Showing posts with label winchester movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winchester movie. Show all posts

Monday, May 1, 2017

First look at Winchester Movie

San Jose is getting some Hollywood action. The movie Winchester tells the story about Sarah Winchester and her 160+ room mansion. It is a bit surprising that it has taken this long for a big-budget movie to tell the story of one of San Jose's top tourist attractions.

Helen Mirren is playing the lead role and her resemblance to the real Sarah is notable in the photos below. The film will start with a skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist (played by Jason Clarke) being sent to the mansion to evaluate Sarah's sanity. It seems that this will be more than just a horror/suspense movie and provide some extra insights into this mysterious woman. The directors revealed one neat tidbit, the real-life Sarah Winchester was an inventor and early adopter. She was one of the first people ever to have a telephone, and the house includes a custom-built intercom and irrigation system. Some of these details might be peppered through the movie, but the flick is designed be be a classic haunted house movie with lots of scares.

Filming will partially take place inside of the mansion itself. The movie is expected to hit theaters during Spring of next year--although I think Friday, October 13, 2018 would be a more appropriate launch date given the mansion's history and Sarah's obsession with the number 13.

Hat tip to our friend D.H. De La O for sending this in!

Source: People Movies




Sunday, June 26, 2016

Searchlight San Jose: The Sarah Winchester Movie

A former Winchester Mystery House tour guide posted some interesting thoughts on what should be included in the upcoming movie. This is an exciting moment for us--I think this will be the first big-budget movie ever to be built entirely around a historic San Jose landmark. Head over to Searchlight San Jose and read his post here.


Thursday, May 19, 2016

Hellen Mirren will play Sarah Winchester in new movie

On this past Friday the 13th, it was announced that Oscar-winning actress Hellen Mirren will play the leading role of Sarah Winchester in a new thriller called "Winchester." The movie is based on the story of Sarah Winchester, the eccentric heir to the Winchester fortune that built the 600-room mansion now known as the Winchester Mystery House (San Jose's #1 tourist attraction).

Production is expected to begin in early 2017 and will be shot on location in San Jose as well as Australia. For more details read the full release below.



HELEN MIRREN TAKES AIM AT THE ROLE OF WINCHESTER RIFLE HEIRESS, SARAH WINCHESTER, IN THE SPIERIG BROTHERS’ NEW THRILLER ‘WINCHESTER’

Friday, May 13, Cannes, France – Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren is finalizing a deal to play Sarah Winchester, the millionaire heiress to the Winchester Arms fortune in the Spierig Brothers new thriller WINCHESTER.

The story follows the Sarah Winchester, who was convinced that she and her family were haunted by the souls killed at the barrel of the infamous rifle.  Her real-life obsession led to the 24 hour a day, 7 days a week construction of an enormous 600-room mansion, designed to keep these evil spirits at bay.  Her home, the Winchester Mystery House, still stands today and has been named one of the “Most Haunted Places in the World” by Time Magazine.  Studio System News (SSN) called the house one of the top “haunted house properties ready to scare up audiences.”

Michael and Peter Spierig were announced at Cannes this week as the writer/directors of the film based on a script first penned by writer, Tom Vaughan.

Diamond Pictures and Bullitt Entertainment are co-financing with Australia’s Blacklab Entertainment, with Diamond selling international territories and WME brokering the US rights deal.

IDW’s Brett Matthew Tomberlin and Blacklab’s Tim McGahan are producing, with Bullitt’s Benedict Carver, Diamond’s Daniel Diamond and Tobin Armbrust as executive producers.  Andy Trapani, Toni Lianos, Brian Gilbert, Marc Shipper and Simon Oakes are also executive producers.

Production is expected to start in early 2017 shooting at the historic house in San Jose, California and in Australia.

Mirren is repped by CAA; IDW is repped by Michael Black Management and Mark Temple Law, and Blacklab by Marshalls+Dent Lawyers.  Sheppard Mullin brokered the deal for Diamond and Bullitt.

