David Fincher Still Planning New Heavy Metal Animated Movie, Now in 3-D
Posted 03.15.10 by BrentJS
According to Deadline, director David Fincher (Fight Club) is once again shopping around a new animated feature inspired by the 1981 movie Heavy Metal, now in 3-D. Like the original, Fincher's adult-oriented movie will include a collection of science fiction and fantasy shorts by different directors, accompanied by a rock and roll-themed score.
Fincher has been working on putting together a new Heavy Metal for at least two years now, initially setting up the project at Paramount. However, because of Fincher's insistence on the movie being R-rated, Paramount dropped the project in July 2008.
The movie seemed to be back on track in April 2009 when it was announced that Gore Verbinski and
Zack Snyder were attached to direct segments of the anthology. The project got a further boost in August with the addition of director James Cameron. However, there was nothing more heard about Fincher's Heavy Metal after that August announcement, leaving many to assume the project had once again been aborted.
The Deadline article made no mention of Verbinski's involvement, but confirmed that Snyder and Cameron are still attached. It's likely that the new push being given to the project has more than a little to do with the involvement of Cameron. When it was first announced that Cameron was attaced to the project, he had not had a movie that he directed in theaters in more than 10 years. However, since that annoucement, Cameron's 3-D epic, Avatar, has become a cinematic phenomenon, grossing more than $2.6 billion worldwide. Cameron is now a hot commodity and something of a spokesman for 3-D technology, even giving consulting advice on 3-D shooting techniques to other filmmakers.
The original Heavy Metal animated movie had a limited theatrical release, but managed to make a profit and has since become a cult classic. The anthology contained stories adapted from the Heavy Metal magazine, as well as original stories of similar theme and tone. A sequel, Heavy Metal 2000, was released straight to video 19 years after the original. However, instead of being an anthology, the sequel told a single story based on a comic book mini-series. The current incarnation of Heavy Metal magazine is owned by Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and is published on a bi-monthly basis.