Jason Statham and Leelee Sobieski are set to headline the cast of director Uwe Boll's $60 million adaptation of the sword-and-sorcery video game "Dungeon Siege," which begins filming Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Statham, whose credits include "Cellular" and "Collateral," plays the film's hero, Farmer, and Sobieski, who credits range from "Eyes Wide Shut" to "Max," has been cast as Muriella, daughter of the court sorcerer Merrick, who will be played by John Rhys Davies, who appeared in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Also starring are Ron Perlman ("Hellboy") as Norick, Farmer's friend; Matthew Lillard ("Scooby-Doo") as Duke Fallow; Burt Reynolds ("The Longest Yard") as King Konreid; and Kristanna Loken ("BloodRayne") as Elora, an enchanted tree-like creature whose support proves critical to Farmer.
The production will film in and around Vancouver through mid-September.
Boll is executive producing through his Boll's KG along with Wolfgang Herold. Brightlight Pictures' Shawn Williamson ("White Noise") and Daniel Clarke ("The Long Weekend") are producing. Action director and choreographer Tony Ching ("House of Flying Daggers," "Hero") will helm the film's action sequences.
Boll said "Dungeon Siege" will transcend the video game genre and appeal to mainstream audiences. He added that the film's blend of action and fantasy should appeal to fans of "The Lord of the Rings." A three-hour running time is envisioned.
The film is based on developer Gas Powered Games' best-selling fantasy PC game franchise, which was published by Microsoft Game Studios.
"This is a very dark, epic picture in the tradition of the Sergio Leone Westerns that blends the imaginative action of 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers,' " Boll said. "Dungeon Siege" will have the fantasy and magic of "The Lord of the Rings," he said, but without the CGI focus.
Doug Taylor, David S. Freeman and Glenn Benest wrote the screenplay, which follows the journey of Farmer from simple family man to heroic prince. Amidst a fantasy backdrop of war in the Kingdom of Ehb between the evil Gallian and the ruling King Konreid, Farmer sets out to find his kidnapped wife, Solana, and avenge the death of his son, who was killed by animal warriors called Krugs.
Boll said the film takes elements from the game "Dungeon Siege II" and the setup from the original game and adds another dimension to the story. "Gas Powered Games is so excited about the film script that they want to do an expansion pack or full game based on the film," Boll said.
"Dungeon Siege," the game, debuted in April 2002 and has had one expansion pack, "Legends of Aranna," released in November 2003. A full sequel, "Dungeon Siege II," ships Aug. 16. The critically acclaimed game franchise opened up the role-playing game genre to the masses with intuitive gameplay and a story line that evolves based on how players progress.
Boll said he expects the feature "BloodRayne," which filmed in Romania last year, to be distributed in January. "Dungeon Siege" will be ready for release as early as late summer 2006, but Boll said the release depends on a distribution deal. He also is developing movies based on video games "Far Cry," "Hunter: The Reckoning" and "Fear Effect." (As reported by VARIETY)
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