Paramount Pictures has announced that it developing a new animated anthology feature film based on the 1981 animated feature Heavy Metal, itself based on the long-running illustrated fantasy magazine.
Director David Fincher will be heading up the project, which will consist of eight or nine separate animated segments, each to be done by a different director. In addition, Fincher will direct one of the segments with Kevin Eastman, co-creator of The Teenage Mutant Turtles comic book franchise and current owner and publisher of Heavy Metal, and Tim Miller are slated to direct segments. No other directors were named. The three are also listed as producers on the film, which they hope will deliver the same adult-oriented fantasy stories that the magazine and original film did.
A long time favorite on the midnight movie circuit in the 1980s, Heavy Metal spawned a sequel in 2000 which bypassed theaters and went directly to cable. Based on a graphic novel by Eastman and Simon Bisley, the film wasn’t very good at all. In fact, I found it downright terrible.
Moving back to the anthology format seems like a good idea, allowing creators to stretch their muscles in a different direction and make what would be essentially a short film. Will Fincher try and put some sort of running thread through the movie to link the various stories together? Better polish up your loc-nar.
