Fans of American International Pictures (AIP) cult/genre classics from the 1950’s will either rejoice in this news or take refuge in the comfort of TCM, as Red Sea Media announces it is handling international sales on Cinedigm’s “reinventions” of some beloved AIP genre classics. The 10 titles will include: GIRLS IN PRISON; VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SERPENT; THE BRAIN EATERS; THE SHE-CREATURE; TEENAGE CAVEMAN; REFORM SCHOOL GIRL; THE UNDEAD; HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER; COOL AND THE CRAZY; and, DAY THE WORLD ENDED.
Lou Arkoff (THE MESSENGERS, DARKNESS FALLS, INSPECTOR GADGET), Jeff Katz (FREDDY VS. JASON, SNAKES ON A PLANE, WOLVERINE) and Hal Sadoff (THE NICE GUYS, THE BREED, HOTEL RWANDA) are set to produce this ten-picture deal. The AIP reinventions have a September production start earmarked. All ten titles are scheduled to shoot back-to-back. Cast and directors are expected to be announced shortly.
Former New Line and Fox executive Jeff Katz penned each script and the ten individual stories will feed into one epic overarching storyline across all ten films. Arkoff is the son of the late Samuel Z. Arkoff, co-founder of AIP and has previously remade AIP titles for Showtime and HBO. This unique 10 picture project will deliver a complete reinvention of the quirkiest and most memorable movies in the famed American International Pictures portfolio, flipping them into an R-rated comic book style movie universe with multiple interconnecting characters.
American International Pictures (AIP) was founded in 1954 by James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff. After realizing the growth and influence of teenage movie-goers, Nicholson and Arkoff set off over the next 30 years inundating the teen market with action, comedy and horror films. AIP grew very lucrative in the 1960s mainly due to Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. Corman was soon dubbed “The King of the Cult Film” and “The Pope of Pop Cinema”, and to this day dozens of his films are still considered genuine cult classics, and inspirations for many filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
