire movie, or do you wish they would take a rest until after the Twilight films have faded from memory?