UHM - Cursed

Cursed

The film is now described as focusing on an estranged brother and sister, who are mourning the recent loss of their parents, struggling with daily life in the Los Angeles until a vicious animal attack changes everything one dark night. Now they must fight for survival against the one thing they never expected: the curse of the werewolf.

LATEST NEWS

2/11/05
I've added a few new pics.

2/10/05
The official site is up and running, although not much on it at the moment, despite it's close release.

1/31/05
Finally after several cuts the film has recieved a PG-13 rating, which means a lot of the gore that was said to be in the film was most likely removed.

1/09/05
The trailer for the film is now up and I've added a new pic thanks to "chad".

12/21/04
A new pic can be found on your right. Thanks to Blackfilm.

12/08/04
Director Wes Craven spoke with Fango briefly about the film; going over the fact that the movie may get a PG-13 rating. Here's what he said: "At this point, [Dimension chairman] Bob Weinstein is talking about wanting to make it a PG-13 film. Now I saw the film on Saturday, and it looks terrific. It�s a good little movie. But if he starts coming in, trying to make it a PG-13, it�s going to look chopped up".

9/13/04
Moviehole reports that the film is undergoing its final round of reshoots this week with most of the original cast to "punch up" the ending. There's already talks of a sequel, which would use a lot of the old footage that was replaced with the reshoots.

9/06/04
Added the poster for the film.

8/21/04
I've posted a slightly spoiling review I recieved from a viewer who claims to have seen a "rough cut" of the film. You can check the review here.

7/28/04
Fango has learned that Dimension has shifted the October 1st release to February 25th of '05.

5/20/04
Star Michael Rosenbaum talked with SciFi Wire about his role in the film and how he joined the cast after it was set for reshooting, saying: "I'm one of the newcomers. I play this character who is infatuated with Christina Ricci." You can read more here.

4/29/04
Star Judy Greer talked with SciFi Wire recently about the how she had to return for reshooting, saying... "Cursed had a major rewrite. We shot a lot of movie, and there were some problems with the ending, so they went back to try to finish the ending. The first version had a lot more blood in it or a lot more action, but the second version seems like it's more of a fable, like more of a [fairy] tale. It seems to come from a more real place."

She then added how reshooting seemed to not only change the characters, but some of the story as well.. "Everything kept getting changed, and it got to the point where the movie was completely different," she said. "In the first version, I played Scott Baio's assistant, and I was in love with him. In the second version, I'm Scott Baio's publicist, and I'm all business."

Lastly, she went on to say how a lot of the original actors dropped out or were replaced due to scheduling conflicts... "Because they were having a hard time with the ending, they decided to take a little break shooting the movie for a couple of weeks, and in that time a lot of the actors—myself included—became unavailable."

2/11/04
Actor Omar Epps recently talked with The South End, where he reveals how he got cut from the film. Here's what was quoted from the site:

Epps was set to make a cameo appearance in "Cursed," a movie that would re-team "Scream" collaborators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. "Cursed is cursed," he laughs. Epps says Miramax co-founder Bob Weinstein called him at home to ask him to appear in the film. "Let me tell you, when Bob Weinstein calls your house, you gotta go," he says. But problems plagued the film and rewrites had Epps' already filmed role cut from production. Though he lost out on "Cursed," Epps says he's looking forward to other projects and different roles, all with a healthy sense of humor about his sports character past, "Maybe I'll be playing coaches next." Thanks to Chris.

1/29/04
Craig Kilborn has been added to the cast.

1/19/04
Star Scott Baio briefly spoke with LA Daily News about his role, saying... "It's a werewolf movie with Christina Ricci, and it was a chance to work with some good people, but playing yourself is always fairly risky because you gotta watch how you goof on yourself."

Apparently he told direcctor Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson, "You guys can make fun of me all you want, but keep it to where it's not completely insulting." and they replied with, "Whatever you want to change, let us know." Turns out he didn't have to change a thing.

12/18/03
Here's an interesting set report quoted by a source in Dark Horizons...

"Ok, firstly - it's looking excellent! The werewolf is scarier than anything Craven's done in years. Don't believe the rumors, this is going to be a great movie. The script is a lot better. Kristina Anapau's role has been extended to be more of a leading role, rather than a supporting character.