About Winchester Mystery House:

A 160-room Victorian wonder, The Winchester Mystery House is one of California’s original and most popular historic attractions.  Since opening to the public in 1923, the house has welcomed nearly 12 million people from around the world and has taken its rightful place in American legend.  Popular belief holds that Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune, was convinced she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by her family’s invention.  Following a medium’s advice, Sarah built a massive house in Northern California to appease the spirits. For the next 38 years, she never stopped building believing that if she continued, she would live forever, and if she stopped, she would die. Known as the “house built for the spirits,” there have been many inexplicable ghost sightings there and to this day, visitors share their paranormal stories of having been in the presence of these departed souls who continue to roam the grounds of the labyrinth-like house. Various tours are offered daily with popular annual events including Friday the 13th Flashlight Tours (May 16, 2016), Summer Twilight Evenings (July), Halloween Candlelight Tours (October) and The Spirit of Christmas (December).

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Winchester Movie is Back on Track

A couple years ago news broke that Hammer Films would make a movie based around the Winchester Mystery House. The original target launch was Halloween of 2013, which would have been perfect given Sarah Winchester's obsession with the number 13. Now, it looks like they are bringing on brother filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig to both rewrite the original script and direct the movie.

This will be the very first film to be shot inside of the Winchester Mystery House and filming is being penned for early 2015. I'm really looking forward to this one!

Sources: ComingSoon.net, hat tip to Mark and Dark Horizons, hat tip to Dan De La O



Monday, April 30, 2012

Winchester Mystery House Horror Movie Officially in the Works!

We're starting off the week with some really good news! The Winchester Mystery House will officially be staring in a horror movie. Hammer, Imagination Design Works, and Nine/8 Entertainment are coming together to shoot the flick in the actual mansion itself. I can't wait to see this, and who knows... perhaps one of our future contests will feature a visit to the set. Full press release below:





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THE WORLD'S MOST HAUNTED HOUSE OPENS ITS DOORS TO EXCLUSIVE MEDIA GROUP/HAMMER FILMS

THE ICONIC PRODUCTION CO. OPTIONS RIGHTS TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE HORROR FILM
IDW'S BRETT TOMBERLIN TO HELM "WINCHESTER" FEATURE


Los Angeles, CA (April 27, 2012) – In the first deal of its kind, the San Jose, California based Winchester Mystery House considered the “world’s most haunted house” is authorizing Hammer, an Exclusive Media company, the use of its unique property for a feature film based on its legendary story. Hammer has optioned all rights to develop and produce the feature film with Imagination Design Works (IDW) and Nine/8 Entertainment, it was announced today by Simon Oakes, Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media and President & CEO of Hammer, and Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, Co-Chairmen of Exclusive Media.

Production on the supernatural horror film currently in development will be overseen by Exclusive Media’s Tobin Armbrust, President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions, and Shira Rockowitz, Director of Development and Production. Brett Tomberlin and Antonia Lianos will produce for Imagination Design Works, Inc along with Andrew Trapani and Brian Gilbert for Nine/8 Entertainment. Christine Forde-Tomberlin of Imagination Design Works and Brent Emery of Coup d’Etat Films will serve as co-producers.

“The Winchester House has a rich and compelling history. The story behind how it was built has attracted a great deal of attention over the years and we are excited to bring that mythology to film,” said Tobin Armbrust. “We are also thrilled, and terrified, that the House has allowed us to film on the premises”.

"We are extremely excited to be partnering with Exclusive Media to bring the story of the Winchester Mystery House to a global audience. For many years, the mystique and history of this unique venue, and its owner Sarah Winchester, could be experienced only by those visiting the site. Now, with a film shot in and around the House, Sarah's spirit will be brought back to life, and the audience will see first- hand this stunning and bizarre house," said Brett Tomberlin, President, Imagination Design Works.

The Winchester Mystery House has a startling history and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. Popular belief holds that Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune, was convinced she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by “the gun that won the west.” Following a Medium’s advice, Sarah built a massive house in Northern California to appease the spirits. For the next 38 years, she never stopped building believing that if she continued, she would live forever, and if she stopped, she would die. Known as the “house built for the spirits,” there have been many inexplicable ghost sightings and to this day, visitors share their terrifying stories of having been in the presence of these departed souls who continue to roam the grounds of the intricate and enigmatic house.

Exclusive Media is a major force in the production and international distribution arena. Recent production titles include the box office hit THE WOMAN IN BLACK starring Daniel Radcliffe, and George Clooney’s THE IDES OF MARCH produced by Smokehouse Pictures and co-produced by Exclusive Media with Cross Creek Pictures.

Other Hammer productions in the works include THE QUIET ONES to be directed by John Pogue starring Jared Harris, BONESHAKER to be produced with Cross Creek Pictures, GASLIGHT written by newcomer Ian Fried and the newly announced THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGELS OF DEATH, to be produced with Talisman, Cross Creek Pictures and Alliance Films.

