Fox have secured a deal to bring together director Timur Bekmambetov and producer
Tim Burton's big-screen, 3D adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s
novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Bekmambetov, Burton, co-producer Jim
Lemley and a pair of William Morris agents were personally visiting studio
execs and giving their pitch. Universal, Paramount, Summit and Fox were all interested, but Fox secured the deal. According to Deadline:
They were met with a huge banner at the gate. It had
the title treatment of the script and was emblazoned, “Tim Burton and Timur
Bekmambetov present Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter“. At their
parking spot were signs saying “Parking For Vampire Hunters Only: park at your
own risk,” and so forth. There were bloody footprints lining the walkway and
stairs leading from their cars to the meeting in Building 88 with images
from the book and lines from the script. As if that were not enough, there also
were bloody axes strewn about, and a bugle player in a Confederate uniform
playing Taps as the filmmakers walked to the meeting. I can see how that might impress… but surely the actual
deal being offered was the best one? This can’t have come down to a little bit
of camp and some flattering effort, can it? We may never know.
The film is likely to start rolling in the spring.