A number of people have been chopped because there storylines were no longer valid. One of those was Corey Feldman who was playing a drug dealer, in a scene. However, there's been some new attachements to the film. Shashawnee Hall, who was in "Coach", is playing - funnily enough - a 'Coach', Michelle Krusiec, who was Ching Chong in "Dumb and Dumberer" is playing Debbie and Joshua Jackson is playing a character called Jake.

Wes Craven is going to do a cameo, and it's believed Freddie Prinze Jr did his cameo last week, playing a film producer that comes to a rather surprising - though deserved - end at the hands of the lead creature.

A few more names have been roped in to sell the film I think - and probably push on the poster. One of the actors says the studio wants to do a trilogy of films, but it doesnt look like Wes Craven will do them, nor Christina Ricci, who's apparently complaining like jaggers! Looks good to me though...."

12/16/03
According to Moviehole due to all the re-shooting, Skeet Ulrich's character has been pretty much replaced by Joshua Jackson's character. Also Corey Feldman has been cut out.

12/13/03
I added Lance Bass from N'Sync into the cast. Hopefully he wont be singing in the film.

12/12/03
Star Christina Ricci talked with SciFi Wire about the film and its reshots saying... "We're essentially reshooting the whole movie, so it's sort of like going on to another movie and this time it's a lot more fun. We have a lot more action, and it seems better."

She then added how Wes Craven seems to be happier with the new material... "I think he's happy, because I don't think he was happy with what he was originally getting. I think he's glad that he has the chance to remake it."

When asked if she thought the film could be saved or not she said... "If you scrap an entire movie and shoot it all over again, rewrite the script, then yeah, it can be saved."

12/02/03
Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex on the hit TV-show Smallville, has joined the cast.

11/26/03
I've added Joshua Jackson and Mya to the cast.

11/17/03
I've added Portia de Rossi to the big-ass cast.

9/30/03
Filmjerk reports that the film will begin shooting again November 17 in Los Angeles and that the Producers are in search for a new lead actor to play the new character Jake. You can read more here.

9/26/03
Wes Craven talked with Entertainment Weekly recently about the script and re-shooting, saying... "Basically, we wanted a better third act. We’re going to update the script based on things we learned [about werewolf effects] using the combination of CGI and a physical werewolf by Rick Baker." Craven wants to regather the original actors to start the new filming in October and wrap up by January.

9/10/03
Wes Craven talked further with SciFi Wire about what's going to happen next and other details. Saying that many of the film's scenes will have to be reshot—and possibly recast—when the film resumes production in November. He also announced that makeup effects maven Rick Baker has retired, turning over responsibility for the film's werewolf makeup to KNB.

He was quoted saying... "I haven't seen that hit the news yet, but he shut down his studio. All of the elements have been taken over by KNB for us."

Craven shot Cursed for 11 weeks before Dimension Films halted production in June and ordered a script rewrite. "Quite an extraordinary amount of new material is going to be shot, and a lot of material is going to be thrown away," Craven said. He then added that casting changes were likely, but he said that he does not know which cast members will still be available.

9/09/03
Director Wes Craven talked with SCI FI Wire recently briefly about the status of the film and how screenwriter Kevin Willamson had to rewrite his own script to fix the problems the studio had. "The studio wasn't happy with the third act, which we were about to start shooting," Craven said.

Having the production halted and a script rewrite has made him less enthused about the film. He was quoted saying... "It's just been a matter of trying to get it done, so it's been a very long arduous process, and frankly I'm just sick of the process and want to go out and do something I can feel really good about."

8/24/03
Added a new pic.

8/14/03
Some production art can be found here.

8/05/03
There has been a lot of rumors about the production of this film, but up until now I didn't post any of it, because they were just rumors. Now it's official that the film has gone through a lot of problems, which has left the status of the film questionable at times.

Apparently last month the studio put the movie on an extended hiatus with only four weeks left of shooting. It was reportedly about the special effects because the filmmakers brought in more special effects than originally planned as the film was shot.

Also, top executives weren't happy with the film's ending or how the special effects were progressing, specifically the look of the lead werewolf, so the project was then put into a "development phase," where everyone could finally agree on the outcome.

Everything is supposedly better now and they are now looking to start production again in September.

DETAILS

- Production is set to resume in November.
- The film has been described as "a modern, hip twist on the classic werewolf tale."
- Judy Greer plays one of three strangers who must unite after a werewolf attack to battle the beast and its curse.
- The film was originally described to be about a serial killer in NY with an "unexpected twist to the plot," which I would assume meant to be a werewolf.
- This is director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson's second collaboration together since Scream.