Last week a few photos popped of horror maestro Eli Roth and tween icon Selena Gomez hanging out at a club. The odd pairing was questioned, but now we have an answer to their meet-up. Deadline reports they are both part of a new film currently shooting, titled Aftershock. Directed by popular foreign helmer Nicolas Lopez, the thriller surrounds a Chilean earthquake and part of “Eli Roth Presents” series, after The Last Exorcism turned a large profit.
We initially reported on the film way back in November of 2010, announcing a script by Lopez and Roth and Guillermo Amoedo, but it is now, finally, a month into production and distribution is about to come aboard. Possible studios include The Weinstein Company and Relativity Media, for the film that takes place after the February 27th, 2010 disaster that killed over 480 people. But diehard Roth fans need not worry, as he adds a twist focusing on an “insane asylum on an island, where the inmates escape during the quake.”
Roth leads the film, while Selena Gomez is said to just have a cameo but Lopez’s regular crew of Ariel Levy, Nicolas Martinez and Lorenza Izzo also star, along with Natasha Yarovenko, Andrea Osvart and Miguel Asensio also star. Check out a quote from Roth below.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Nicolas Lopez since his remarkable debut Promedio Rojo and have watched him grow into one of the best young filmmakers out there. He has the incredible combination of commercial sensibility with an artistic eye, and what he has done here in Chile with their film industry is revolutionary. This collaboration marks the beginning of what we call Chilewood, making genre films for the global market using all the resources Chile has to offer. We are making a smart elevated disaster genre movie with superb production value, something really big. The film’s going to be very scary, very intense, and very real.”
Gomez sounds like a surprise at first, but we can’t forget she is teaming with the oddball Harmony Korine on his next film, Spring Breakers. And with Roth mostly focusing on smaller horror films, I’m actually quite excited to see what he has in store with this project. The Last Exorcism wasn’t up my alley, but if he can successfully incorporate a high concept idea with a horror twist, then I’m in. Expect a deal to close during Berlin Film Festival.
What do you think about Eli Roth’s next project?