nbc_medium | Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Documentary on its Way

From the Press Release:

Members of the creative team behind His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th have joined forces once again to bring horror fans the ultimate tribute to yet another landmark slasher series, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy officially began lensing on August 22, 2009, in and around Los Angeles. Starring and narrated by Heather Langenkamp, star of the 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street and two of its sequels (1986's Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and 1994's Wes Craven's New Nightmare), this thrilling 90-minute retrospective promises to be the definitive look at the making of the iconic horror series and the enduring legacy of its wise-cracking, razor-gloved villain: the indefatigable "bastard son of a hundred maniacs" known as Freddy Krueger.

For a quarter century Freddy has slashed his way through the nightmares of two generations of movie-goers in one of the most artful, spectacular, and terrifying film franchises in motion picture history. To characterize the Nightmare on Elm Street series as a modern cultural phenomenon would be a gross understatement. To date, the eight (soon to be nine) Elm Street films have scared up well over half a billion dollars in box office receipts in the U.S. alone, launching the careers of such Hollywood luminaries as Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2), Patricia Arquette ("Medium"), Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential), and even Johnny Depp.

Little did Freddy's "father", veteran writer/director Wes Craven, know that his terrifying, child-killing creation would go on to become a cult hero and spawn his very own cottage industry. Today Freddy is practically a household name, with his burned visage, trademark fedora, and red and green sweater appearing on everything from T-shirts to video games to action figures to comic books (Freddy was even the star of his own weekly television series!). It's safe to say that Freddy Krueger may never rest in peace – nor should he - since his fans keep clamoring for more. Even Newsweek called him “The most popular cinematic maniac since Darth Vader.”

"Freddy is like the 'unholy spirit' in the trinity of modern monsters alongside Jason from Friday the 13th and Michael Myers from Halloween," says co-director and producer Daniel Farrands, who previously helmed the documentary His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th and produced the 2009 Deluxe Editions of the Friday the 13th films for Paramount Home Entertainment. A veteran of the horror genre, Farrands most recently served as a producer of the hit supernatural thriller The Haunting in Connecticut, which has grossed nearly $80 million worldwide. "Freddy and the Nightmare films are icons of our generation, and our documentary will revisit the franchise in an exciting new way that will be respectful to the fans and to the films themselves," assures Farrands.

Co-director and editor Andrew Kasch (Thirsty) concurs, "The Nightmare series has long been regarded as the most high-brow and creative of the mega horror franchises, so our goal is to make a film that reflects those qualities. While His Name Was Jason was campy and off-the-wall, this documentary will offer a serious chronological account of the creative process – the hardships and triumphs behind one of Hollywood's most iconic characters. Above all else, this is not a fluff or promotional piece for the upcoming remake but rather will focus on the original series of films that began with Wes Craven's 1984 classic."

"The Nightmare franchise has had such a huge impact on the genre and its fans and is truly an important piece of horror history,” adds producer/co-writer Thommy Hutson (His Name Was Jason, Prank). "These films proved that horror could be both terrifying and dramatic, thrilling and groundbreaking. And that's why we're so thrilled to bring fans an extensive behind-the-scenes look into Freddy Krueger’s hallucinogenic world like never before. It’s a way of paying tribute to Wes Craven’s original vision which has inspired so many of us ... and given us a few really good nightmares, too.”

In addition to the exhaustive feature-length documentary, the two-disc DVD release of Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy will feature over four hours of nightmare-inducing extras, including the original documentary I Am Nancy, written, produced and directed by star Heather Langenkamp, which looks back at the last 25 years since her debut as heroine Nancy Thompson and examines the impact of the Elm Street films on young people's lives.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy will be released in the spring of 2010. In addition to the abovementioned talent, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy will be written by David Rosiak with Buz “Danger” Wallick serving as director of photography and Bill Philputt and yes, me, Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton co-producing.
For more on this project check out the official Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy website when it launches this Friday, the official Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy MySpace page, and finally, the I Am Nancy Facebook page.

Look for more soon!

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