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Children of the Corn, Parts 1 through ∞
Sioux City's bouquet of death sticks with 'Children of the Corn' star
By Bruce R. Miller, Journal staff writer
LOS ANGELES -- Twenty years ago, Peter Horton came to Sioux City to star in "Children of the Corn," an adaptation of a Stephen King story.
The month or so he spent in town, he says, still lingers.
"It's a sense memory," he says while promoting a new series he's producing, "Grey's Anatomy." "I remember the smell. We stayed in a motel that was just downwind of a slaughterhouse and we kind of lived with the smell of death the whole shoot. It has stayed with me ever since ... and I don't know why."
Although the film was a low-budget venture, Horton viewed it as his last hurrah as an actor.
"I was getting into directing around that time and I had never starred in a movie. I figured before I stopped acting I wanted to at least star in a movie."
Ironically, "thirtysomething" followed the film and kept him in front of the cameras far longer than he ever imagined. While appearing as the ill-fated Gary, Horton got to direct more television and found that it really fit his style.
Now, although he just finished a role in a TV movie with Kirstie Alley, Horton expects to concentrate on directing and producing.
"It's more grown-up," he explains. "I find the older I get the more I find myself in the skin of a director and writer, not an actor."
"The challenge is trying to find something that hasn't been said before," Horton explains. "Our goal is to make it fresh in a tired genre." His take: Focus on the doctors and their personal lives, not the patients. As a result, the medical staff won't be filled with noble doctors and cold administrators battling over an emergency appendectomy.
"We're trying to view these people as people. You'll see all types. By no means are we trying to do an idealistic view of the profession."
While Horton directed the show's pilot and expects to do a handful more, he has no plan to act in any of them. "Don't put that in anyone's head," he says with a laugh. "I like writing, director and producing."
And "Children of the Corn"? "It seemed like an OK movie when I read the script. But it ended up not being so great."
Still, it spawned several sequels and does brisk business in video stores.
It's not Horton's proudest moment. But it does feature his name in a prominent spot on the credits.
"What can I say?" he offers with a shrug. "It has lived on and on."
By Bruce R. Miller, Journal staff writer
LOS ANGELES -- Twenty years ago, Peter Horton came to Sioux City to star in "Children of the Corn," an adaptation of a Stephen King story.
The month or so he spent in town, he says, still lingers.
"It's a sense memory," he says while promoting a new series he's producing, "Grey's Anatomy." "I remember the smell. We stayed in a motel that was just downwind of a slaughterhouse and we kind of lived with the smell of death the whole shoot. It has stayed with me ever since ... and I don't know why."
Although the film was a low-budget venture, Horton viewed it as his last hurrah as an actor.
"I was getting into directing around that time and I had never starred in a movie. I figured before I stopped acting I wanted to at least star in a movie."
Ironically, "thirtysomething" followed the film and kept him in front of the cameras far longer than he ever imagined. While appearing as the ill-fated Gary, Horton got to direct more television and found that it really fit his style.
Now, although he just finished a role in a TV movie with Kirstie Alley, Horton expects to concentrate on directing and producing.
"It's more grown-up," he explains. "I find the older I get the more I find myself in the skin of a director and writer, not an actor."
"The challenge is trying to find something that hasn't been said before," Horton explains. "Our goal is to make it fresh in a tired genre." His take: Focus on the doctors and their personal lives, not the patients. As a result, the medical staff won't be filled with noble doctors and cold administrators battling over an emergency appendectomy.
"We're trying to view these people as people. You'll see all types. By no means are we trying to do an idealistic view of the profession."
While Horton directed the show's pilot and expects to do a handful more, he has no plan to act in any of them. "Don't put that in anyone's head," he says with a laugh. "I like writing, director and producing."
And "Children of the Corn"? "It seemed like an OK movie when I read the script. But it ended up not being so great."
Still, it spawned several sequels and does brisk business in video stores.
It's not Horton's proudest moment. But it does feature his name in a prominent spot on the credits.
"What can I say?" he offers with a shrug. "It has lived on and on."
