Atmosphere Entertainment MM, LLC, today announced that Simon Baker (LA Confidential, The Affair of the Necklace), Dennis Hopper (Speed, Apocalypse Now, True Romance), Asia Argento (XXX, Scarlet Diva), Robert Joy (Atlantic City, Waterworld) and John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge, Collateral Damage)will head the cast of Land of the Dead. Film is written and directed by legendary genre filmmaker George A. Romero, and will begin production October 11th in Toronto.
Universal Pictures has worldwide distribution rights to Land of the Dead through a negative pickup deal that covers all territories except France, Benelux and French speaking Switzerland, which are being handled by Wild Bunch, the Paris-based international film financing, sales, marketing and distribution company (Fahrenheit 9/11).
Atmosphere MM Chairman and CEO Mark Canton, Atmosphere MM President Bernie Goldmann and Romero Grunwald Productions partner Peter Grunwald are producing and Dennis Jones (Dawn of the Dead) and Atmosphere MMs Steve Barnett serve as the films executive producers. Neil Canton (Back to the Future trilogy, Witches of Eastwick, Angel Eyes, amongst others) and Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity Management, are co-executive producers.
We feel we have the strongest cast ever assembled in the genre, said Canton and Goldmann. Without a doubt, its a tribute to the importance of George Romero and his work, and the desire of first-class talent to be in the movie. Also, we have a very fine script which contributed to the fact that so many actors sought us out to do the film.
We are thrilled that Universal Pictures will be handling the distribution of this exciting film, Canton and Goldmann continued. Universals interest in Land of the Dead began with Stacey Snider, Marc Shmuger, and Scott Stuber and their unbelievably high-degree of excitement and enthusiasm for the film has permeated the studios marketing and distribution organizations. We at Atmosphere MM and our colleagues at Romero Grunwald Productions are looking forward to working with the Universal team, not only on Land of the Dead, but also on the whole new series of modern-day zombie films that George Romero will create in the coming years as he reinvents the genre he originated
"George Romero is returning to the genre that he created and we are delighted to be able to bring his vision to audiences around world, added Universal Pictures Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger. We look forward to working with Mark Canton, Bernie Goldmann, and Peter Grunwald and their entire team as they take this groundbreaking and terrifying new story from the page to the screen."
In mid-July, Atmosphere MM announced that Land of the Dead would launch a new series of heart-stopping zombie films, marking Romeros return to the genre he created. The film is the first to be produced by Atmosphere MM and co-produced by Wild Bunch.
Romero is considered the father of the modern horror film. In 1968, he introduced the first of his groundbreaking Dead trilogy, Night of the Living Dead, followed by Dawn of the Dead in 1978 and Day of the Dead in 1985. Fans around the world have been anxiously awaiting his next film in this genre.
Land of the Dead plunges us into a modern world where death is a way of life. Where the living inhabit a walled-in city, protected from the walking dead that populate the wasteland beyond. Near-anarchy reigns on the streets, and laws are made to be broken. Survival is a full-time job for everyone, except the wealthy few, who live in a luxurious, fortified skyscraper with all the comforts of home. But no one is truly safe. Just as the living have adapted to this harsh new civilization, the dead have begun to evolve too. They are getting smarter. Smart enough to organize, and to hate. When Riley, the leader of a group of high-risk scavengers, is hired to thwart an attempt by one of his own men to overthrow the city, he faces the challenge of a lifetime battling waves of zombies in an enormous, tank-like vehicle called the Dead Reckoning that has the artillery and firepower of a small nation.
Attorney Miles Mogulescu represented Atmosphere MM in the talent negotiations for Land of the Dead. Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity Management negotiated the deal with Universal Pictures on behalf of Atmosphere MM and Wild Bunch. Atmosphere MM was also represented by Jake Bloom of Bloom, Hergott & Diemer. Jason Resnick, Senior VP Acquisitions, Focus and Universal Pictures, represented the studio in the distribution transaction.
Danny Mandel of Union Bank of California and Lynwood Spinks arranged production financing in conjunction with International Film Guarantors and Robert Steinberg of Gipson Hoffman & Pancione.
