io9: plan 9

The Spirit Of Ed Wood Lives On In "Plan 9" Remake

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:30:00 PDT

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Plan 9 From Outer Space with the first teaser trailer from the remake, called simply Plan 9. It nods to the original, with the classic speech about "the future." But it's also surprisingly... good?

The Plan 9 remake doesn't actually start shooting until April 2010 — director John Johnson had hoped to finish filming by last March, but he was able to increase the film's budget and film in 35MM instead of 16MM by waiting until next year. But he was still determined to put together this teaser in time for the movie's anniversary, and it includes a loving tribute to Ed and his crew. Do we lose points for admitting that a couple moments in this teaser were actually genuinely scary — particularly the car scene?

Johnson will be having a live chat, answering your Ed Wood-related questions — no cashmere sweater queries, please! — on Sunday at 8 PM, at this site.

[Plan 9]

Plan 9 Remake Is Cast

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:00:00 PDT

The remake of Ed Wood's cult classic Plan 9 From Outer Space, directed by John Johnon, is finally coming to fruition. The starting line up for the remake is Conrad Brooks (Lieutenant Harper), Caitlin Hill (Lucy Grimm), Eric Lobo (Criswell), Monique Dupree (unknown) and John R. Price II (Inspector Clay) and the director himself will be playing Patrolman Kelton. Conrad Brooks worked with Johnon on horror movie Skeleton Key (1 and 2). I wish them all the best of luck and hope it doesn't desecrate the holy grail that is Plan 9. Have you not seen the black and white mastery that is Plan 9? You're in luck google video is hosting all 78 minutes of this classic cult film. [Plan 9]

A Serious, "Very Scary" Remake of Plan 9 From Outer Space

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:00:00 PDT

For decades, Ed Wood's movie Plan 9 From Outer Space has reigned supreme as the most brilliantly awful movie ever made. Starring Vampira and an aged, drugged out Bela Lugosi, the 50s flick is about aliens who come to Earth and reanimate dead bodies as part of their world-domination scheme. The weird, elliptical script, bugged-out acting, and transcendently inadequate special effects helped make Plan 9 from Outer Space a movie that defined the "so bad it's good" genre. But now indie director John Johnson says he's remaking the film as a non-campy, "character-driven" move that will be "very scary." He's calling it Plan 9, or just P9. What the hell?

The aesthetics of Wood's original flick already inspired Tim Burton to make a demented biopic about the director — a spunky transvestite who took care of the mostly-forgotten Lugosi in his old age — called simply Ed Wood. Both campy and a serious, touching homage to the world Wood created with his movies, the movie earned Martin Landau an Academy Award for his portrayal of Lugosi. Is there really a need for another director to revisit Wood's greatest work "seriously"?

According to the film website:

Simply titled "Plan 9", the remake will be a serious-minded retelling of the original story, paying homage to the spirit of Wood's film without resorting to camp or parody. The film will focus on the horror and science fiction aspects of the original, but will also be largely character-driven. Johnson's goal for "Plan 9" is to make a film that honors not only the original source material, but also Ed Wood's intentions when he made "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Wood's plan was to make a very scary sci-fi/horror film, and Johnson wishes to do exactly that - create a film that Wood would have enjoyed, or perhaps even made himself, if not bound by the technological limitations placed on filmmakers 50 years ago.

The remake will be released to coincide with the 50th anniversary DVD edition of the original movie.

Plan 9 From Outer Space [via JoBlo]