Comments
Not to keen on the sequels, mind you :-/
• Audio commentary by director Fritz Kiersch, producer Terrence Kirby and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains
• “Harvesting Horror: CHILDREN OF THE CORN,” an all-new documentary featuring interviews with Kiersch, Franklin and Gains
• Original storyboard art
• Poster and still gallery
• Original title sequence art
• Theatrical trailer
• DVD-ROM: Original screenplay
Cover art here
Dimension has been trying to get the “Children of the Corn” back in the summery fields – and theaters – for forever and a day. Finally, It looks like the lil’ blonde bastards may be returning to work.
A few years back, screenwriter Joe Harris (“The Tripper”) was attached to pen a new sequel to the George Goldsmith-penned original… but the plan fell through like a president’s promises.
Now, according to IESB, the plan is to remake the first film - which starred a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton - with “Saw 3” helmer Darren Lynn Bousman attached to direct. Though the studio, or Bousman’s reps, won’t confirm the news… it sounds like the report is as solid as frozen yogurt.
I haven’t seen the original film in years – maybe a decade – but I did recently pick up a copy of the film for about $2 at a video store closing down sale. I really should give it a look again. From memory, it wasn’t a bad film.
Based on the short story by Stephen King, “Corn” told of a boy preacher named Isaac who goes to a town in Nebraska called Gatlin and gets all the children to murder every adult in town.
Ya know what? For once, I think I’d rather a straight-up remake here… rather than just another sequel. The “Children of the Corn” sequels they were churning out (most of them, direct-to-video) were just bullshit. Near unwatchable. The original film is getting a bit long in the tooth too, so it could probably do with a make-over. Heck, if I don’t remember it that well… then chances are everyone under the age of say, 30, doesn’t remember it at all.
Some weird, weird, weird news came in this morning that caught me a little off guard. What we received was word that a remake of Children of the Corn is gearing up for production this August in Eastern Central Iowa - and Dimension Films is not involved. Inside you'll find out who is writing, directing and also check out an early shooting synopsis!
Update: The remake is being produced by Anchor Bay Entertainment for a Sci-Fi Channel premiere.
Here's the shocker, Bloody-Disgusting learned that Donald P. Borchers - producer of the original 1984 film - is directing the latest incarnation if CHILDREN OF THE CORN from his own screenplay!
His previous directing credits include Perfect Fit (1999) and Grave Secrets (1989). He also associate produced The Beastmaster (1984).
The film is currently casting with the following synopsis making the rounds: Former Vietnam vet BURT's marriage to former prom queen VICKY is on the rocks, but Burt hopes to rekindle their old flame with a second honeymoon driving trip. Unfortunately, their journey takes them into the heart of darkness - a seemingly deserted rural community that conceals a grim secret among its rows of tall corn...
It was also revealed that this will be a period piece set in the 1970s.
Shooting will take place most of September for the movie, based on a Stephen King novella, that will debut on cable television’s Sci-Fi Channel next year in the United States and be distributed in theaters around Europe.
Area children will be interviewed Thursday through Monday for speaking roles, featured roles and as background extras.
The remake is being written, directed and produced by Donald Borchers, a producer on the original movie, which was filmed in the Sioux City, Iowa, area and spawned numerous sequels.
Borchers said he chose the Quad-Cities after receiving a recommendation from Tom Wheeler, manager of the Iowa Film Office in the state Department of Economic Development.
“I went to him and asked him if there was any part of Iowa that was active in filmmaking, and he highly recommended that we go to Davenport,” Borchers said Monday afternoon.
Shooting is scheduled to take place Sept. 3-30 throughout the area, said Doug Miller of Bettendorf, the film’s location manager.
“We are still scouting throughout the Quad-Cities and the countryside beyond, obviously, since it’s ‘Children of the Corn,’ ” he said.
“My needs are quite simple. I need corn,” Borchers said. “And I understand you have that throughout the state.”
Borchers said “Children of the Corn” was one of the few adaptations of King’s material that the prolific author himself publicly criticized. The script was rewritten from King’s original work to give it a happy ending and add two of what Borchers called “Disney-esque characters,” named Jacob and Sarah, as narrators.
