Info

TROLL, THE REMAKE

Pre-production has begun on “Troll”. Twenty two years following the release of the original cult film feature hit, the popular independent film is being remade as a fantasy film of epic proportion.

A loyal cult following will no doubt remember that “Troll” introduced the world to Harry Potter Jr., a young boy who entered a parallel world of magic, witches, wizards, fairies and Trolls.

The original Harry Potter Jr., portrayed by the young Noah Hathaway, learned the ways of magic from a matronly witch, Eunice St.Claire , and an evil wizard, Turok who took possession of the body of Harry’ s sister, Wendy. Harry Potter Jr. battled the giant Troll to save the world.

Dreams like fantasies occasionally really do come true! Back in 1980, John Carl Buechler had a dream. He wanted to make a fantasy film centered around the adventures of a young boy engaged in a magical world in a battle against evil creatures that tried to take over the world. John Buechler’s vision of Troll was a fantasy film told through the eyes of young Harry Potter, Jr. who encountered the darkling supernatural creatures of a netherworld attempting to conquer our own.

Charles Band at Empire Pictures loved the story and agreed to make the movie with John.

In 1985, John went to Rome and directed his independent film: “Troll”. The following year, “Troll” opened and held its own against the box office juggernaught “ Nightmare on Elm Street-Part 2”. Despite its relatively low budget Troll went on to win a platinum award for domestic home video sales with Vestron Pictures and performed extremely well worldwide across a wide range of media and markets.

Now the film is being re-made with a high budget as an epic fantasy film with veteran producer, Steve Waterman, (Casper [co-produced with Steven Speilberg's Amblin' Entertainment; Stuart Little 1 & 2 and last year's holiday hit, the Alvin and the Chipmunks) with principal photography scheduled to begin shortly in Vancouver, Italy and China, John Buechler returns as writer/director. The new picture will retell the original story, featuring the original Harry Potter Jr. character, his sister Wendy and their wondrous, magical world.

“I was always a little disappointed that we could never give the original picture and its characters the full scope that I had originally envisioned. Due to budgetary restrictions, much of the action in the film had to be relegated to dialogue, and pretty much played for laughs,” says Buechler. “This time around we will be able to see the original characters with all the magic I had created.

Buechler is re-assembling the amazing crew of effects artists, and technicians that worked on the original film, many of whom are now Emmy® and Academy Award® winners. The visual and creature effects promise to be stunning!

Noah Hathaway will be returning for the remake. Now, a handsome thirty-something, Noah will play Turok the Evil Wizard King, before he is transformed into a hideous Troll for his crimes against humanity.

The Troll production group is now beginning to cast the roles, and embarked on a quest of their own to sign up A-list talent for the principal characters. There will be two notable exceptions to that process as the producers will shortly commence a search for the new original Harry Potter Jr., and his sister, Wendy Anne Potter. The search will be open for all pre teens worldwide to compete for selection in these star roles. In a sense the casting process will provide yet another opportunity or two to fulfill the fantasies of at least two more adventurous spirits as they assume these roles.

Nigel Robertson, entrepreneur and chairman of http://Sharenow.com , in conjunction with the film’s production team will shortly be launching the global search, and submissions are anticipated from young people all over the world.

Patricia Rose, the picture's casting director expects she will have her hands full with the anticipated deluge of submissions from prospective child stars-to-be seeking the roles of Harry and Wendy.

S.A.G. award winner Eric Chen (“Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Rush Hour 3”, “Transporter 2”, “Kung Fu Panda”) is also excited about the project; and with good reason! Chen, who specializes in martial arts and coordinating fight stunts for film is joining the “Troll” production team as its stunt coordinator. An enthusiastic Chen said, “We have horses, martial arts, sword play, epic battle scenes, and a magical world where anything can happen. John has incredible passion for this film and has been formulating his imaginative ideas for more than 20 years since the release of “Troll” and its original characters were created. I believe the sequel represents his best script to date”

Steve Waterman states: “'Troll' has every enormous potential for evolving into a brand name. The 1986 film is already a cult classic regularly airing regularly on a broad range of television services throughout the world. Our new “Troll” movie is only the first in a series of projects following the adventures of the John Buechler’s original Harry Potter Jr., his sister Wendy and 'Troll' title character. We are also pursuing the development of a 36 episode animated cartoon series. The characters and creatures that John is creating are truly amazing. A line of toys and games to be produced, based on all of the original characters from the Troll films and the animated series would seem to be natural by producers of both the picture and the TV series.”
--