EXCLUSIVE: Anna Chazelle has signed on to write, direct and exec produce an untitled horror film based on the Greek legend of Medusa for Fangoria Studios.
For the uninitiated, Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters with venomous snakes for hair, whose gaze could turn those around her to stone. The creature met her end at the hands of the demigod Perseus, who used her head as a weapon before giving it to the goddess Athena for placement on her shield.
Tara Ansley, Armen Aghaeian, and Abhi Goel will produce the film for Fangoria Studios, with Phil Wurtzel exec producing through his Friel Films banner, alongside Chazelle.
“Medusa is a global icon, yet her story has been overlooked for far too long,” said Aghaeian, who serves as SVP of Fangoria Studios. “Anna’s interpretation of Medusa against the backdrop of Ancient Greece will make for a cinematic journey to remember.”
“It’s easy to demonize Medusa, but her story is filled with justifiable feminine rage, both at the gods who created her and the mortals who seek to destroy her,” added Chazelle. “I’m excited to dive into the tale of her nascence into the Greek pantheon, and hopefully challenge the widely-accepted definition of Medusa as a mere monster.”
Chazelle made her directorial debut with 2014 short The Pitch, then going on to write, direct and star in the post-apocalyptic short Narrow, which premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival last summer and was an official selection at the Academy Award qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. She also wrote and is gearing up to direct Anemone for Arclight Studios.
Fangoria first launched in 1979 as a magazine celebrating genre filmmaking, and continues to be published as a printed quarterly to this day. The mag was acquired in 2020 by producer Tara Ansley and entrepreneur Abhi Goel, who have looked to expand its brand, while resurrecting its sister brands Starlog and Gorezone in the digital space. Fangoria Studios launched in January of this year, with an eye toward developing and producing genre film, television and podcasts, based on IP from Fangoria, Starlog and Gorezone.
Chazelle is represented by Sarah Self & Niki Montazaran at WME, Nick Terry & Evan Anglin at Zero Gravity Management and Ashley Nissenberg & Alison Asaro at Morris Yorn Barnes Levine.
