Motion Pictures
February 5, 2003
Mathieu Kassovitz Set To Direct Supernatural Thriller “Gothika,” Starring Halle Berry And Featuring Penelope Cruz, For Warner Bros. Pictures, Columbia Pictures And Dark Castle Entertainment
(February 5, 2003 – Burbank, CA) – Mathieu Kassovitz (“La Haine,” “The Crimson Rivers”) has been tapped to direct the supernatural thriller “Gothika” for Dark Castle Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures, it was announced today by producer Joel Silver. The film stars Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball,” “Die Another Day”) and features Penelope Cruz (“Vanilla Sky,” “Blow”).
A Dark Castle Entertainment production, “Gothika” is produced by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis and Susan Levin. Richard Mirisch serves as co-producer, and Steve Richards, Don Carmody and Gary Ungar are the executive producers.
Silver and Zemeckis launched Dark Castle Entertainment, the production entity they formed in the spirit of the late horror impresario William Castle, with the record-breaking release of “House On Haunted Hill,” which opened at number one on Halloween of 1999. This was followed by Dark Castle’s hit 2001 Halloween release “Thirteen Ghosts,” and the 2002 supernatural thriller “Ghost Ship.”
Mathieu Kassovitz first gained notice for “La Haine” (Hate), his incendiary drama of life in the housing projects surrounding Paris. The film, which was presented in the U.S. by Jodie Foster, garnered numerous awards for Kassovitz, including the Palme d’Or for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. His other features include “Métisse,” an interracial romantic comedy, and the action thriller “The Crimson Rivers,” starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell, one of the top-grossing films in France in 2002.
In “Gothika,” written by Sebastian Gutierrez, Halle Berry plays a criminal psychologist who awakens to find herself a patient in her own mental institution with no memory of the murder she’s apparently committed. As she struggles to reclaim her sanity, she finds herself the pawn of a vengeful spirit. Penelope Cruz plays Chloe, a fellow inmate in the asylum.
Set to begin production in April, “Gothika” will be distributed domestically in October 2003 by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company, and internationally by Columbia Pictures. # # #