Horror Film Scribe, Neal Marshall Stevens, Comes to Studio 407

January 19, 2008 - Studio 407 proudly announces a comic book deal with Thirteen Ghosts writer, Neal Marshall Stevens:

Studio 407 teams up with Stevens on two series: the futuristic action thriller, Havoc Brigade, which will be in stores on March 25^th, 2009, and the horror adventure, Demon Squad, which will be out later this year.

The comic book deal is an expansion of the relationship Stevens and Studio 407 developed while working together on the just completed motion picture, Hunter (aka Hybrid ¹), co-produced by Studio 407 and Stallion Pictures (T3 and Punisher:War Zone). The film, penned by Stevens, was directed by French horror director, Eric Valette (Malefique, One Missed Call) and is on track for a 2009 release date. Studio 407 is also producing a feature based on their comic book, Hybrid, with Myriad Pictures and recently partnered with them again to develop a film based on their Night Projectionist graphic novel.

Stevens says, "I've been working as a professional screenwriter for a long time. Only around one in 10 of the projects that go into development end up on the screen. That means, for most writers (including me) most of the projects that I’ve worked on down through the years – and that includes some very good work - have never seen the light of day, and most likely never will.

"One of the reasons that I was excited at the prospect of moving into graphic novels was because I knew going in that the scripts that I wrote would actually be produced, and that the work would get in front of an audience!"

Neal Marshall Stevens graduated Film School at New York University where he received his MFA. In 1998, he optioned his spec script, The Slow Man, from Ocean Pictures and 20^th Century Fox. The following year Neal optioned horror script, Deader, to Dimension Pictures. It was ultimately produced as Hellraiser: Deader. In the years following, Neal divided his work between almost every major Hollywood studio, including writing the remake of Thirteen Ghosts for Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Entertainment at Warner Brothers. He is currently writing the latest Amityville sequel, The Amityville Tapes, for MGM.

Says Studio 407 managing director, Alex Leung, "We had a great experience working with Neal on the Hunter film. Since comics is a big part of what we do, and knowing Neal was bursting at the seams with some more great stories, it only made sense to do a comic book deal with him as well. I think a lot of great writers in the studio system see the creative freedom that the comic industry provides, and they’re taking advantage of that opportunity."

Havoc Brigade is set in the near future, where soldiers, armed with Havoc-class battlesuits made of an indestructible material, bring peace to a war-ravaged Europe, ending a decades-long conflict. But the Brigade’s team leader, Major Jackson, goes rogue when he learns that the government is shutting down the program. Stealing the Army’s ultimate weapon, he succeeds in killing all his men and destroying all other battlesuits, save one. Now it’s up to the only surviving member of the Havoc Brigade to bring the renegade Major to justice. But does Sergeant Barnes have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with his former commander and mentor and stop him before it’s too late? Havoc Brigade is illustrated by Jon Bosco, who has worked on a number of books including DC’s Nightwing and Heroes for Hire, Acclaim’s Turok, and the Image comic, Noble Causes.

The second book, Demon Squad, tells the story of a team of scientists, mystics, and mercenaries who band together to hunt down demons which prey on teenagers. Described as an action/horror film in the vein of Scream and The Exorcist, it continues the Studio 407 mandate of producing high-end, horror comics.

Adds Leung: “I’ve read a lot of the great scripts Neal has written, and seen them stranded in the 9th circle of Development Hell, so I’m very excited to be part of his 'coming out' party in the comics industry. He is incredibly deft with genre (having written almost every kind for the studios), and he has a no-holds-barred approach to writing that I think will make him a force to be reckoned with in this medium."

1: This is not the same movie! Hunter, aka Hybrid is about a possessed car; Hybrid - the movie in development and based on the comic book, is about a murderous, sea monster-type creature. Jason really had little choice but to include this whole "aka" bit, as the studios have been marketing the movie under the Hybrid title, so I can't fault him; as usual, the studios screwed-up, and I would not be surprised to learn it has everything to do with negotiating the deal for the other, rightfully-titled, Hybrid. CONTINUE

© C Harris Lynn, 2008