Whether it's ghosts or aliens, Paramount Pictures keeps it in the family, as Variety reports the studio has picked up the distribution rights to 'Area 51,' writer-director Oren Peli's follow-up to his surprise-hit haunted-house thriller, 'Paranormal Activity.'This acquisition is certainly a no-brainer, since Paramount has already reaped the rewards of Peli's hugely successful 'Paranormal,' which has grossed over $100 million on a budget of $11,000.
Like its predecessor, 'Area 51' has a "found footage" narrative structure, this time featuring a group of teenagers stumbling upon the notorious military base in the Nevada desert, said to house all sorts of alien life forms and technology. Principal photography wrapped recently, and the film will be released sometime in 2010.
'Paranormal Activity,' which has been a surprise success of almost 'Blair Witch Project' proportions, is certainly a very hard act to follow -- we'll have to see if 'Area 51' ends up being a worthy successor or the dreaded "sophomore slump."
What do you think? Will the "found footage" approach work for aliens the way it did for ghosts? Or will 'Area 51' fall short of 'Paranormal Activity'?
Reader Comments (1)
jasmine at 11:13AM on Dec 4th 2009
I watched this movie "paranormal activity" and it creeped me out dont get me wrong i love scary movies but this movie did not let me sleep at all i was thinking the ghost was going to grab my leg and drag me it was the worst feeling ever but it was worth watching wish they could make more movies like this people will have fun waistin the money watching movies like this