“They put a lot of sugar, if you will, into the coffee,” he said. “Stephen King doesn’t take his coffee with sugar.”
The success of movies such as “Saw” and “The Blair Witch Project” showed “it’s no longer requisite to have a happy ending,” he added. “We wanted to stay faithful to the decisions in his original story.”
The first movie starred Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Borchers said he has not cast the lead roles yet, but “I have a lot of interest of people wanting to be in it.”
The budget for the production is estimated at $2 million.
Ron Summers of the Quad-City Development Group said movie productions add to the economy and exposure of the area.
“It’s always great because it brings several millions of dollars into the Quad-City economy in terms of hotels, foods and restaurants,” he said. “It gives the Quad-Cities exposure on a national, sometimes international, stage. All in all, it’s a good deal whenever we have movies come to the Quad-Cities.”
CASTING CALL
Casting for youth roles in the remake of “Children of the Corn” will begin Thursday and continue through Monday at The Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf. Casting will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2-7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, as well as 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday. Those auditioning are asked to bring a small photo.
The remake of a 1983 horror movie based on a Stephen King story will be filmed in the Quad-City area from Sept. 3 to 30.
Douglas Miller of Motion Pictures Midwest told the Tipton City Council that the director of photography and members of the art department will visit Tipton this week to make decisions concerning the scenes that will be shot there.
Tipton and Wilton will be used to represent the fictional town of Gatlin, Neb. Tipton’s downtown area, especially near the Hardacre Theatre on East 5th Street, is to be featured.
Travis Alden, community development director for Tipton, is excited Tipton was chosen for the movie scenes.
“In my opinion, this is perfect timing as we are fresh off of our RAGBRAI success and the logistics planning required for that will be helpful with this project,” he said.
Donald Borchers is writer, director and producer of the remake. He was a producer of the 1983 version, which was made in Sioux City.
Principal photography began this week in Iowa on the Stephen King adaptation.
David Anders (Heroes) and Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) star alongside Newman in the new Corn, a production sprouting on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2009.
"I just got really excited about getting into Malachai's head," he says. "Knowing this movie was going to be closer to King's vision, I knew it was going to be a bit of task. I went into the audition in character. I covered myself in blood, rolled around in dirt, didn't wash my hair for days. I was driving around in L.A., windows up in the heat with no air conditioning and sweating my balls off. When I walked into the audition, I was a terrifying sight."
John
For my own sanity, there are two types of movies I try hard to avoid: horror remakes and anything created solely for the Sci Fi Channel. Remakes of classic fright flicks are usually rather abysmal, and the Sci Fi Channel has brought us films with such titles as Android Apocalypse, Boa vs. Python and S.S. Doomtrooper. The network is known for spitting out weekly B-movies with no regard to quality, though every now and then they create something worthwhile.
What would happen if the Sci Fi Channel decided to produce their own horror remake? We'll soon find out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network is planning a reboot of the 1984 Stephen King film Children of the Corn, which starred Peter Horton and a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton. The new version will feature David Anders (Heroes' Adam Monroe) and Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica's Lt. Dualla) as an unlucky couple who find themselves stranded in a creepy rural community.
The original Children of the Corn isn't exactly an untouchable cinematic classic, but it is undeniably creepy and spawned a whopping six sequels. The characters of Isaac and Malachai, who are two of the children in the demonic cult the couple runs into, are perhaps the most memorable part of the original movie. In the remake, young preacher Isaac will be played by eight-year-old Preston Bailey (Cody on Showtime's Dexter), while rebellious Malachai will be played by Daniel Newman, formerly of NBC's Surface.
The two-hour TV movie, which is currently shooting in Iowa, centers around Burt (Anders) and Vicky (McClure), a couple who is having serious marital problems. Burt gets the bright idea to take a second-honeymoon road trip, but things take a turn for the horrific when they enter a seemingly deserted rural community that contains a dark secret among its rows of corn. Anyone who has seen the 1984 film or read the original Stephen King short story can guess what happens from there. The remake is being written and directed by Donald P. Borchers, who has a long history of producing C-level horror fare.
