Hollywood insiders and horror fans raised their eyebrows in collective surprise Thursday when the NY Post reported that New York Knickerbocker Amare Stoudemire was in talks with Relativity Media head Ryan Kavanaugh to executive produce “The Strangers 2.” Well, it appears the All-Star power forward may have gotten a little ahead of himself.
Sources tell HitFix that “Strangers 2” is not close to being greenlit. At this time, neither Stoudemire or anyone else is producing or investing in the project. However, the New York Knick is a client of Rogue Sports (a division of Relativity) and it’s possible, but probably a long shot.
Stoudemire might also want to pay close attention to the what happened when two of his peers, Elton Brand and Baron Davis, both begain to spend their free time in the movie business. Brand co-produced the critically acclaimed, but financial disappointment, “Rescue Dawn.” Within two years he’d torn his achilles and has never been the same player again. Baron Davis was an executive producer (ie, investor) on the thriller “Asylum” with Ian McKellen and Natasha Richardson which was barely released in the U.S. He was also an exec producer on Matthew Lillard and Tom Arnold’s “The Pool Boys” which doesn’t appear to have been released anywhere. Since funneling his talents toward movies and internet endeavors, Davis has seen his former All-Star career tank. Coincidences? You decide.
Directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, “The Strangers” was a surprise critical and box office hit. The thriller grossed $82 million worldwide in 2008 on a reported budget of only $9 million.