The ABCs of Death sequel was announced at Cannes this year, with a few directors already attached, including cult animator Bill Plympton, Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono (Bad Film), and documentarian Rodney Ascher (Room 237). The full slate of directors/directing teams is now in place, and includes Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead), and Steven Kostanski (Manborg).
There’s also a 26th Director Competition, where you can get your short film into The ABCs of Death 2. Contestants will make a short for the letter “M,” and it can be about anything they want that has to do with the letter “M.” Entries are due by midnight on October 31st and will be judged via social media and a special jury. (The competition is how animator Lee Hardcastle got “T” is for Toilet into the first ABCs of Death.)
Check out the full director/directing team slate and press release after the cut.
- Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado
- Alejandro Brugués
- Álex de la Iglesia
- Bill Plympton
- Chris Nash
- Dennison Ramalho
- E.L. Katz
- Erik Matti
- Hajime Ohata
- Jen and Sylvia Soska
- Jerome Sable
- Jim Hosking
- Julian Barratt
- Julian Gilbey
- Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
- Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper
- Lancelot Imasuen
- Larry Fessenden
- Marcus Dunstan
- Robert Morgan
- Rodney Ascher
- Sion Sono
- Steven Kostanski
- Todd Rohal
- Vincenzo Natali
Magnet Releasing in Association with Timpson Films and Drafthouse Films announce full directorial roster for ABCs OF DEATH 2
Popular fan submission competition returns, jury revealed
New York, NY – 14 August, 2013 – Producers Ant Timpson, Tim League, and Magnet Releasing have announced the full lineup of acclaimed directors taking part in ABCs OF DEATH 2, a high-energy sequel to the 2012 hit, which delivers 26 new dark tales from the industry’s most celebrated genre directors. Accompanying the announcement, the production team has revealed the details for the film’s “26th Director Competition”, which, like the original, will place one exceptional fan-made entry in the finished film.
In a significant departure from the first installment, ABCs OF DEATH 2 is expanding beyond horror directors. Joining the sequel’s roster are Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh; Todd Rohal (THE CATECHISM CATALYSM); Canada’s king of lo-fi, Steven Kostanski (MANBORG); Cuba’s Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD); acclaimed UK commercial director Jim Hosking; Japanese monster-maker Hajime Ohata (HENGE); and Canadian short film wizard Chris Nash (SKINFECTIONS).
Previously confirmed filmmakers include Goya Award winner Álex de la Iglesia (THE LAST CIRCUS, DAY OF THE BEAST), ROOM 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher, Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; Filipino icon – and Director’s Fortnight inductee – Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE), Lithuania’s Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES), Japan’s arthouse provocateur Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB), SPLICE and CUBE’s Vincenzo Natali, indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT), THE COLLECTION’s Marcus Dunstan, France’s Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID), E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS), twin auteurs Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK), Israel’s Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (RABIES, BIG BAD WOLVES), A LONELY PLACE TO DIE’s Julian Gilbey, Brazil’s most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS and LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY), the founder of Nigerian “Nollywood” cinema Lancelot Imasuen, THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM and the upcoming STAGEFRIGHT’s Jerome Sable, and animator Robert Morgan – creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short BOBBY YEAH.
The series’ popular “26th Director Competition” also returns, encouraging filmmakers from all over the world to create their own one-to-three minute segment, with the best being placed in the finished film itself. Where the original film asked fans to create short “T is for…” films (with the winning segment going to Lee Hardcastle’s “T is for Toilet”), the sequel now switches its competition letter to “M”.
Votes for the competition will be tabulated via social media, as well as a jury, which, along with ABCs OF DEATH 2’s numerous other directors, includes producers Tim League and Ant Timpson, Associate Producer Ted Geoghegan, Magnolia Pictures president Eamonn Bowles, Entertainment Weekly Senior Editor Clark Collis, Horror-Movie-A-Day founder and Badass Digest contributor Brian Collins, author Grady Hendrix, and Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold.
Contestants can visit http://26th.abcsofdeathpart2.com for additional details and to enter their films. Entries must be submitted by midnight on October 31, with the winner announced on December 15, 2013. The competition’s official announcement video can be found at http://vimeo.com/72230989
Magnet is planning a 2014 release of the film. ABCs OF DEATH 2 is produced by Ant Timpson and Tim League, in conjunction with associate producers Todd Brown, Marc Walkow, Mitch Davis, and Ted Geoghegan.
About Magnet Releasing
Magnet is the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, specializing in films from the vanguard of horror, action, comedy and Asian cinema, and the home of genre classics like Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In, Takeshi Miike’s 13 Assassins, Christopher Smith’s Black Death, Ti West’s The House of the Devil, Andre Ovredal’s Trollhunter, Gareth Edward’sMonsters, Neil Marshall’s sword and sandals bloodbath Centurion, and Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak trilogy to name a few. Recent releases include horror anthologies The ABCs of Death, V/H/S and V/H/S/2, Xan Cassavettes’ Kiss of the Damned, and the sci-fi thriller Europa Report. Upcoming releases include the Fantastic Fest multi-award winning Here Comes the Devil, Fantasia award winning Israeli black comedy Big Bad Wolves, twisted horror-comedy Bad Milo!, sci-fi thriller Last Days on Mars, Norwegian adventure film Ragnarok, and many more.
