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Fatal Frame

Genre:
Horror/Video Game Adaptation.

Studio:
DreamWorks SKG.

Production Company:
Unknown.

Project Phase:
Pre-script stage.

Who's In It:
Unknown.

Who's Making It:
John Rogerss (Screenwriter); based on the video game Fatal Frame by Tecmo.

Premise:
Unknown.

Release Date:
Unknown.

Comments:
As taken from Tecmo's Fatal Frame website: "Based on a true story, Fatal Frame recounts Miku's investigation for her brother Mafuyu when he goes missing for two weeks. Her latest clue leads her to the abandoned Himuro mansion. Mafuyu was investigating the disappearance of three people, one of which was the famous writer Junsei Takamine, who was also his mentor. The townfolks, however, aren't being cooperative with the investigation, so he decides to explore the mansion alone. Gifted with a supernatural sixth sense, Miku is worried about her brother's fate, so she enters the mansion in search of him."

Scoop Feedback:

May 23, 2002... Tecmo Inc. announced today at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) that it is finalizing a deal with DreamWorks to produce a live-action movie based on the survival-horror video game Fatal Frame. The game, which was released on Sony PlayStation 2 last March, has garnished positive acclaim for its innovating gameplay and creepy storyline.

DreamWorks is currently in post-production on another horror film, The Ring, starring Naomi Watts. That film is slated for release this August.

Tecmo, Ltd. President Junji Nakamura also commented on the deal. "We are happy that DreamWorks, one of the premier movie studios in the world, recognized the greatness of 'Fatal Frame' by Tecmo, one of the premier game developers in the world. We have great things planned for 'Fatal Frame' in the future, and this motion picture deal is only the beginning."

[Taken from the Tecmo press release.]

Survival-horror video games have soared to the top of the charts and to the attention of Hollywood execs. Last March saw the release of a movie based on Capcom's Resident Evil. Filming has begun on a feature film based on Sega's House of the Dead, and rumors swirled in April that the film rights for Konami's Silent Hill series had been acquired (these reports turned out to be false.)

October 1, 2003... At the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, video game distributor Tecmo announced that DreamWorks is fast-tracking the movie adaptation of its popular horror video game FATAL FRAME. Screenwriter John Rogers (THE CORE, CATWOMAN) is writing the movie script for FRAME. Once the script is complete a director will be hired and casting will begin shortly afterward.

Japanese horror is hot right now. After DreamWorks had success with its American remake of THE RING, a slew of studios and production companies began snapping up the rights to other recent Japanese horror films. DreamWorks purchased the movie rights to FATAL FRAME earlier in the year. Unlike all the other remakes, one cool aspect of the FATAL FRAME picture is that Rogers' script remains set in Japan.

"I was attracted to the idea of doing a classic, old school haunted house picture," Rogers said in a press release issued by Tecmo. "By focusing, too, on cool Japanese cultural additions and different ghost 'mythos' most North American audiences are unfamiliar with, we can do something unique. None of the rules about the supernatural, the characters, or our audience apply in the FATAL FRAME world."

The game followed the investigations of a female photographer who found that her camera could take photos of distrubing apparitions. A sequel to the game, titled FATAL FRAME: CRIMSON BUTTERFLY, is set for release this coming November. [Taken from the Tecmo press release.]