It has been a good week for the filmmakers behind the found footage hit "Chronicle." Just yesterday, it was reported that director Josh Trank was talking with Sony about doing their "Spider-Man" spinoff "Venom" and now another good piece of news has arrived. Screenwriter Max Landis has been re-upped to pen "Chronicle 2," but whether Trank will come back remains to be seen.
"I'm still not sure [about 'Chronicle 2']," Trank told us in an interview a few weeks ago. "I was nervous this type of movie would be perceived as a gimmick, so I was in denial for awhile about what the potential of the film could be." And while the movie was a big hit, bringing a fresh spin and perspective on the teens-with-powers concept, most agreed that the actual found footage aesthetic was not particularly integral to the story. That said, that approach did allow Trank to show off his abilities to do special effects and provide big screen thrills on a dime (likely the reason Sony is now giving him a ring on the phone).
As for Landis, this gig only raises his already growing profile in Hollywood circles. He's got a ridiculous number of scripts currently in circulation, most notably, a "Frankenstein" project that has Shawn Levy attached to direct as well as "Good Time Gang" that attracted both Mark Wahlberg and Jonah Hill last summer. Of course, where the story goes remains to be seen, but the door was left just open enough at the end of "Chronicle" that a new tale could be spun. We'd wager the (surviving) cast members will be back and if Landis can bring his smart eye back to the sequel, we'll be eager to see what he pulls together. [Deadline]
Chronicle was fine as a standalone film and it had an ending. Is it really necessary to make a sequel just for the sake of it? Waste of time. It's a smart movie. Don't make it dumb by creating a sequel no one wants.
I think the "gimmick" was well executed.
I would feel weird if it was broken for the sequel,as it is a character of the story, I also think how it was used using iPhones, iPads, news cams, plus the main consumer/prosumer cameras and it looked like the actual cameras was really refreshing.
I was annoyed with DISTRICT 9 as it set the precedent of found footage and then dropped it randomly.
Whatever Max does next, good luck!
"I was nervous this type of movie would be perceived as a gimmick…"
It was.