Exclusive Media’s current production slate includes Ron Howard’s epic RUSH starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl and produced with production partners Cross Creek Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Brian Grazer, and Revolution Films; END OF WATCH starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick and America Ferrera set for release through Open Road Films on September 28; SO UNDERCOVER starring Miley Cyrus and SNITCH starring Dwayne Johnson and Susan Sarandon in post- production.

Other recent titles from Exclusive Media’s documentary film division, Spitfire Pictures, include the Academy Award winning UNDEFEATED currently in release through The Weinstein Company, the Grammy Award winning FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH produced in association with Allentown Productions and Martin Scorsese’s award winning GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD produced by Martin Scorsese, Nigel Sinclair and Olivia Harrison.

IDW is represented by Alexa Pagonas at Michael Black Management.

ABOUT HAMMER

Originally founded in 1934, legendary British film studio Hammer has delivered a hugely successful run of films over the years including Dracula, Frankenstein Created Woman, One Million Years B.C. and The Vampire Lovers. Since 2008, the company has been part of Exclusive Media, which is reinvigorating this beloved global brand through investment across both traditional and new media.

Not in production since the 1980s, Hammer marked their return to features in 2010 with the release of the critically acclaimed Let Me In, an adaptation of the highly praised Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in. The film was written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road).

In 2011, Hammer released Antti Jokinen’s The Resident starring two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby), Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee, as well as the critically lauded Wake Wood directed by David Keating and starring Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle and Timothy Spall.

February 2012 saw the theatrical release of Hammer’s first ever feature ghost story The Woman In Black, directed by James Watkins, adapted by Jane Goldman from the book by Susan Hill, and starring Daniel Radcliffe. The film has taken over $ 100mm worldwide making it one of the biggest indie horror films.

Hammer recently launched a new publishing imprint through Random House which has already published eight books. In February 2012 the imprint published its first original title with the much- praised “The Greatcoat” by Helen Dunmore, which will be followed by an original novel about the Pendle witches, by Jeanette Winterson, and “Coldbrook” by Tim Lebbon. Also publishing in 2012 are further new novelisations of classic Hammer films.

Hammer is also broadening its reach, with plans for a Hammer Theatre of Horror and a Hammer visitor attraction, as well as continuing to honour the company’s legacy with re-releases of classic films, official histories, merchandise, screenings and social media engagement.

For further information about Hammer and its parent company Exclusive Media, please visitwww.hammerfilms.com and www.exclusivemedia.com

ABOUT EXCLUSIVE MEDIA

Exclusive Media is a vertically integrated global film entertainment company, founded in May 2008 with the backing of the strategic investment group Cyrte Investments. Exclusive Media develops, finances, produces, markets and distributes prestige and talent driven commercial and documentary feature films on a global basis.

Exclusive Media is run by a five member Executive Board with Nigel Sinclair as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Guy East as Co-Chairman, Simon Oakes as Vice Chairman and President of Hammer, Marc Schipper as Chief Operating Officer, and Randy Hermann as Chief Financial Officer. Supporting the Executive Board in both the operational management and strategic expansion of the business is a strong team of highly skilled professionals who have a broad range of complementary experience.

Exclusive Media’s development and production activities operate through three specialist labels: UK based Hammer for genre titles, Spitfire Pictures for documentary features and the flagship label Exclusive Media for all other feature film production.

Exclusive Media’s international sales & distribution division maintains a strong marketing presence and represents the group’s in-house productions plus its growing library of over 550 titles, as well as actively acquiring third party feature films to further strengthen its international distribution slate.

For further information about the company, our slate of films, library and our experienced management team please visit www.exclusivemedia.com

ABOUT IMAGINATION DESIGN WORKS, INC.

Imagination Design Works (IDW) is an independent production company formed for the purpose of creating feature length motion pictures, television programming and stage productions. Among its many unique projects, IDW represents the Winchester Mystery House, and was the first entity to broker the rights for a feature length film about and at the location.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Winchester Mystery House Movie

Could there be a movie in the works starring the Winchester Mystery House? It appears so based on this page: http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/themovie.cfm.

According the the link above, the movie is a PG13 supernatural thriller shot in San Jose and Los Angeles. I also found a reference to it in the IMDB with 2012 as the release date. I'll be ecstatic if this comes to fruition!

Winchester Mystery House™ to Star in Hollywood Movie