New action horror The Meg is slated for release on August 10th and so far, it looks like it could be a ferociously entertaining watch. The film starring Jason Statham carries a budget of $150 million and will be distributed by Warner Bros. in the US and Gravity Pictures in China.
The Meg is based on a series of novels of the same name by Steve Alten and centres around a deep-sea diver and palaeontologist named Jonas Taylor (Statham) who is convinced of the existence of a sixty-five foot prehistoric Shark called a "Megalodon", thought to have been extinct for two million years. The giant sea monster resurfaces and attacks an underwater research centre off the coast of China, leaving the crew stranded. Protagonist Jonas Taylor is called in to rescue them and stop the giant shark from attacking the mainland.
Weirdly reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's 1975 hit Jaws (but on a much bigger scale), the trailer paints a picture of an adrenaline-fuelled thrillride of a shark horror with lots of suspense, chaos and somehow a giant squid (obviously) appearing from nowhere just to kick things up another prehistoric/mythical notch. There will be some panicked pandemonium as the shark terrorises the beach, presumably eating a few people and causing more than a little distress to locals and holidaymakers. The music in the trailer, however (starting at around 1:25) suggests that this film is a clear parody of itself and is not something to be taken overly seriously - thankfully.
Warner Bros. re-acquired the rights to the novel in 2015 and brought in horror director Eli Roth. Roth wanted to retain a budget of $150 million for the project, retain the R-rating and according to some sources, he wanted to play the lead in the film. Warner decided that the creative differences between them and the director were insurmountable and instead hired National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub who would then cast Statham as well as Australian actress Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black) and Rainn Wilson (The Office).
Make no mistake, this film will be utterly ridiculous. It seems like a typical retelling of another silly shark story with loads of suspense and screaming and teeth... Yes, that's right, it's going to be brilliant and audiences all over the world are going to love it. Watch this space for a review when it comes out!
The Meg is based on a series of novels of the same name by Steve Alten and centres around a deep-sea diver and palaeontologist named Jonas Taylor (Statham) who is convinced of the existence of a sixty-five foot prehistoric Shark called a "Megalodon", thought to have been extinct for two million years. The giant sea monster resurfaces and attacks an underwater research centre off the coast of China, leaving the crew stranded. Protagonist Jonas Taylor is called in to rescue them and stop the giant shark from attacking the mainland.
Weirdly reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's 1975 hit Jaws (but on a much bigger scale), the trailer paints a picture of an adrenaline-fuelled thrillride of a shark horror with lots of suspense, chaos and somehow a giant squid (obviously) appearing from nowhere just to kick things up another prehistoric/mythical notch. There will be some panicked pandemonium as the shark terrorises the beach, presumably eating a few people and causing more than a little distress to locals and holidaymakers. The music in the trailer, however (starting at around 1:25) suggests that this film is a clear parody of itself and is not something to be taken overly seriously - thankfully.
The film has been a long time coming. Disney purchased the rights to Alten's novel back in 1997 and since then, the movie has been kicked around between a few producers and production companies. The project was pitched to a few foreign distribution moguls at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 and New Line tried to fast track the film's release to summer, 2006. Editor Jan De Bont began assembling a production team to start building the project adding Jurassic Park producer Colin Wilson and production designer William Sandell (Total Recall, The Perfect Storm). With the film's price tag edging further out of reach, New Line abandoned the project and the rights to the novel were returned to its author.
Warner Bros. re-acquired the rights to the novel in 2015 and brought in horror director Eli Roth. Roth wanted to retain a budget of $150 million for the project, retain the R-rating and according to some sources, he wanted to play the lead in the film. Warner decided that the creative differences between them and the director were insurmountable and instead hired National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub who would then cast Statham as well as Australian actress Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black) and Rainn Wilson (The Office).
Make no mistake, this film will be utterly ridiculous. It seems like a typical retelling of another silly shark story with loads of suspense and screaming and teeth... Yes, that's right, it's going to be brilliant and audiences all over the world are going to love it. Watch this space for a review when it comes out!
