Sun Nov 30, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger

'Ray Harryhausen Presents' Moves from Print to Screen

Stop-motion Picture from Hand Made Films

The success of Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum, a short stop motion animated film produced by Hand Made Heroes Film & Television has resulted in a comic book deal with Bluewater Productions. When Bluewater President Darren G. Davis and Director Marc Lougee of Hand Made Heroes discovered they were both producing work independently under the Ray Harryhausen Presents banner, Bluewater immediately penned a deal with director Marc Lougee to further develop film & comic book cross-over properties.

Since it’s premiere hosted by Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News at the BNAT Film Festival, The Pit and the Pendulum short film has screened in over 200 film festivals and comic conventions around the world including AFI Dallas and San Diego Comic-Con. Nearly 100,000 visitors logged into the film’s website within two days of the film’s premier in Austin, TX, and has continued to garner a global fan following.

“Seeing the film published as a comic thru a brilliant publisher like Bluewater is the realization of another dream of mine.” said Director, Marc Lougee, “What started as a labor of love, and a once in a lifetime chance to make a film with Ray Harryhausen at the helm, has just continued to expand and reach further than I’d imagined. I’m really excited to have an issue of Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum comic in hand come February 2009.”

Susan Ma, producer on the stop motion adaptation of The Pit and the Pendulum, says the soon to be released comic book is a wonderful extension of the film. “In producing the film, we sought to bring the story to life for a broad audience, while staying as close to the original story as possible. Executive producer Ray Harryhausen was especially keen to see the story develop with a strong visual aesthetic and real storytelling.  In bringing the film version into the realm of comic books, I feel we’re accomplishing the goal of making the story very accessible. We’ve been surprised with wonderful feedback from teachers and professors who are thrilled to have a resource like the film to teach Poe’s works in class.”

Director Marc Lougee adds, “I think between the comic book and the DVD, we’ve got a wonderful package to create interest in great literature thru visual means, starting with E.A. Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Gothic horror, Ray Harryhausen and Edgar Allan Poe- who wouldn’t be thrilled?”

The story in brief:

The Pit and the Pendulum. A victim of the Spanish Inquisition is brought before a tribunal. Condemned and alone, he’s left to suffer a fate worse than death as his captors employ fiendish machinations in their efforts to unhinge him.
 

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