'09
A little earlier today, CB wrote a story (which she took down) about Brad Pitt maybe working on an action-oriented Dracula remake called Vlad, as in “Vlad the Impaler.” Vlad was the cruel 15th century Romanian prince on whom Bram Stocker’s “Count Dracula” was based. As it turns out, Brad wouldn’t be starring as Vlad/Dracula, he would only be producing (through his production company Plan B), jointly with Summit.
CB has really strong feeling about Summit, and how they’re run by douches. Summit is the home of the Twilight series, and they’re rolling in money right now, even though they’ve made some particularly crushing decisions in the Twilight franchise.
Here’s CB’s take on Summit: “After all the controversies with Summit and their only hit Twilight I have to think they’ll screw this up somehow. They unceremoniously dumped actress Rachael Lefevre from the next film, Eclipse, and replaced her with another actress. When she protested that the recasting came as a surprise Summit issued a snotty self-righteous statement about how she was wrong and they were right. They even mocked her choice of words. When Summit was criticized for inadequate security for Robert Pattinson on the NY set of Remember Me, which resulted in Pattinson being clipped by a cab, they issued a dismissive statement that didn’t express concern for Pattinson’s safety at all. There’s a different director for each one of the Twilight sequels and it seems like they don’t know how to keep a solid director happy and/or aren’t satisfied with decent work.”
After exploring the romantic angst of vampires in “Twilight,” Summit is developing an action-oriented take on the most famous of the fanged: Dracula.
This one already comes with its own heartthrob in the form of Brad Pitt.
The company has picked up “Vlad,” a script by actor Charlie Hunnam, and is in negotiations with music video and photographer Anthony Mandler to direct the project. Pitt is producing with Dede Gardner via the duo’s Plan B Entertainment production shingle.
“Vlad” centers on Dracula as a young prince; he is known to history as Vlad the Impaler, the man behind the Dracula myth.
Summit picked up “Vlad” awhile ago, developing it quietly, but when execs saw Mandler’s reel, the project got a shot in the arm.
Mandler is a music-video director who has worked with Rhianna (helming 10 of her videos), the Killers and Eminem. Execs were wowed by the reel he prepared, which drew comparisons to Zack Snyder and his work on “300″; Summit tried to land the latter project before it ultimately was made at Warner Bros.
With “Vlad,” Summit hopes to make a visually edgy and radical period movie that also will break a new talent.
[From Heat Vision Blog via We Smirch]
I seriously doubt Brad will star as Vlad, but I suppose it’s possible. Brad is, however, capable of producing high-profile projects without casting himself. Off the top of my head, I can think of a great example: The Time Traveler’s Wife. There were early discussions about Brad maybe taking the role, but he ended up giving it to his Troy buddy, Eric Bana. Personally, I think he’ll end up passing off the Vlad role to another actor. He has more than twenty other projects in various stages of development – including The Lost City of Z, the film which I suspect he’s growing out that awful beard thing. Also, if Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes does well this season, they’re already talking sequel – with Brad as Prof. Moriarty.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Brad Pitt
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36 Responses to “Will Brad Pitt star as Vlad the Impaler?”
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no brad’s movies have really been sucking lately, but he still won’t do a dracula movie. He already did the whole interview w/ a vampire thing and besides Vamps are on their way out. They already hit their high point and now it’s just going down hill.
Once your grandma is picking a team edward/team jacob side you know the trend is gonna move on, and this trend already has from what i’m seeing. Media needs to catch up.
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Gah…oh the dirty thoughts that came to mind after reading Brad Pitt and ‘The Impaler’ in the same sentence. Le sigh.
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what a look! ah ah ah
@lolabella:ah ah ah ah Pitt+”the impaler”=porn star?
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The Time Traveler’s wife, was a bomb, never made a profit. Brad Pitt’s Production company hasn’t produced a profitable hit since The Departed, in 2006.
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Can’t wait to see Brad wearing a vial of Angelina’s blood on his neck.
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Is he going to wear those godawful beads in his beard in LCZ?
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Romanians, especially Transylvanians, will feckin’ eat him if he tries!
(no pun intended, honest)
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Let’s pray he does not attempt an accent of any sort for this role.
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Oooo, I’d love to see this!
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God I hope not. What’s Adrian Brody doing?
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I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife. It was an excellent movie. Given that it was a romantic drama it was never poised to be a blockbuster. Even the most popular romantic drama of late, “The Notebook” didn’t pick up steam until it came out on DVD due to word of mouth.
Not every movie needs to make 300 million dollars at the box office. Calling The Time Traveler’s Wife a bomb is a stretch.
