Fede Alvarez, the Uraguayan filmmaker behind the YouTube sensation Panic Attack!, has signed a holding deal with Ghost House Pictures to develop and direct an original genre project. The deal will see Ghost House hire a writer for the project, which will be based on an idea by Alvarez.
In a situation that seems reminiscent of both Neil Blomkamp (District 9) and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Alvarez has gone from zero to hero in Hollywood and he is already being hailed as the next big thing. Alvarez made the short, about giant robots attacking Montevideo, for several hundred dollars. The same day he posted it online, Hollywood – impressed by what he was able to do with such a small budget – came calling. Alvarez entered immediate talks with Ghost House after bonding with its principals, which including director Sam Raimi.
It seems Hollywood has gone crazy for the low-budget/new director combo, hoping that the recent success of District 9 and Paranormal Activity can be recreated time and again and rake in the big bucks for studios. Whether this trend will continue if new directors come up short and fail to recreate this current success, remains to be seen…
(Source: THR’s HeatVisionBlog)
