Dimension Films and Miramax To Co-Produce THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: THE LOST TAPES

Co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, Bob Weinstein, and Miramax CEO Mike Lang announced at Cannes on Sunday that Dimension Films and Miramax are joining forces to produce THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: THE LOST TAPES. Production will start this summer with a projected release date of January 27, 2012 .

Dimension also announced Sunday it has acquired rights to a screenplay for the film by the writing team of Casey La Scala and Daniel Farrands, who will direct and produce, with Jason Blum set to produce.

“I’m thrilled to be working with Bob to reinvent one of the all-time great horror franchises, and I think this new installment will really hit home with a new generation of moviegoers,” Blum said.

TWC and Miramax noted that Blum has previous experience with found footage films having produced both “Paranormal Activity” films, which have grossed close to $400 million worldwide. Jay Anson’s book “The Amityville Horror” was published in 1977 and based on the paranormal experiences of the George Lutz family. Between 1979 and 2005, the book spawned nine films.

The new pic showcases the events after the time of the original “The Amityville Horror” book and movie through found footage dating back to 1976. An ambitious female television news intern, on the verge of breaking the most famous haunted house case in the world, leads a team of journalists, clergymen and paranormal researchers into an investigation of the bizarre events that will come to be known as “The Amityville Horror,” only to unwittingly open a door to the unreal that she may never be able to close.

“We are thrilled to return to the mythology of the Amityville Horror with a new and terrifying vision that will satisfy our existing fans and also introduce an entirely new audience to this popular haunting phenomenon,” said Bob Weinstein.

THE LOST TAPES is the first film to be produced under the agreement between Miramax and The Weinstein Co. to create sequels to some of Miramax’s best-known properties. Bob and Harvey Weinstein are executive producers.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, most recently Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards(r), including Best Picture; Derek Cianfrance’s Academy Award(r)-nominated BLUE VALENTINE; John Wells’ feature directorial debut, THE COMPANY MEN; Julian Schnabel’s MIRAL; and Wes Craven’s SCRE4M. Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; and 2011 Golden Globe(r) Best Foreign Language Film nominee THE CONCERT. Upcoming releases include SPY KIDS 4, APOLLO 18, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, THE DETAILS and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Recently wrapping is I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT. Currently in production is COGAN’S TRADE.

ABOUT MIRAMAX
Miramax is a leading worldwide film and television studio with a library of more than 700 motion pictures. Miramax sells directly and licenses its titles globally through partnerships and digital alliances. The company has three new releases in 2011: The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington; the Guillermo del Toro-produced Don’t be Afraid of the Dark, starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce; and Last Night, starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes. The Miramax library holds some of the world’s most original and acclaimed independent films including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare In Love, Chicago, Good Will Hunting, The English Patient, No Country for Old Men, Kill Bill Volumes I and II, Life is Beautiful, Reservoir Dogs, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Cinema Paradiso and My Left Foot — as well as scores of commercially successful films such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bad Santa, and the Scream, Hellraiser, Scary Movie and Spy Kids franchises. Collectively, the Miramax library has received 284 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture Awards. Miramax is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. For more information, please visit www.miramax.com