Look out Johnny Depp, Tim Burton has a new bromance brewing. Screenwriter and author Seth Grahame-Smith has made a big splash in Hollywood, starting with "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies" the smash hit book that soon found studios calling, and while the movie is stuck in development hell, he's moved on to bigger things and found a pal in Burton. SGS has penned the screenplay for upcoming "Dark Shadows," Burton produced the SGS-penned "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and writer is also working on the "Beetlejuice" sequel for the director. And now, there's one more gig being thrown into the mix.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, SGS let it drop that he's writing a new stop motion animated movie with Burton eyeing it to direct. "I'm right in the middle of writing an animated movie for Tim Burton right now called 'Night of the Living.' " he explained. " 'Night of the Living' is an idea I have had around for years that I'm doing with Tim Burton. When we were shooting 'Dark Shadows' last year I worked up the nerve to tell Tim about it because I always thought it would make a good movie. When I saw what he had done with 'Frankenweenie' and 'Corpse Bride,' it always struck me as a great idea for that form. I'm writing it at Warner's Bros. for him (as a stop-motion monster movie)."
Specifics on the plot aren't clear, but given the title and SGS's general oeuvre, it's probably not hard to figure just where this lands. This is just one of a handful of projects SGS has on his plate including an adaptation of his own book "Unholy Night" a supernatural sword-and-sandals retelling of the story of the three wise men (sigh), and then after that he will get around to "Beetlejuice 2." As for Burton, he also has a number of projects going at any given moment, but while his live action output in recent years has been mixed at best, in the stop-motion arena, he's stayed pretty consistent. And another ghoulish tale in the format is something we'd definitely welcome, but it's likely Burton will take a look at the script first before deciding if it'll be one he makes.
