BIRTHDAY & VALENTINE SEQUELS!
Canadians John Dunning and Andrink, whose rminclude producing early films by David Cronenberg, William Fruet and Ivan Reitman, were also the moguls behind two of the most beloved entries in the early-80s slasher cycle, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Though financially successful, neither film spawned a sequel at the time, but now, Dunning tells Fango, follow-ups to both are in the very early scripting stages.
We sort of shot the bolt there, Dunning says of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, which hits DVD from Columbia TriStar October 26. We never thought we could top it. Nevertheless, co-screenwriters Timothy Bond and Peter Jobin have come up with a 10-page outline detailing the murderous adventures of the teenage daughter of the first films killer. Tim and I just did it on our own, Jobin says. At some point or another we were talking about fun things to do, and then I said, What about HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME 2?
Dunning himself has taken on co-scriptwriting duties for the as-yet-untitled MY BLOODY VALENTINE sequel. With nearly 10 minutes of gory footage removed from the original film and not replaced on the Paramount DVD release, Dunning plans to write dream/flashback sequences that will allow him to incorporate the cut violence into the new picture. They [Paramount] wont release anything that isnt MPAA-rated, Dunning notes. But they didnt cut it out. We cut it out because we had to deliver an R picture. I have the negative here in my office. Were through the first act and starting on the second, Dunning says of the progress on the script.
No shooting dates, cast or directors have yet been set for either production. Look for a retrospective on HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME in FANGORIA #238, on sale October 21.
Courtesy of Fangoria
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