Last week, we brought you the news directly from Vin Diesel, saying that writer/director David Twohy told him that Riddick could film this summer, though he would have to take a pay cut to make it a “true R-rated film”.
Now, Twohy has posted his own update over on his blog. Check out a piece of concept art that he posted, along with his message below!
The hurdles seem to be dropping. The final turn is being rounded. The finish line (actually a starting line) seems closer than ever.
Of course, there are no guarantees in this mad endeavor called “filmmaking,” a pursuit that is a pricey shotgun marriage between business and art. But we’ve reached a critical mass of enthusiasm and resource needed to launch a movie. If we go now, we can make it now. If we don’t, we may never. And trust me, we’re all keenly aware of that.
Yeah, I had some good face-time with Vin in NYC. We talked at length about where we go from here – about how to travel to all the places in the RIDDICK universe that needed travelling to – and we think we know have the Master Map. We’ll keep it tucked tightly in our breast pocket for now, but it’s enough to say that, if we can pull it all off, you’ll have spent a good 15 years with us.
But Vin will be the driving force behind this next movie; I’m merely the writer-director. Am I being facetious? Kinda. But kinda not, too: It’s Vin and the concessions he chooses to make that will allow this movie to go forward. And his love of the character, of course. So if you, too, have a soft spot for this hardened criminal, you might want to weigh in over at that giant-ass Facebook page he’s got. Me? I’m still part of the Facebook Resistance.
I do get your emails of encouragement from seemingly all corners of the world. (Last week, Lithuania was heard from. I had to use Google Maps.) I can’t always respond, but I do read just about everything that comes in. And I’m always quietly startled by the reach my films have – by how raw imagination alloyed with damn hard work can result in a product that travels the globe and excites the phosphors of so many screens as it excites the imaginations of so many who watch.
Above is a piece of art I did for Vin to help him see some of the visuals I carry around in my head night and day. Titled “Fifth Horseman,” it’s a tableau from the next movie.
DT
Synopsis:
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.
Riddick is slated to hit theaters in 2012.
