It’s becoming increasingly common for short movies to serve as potential proof-of-concepts for major feature films. In the horror arena, such was the case forOculus,Excision,Lights Out,Polaroid, and even Michael Dougherty’s seminal Halloween-themed anthologyTrick ‘r Treat. The trend continues, with news arriving that Paramount and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes have nabbed the feature film rights to the short horror thrillerMeet Jimmy, directed by David-Jan Bronsgeest from a script he cowrote with Tim Koomen; Michael and Shawn Rasmussen have been retained to help expand the screenplay. The Hollywood Reporter announced the news, which included a brief statement from Bronsgeest and Koomen: “With the Rasmussens’ writing expertise and our strong personal connection, we’ll bring this scary Fantasia creation to the world!
Fantasia refers to the annual Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, whereMeet Jimmywas pitched at the Frontières International Co-Production Market. Launched in 2012, Frontières seeks to connect independent filmmakers who specialize in horror, sci-fi, and fantasy with financers looking to bring this type of content to the masses. In a recent interview with Dread Central, Executive Director Lindsay Peters explained:
“Frontières has really developed as an important connection point between North America and Europe. Fantasia is the largest genre film festival in North America, and with each year the festival was welcoming an increasing number of the international industry to Montreal. A lot of connections were made at the bar each night, so it only made sense to create an official space for doing business during the day and getting some really cool projects made - while keeping the conversation going each night at the pub, of course.”
It’ll be a while until we get casting news, release information, or an official synopsis, but the description for the short filmMeet Jimmyreads:
What if the podcast you’re listening to can hear you too? Jennifer is enjoying the confessions of a killer when he suddenly starts talking to her…
Jennifer is obsessed with serial killer “Jimmy Twofingers” who not only communicates with her, but exerts his menacing influence to control her life. Obviously, horror ensues. The brothers Rasmussen are no strangers to horror, having written and directedDark FeedandThe Inhabitants; they also penned scripts forLong DistanceandThe Ward(the latter was directed by Master of Horror andHalloweenfranchise mastermind John Carpenter). The filmmaking duo recently completed a script forCrawl, currently filming under the direction of French director Alexandre Aja (High Tension,The Hills Have Eyes2006). It’s worth noting thatCrawlalso began life as a short film, just likeMeet Jimmy, meaning the Rasmussens know what they’re doing when it comes to beefing up shorts into features.
Platinum Dues also has an impressive record when it comes to horror movies; the studio founded by Bay along with Brad Fuller and Andrew Form in 2003 has produced remakes ofFriday the 13th,A Nightmare on Elm Street,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, andThe Amityville Horror. As for originals, they’ve spearheadedThe PurgeandOuijafranchises, along with this year’s genre-bending megahitA Quiet Place(directed by John Krasinski) which was also a collaboration with Paramount. We’ll keep our ears to the ground in order to bring you additionalMeet Jimmydetails as they emerge. This news came our way viaThe Hollywood Reporter.
