Based on the popularity of Zombies vs. Gladiators, Amazon Studios
will further develop the project for a mainstream commercial audience
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 5, 2012--
(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that Hellraiser
creator and prolific horror and fantasy writer Clive Barker will rewrite
the action horror project, Zombies vs. Gladiators, for Amazon
Studios. Based in ancient Rome, the Zombies vs. Gladiators story
opens as a shaman who is about to die in the Coliseum casts a spell that
unleashes the world’s first zombies. It’s up to a gladiator to stop the
spread of the zombie horde and save Rome. From the moment it debuted at
Amazon Studios, Zombies vs. Gladiators has been one of the most
creatively engaging scripts, spurring tremendous interest within the
community and movie fans alike, indicating its mainstream and commercial
viability for the studio. As a result of this overwhelming and popular
support, Amazon is moving forward to develop the project with Clive
Barker at the helm.
“Zombies vs. Gladiators is now in the hands of someone who has
written genre-defining material throughout his career,” said Roy Price,
director, Amazon Studios. “We are excited to see how Clive will add his
unique narrative to capture the essence of this story and propel the
project into something unique and original that could one day be enjoyed
by all audiences.”
Said Barker, “I’m excited by the opportunity to interweave two very rich
narrative threads. One of them concerns itself with the reality of the
decadence of Rome and its rise and fall. The other is a fantastical
narrative element - the living dead. My brief to myself on this project
is to give the audience not only zombies they have never seen before but
also a Rome they have never seen before.”
Barker added, “Amazon Studios offered up the dream ticket with this
project. In twenty-five years of working in this town, I've rarely had
people listen to what I had to say as closely and as carefully as they
did and then simply give me the freedom to go do it. Amazon Studios is
an innovative creative concept. I am looking forward to providing my own
perspective to make Zombies vs. Gladiators a highly commercial
and entertaining movie.”
A visionary, fantasist, poet and painter, Clive Barker has expanded the
reaches of human imagination as a novelist, director, screenwriter and
dramatist. An inveterate seeker who traverses between myriad styles with
ease, Barker has left his indelible artistic mark on a range of projects
that reflect his creative grasp of contemporary media — from familiar
literary terrain to the progressive vision of his Seraphim production
company.
His 1998 “Gods and Monsters,” which he executive produced, garnered
three Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for Best Adapted
Screenplay. The following year, Barker joined the ranks of such
illustrious authors as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Annie Dillard and Aldous
Huxley when his collection of literary works was inducted into the
Perennial line at HarperCollins, who then published The Essential
Clive Barker, a 700-page anthology with an introduction by Armistead
Maupin.
Barker began his odyssey in the London theatre, scripting original plays
for his group The Dog Company, including “The History of the
Devil,” “Frankenstein in Love” and “Crazyface.” Soon, Barker began
publishing his The Books of Blood short fiction collections, but
it was his debut novel, The Damnation Game, that widened his
already growing international audience.
Barker shifted gears in 1987 when he directed “Hellraiser,” based on his
novella The Hellbound Heart, which became a veritable cult
classic spawning a slew of sequels, several lines of comic books, and an
array of merchandising. In 1990, he adapted and directed “Nightbreed”
from his short story Cabal. Two years later, Barker executive
produced the housing-project story “Candyman,” as well as the 1995
sequel, “Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh.” Also that year, he directed
Scott Bakula and Famke Janssen in the noir-esque detective tale, “Lord
of Illusions.”
Barker’s literary works include such best-selling fantasies as Weaveworld,
Imajica, and Everville, the children’s novel The Thief
of Always, Sacrament, Galilee and Coldheart Canyon.
The first of his quartet of children’s books, Abarat, was
published in October 2002 to resounding critical acclaim, followed by Abarat
II: Days of Magic, Nights of War and Arabat III: Absolute Midnight;
Barker is currently completing the fourth in the series. As an artist,
Barker frequently turns to the canvas to fuel his imagination with
hugely successful exhibitions across America. His neo-expressionist
paintings have been showcased in two large format books, Clive
Barker, Illustrator, volumes I & II.
Barker is repped by APA, manager Andrew Wilson at Zero Gravity, and Alan
Grodin at Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin & Evall.
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is Amazon’s content development division that uses
audience feedback to develop great, original entertainment customers
will love. Since its launch in November 2010, more than 9,000 movie
scripts and 1,000 series pilot scripts have been submitted to the Amazon
Studios site. Currently, 16 film projects are in development.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home
& Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health &
Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web
Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any
type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most
compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced
electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright
sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an
easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages,
search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most
advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line
e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch,
with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the
Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and
web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud,
Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated
web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core
processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca,
www.amazon.cn,
www.amazon.it,
and www.amazon.es.
As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international
expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center
optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and
strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
Source: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
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