Di Bonaventura Pictures (1408, TRANSFORMERS) and Caliber Media (DARK WAS THE NIGHT, SOME KIND OF HATE) partnered up to option the rights to develop a brand new take on Charles Band’s cult classic horror film franchise PUPPET MASTER. With the intention to produce multiple storylines within this new universe, the producers have set S. Craig Zahler (BONE TOMAHAWK) to write the first script entitled PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH and expand the mythology, and the director’s search is quietly underway.
The film will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian for di Bonaventura Pictures alongside Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller for Caliber Media. Charles Band will executive produce. Sonnier and Band announced the project together this weekend on stage at the Texas Frightmare Weekend presented by Fangoria.
“We couldn’t be more excited to take the series in a new direction while embracing all the practical effects and terrifying insanity that fans of the PUPPET MASTER films love,” said Heller.
The original PUPPET MASTER is an American horror film franchise that focuses on a group of anthropomorphic puppets animated by an Egyptian spell, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device and are represented as heroes, anti-heroes, and antagonists. Produced by Band and his Full Moon Features label, the series was established in 1989 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by numerous sequels, comic books, collector’s items and toys.
Zahler’s completely new take on PUPPET MASTER maintains all of the brutally inventive puppet kills infused with the comedic tendencies that made the original franchise so popular with fans, while expanding upon Toulon’s backstory and developing richer dialogue, characters, and narratives.
The storyline for THE LITTLEST REICH follows a recently divorced young man who discovers a mint condition Blade doll in his deceased brother’s closet and plans to sell the toy at a convention in Oregon celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose at the Postville Lodge during the auction when a strange force animates all of the various puppets throughout the convention as they go on a bloody killing spree.
“As a child of the 80’s and 90’s, I spent a vast majority of my allowance on Charles Band-produced films,” said Dallas Sonnier, “PUPPET MASTER was hands down my favorite, and I had the movie poster on my wall and a giant standee in my bedroom. The chance to work with Lorenzo, Zahler, and Band all at once on this new take is simply a dream come true.”
Sonnier and Heller met Band several years back when Sonnier’s wife was doing publicity work for Full Moon Features. They decided to team up on a larger budget version of PUPPET MASTER, and Caliber took the idea to Zahler who was also a huge fan of the original films. Sonnier knew that di Bonaventura Pictures was looking to work with Zahler on the right project and had experience with universe building on TRANSFORMERS, and that company agreed to finance the script through a recently created development fund in partnership with Film Italia.
Di Bonaventura Pictures is best known for producing some of the world’s biggest film franchises including TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, as well as genre hits 1408 and THE DEVIL INSIDE. Their next film DEEPWATER HORIZON, a story set on the offshore drilling rig that exploded to create the worst oil spill in U.S. history, is set to be released in September of this year.
Caliber Media and Zahler worked together on the recent commercial and festival hit BONE TOMAHAWK, which stars Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins. The film was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards: Best Screenplay for S. Craig Zahler, and Best Supporting Actor for Richard Jenkins. The film also won Critic’s Choice for Best Picture at Sitges International Film Festival. Zahler’s next film BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 was just announced with Vince Vaughn attached to star, with Sonnier and Heller producing.
Zahler is repped by United Talent Agency, Caliber Media, and Ziffren Brittenham.
ABOUT CALIBER MEDIA
Caliber Media is a production studio founded by Jack Heller and Dallas Sonnier primarily to produce independent feature films. Recent company credits include DARK WAS THE NIGHT (which Heller directed), Adam Egypt Mortimer’s SOME KIND OF HATE (which premiered at the Stanley Film Festival and recently screened at Fantasia International Film Festival), Eli Morgan Gesner’s CONDEMNED starring Dylan Penn, BAD MILO presented by the Duplass Brothers, and Lionsgate’s ENTER NOWHERE (also directed by Heller). Caliber’s next release CHUCK HANK AND THE SAN DIEGO TWINS, the Coatwolf follow up to BELLFLOWER, is currently in post.
ABOUT FULL MOON FEATURES
Charles Band has sustained a remarkable track record as an industry pioneer over the past 30 years. With nearly 300 feature films under his belt, the founder and CEO of Full Moon Features shows no signs of slowing down.
Band make his first mark with MEDA Home Entertainment in the late 70’s – the first independent home video company with films like HALLOWEEN, and again in 1980 with Wizard Video, a pioneer in the home video market – the original video distributor for classic horror movies like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and ZOMBIE. In 1983, he founded Empire Entertainment, the company responsible for some of the biggest cult hits of the eighties including GHOULIES, RE-ANIMATOR, TROLL, and ROBOT JOX. Band continued his track record of discovering untapped talent during this time, casting such future stars as Demi Moore, Helen Hunt, Viggo Mortensen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mariska Hargitay, and many more.
At the end of the decade, Charles Band pioneered the direct-to-video feature in 1989 with the formation of Full Moon Entertainment and the creation of PUPPET MASTER, which has gone on to become the most successful direct-to-video film series of all time. Band soon teamed with Paramount Pictures and Pioneer Home Entertainment for direct-to-video releases such as TRANCERS and SUBSPECIES. The “VideoZone” featurettes at the end of Full Moon’s movies, which showed how each film was made, presaged the behind-the-scenes bonus content that is now considered a standard among modern day DVD and Blu-ray discs.
After decades of experience in the entertainment industry, Charles Band has cemented his legacy as a progressive businessman, prolific filmmaker, and cult movie icon.
