FilmJerk.com - Wes Craven & Company Are Back: ''Cursed'' Will Re-Begin Filming November 17

FilmJerk.com has learned that the troubled Dimension Films production “Cursed,” which was put on hiatus in June after 11 weeks of shooting was completed, will begin a new spate of filming beginning November 17 in Los Angeles. Along with this news, we have learned they are also in the casting process for a new lead character for the film. According to earlier online reports, Dimension and its parent company Miramax were not pleased with the film's original ending or how the special effects were turning out, which led to the film being put on hiatus.

According to our sources, and backed up by casting documents we have obtained, producers are looking to cast a character named Jake, who is in listed as being in his mid-to-late 20s. Described as “the ultimate leading man of mystery, he is handsome, with deep, piercing eyes and a small town charm. But there is also a real sense of darkness that is simultaneously unreachable and irresistible. With a secret life and questionable motives, he is someone to be approached with caution.” These casting notes are currently being circulated among actor’s agents. This character name does not match any of the previously cast roles listed on the film’s page on either IMDB or Greg’s Previews.

Director/producer Wes Craven recently told Sci Fi Wire that many of the film's scenes will have to be reshot, as well as possibly recast, in the next phase of production, saying that “quite an extraordinary amount of new material is going to be shot, and a lot of material is going to be thrown away."

Listed on the casting documents as part of the film are only Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg, Scott Foley and Shannon Elizabeth. While this doesn’t mean that Skeet Ulrich and others have been cut from the film, it does confirm that these four actors are going to be a part of the new shoot.

Producers are also looking to land a name actress for the special cameo role of Zela, described as a free spirited fortuneteller on the Santa Monica Pier, who offers sound words of caution to those who have fallen under the cloud of a darker fate.

The film is now described as focusing on an estranged brother and sister, who are mourning the recent loss of their parents, struggling with daily life in the Los Angeles until a vicious animal attack changes everything one dark night. Now they must fight for survival against the one thing they never expected: the curse of the werewolf.

The Scorecard
Producers: Kevin Williamson, Marianne Maddalena and Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
Director: Wes Craven
Casting Director: Greg Orson
Start Date: November 17, 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Distributor: Dimension Films
Production Company: Outerbanks Entertainment and Craven/Maddalena Films