It seems that everywhere you look these days, some studio or publishing company is trying to cash in on the vampire craze that has been steadily sweeping the world for the last few years. It’s gotten so bad that even long time vamp fans such as myself are ready to see our fanged friends placed on the shelf for a decade or so. However there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon!
This past week at Cannes, it was announced that writer Moira Buffini’s adaptation of her own stageplay Byzantium is no longer stuck in development limbo! The story itself revolves around two women who mysteriously appear in a small British town. When Eleanor, the youngest of the two, lets slip that she believes herself and her counterpart Claire to be 200 year old vampires, the townsfolk are quick to dismiss her. But a dark shadow has become cast over the town and people are starting to disappear, leaving some to wonder if there might be some truth to the girl’s claims.
Number 9 films has gone on to reveal the film’s producer, Stephen Woolley, as well as it’s director, Neil Jordan. These two are no strangers to the vampire genre as they are the same duo that stunned audiences, with their big screen interpretation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. The film’s two stars have also been announced with Disappearance of Alice Creed‘s Gemma Arterton, and Hanna‘s Saoirse Ronan playing the film’s two leading ladies.
When it comes to film adaptations, Ronan is one of the best. She has already delivered fabulous performances in Atonement, The Lovely Bones, City of Ember, and The Way Back. She’s even supposedly slated for Peter Jackson’s Hobbit epic as well as Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host (although I’m still miffed that she wasn’t chosen for the role of Katniss in The Hunger Games!). With that kind of track record, it seems studios can’t go wrong in casting her.
Together this combination of cast and crew appears to be the perfect storm needed to bring credibility back to the vampire genre. All the right pieces seem to be in place, but we won’t really know how well the project will truly turn out until the film itself is in the can.
