30 Days of Night: Dark Days Officially Announced
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By: MrDisgusting

While Bloody Disgusting exclusively broke the news a few days back (and still offered more casting than announced), today the official announcement was made for the 30 Days of Night sequel.

Principal photography has commenced in Vancouver, Canada for 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, the sequel to the vampire movie sensation based on the cult-hit graphic novel series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith.

Produced by Stage 6 Films and Ghost House Pictures, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: DARK DAYS marks director Ben Ketai’s first feature film and is based on a screenplay written by Niles and Ketai.


The cast includes:
Kiele Sanchez (A Perfect Getaway, "Lost")
Diora Baird (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Wedding Crashers)
Rhys Coiro ("Entourage", "24" the upcoming Straw Dogs)
Mia Kirshner ("The L Word", The Black Dahlia)
and Harold Perrineau ("OZ", "Lost", The Matrix Revolutions).



Check out the official synopsis below.

It’s been a year since the Alaskan town of Barrow’s population was decimated by vampires during its annual month long sunset. Riddled with grief over the death of her husband, bound by nightmares and void of all emotions beyond hate and sorrow, Stella (replacing Melissa George as Sanchez) has spent the past months traveling the world, trying to convince others that vampires exist.

Met with skepticism and laughter, Stella is ready to throw in the towel when a group of lost souls (Coiro, Baird and Perrineau) offers an incredible opportunity: the chance to exact revenge upon Lilith (Kirshner), the vampire queen responsible for the assault on her sleepy Alaskan town.

With nothing remaining to live for, and nothing left to fear, Stella joins their mission and ventures into the uncharted underbelly of Los Angeles where she pushes herself to the most extreme limits to stop the evil from striking again.



Pictured in order of mention: Rhys Coiro, Mia Kirshner, Harold Perrineau, Kiele Sanchez and Diora Baird

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17804

First Image From 30 Days of Night: Dark Days
Friday, November 6, 2009
By: MrDisgusting

To go along with our casting news from set, beyond the break you'll find the first ever image of Kiele Sanchez from the set of Sony Stage 6's 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, which is currently lensing in Vancouver, Canada under the direction of Ben Ketai.

Rhys Coiro, Mia Kirshner, Harold Perrineau, Kiele Sanchez, Diora Baird, Rhys Coiro, Monique Ganderton, Marco Sorian, Katherine Isabelle all star in the sequel to the adaptation from Steve Niles.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18020

More 30 Days of Night Sequels Planned, Stars to Return
Friday, November 20, 2009
By: E.L. Katz

Bloody Disgusting's E.L. Katz recently was lucky enough to visit the set of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, the highly anticipated sequel now filming in Vancouver, Canada.

While a full set report is forthcoming, along with a handful of interviews, we've still got something juicy to share with you.

Katz caught up with creator/co-writer Steve Niles who talks to BD about another sequel, along with why Melissa George didn't return as Stella.



"How many sequels are currently planned? Is “Return to Barrow” in conceptual stages?" asks Katz.

"Right now we’re just trying to get this one in the can," Niles tels Bloody Disgusting exclusively adding that they plan on bringing back some of the cast.

"If that goes well, we’re set up to move forward. We got a great young cast that we can bring along if this works out well, and we’ll be ready to keep going with the story. Plus, the comics are done. God, what do we have, like seven different graphic novels now if it actually took off?"



Rhys Coiro, Mia Kirshner, Harold Perrineau, Kiele Sanchez, Diora Baird, Rhys Coiro, Monique Ganderton, Marco Sorian and even Katherine Isabelle all star in the film; but Stella was recast.


Niles explains briefly why Melissa George couldn't return to fill her shoes.

"Schedule. The enemy of all casting. She’s got a million gazillion things going on right now, so we couldn’t fit it."

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18153

A 30 Days of Night: Dark Days Preview
Source: Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor
December 22, 2009

It took some time getting to this point, but the ever-expanding world Steve Niles created in 2002 with the comic book series "30 Days of Night" is beginning to climb off the page, out of the coffin, so to speak, and into a fruitful (undead) life in cinema.



Five years after the vampires of Niles' three-part story ran amok in the small town of Barrow, Alaska, director David Slade and Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures brought 30 Days of Night to the big screen.

Distinct in look and bloody as hell, the adaptation - as it had played out in the graphic novel - offered a sense of closure but left a door open to explore the life of Barrow widow Stella Olemaun (played by Melissa George).

Two years later, Ghost House went back behind the camera for 30 Days of Night: Dark Days based, once again, on the Niles graphic novel of the same name.



"It started at Sony," explained producer J.R. Young, who spoke to Shock Till You Drop exclusively about the project which recently wrapped in Vancouver.

"They were up for it and we were into the idea as well. There was enough of a positive response to the first film to get a second one going."



Young is a Ghost House family member who began as Raimi's assistant and went on to produce The Messengers and the direct-to-DVD sequels Messengers 2, Boogeyman 2 and The Grudge 3.

He's just one of the key players on the project who have moved up the ranks at Ghost House. In the director's chair is Ben Ketai, a familiar face in the 30 Days of Night universe in that he wrote and directed the 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails and 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust, both of which premiered on the web.

"Ben really proved himself as the best guy for the job," said Young.

"We'd seen him do a number of short films which led him to directing the first web series which was a spin-off from the graphic novel. One of the storylines in the graphic novel that didn't fit in the first feature.

We were thrilled with what he did with that and he believed strongly in the '30 Days of Night' universe. When Stage 6 Films approached us about wanting to get into this. Ben hooked up with Steve Niles to pitch a story."



The pair ultimately fleshed out the graphic novel.

This time, Stella, attempting to draw the vampire underworld into the public spotlight with humiliating results, takes her fight to Los Angeles where she'll go face to face with the head bloodsucker responsible for the Barrow attack.

Young explained, "I think the second film definitely stays within the world of the first film and it stays true to the second graphic novel in the series for those fans out there. The story is within that world but there are differences and a lot of that is due to the graphic novel.

The first film is very much a survival film and this next one is all about revenge. There's an action component. The last one is a western, this one is more of a war movie. It's taking the battle to the vampires."



Fans should also expect a change in their leading lady.

Out is Melissa George and in is A Perfect Getaway's Kiele Sanchez as Stella. "We made our best efforts to get Melissa back and at a certain point, it was just apparent - for numerous reasons - it wasn't going to work out.

So, we had been auditioning different actresses in the event that happened and Kiele really rose to the top of those auditions. She really had the strength and vulnerability one needed to take on this role. She really stepped up and I think fans will be excited by what they see."



Joining Sanchez in her war is Diora Baird (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) and Harold Perrineau (28 Weeks Later, Lost).

Presently, Ketai is in the editor's room working on his director's cut, said Young. When he's finished, the Ghost House team - including Raimi, who has actively been involved with the sequel - will share their thoughts and work towards a final cut.

"We haven't been given a release date yet. We have a post schedule as to when we want to have the film done by. Then it goes into the studio's hands and they'll figure out when the best date will be.

There has been talk about a DVD release. We always work toward to make the best film we can and let it go out where they see fit."

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=13380