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The Time Traveler’s Wife cost about $40 million and made about $80 million. Not a blockbuster but not a bomb either.
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Oh, I hope they make a movie about this. Preferably not with Pitt as Vlad, though. I recently read a fucking amazing book about the young Vlad, and it would make an awesome movie. But Pitt? Nothing like what I pictured Vlad to be like.
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I have a better question: Who? Cares?
He has always been over-rated as an actor and now that his pretty mug is sagging like old underwear, the truth will be obvious.
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Gah, no more close-ups!
Dracula in all of its permutations has been done to death. I’m a sucker for historical non-fiction and I’ve read a couple books on Vlad Tepes; he’s interesting and nasty, but they really don’t need to tell the story again.
There’s no hero to root for in his story and his wife threw herself off of the cliff wall of his castle to her death. So a romance is out.
Mmm, Eric Bana.
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OH please. he is not staring in the movie. He is PRODUCING IT… PRODUCING IT..
Brad and Dede are really doing some great projects. Brad seems to focusing on his Production Company a lot this year. He has not worked on a film since last years IB.. so good for Brad. Some really good projects coming up.. Can’t wait to see Kickass either. That will be off the freakin chain.
by the way.. if you don’t like Brad why is it always necessary to click on his thread and make a comment.. Don’t get it at all..
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He’d be great in the my proposed porn film “The Sperminator.” Lawd knows its true. But first, he has to bathe.
I am glad I’m not the only one with a dirty mind.
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Hey, where did my comment go? Was it improper?
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he couldnt impale the side of a barn even if he was trying. A pack of life savers would be a loose fit on his…. wait what are we talking about?
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love you brad, you’ve been gold for the box office lately, thanks.
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Don’t tell me that they’re going to transform Vlad into an Edward Cullen wimp.
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Beth said:
“The Time Traveler’s Wife cost about $40 million and made about $80 million. Not a blockbuster but not a bomb either”.
My reply:
Beth, studio’s only receive 55% of the GROSS (movie ticket sales), that means the Production cost was $40 million, then you have to add on marketing/advertising costs of about 10 million for this movie, which means the TOTAL of the cost of this movie, before ONE ticket was bought was about 50 million….out of that 80 million gross, the movie is still in the RED, about 26 million dollars. IT did not make a profit, however some of that may be recouped in DVD sales…but not likely all of it. So there ya go…the movie did not make a profit, like I stated.
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lisa, this is a gossip site, not a circle jerk of love. I don’t have to say anything nice about Billy Goat Brad if I don’t want to.
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Oh good. More vampires.
Plan B has done some good movies and has a few interesting ones lined up. I’d be curious to know if Pitt, and many of these other actor/producers, are actually involved in the day to day decisions, or if they’re just a big name on the letterhead to get better meetings and financing.
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Vlad Tepes was not inspiration for Dracula. This is a very common misconception.
In fact Bram Stoker only chose Transylvania because it sounded foreign, he had never actually been there…and he based the castle in the book on a castle he knew in Scotland! (I’ve visited Dracula’s ‘apparent’ castle in Transylvania and the only connection Vlad has to it is the one night he ‘maybe’ spent in its dungeon…it is a very beautiful castle with hearts engraved on wooden doors etc…an incredably romantic present from the King to his Queen)
The story of the vampire may have its origins in the south of France and its possible that it is in these old legends/stories that Bram Stoker got the idea. There is also a physical condition that produces similar characteristics to a ‘vampire’ such as pale skin, sensitivity to light and a lack of iron (thus drinking blood!)
It was only after the book was written that people started to asssociate Vlad with Dracula due to his tendancy to be extremely bloodthirsty. Oh and the fact that he liked to stake people…though when he staked/impaled someone it was NOT through the heart it was much more brutal.
So a movie about Vlad would not necessarily be a movie about vampires…just saying as I think its only right we understand the difference between fact and fiction! And the fact that some links are more urban myth than anything…
Oh and by the way…Transylvania is a beautiful country, worth seeing in its own right and not because of some lame connection to vampires….in fact many of the locals I met will not even discuss any Dracula enquiries you might have…because they dont really want to be associated and wish their wonderful country was appreciated for its richness in history, culture, scenary, people etc…etc..
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well, I’m going to re-post my comment.
I think Malkovich would be better suited for the role!
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Just to support what bubbles said. If you visit the Bram Stoker centre in Dublin it gives you a lot of information on his life, especially the influence of his mother. She used to tell him stories of fairies (which are NOT nice pretty little sprites in Irish lore) and the living dead as bedtime stories. It’s believed that the term Dracula is a anglisication of the words “droch fhula” (pronounced dru’ch uh’luh, a gutteral ch btw) meaning bad blood.
