Elijah Wood says the script was funny, gross and disturbing. Picture / AP
Elijah Wood says the script was funny, gross and disturbing. Picture / AP
NZ film champion teams up with old friend to produce bad-taste movie no other studio would be crazy enough to touch.
Hollywood royalty Elijah Wood has teamed up with his friend Ant Timpson - the irrepressible champion of New Zealand's underground film scene - on a new arthouse movie called The Greasy Strangler, which wrapped shooting in Los Angeles this week.
Wood's production company, SpectreVision, has partnered with Drafthouse Films, a film distribution arm, and Timpson Films to produce the horror - described as "a grotesquely hilarious cinematic explosion of bad taste".
Andy Starke and Ben Wheatley from Rook Films are also involved.
Timpson, who first met Wood through the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas in 2001, told The Diary the pair have remained friends, and Wood jumped at the chance to come on board with the film.
"I sent Elijah a script that I felt he might find amusing, and he went gaga when he saw it. Every other studio in the world would have said 'are you crazy?', but Elijah was totally into it.
"He understands that no one makes these kinds of unique films in this sort of environment today. It's a real unknown and out-of-the-box. There's no comparison for it and that makes producers nervous.
"There were a lot of creative, crazy enthusiasts all collaborating together, and that made it appealing," Timpson said.
Wood told ew.com he read the script after a Skype session with the Kiwi.
He said: "It is honestly the most - I don't know - the most f***ed up, funny, disturbing, gross thing I've ever read".
Ant Timpson.
The movie, a directorial debut for Brit Jim Hosking, is at its core a relationship between a father and son. Plus, an oily, slimy inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent, dubbed "The Greasy Strangler".
Timpson, a fringe film nut, says Wood doesn't act in the film, but having his name attached to the project opened doors.
"Partnering with Elijah has definitely helped with this project. He is really well-regarded and well-liked in Hollywood circles, and he has been in the game for years and knows how things are done. He was involved with the project from the outset; with the script, everything.
"Elijah's company wants to be synonymous with small, cool cinema. He doesn't choose a lot of projects to back and get behind."
The Greasy Strangler is expected to come out early next year, and will debut on the festival circuit.
Timpson is the brains behind The ABCs of Death, a compilation film of horror shorts from around the world, and the annual 48 Hours film challenge.
His Incredibly Strange Film Festival is now a dedicated section of the NZ International Film Festival, which featured Wood in the dark and disturbing film Maniac two years ago.
TVNZ may lose top reporter to new show
Heather du Plessis-Allan left Seven Sharp to be TVNZ's deputy political editor. Picture / NZME
She is the most driven personality on the One News political reporting team, with a fearless, unique style of reporting.
Is Heather du Plessis-Allan in the running for a lead role in MediaWorks' new 7pm current affairs show? Word on the grapevine has her linked with Duncan Garner as co-presenters of the new programme. They'd be quite the dynamic duo, in my view.
MediaWorks is staying quiet on developments. For the next six weeks it's focusing on building a popular news programme that will appeal to the majority.
Before it starts, the channel will screen Come Dine with Me in the weeknight slot. Narrated by comedian Guy Williams, the show introduces five strangers who battle it out over the course of five episodes for the title of "ultimate dinner party host".
Du Plessis-Allan left Seven Sharp in November to join the press gallery and replace deputy political editor Michael Parkin. She is the most driven personality on the One News political reporting team, with a fearless, unique style of reporting and a strong political bent. She would be a huge loss to TVNZ.
Hilary Barry was the lead contender for the new programme, but The Diary understands she is too valuable in her roles as co-anchor on 3 News at 6pm and with Paul Henry in the mornings.
Last month, The Diary speculated Garner and du Plessis-Allan were tipped for the job, and the rumours have gathered momentum. Both are credible journalists with a fun, "everyman" touch who could tackle Seven Sharp in the ratings war.
