Speaking to Arrow In The Head on the set of his latest producing effort “Stake Land,” cult horror filmmaker Larry Fessenden has revealed that he no longer has a part in the remake of recent Spanish thriller “The Orphanage.” The strange looking, gap-toothed auteur explains: “‘The Orphanage’ was two years of waiting. Working on the script with Guillermo [Del Toro] was a very exciting experience, but then I got into a casting miasma and that’s where the thing is; I think they’re gonna do it another way, actually. So I think I’m out of it. Hopefully they’ll still use my script, but I’m not sure I’m directing it anymore. That’s Hollywood for ya.”
Fessenden, who wrote the remake with the original’s producer Del Toro, goes on to sound fairly tuckered out regarding the entire experience, suggesting he’ll be more than a little gun-shy about his next big project. The helmer has developed a reputation of proudly working small and under-the-radar, so it was a surprise to see him involved with the project in the first place. It’s likely his pre-production work was met with a, “Great, but could you make it a little less like a Larry Fessenden movie?” The guy’s not built for the multiplexes, and he seems to prefer it that way, even as his protege Ti West cashes in his chips.
Fessenden claims he’s eying a few new directorial efforts, but in the meantime, he’ll serve as a producer for the smaller films on his Dark Sky imprint, the latest being the post-apocalyptic thriller “Stake Land.” In addition to smaller horror films, he’s also set to produce the next film from Kelly Reichardt, which might possibly be a low-key western.
Good news.
Fessenden should have learned a lesson about remakes earlier, when he produced Douglas Buck's unecessary remake of SISTERS
Remake of the Orphanage? Why? It was GREAT as it was, they should leave that one alone!