Films
In 1981, an animated feature film was adapted from several of the magazine's serials. Made on a budget of US$9,300,000, under production for three years, Heavy Metal featured animated segments from several different animation houses with each doing a single story segment. Another house animated the frame story which tied all the disparate stories together. Like the magazine, the movie featured a great deal of nudity and graphic violence, though not to the degree seen in the magazine. For example, in its Den segment, it did not display the blatant male genitalia of its print counterpart. The film featured such SCTV talents as John Candy, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman. It did reasonably well in its theatrical release and soon gained a cult status, partially because a problem with music copyrights that resulted in a delay of several years before the film became officially available on home video.
Another animated feature film alternatively called Heavy Metal 2000 and Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.², with a budget of $15 million, was released in 2000. This direct-to-video release was not based on stories from the magazine, but instead was based on The Melting Pot, a graphic novel written by Kevin Eastman and drawn by artist Simon Bisley, who based the appearance of the female protagonist after nude model and B-movie actress Julie Strain, ex-wife of Kevin Eastman. Strain later lent her vocal talents to the movie, portraying the character modeled after her likeness.
During 2008 and into 2009, reports circulated that David Fincher and James Cameron would executive produce, and each direct two of the eight to nine segments for, a new animated Heavy Metal feature. Kevin Eastman would also direct a segment, as well as animator Tim Miller, with Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski and Guillermo del Toro attached to direct segments. However, Paramount Pictures decided to stop funding the film by August 2009 and no distributor or production company has shown interest in the second sequel since. In 2011, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez announced at Comic-Con that he had purchased the film rights to Heavy Metal and planned to develop a new animated film at the new Quick Draw Studios.
A film entitled War of the Worlds: Goliath, created as a sequel to H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and based on a story previously published in the magazine, is scheduled to be released in 2012.
Read more about this topic: Heavy Metal (magazine)
Famous quotes containing the word films:
“Right now I think censorship is necessary; the things they’re doing and saying in films right now just shouldn’t be allowed. There’s no dignity anymore and I think that’s very important.”
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