Dead Rising Movie Taps Leprechaun: Origins Director Zach Lipovsky
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Given the popularity of both zombies and video game movies, it’s a little bit surprising that it has taken so long for us to get an adaptation of Capcom’s popular Dead Rising, but now there’s been some serious forward movement on the upcoming project. Legendary Entertainment, Crackle, and legendary producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura have hired Zack Lipovsky to helm their undead actioner.
The Wrap reports the news, and while adaptations of video games have a long and checkered past, to say the least, Lipovsky may be the perfect man for this particular job. He’s primarily known for his visual effects work, and appeared as a contestant on the Steven Spielberg-produced reality series On the Lot. Though he only has one feature directing gig under his belt, it is the latest installment in a venerable, not to mention ridiculous, horror franchise Leprechaun: Origins. That seems like a great warm up for a movie like Dead Rising, as do his stints behind the camera on schlocky Syfy fare like Tasmanian Devils.
Though the film will be a standard 90-minutes or so, the folks behind it are taking an interesting approach when it comes to delivering it to the public, and plan to distribute it across a wide number of platforms. Crackle, most known as a streaming content provider, will have an exclusive digital release in the U.S. before it hits VOD, DVD, and Blu-ray. The title will also be distributed in both feature length and episodic forms in various international markets.
Tom Lesinsky, Legendary Digital Media’s former president of content, says, “Dead Rising‘s built-in fan base and rich characters and plot lines are ideal for digital storytelling.”
Set in the midst of a zombie outbreak (that much seems obvious, doesn’t it?), Dead Rising follows a freelance photojournalist named Frank West as he hunts down what could be the biggest scoop of his career. While on an assignment in a zombie infested suburban town, much like Dawn of the Dead, he takes refuge in a local shopping mall. Trapped in this consumer paradise, he must use the resources at his disposal—luckily the mall has just about everything he could possibly need—to fight off the hungry mob of undead flesh eaters, and search for the truth behind the pandemic.
Tim Carter handled the scripting duties, and it will be interesting to see if, and how, it differs from Dawn, and how it goes about channeling the mayhem of the game. Carter will also produce with partner Tomas Harlan. The two are also behind Machinima’s digital Mortal Kombat: Legacy series.
There’s no timeline for when we might see Dead Rising, but it sounds like there is momentum, so we should be hearing more soon.
