Newly Discovered Ray Harryhausen Materials Will Inspire a New Film Called FORCE OF THE TROJANS!
If got some pretty awesome news for those of you who are fans of legendary special effects artist and stop-motion wizard Ray Harryhausen. He worked on a ton of films in the course of his career and a couple of my favorites include Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts.
Well, it looks like we’ll be getting a new film based on some newly discovered materials from Ray Harryhausen! These materials were discovered in the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, which houses more than 50,000 artifacts from the artist’s 60-year career. It’s pretty incredible that a new project will emerge from this archive!
The new project is tentatively titled Force of the Trojans. The screenplay for the film is being written by Beverley Cross, and the designs for the film will come from the original production art and sculptures conceived by Harryhausen!
The big announcement was made on Facebook, and it even came with the art that you see above. You can read the full announcement below, which features additional details:
“The foundation established by legendary special effects visionary Ray Harryhausen is pleased to announce a joint effort with Morningside Productions, the company of late film producer Charles Schneer. Discovery of new materials in the vast archives of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation will be the basis of a spectacularly new and original theatrical motion picture in the style of such Harryhausen/Schneer classics such as Clash of the Titans, the duo's most significant box office collaboration from 1981.
“This project, tentatively entitled Force of the Trojans,is based on a screenplay by Beverley Cross, and original production art and sculptures conceived by Ray Harryhausen that are on par with some of his most iconic screen creatures.
“Force of the Trojans will embody the spirit of the original Harryhausen films with all the fun, vibrant action, epic scope and dedication to craftsmanship that has made Ray Harryhausen's films timeless.
“Unlike other revisits to the fantasy adventure genre, Force of the Trojans will bring together stop-motion animation with the photo-real world of CGI, marking the first time that a monster battle will mix both techniques on screen in a major motion picture. In homage to a bygone era, this film will bring both worlds crashing together. For the first time, we can put on screen sequences that were not possible for Ray due to the limitations of special effects photography at the time.
“The Harryhausen Foundation oversees and curates a vast creative archive of 60 years’ worth of artefacts in its 50,000-strong collection from the father of animated special effects, making this the most complete and comprehensive fantasy cinema and animation collection anywhere in the world. We are excited and challenged to have unearthed this lost gem and a look forward to creating a film that will delight both the fans of Ray Harryhausen and moviegoers everywhere.”
I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty damn exciting! This is so cool and I can’t wait to see what comes of the project. I’m especially stoked about seeing the new creature designs from Harryhausen being brought to life after all these years!
If you’re a fan of Harryhausen’s work, what do you all think about this news?