Following a phenomenon cannot be easy.
When Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, the creators of Blair Witch, found themselves on the receiving end of a tsunami of plaudits they wisely chose to avoid cashing in and side stepped Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, and all but disappeared from the film industry for many years. Perhaps the bar had been set too high and they feared chasing the Hollywood lightning again, but the rumours that a third Blair Witch film is on the cards seems to bring their decade long hiatus from the woods to an end.
Not so Oren Peli, whose Paranormal Activity has won him enormous praise, as The Hollywood Reporter have tonight reported that his follow up, Area 51, has not only completed shooting but Paramount have leapt at the chance to distribute the film.
As previously reported Peli plans to use the found footage device to bring his closely guarded plot to the screen. Given the relative failure of The Fourth Kind it may be that Peli has to make the most of his faux-documentary style before the device starts to show its weaknesses.
Paramount’s release schedule is looking very strong considering their last few releases of 2009 include Jason Retiman’s Up in the Air, and the eagerly awaited adaptation of The Lovely Bones from Peter Jackson, and while the franchises of Iron Man and Shrek will make Paramount’s money in the summer months having the potential of another period of activity to rival Paranormal’s wouldn’t hurt either.
Area 51 will be released in 2010.