I must admit that the cast of this movie has me curious to see it, though I'm fairly certain it'll be terrible. I've been a fan of David Anders since his days on Alias, and I'm still crossing my fingers that his Adam Monroe will make a return appearance on Heroes. As for McClure, she's never been given much to do on Battlestar Galactica, so it could be fun to see her take on a lead role as a horror heroine. Battlestar Galactica finished filming its final episodes earlier this year, so let's hope this is the first of many new roles for the actress.
Children of the Corn will air on the Sci Fi Channel sometime in 2009.
>> From BuddyTV
In 1984, former OCCC professor Fritz Kiersch directed the classic horror movie “Children of the Corn,” written by Stephen King.
Now, almost 25 years later, Hollywood has decided to re-make his film.
Kiersch said he will have no involvement with the remake.
“I think it is wonderful that someone wants to spice up something I did a quarter of a century ago,” he said.
“When I originally wrote the film I was no one more than a 30-year-old kid trying to have some fun.”
Kiersh worked with Donald Borchers on the original film, Borchers was a co-producer.
Borchers will direct the film during September in Davenport, Iowa.
Kiersch is in support of Borchers’ attempt to re- create a franchise that already exists but said he just doesn’t have the ambition to re-make something that can’t really be altered too much.
“Donald is on his own on this one,” Kiersch said. “I wish him the best of luck but the ‘Children of the Corn’ franchise already exists.”
“Sequels can sometimes not work out as well when the original story wasn’t meant to have sequels.”
Kiersch said he is excited to see what a larger budget would do for the re-make.
“In 1984, we really didn’t have an adequate budget,” Kiersch said.
“So, we did the best we could with what we had.”
Kiersch was a film and video studies professor at OCCC from 2000 to 2005. He also was the former director of the Oklahoma Film Institute at OCCC,
The re-make is set for release in the spring of 2009 and can be seen on the Sci-Fi channel.
Tanya Voelker, 15, and Sky Wolfe, 14, both of Muscatine, went to the casting call in Bettendorf in August and were chosen as extras. They were among the thousands of people who turned out, hoping to be in the movie.
“It was exciting because we just showed up not knowing what would happen. They came up and picked me out of the line and had me read the script,” said Sky.
Voelker had a similar experience at the audition and couldn’t have been more excited when she heard the news that she’d be an extra a couple of weeks later.
“I started jumping around! I was freaking out!” she said.
Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment are remaking the 1984 theatrical movie, which was originally a novella by the horror novelist Stephen King. The film will debut on cable television’s Sci-Fi Channel next year in the United States and have a theatrical run in Europe.
The remake is being written, directed and produced by Donald Borchers, a producer on the original movie, which was filmed in the Sioux City area and generated six sequels.
While on the set, the girls were dressed in black and learned a little about the acting business.
“It was ‘hurry up and wait,’” Tanya said. “One day we were told to show up at 9 a.m. and sat there ’til sunset.”
Originally the kids were told they would be payed $25 per day for their role, but later found out that they would only be able to participate if it was on a volunteer basis. Their understanding of the reason is because the producers found out they would have to pay each child minimum wage. They decided to do it anyway for the experience.
Meeting the stars was the most exciting thing for the teens. Malachai is played by Daniel Newman, of NBC’s “Surface.”
Kandyce McClure of Sci-Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica” and David Anders of “Heroes,” both play “outlanders,” or adults who have shown up accidentally and unwanted in the children’s’ town.
Alexa Nikolas of “Zoey 101,” a popular children’s show, plays Ruth. And the girls said everybody’s favorite was Isaac, the young preacher who convinces the children of the town to slaughter their parents. Isaac is portrayed by Preston Bailey, 8, from the television show “Dexter.”
“They were so friendly and would come talk to us. Our tent was next to theirs so we were together, but we still mingled,” said Tanya, who had autographs from many of the stars.
Sky said she hopes she’ll see herself in the movie when, during a dinner scene, she’s seated next to Isaac. Plus, she said, as the days went on, fewer people showed up to be extras.
“In ways it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be and in other ways it was a lot less glamorous,” she said.
