Something Twisted this way comes
Within the last year, original Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper switched representation and found a home at Evolution Management, a robust firm that reps many folks working in the genre today. Great news, I thought, for Hooper who hasn’t done a feature since Mortuary and, since then, directed two episodes of Masters of Horror. He’s still attached to From a Buick 8, the Stephen King adaptation, but that seems to be running low on gas.
Being housed at Evolution is the best thing for him right now. He’ll have some guidance. And maybe the fellas there will set him on the right track. Distance himself from the stigma of his ’90s output and make “A Tobe Hooper film” mean something.
Now, it’s no secret Evolution shares the same offices as Twisted Pictures, the place where the Saw franchise began. And recently, the company ruffled some feathers in the genre when it announced it had acquired the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Evolution-repped Stephen Susco – known for The Grudge, The Grudge 2 and the quiet thriller Red – was going to get his hands greasy and rev up a new Chainsaw by penning a contemporary tale, ignoring the previous two films produced by Platinum Dunes. (I spoke with Twisted Pictures’ Mark Burg a bit more about this approach here.) Since the company made its move on the property, I’ve been told there are a number of recognizable directors courting a chance to dance with Leatherface. I say now’s the time, more than ever, to keep it in the family.
Put Tobe Hooper on the film.
When Platinum Dunes let the rights slip from its grasp, I’m told Hooper perked up to the idea of doing another Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But is there interest from the Twisted Pictures camp?
My ramblings stem from something I spied last night while at the after party for the Saw VI premiere. There was Tobe, sitting in a leather chair holding court with Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2‘s Bill Moseley and the Twisted Pictures crew, notably Carl Mazzacone, a key player in bringing the TCM rights to the company. And, instantly, my head began to swirl with the possibilities of a new Chainsaw under the direction of Hooper, regardless of the take Twisted has in mind.
Bring Hooper in to tackle a franchise he knows so well; a return equivalent to Romero reuniting with his walking corpses in Land of the Dead in 2005. Market the shit out of his big return and let people know Leatherface is in the right hands again.
What do you think? Should a contemporary Chainsaw pull in the man who started it all, or should Twisted be seeking a fresh director?
Source: Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor
