I get a lot of e-mails about upcoming movies. These e-mails usually give me information for well-known movies and are typically late as I’d already learned the information from some site or facebook page and get disregarded appropriately. I also get a healthy amount of e-mails from actors and film directors wanting to get exposure for some upcoming film that may or may not get developed depending on one thing or another. This one particular e-mail just stood out in my inbox thanks to the following intriguing subject line:
ARTIST MATT BUSCH TO DIRECT LIVE-ACTION SCI-FI ALADDIN MOVIE!
I’ll make this perfectly clear: I am a SUCKER for all things Aladdin related. Those damn disney movies did a number on me and took advantage of a young impressionable mind. I can’t help it. I sing at least one of those damn songs at least once a week while driving alone and look forward to impressing these same beloved musical pieces on my children and any other nearby impressionable children. So I opened the e-mail and found the following press release:
On his 40th birthday, Artist/Director Matt Busch announced candidly on his YouTube channel he will be writing and directing a feature-length live-action movie titled Aladdin 3477. Loosely adapted from the Arabian Nights classic tale, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, this version is set 1,500 years into the future. The movie will be produced by Kaleidoscope Koi Entertainment and filming in locations around the world.
Mostly known as a high-profile Star Wars illustrator, Busch is no stranger to filmmaking. He spent most of the ’90s in Hollywood working in all aspects of production on films like Con-Air and The Matrix. Busch’s own directorial debut wasConjure, a straight-to-DVD production which in 2006 became the highest pre-selling movie of all-time, according to HorrorMovies.com. Since then, he has produced dozens of short films and documentaries for Lucasfilm, DC Comics, and even the President of the United States. Busch’s biggest accomplishment has been producing 3 seasons of the highly popular You Can Draw Star Wars video series.
The Aladdin 3477 movie is actually a culmination of several projects that Busch has had in development for over 20 years. He began the initial idea during the time he was a college student, self-publishing his own comic books. When Busch was studying illustration and film at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, he would utilize class projects to create concept art and character designs for the story. Aspects of these visuals later came to life in future creator-owned published comic books and magazines, but ultimately Busch held out to one day produce Aladdin 3477 as a feature-length movie.
This futuristic version of Aladdin will be nothing like Disney’s 1992 animated feature. “There’s no singing and no dancing.” comments Busch, “This version stems more from the original story, which is much darker in tone. The visuals will look more like Star Wars, mixed with Eastern culture, Hindu mythology and Asian design motifs.” Busch plans to shoot as much live-action elements as possible, in lieu of the ever-increasing CGI present in today’s science fiction films. In the next few months, location scouting will begin in India, China, and Thailand.
As Busch continues with the early stages of preproduction, video diaries will be released Online every other month to help build anticipation and give fans a unique look behind-the-scenes. With the scale of this production planned, principle photography isn’t expected to begin until 2014. While a distributor for Aladdin 3477 is yet to be decided, Busch is estimating a 2015 release.
No singing, no dancing, and probably no Robin Williams. Normally I would say that this creates a recipe for disaster but I’d like to hold out hope for this film. Distancing itself from the Disney adaptation is a brave move and I’m anxious to see the developments. This may not be the Pixar re-interpretation of Aladdin that I always wanted but it IS a futuristic adaptation from a guy who seems to know what he’s doing and has an infinitival for all things geek culture. As far as propositions go I’ll admit that he does have my attention…
Check out the concept art below:
Not sure how this will turn out but here’s my exposure for these smaller films needing exposure for the week. Maybe I’ll do it weekly, let me know if there’s an interest in the comments.
