Sunday, November 15
At a recent media conference, Lionsgate vice-chairman Michael Burns said that Saw VI was "buzz-sawed" by Paranormal Activity at the box office.
Opening the same weekend, Paranormal easily beat Saw VI and continued to perform strongly, quickly becoming the most profitable movie ever made. Saw movies are never made with a high budget, so the poor performance has not kept Lionsgate from making money, which is all Burns said is needed to keep making more.
As long as we make money on it we'll keep doing this.
Saw VII is already in the works with Saw VIII in the planning stages, though a Saw producer says VIII may be the last one.
Posted 11/15/2009 by Ryan
Related: Saw VI | Saw VIII | Saw VII | Paranormal Activity
Sunday, October 25
Saw III, IV, and V director David Hackl is in pre-production for Saw VII, but right now Saw VIII is resting in the planning stage with no director. Tobin Bell, Jigsaw himself, says that he may take the director's chair if it is offered.
They asked me about that, I don't know quite how sincerely. I told them it was way too much work. Directors are there forever. Actors, they come in, they do their scene, but directors.... Then when they get a break, that's the time for everybody to descend on them and say, "Oh, I'm glad you're free for a moment because we've got a major problem in costume." I appreciate my down time. I'm being a little tongue in cheek about that. The truth is that I really do want to direct one of these sometime. I'm just waiting for them to come to me again. I have a better answer this time. Like yes.
If they don't approach Bell to direct Saw VIII, he may not get another chance, since producer Mark Burg says Saw VIII may be the last Saw sequel.
Posted 10/25/2009 by Ryan
Related: Tobin Bell | Saw VIII | Saw VII | David Hackl
Friday, October 16
The release of Saw VI is just around the corner, but it's never too early to talk about the future. Producer Mark Burg and co-screenwriter Marcus Dunstan spoke with Collider and revealed what fans can look forward to in Saw VII and VIII. Burg claims that VIII may be the end for the series.
We're definitely making Saw VII. We're starting in January, and it's going to be in 3-D. The storyline that we started in Saw V and carry through Saw VI, ends at Saw VIII. Where it goes beyond that, I couldn't tell you. In my mind and in [producer] Oren [Koule]'s mind, we have the story threaded through Saw VIII. After that, I can't tell you that the franchise will continue.
Dunstan explained that knowing what that end will be is a positive thing for himself and co-screenwriter Patrick Melton.
That helps when writing, though. Even if it's a small detail, you know that this element has to happen in Saw VII and this has to happen in Saw VIII, so that we know we're getting up to that point. But, that isn't to say that there isn't definitely a clear resolution at the end of each story because there is, especially with Saw VI. Once you see Saw VI, you'll understand how it's supposed to end, and then, oops, something else happens and that will lead somewhere.
Burg calls that "something" a "twist."
Saw VI has a great twist. You're going to look at the film and be like, "F**k, they got me again! How did I not see this coming?"
Saw VII will be the first Saw in 3-D, and Burg says they are building the sets in a way that will take advantage of the 3-D technology.
We're going to design traps to come at you. The pendulum trap that opened the last Saw movie would have been great in 3-D.
We're planning a lot of the movie to be through the victim's eyes, seeing stuff as it's coming towards them, in their point-of-view. But, I think the audience wants a couple My Bloody Valentine-type moments, where the gun comes into the audience.
For now, Saw fans will have to enjoy the 2-D world of Saw VI when it opens October 23. Dunstan says the movie will give "a real clear understanding of what John Kramer's [Tobin Bell] overall plan was and, in turn, what Hoffman's [Costas Mandylor] plan was" by the end.
Posted 10/16/2009 by Ryan
Related: Mark Burg | Marcus Dunstan | Saw VI | Saw VIII | Saw VII
Monday, October 12
When a horror movie finds success at the box office, it's almost guaranteed to get a sequel. And that sequel often becomes more sequels, which have an unfortunate tendency for becoming increasingly stale. By the time a horror franchise reaches a sixth installment, it's usually operating in zombie mode (meaning, crying out for a beheading).
In less than two weeks, Saw VI heads to theaters — with no plans of wrapping up the series. Saw VII is already in pre-production and plans are in place for Saw VIII. If the Saw franchise has any chance of continuing, it had better learn from the mistakes of other "part six" horror sequels.
Check out 666: Sequels Gone Wrong, where we offer six critical lessons Saw VI can learn from other long-running horror franchises.
Posted 10/12/2009 by reelz
Related: Friday the 13th | Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives | Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Hellraiser: Hellseeker | Saw | Halloween 6 | Curse of the Puppet Master: The Human Experiment | Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood | Saw VI | Saw VIII | Saw VII
Tuesday, June 9
Production has wrapped on Saw VI, which kicks off the editing process on a movie that director Kevin Greutert called "mind-numbingly complex" on his blog. Greutert is pretty confident that the public will like the sixth installment of the series:
I can’t wait for people to see the movie. I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of the Saws, and while I’m the least objective person imaginable when it comes to this, I think we’ve all done something really special.
Greutert isn't the only one pleased with his work. Saw star Tobin Bell, Jigsaw himself, feels that the series will continue to part VIII and perhaps beyond:
Six is finished and we’re just in the middle of talking about [seven]. I look forward to filling out the other pieces of the puzzle. There’s some pieces that people still haven’t seen.
As for whether Saw VIII will be the last in the series, Bell isn't so sure:
Final is a relative word. Especially in entertainment. If there’s more good story to tell, it’s good to have more opportunities to tell it.
With the horror series also branching into video games, it seems like the Saw series will likely be around for a long, long time.
Next Showing: Saw VI opens October 23
Posted 6/9/2009 by Ryan
Related: Saw | Saw VI | Tobin Bell | Saw VIII | Saw VII | Kevin Greutert