Over a year and a half ago, I talked to super-producer Jason Blum while he was at the press junket for Insidious: Chapter 2. While there, I brought up a little flick called Area 51, which Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli had already been working on for a rather long time. It was at this point that Jason told me that Oren was still “futzing” with the film, and that it was still in post-production even all those years later.
Fast-forward a year and a half, to today, and I had the chance to meet with Jason again to talk Unfriended (which I reviewed last night) at South by Southwest. Of course, I wanted an Area 51 update from the producer. Surely Oren couldn’t still be “futzing,” could he?
Here’s what Jason had to say about the state of Peli’s long-awaited second feature:
“The movie is officially done. I will say that. There’s no more “futzing” with the production. I do believe it’ll see the light of day. It’s been what, five years? I go on the record saying I believe it will see the light of day.”
Furthermore, I wanted to confirm how the film would be released. Blumhouse sent a slew of projects to VOD last year (including Stretch), so I asked if that would be an option for Area 51. Here’s what he said:
“It’s not up to me, but I think that would be a good way to release the film.”
So, Area 51 is coming, folks. It’s officially done and according to Blum, it will see the light of day, which is encouraging news indeed. How long it takes to actually emerge remains to be seen, but rest assured that Peli’s sci-fi flick will eventually see a release.