In 1994, Miramax was not only firing on all cylinders with the enormous success of Pulp Fiction, but also with The Crow.
The film – written by David J. Schow and John Shirley – hit theaters the summer before Fiction and was a big smash at the box office with a cool $50 million dollar take.
Miramax’s adaption of The Crow was based on a graphic novel character that tapped into the burgeoning goth scene of the 90’s. Indeed, the character’s creator James O’Barr, reportedly listened to loads of dark Cure and Joy Division tracks while working on the comic.
The Crow starred Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, a rock musician who is revived from the dead to avenge his own murder, as well as that of his fiancée, Shelly Webster, played by the lovely Sofia Shinas. As you may recall, the movie was going to be the big launching point for the son of Bruce Lee, who unfortunately died in a on-set accident. The Crow was subsequently completed with the help of CGI and a double.
As expected, Dimension was able to squeeze a few more movies out of the franchise, but none of them were nearly as good as the first which featured cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, production design by Alex McDowell and a stellar (original) soundtrack with performances by Medicine, Nine Inch Nails (NiN), the Rollins Band, Pantera and Stone Temple Pilots.
Yes, The Crow has slowly faded away over the years, but Dimension is reportedly planning on resurrecting the classic franchise.
According to Deadline, there’s already a director, F. Javier Gutierrez, and screenwriter, Jesse Wigutow, in place. The original Crow was directed by Alex Proyas, who went on to helm Dark City, I, Robot, Knowing, and the upcoming big screen adaptation of Paradise Lost.
Gutierrez – who directed the 2008 film Before the Fall – is also reportedly working on an adaptation of The Monkey’s Paw. Meanwhile, Wigutow is juggling a number of projects at various production companies, including a Steve McQueen biopic.
While there is still a lot of hope for a resurrection of The Crow, there will obviously be plenty of fans who are upset that one of their favorite films is being remade. Remember, the subsequent Crow sequels were pretty awful, and it’s always tough, if not foolish, to try and recapture lightning in a bottle, but perhaps a new take on the character after all this time can work. Maybe. Remember, it can’t rain all the time…
