PATTERNS IN THE SOUND

Los Angeles plaza 1869.

now Olvera street.

2 days ago

King Shot

A while back word began to circulate that cult legend Alejandro Jodorowsky - he of El Topo fame - was moving ahead on his long rumored “metaphysical spaghetti gangster film”, King Shot. Very happy to say that this is correct…

Thanks to my Toronto After Dark compatriot David Daniloff - who brought Jodorowsky to Toronto for an event a few years back and maintains contact with him - we have confirmed that the script is 100 % complete, Marilyn Manson and Nick Nolte will star with both apparently chipping in some of their own funds, and they’re looking to shoot the film on a budget of three million dollars in Mexico.

But it gets better. Jodorowsky himself has shared with us a trio of storyboards by artist Sylvain Despretz - his previous credits include The Fountain and The City of Lost Children - for the film to share with you and these look fantastic. And really, if you expected them to look anything other than fantastic you need to slap yourself hard right now. The man is a living legend for very good reason.

Provided that all goes smoothly with King Shot 2007 could prove to be a very exciting one for Jodorowsky fans, what with ABKCO Films recently announcing that newly remastered versions of Jodorowsky’s El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Fando & Lis will finally be making their appearance on DVD. New Jodorowsky plus the old classics finally getting a high quality release? It’s better than a kick in the teeth, that’s for damn sure.

Those three pieces of concept art and some other images that emerged a little later are below. All will make an Alejandro fan drool.

Jodorowsky has claimed the film is about a centuries-old ‘Pope’ figure, with thorns on his lips instead of teeth, who lives in a pit, feeds on rodents and ostriches, and rapes/murders/eats passers-by.

Around January 2007 some German and Romanian newspapers reported that portions of the film would be shot in Romania. Nothing came of that, but the same reports stated that David Hess and Daryl Hannah were involved along with Nolte and Manson.

The German paper said the film was set in the desert around a casino at which criminals meet for illegal gambling, and that unearthed in the desert is the skeleton of an enormous man who bears a remarkable resemblance to King Kong.

As you can see from the art below (in addition to the fact that it will not be a “Sin City-style film”), that man is some kind of Christ figure (it’s been suggested it might be the remains of God), which ties in nicely with the idea of a vampire/cannibal Pope.

If you’re unfamiliar with Jodorowsky’s films, then you need to see El Topo, The Holy Mountain andSanta Sangre. They’ve all received great DVD releases.

3 days ago