Exclusive! Insider report spills VAN HELSING secrets!

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Monday, March 10, 2003
Source: Insider X

Last week theater owners and movie studio execs were in Las Vegas attending the annual ShoWest convention, showing off what wares the film studios have in store for us for the next 12-18 months. And lucky for us, one of those attendees just happened to be a friend of ours.

As we reported last week, director Stephen Sommers (THE MUMMY) was at this year's ShoWest to give folks a preview of his next film, VAN HELSING, due out in May 2004. At the Universal Pictures presentation, Sommers showed the audience some conceptual imagery from VAN HELSING of the newly redesigned classic Universal monsters. However, what hasn't been reported (that is, until now) is what Sommers had to say about what we'll see when VAN HELSING opens in theaters next summer!

Our industry source told us that Sommers revealed quite a bit at the VAN HELSING presentation, and if you don't want slight spoilers on your plate, you best not read further...

Still with me?

Sommers stressed to the audience that he wants the look of Hugh Jackman's VAN HELSING to be "absolutely iconic", meaning that if someone spotted him approaching in the distance they'd know exactly who he was. The recent preview artwork showing a black garbed Helsing gives us an idea what Sommers means when he says that. And expect Van Helsing to be armed to the teeth; some of the weapons he'll have include "multipurpose powersaw
blades/guns".

Also discussed by Sommers were the new versions of Count Dracula, the

Wolfman and Frankenstein's Monster. Sommers said that VAN HELSING begins with the storming of Castle Frankenstein, and by the third act, the hero is at the door of Count Dracula's foreboding home. "The Classic Universal Monsters look absolutely NOTHING like the ones in the film," said our source. "Frank looks a lot more like a slightly biomechanical version of the DeNiro
FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula turns into a Batman Man-Bat/Harpy looking creature (and there is an attack by SEVERAL of the transformed Man-Bats). The Wolfman as previously noted literally sheds his manskin to become the Wolf."

Finally, our guy on the inside stressed that, judging from the movie's presence at ShoWest, Universal will be putting a ton of cash into the promotion of VAN HELSING. Even with the sequel to SPIDER-MAN and a possible third MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE all being released in May of next year, expect VAN HELSING to rule the box office roost the weekend of its release.

[Thanks to our man on the inside!]

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