Hot-shot directors line up for 'Heavy Metal' redux

The original 'Heavy Metal' boasts
airborne zombies and other nastiness.Director David Fincher is bringing "Heavy Metal" back to the big-screen with the aid of some top-shelf talent.

The original "Heavy Metal," an R-rated animated sci-fi anthology film, is a cult classic from the early '80s. Fincher's new version promises to be equally great, as Comics2Film reports Zack Snyder, Guillermo Del Toro and Gore Verbinski are all on board to direct segments of the movie.

Collectively, these four filmmakers are responsible for some of the most gleefully warped action films of our time: "Fight Club," "300," "Hellboy" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy.

Fincher's "Heavy Metal" had been in preproduction at Paramount Pictures, but was declared dead-in-the-water in July, apparently due to some inside politics. Sony Pictures and Blur Studio are now producing the project, with an expected August 2010 release date.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)