EXCLUSIVE: Production and sales outfit WTFilms is joining forces with Joe Begos, known for cult horror hits such as Bliss and Christmas Bloody Christmas, on They Call Him Zorro.
The partners say the picture will draw on the original writings of Johnston McCulley, who first introduced Zorro in his 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, but through a horror lens.
“This is not your parents’ Zorro. In our iteration, the masked folk hero has more to do with dark and violent characters such as The Punisher or The Crow,” said WTFilms co-head and producer Gregory Chambet.
“What if instead of being a coward by day, sword-yielding funny scoundrel by night, Diego Vega came back for vengeance in the form of a scary, brutal vigilante.”
Per the official synopsis: “When Diego Vega is framed by a group of dirty city officials for a crime he didn’t commit, he escapes from prison and starts a relentless no-holds barred vengeance on corruption and crime in present day Los Angeles. The media quickly finds a name for the masked vigilante riding a black El Camino armed with chains, machetes, electric saws, and a sawed-off shotgun: Zorro.”
Begos is currently writing and will direct as well as co-produce through Channel 83.
WTFilms and Begos’ relationship dates back to his first film Almost Human, which premiered in TIFF Midnight Madness in 2013 and sold to Independent Film Company.
They also recently collaborated on Jimmy & Stiggs, released last year by Eli Roth’s new label The Horror Section.
“All of my favorite action movies, from T2 to Heat were shot on location in Los Angeles, and it’s always been a dream of mine to inhabit the same cultural playground to stage some of the most high octane and explosive set pieces imaginable, and this project is the perfect opportunity to showcase the beauty of the city, the beauty of its culture, and pull off some old school practical action filmmaking bathed in the crisp golden hour glow of Hollywood,” said Begos.
Begos previously shot all his films on 16mm and the plan is to shoot They Call him Zorro on 35mm.
“We want to bring back the feel and visual texture of action references such as To Live and Die in L.A., RoboCop, or Hard Boiled,” he said
WTFilms is in the process of financing and casting, and Chambet said the search is on for the lead actor.
“There is a lack of roles for talented Hispanic actors. Zorro is a Mexican character and we want to create a badass icon that makes the Latino community excited and proud.
We will have done our job right if people start dressing up as this new version of Zorro for Halloween,” he said.