Exclusive: Patrick Melton Talks The Collector 2 and The Outer Limits
With the seventh entry in Lionsgate’s Saw film franchise poised for release this October 22, 2010, Dread caught up with the film’s co-writer Patrick Melton to chat about his other projects, namely the currently-in-development The Collector 2 (the sequel to his co-writer Marcus Dunstan’s 2009 directorial debut and Liddell Entertainment release), as well as the status of the pair’s re-animating of the classic series The Outer Limits for MGM.
“The script is done, and we’re barreling towards formal pre-production in terms of doing the budget and figuring out where we’re going to shoot,” states Melton regarding The Collector 2. “It very well may be Detroit, which works perfectly with where the story goes, but we’re not totally sure just yet. The script is very ambitious, and thankfully the budget is going to be bigger than on the original. It should be pretty wild.”
No word yet on the premise although a horror-crime thriller hybrid approach, as in the original, will most likely be taken, so we’re told. One can hope for the return of lead Josh Stewart as his commanding onscreen presence in the first film served to ratchet up the tension considerably.
As for the duo’s take on The Outer Limits (it was recently reported that Melton and Dunstan have been hired to pen a feature length version – here’s hoping that they confer with series authority David Schow – which Cale Boyter is overseeing along with Jon Shestack, Jeremy Stein and original series producer Mark Victor), Melton states that, “It’s a little different than what we’re generally known for: decapitations, eyeball gouging, etc. Marcus and I grew up on the sci-fi/horror/fantasy anthologies of yesteryear – “The Outer Limits”, “Twilight Zone”, “Tales From the Crypt”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, etc. – so we couldn’t be more excited at bringing “The Outer Limits” to the big screen. However, there are a ton of big sci-fi movies coming out in the next few years so we’ve been very conscious about going against the grain on this one. By that I mean we’re twisting expectations and the genre norms at every opportunity. The story is dead serious, but this won’t be like any sci-fi tale you’ve seen before (plot-wise, structurally or otherwise).”
“‘The Outer Limits’ as a TV series was always moodier and darker than something like ‘The Twilight Zone’,” continues Melton, “so we’re trying to instill that same edgy vibe in the feature. For example, ‘The Outer Limits’ had a lot of monsters, especially in the first season. I can’t say too much more about the plot because of the competing sci-fi projects, but many aspects of the original show will be in the movie. And while it’s just one movie, there will be several stories that interweave. Fans of the show should be very pleased.”
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