Tanya was made to look “dirty” by not wearing makeup, wiping dirt down her arms and messing up her hair. Sky was one of what the teens described as “the pretty girls”; she had her hair and makeup done in the trailer on the set.
Both teens got to carry weapons for their extra role — Sky had a spatula and Tanya had a cheese grater.
>> Source: Muscatine Journal
Along with Jonathan Elias, Elias Arts composer Nate Morgan is also working on the soundtrack. They have developed over an hour of original new music, described as modern orchestral that provides even more frightening textures than the original.
The movie, written and directed by Donald P. Borchers will premiere later this year on the SCI FI Channel.
>>> Source
Remember it is the SyFy ::) network now.
The original is coming out on BluRay:
Written and directed by Donald P. Borchers (who produced the 1984 CHILDREN feature), the latest adaptation of the Stephen King short story premieres on Syfy Saturday, September 26 at 9 p.m. David Anders and Kandyse McClure star as Burt and Vicki, the couple whose road trip leads them into a remote town populated by religious-fanatic kids led by Malachai (Daniel Newman) and Isaac (Preston Bailey). (ORPHAN’s Isabelle Fuhrman apparently does a voice in the movie.) Full specs for the DVD, which retails for $26.97 ($18.99 Amazon as of this post), are coming soon.
>>> Source
Donald Borchers believes he's hit his target.
"I think we stepped up to the line, measured the distance to the dartboard and struck the bullseye," said Borchers, the producer, director and co-writer of the remake of "Children of the Corn."
Borchers' version of "Children of the Corn," based on a Stephen King short story, premieres next weekend on the cable channel Syfy. It was filmed in the Quad-City area over about four weeks during September 2008.
Besides the made-for-cable TV film, an expanded version on DVD will be released in October. The DVD will include a few minutes of additional footage.
Borchers said Syfy, formerly the Sci-Fi Channel, is pleased with the results.
"From the script I submitted, not one word was changed because of an instruction from either the studio or the network," he said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "Not one line of dialogue was changed."
"Children of the Corn" is one of several movies to film in Iowa of late thanks to tax incentives granted to filmmakers.
Borchers was nothing but complimentary toward the crew and residents of the state.
"First and foremost, what great people," he said, "everybody we met, from the first phone call to the film commissioner to the local contact guy to hotel people. Even the temp agencies. ... fabulous locations."
About 1,000 children auditioned for speaking and non-speaking roles in the film.
"When we said we needed extras, heaven forbid," Borchers said with a laugh. "The enthusiasm from the people who wanted to volunteer to go on this crazy, educational learning journey of being in the film - what rewards we were given."
Borchers praised the cooperation of the children's parents and teachers, the latter parlaying the students' experiences into classroom reports on what they'd learned.
A year after the fact, he also had praise for The Lodge hotel in Bettendorf, Hy-Vee food stores throughout the area and the price of sushi in the Quad-Cities.
In the original story and movie, a married couple discovers a small Nebraska town where a gang of children, armed with farm tools, has taken over.
Borchers co-produced the original "Children of the Corn," which became a cult classic after it was released in 1984, but it was one of the few movies based on his works where King disapproved of the treatment, including the ending.
"I wanted to get it right this time," Borchers said. "I made Stephen King's short story. It's faithful. We took a chance by not going with the traditional Hollywood structure and I think it paid off in spades."
King, who is credited as a co-writer, has seen this movie, Borchers said. Writers Guild of America regulations state that he could keep his name in the credits, be listed under a pseudonym or take his name off completely. He elected to keep his name in the credits, Borchers proudly said.
"Children of the Corn," which Borchers had in the works for many years before filming it, may yield a harvest beyond a two-hour TV movie. David Simkins, his former classmate at the University of Notre Dame, is executive producer of "Warehouse 13," a Syfy original series, and Borchers has hopes for "Corn" to become a weekly show as well.
"If there is interest, we have the concept for quite an interesting series," he said. "I've got a hunch that whether or not it gets ratings will determine its fate."
Borchers said he is confident audiences will enjoy the finished product.
"If you're a person who otherwise enjoys the genre of horror, you will find this delivers in spades and you will have a very spooky night," he said, then added, "with nightmares."
John