“GRRRR.. D T the writer/director just landed in New York with the good news. We can start filming this summer. However, there is a catch… in order for us to make a true R rated film, I must work for scale upfront. Not unlike the “Find me Guilty” experience (which I wouldn’t have changed for the world)… Money is always second to art, integrity and spirit… but the real issue is deeper. Can I suspend my life, to momentarily venture to that dark place… called Riddick.“
Words posted by Vin Diesel on his Facebook fan page (with 24+ million fans and counting) yesterday evening, accompanied by the picture you see above.
So, obviously he’s talking about a Chronicles Of Riddick threequel, which we first alerted you to over a year ago, when word of its possibility started circulating. The “D T” he mentions is David Twohy, who helmed the first 2 films in the franchise.
I thought the first film in the series, Pitch Black, was actually cool. I enjoyed it. The second however was a bloated mess; their individual budgets contribute to the tale: Pitch Black was made for $23 million; the second was budgeted at $105 million! Some times, a larger budget (in this case a significantly larger budget) is exactly just that, and does not a better movie make. Like I said… a bloated mess.
So, over the next 2 to 3 years, expect to see Diesel in at least 1 more (if not 2) Fast & Furious movies, 1 more XXX flick, and 1 (maybe 2) more Riddick pictures.
I guess that Hannibal The Conqueror project of his that’s been in limbo for about a decade now will continue to stay there… indefinitely.
I actually just received a copy of an early draft of the upcoming third Riddick movie script, which is titled… drum roll… Chronicles Of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking! I haven’t read it yet (I still have a number of other scripts to get through), but I will within the next week. The draft is dated October 2009, so it’s about 1 1/2 years old, and certainly, much could have changed since then. Or little to nothing at all, as I know they’ve been trying to get this set up somewhere since, at least, April of 2010.
Regardless, I’ll read it, and share my thoughts based on that draft, on this site, soon afterward.
As for all he says about having to work for scale upfront… the things an artist must do for his art… boo-hoo.