I’m sure on youtube you can find interviews with Senator David Norris who is an English scholar and relative of Bram Stoker who is very informative on the subject.
I’ve been reliably informed that Vlad is still very much respected as a national hero by a large number of Transylvanians.
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Ha! Brad The Impaler. Why not?
He has got dreads in his beard. Hmm, looks like somebody’s trying to rebel against authority.
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@Mairead, you’re right, he is. I remember seeing photos of some political rally in Romania (Transylvania’s part of Romania), and as well as holding up posters of the politician they were supporting, the protesters also had posters of Vlad. He may have been cruel, but he brought peace and order to a country that had horrendous crime, and pretty much everyone was cruel in the 1400s.
There’s a story about Vlad replacing the town well’s old bucket with a goblet of gold, encrusted with jewels. It got stolen in the first week, returned the next, and it stayed there for years afterwards.
@bubbles, I think Dracula’s also inspired by Elizabeth Bathory, a countess in Hungary, or somewhere over there, who kidnapped, tortured, killed, and bathed in the blood of dozens of village girls. The blood was supposed to keep her looking young, apparently. Anyway, there were rumours that she also drank the blood, again to keep herself young.
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Thanks Mairead! And yes, the Transylvanians do highly respect him as a fair (if bloodthirsty) leader. We of course need to remember what Emily mentioned that the 15th century was a very different place with different attitudes to what was and was not cruel.
Emily – Yeah, Bathory was an interesting figure, and it is not known just how many young women she tortured and killed…before she was eventually caught, put on trial and imprisoned in her own home (only to live for another couple of years though so she didnt suffer too much!!)…but again Dracula is not based on her…the link i believe was only made AFTER the book was written because it seemed to ‘fit’.
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I don’t think they’re gonna be any vampires in the movie…at least i hope so…nobody in Hollywood made any movie about the real Vlad Tepes…i’m pretty curious how things will turn out…i am from Transylvania which is a part of Romania as Emily said before me…so i am kind of interested in what these guys will think of.
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ohhhh….man. let’s do some history togheter. Vlad Tepes is not Dracula. It is just a story made up by bram stocker guy in his spare time. he was not the ruler of transylvania, he was the prince of valahia. He’s father’s name was Vlad Dracul. He also wans’t a vampire or so… It is quite a funny story behind his name. Vlad The Impailer’s father(Vlad Dracul) served many years in foreign armies, and received as a sign of great honour the emblem of a dragon, and he put it on his shield. When he came in Valahia the peasents thought that the emblem represented the Devil(Dracul in romanian language). And so his name remained through centuries as Vlad Dracul. and people,people,people do not talk without knowing. I repet Vlad The Impailer was the prince of Valahia, not Transylvania. If you want to know stuff about a thing unique in history(the night attack) email me at vlad_turian@yahoo.com
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Seriously kids, when talking about something you should really get your facts straight. I don’t care if you talk all your life about Dracula, but when it comes to the historical aspects, you could use some research first: 1. Transilvania is a region of Romania. 2. Vlad Tepes (aka Vlad the Impaler, aka courtoasy of Bram Stoker: Dracula) was born in Transilvania yet he was the ruler (prince) of Wallachia (another Romanian province). And yes he is much admired and loved by all Romanians no matter what region as he is one our greatest heroes and one of Europe’s greatest fighters against the Ottomans and Islam.
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@bubbles: you don’t know nothing about Vlad.First of all he was the ruller of Wallachia.Not only Transylvania regard him as a great ruler but all romanians,especially wallachians.
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Calorific Deficit
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forget about allmost everything you might think to know about vlad! i hope this movie will be hystorical acurrate and not the vampire stupidity. I am romanian and in my country we learn on high school history about the real man vlad . he is a national hero in fact my country as it is now is in desperate need of a true leader such vlad was . he was a brilliant military strategist he stood strong against the massive horde of the otoman empire he reformed his kingdom in his days no one would dare to steal a thing there were golden cups at every puplic fountain in the kingdom and no one would steal them ! Indeed he was brutal but with the ones who break the law and besides in the 1400 this was not viewed as something unusual in every country they were punishmets such as cutting the hands of a child who stoled an apple and so on…. I trully hope that if this movie will ever be made to be the real deal to be a war movie because as i said vlad was a genius strategist defeting hordes of otomans with a handful of men !!! sry if my english is not too goood
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