Stephen Sommers had a totally different approach to the remake in mind. He didn’t see it as dark and mystical or romantic reincarnation the way his failed predecessors had. He saw it as a whimsical, but kind of scary adventure, à la Indiana Jones.
He brought Jacks and Daniel into the picture and made his pitch. It would be as simple as the mummy giving the hero a hard time, a nuisance to be dealt with rather than a terrifying dark force. With a kiss of luck to an 18-page proposal, Sommers pitched the idea to Universal Studios. Guess what? Universal didn’t just love it. They marked up the budget from $15 million to $80 million, and the remake hit the big screen in 1999.
A Spur in 1992
James Jacks and Sean Daniel, the film’s producers, originally wanted to remake The Mummy in 1992. Universal Studios supported them and set $10 million for a “low-budget horror franchise.” Jacks and Daniel knew one person who could help them, Clive Barker, a prominent horror filmmaker and writer. However, the producers’ vision differed from Barker’s.
Barker re-imagined the film to be set in a contemporary art museum that wanted to reanimate the mummies. It was a cultist kind of re-imagination. As Jacks put it, “Barker’s take was dark, sexual, and filled with mysticism.” But nevertheless, Jacks knew that “it would have been a great low-budget movie.” After numerous meetings that seemed to come no nearer to an agreement, Barker and Universal Studios lost interest in the project.
A Different Idea
Another director tried his luck and presented a new proposal. Joe Dante, the director of Gremlins, wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to play the role of the mummy. Lewis is a method actor known for deeply investing himself in the roles he plays and the rigorous character research he engages in before delving into a new role.
Dante’s version of the film was set in modern times, but it focused on the love story element embedded within the theme of reincarnation in the storyline. He also added a unique twist by introducing flesh-eating beetles to the plot; known as scarabs, these creepy crawlers were sacred in ancient Egypt. Dante’s vision was unique and intriguing, and clocked in at a measly $15 million budget, but it was still a no.
Who’s Patricia Velasquez?
Have you heard of Patricia Velasquez? If you haven’t, keep on reading. You need to know more about this legendary woman. Velasquez is a Venezuelan actress and model, and she is the world’s first Latina supermodel who came out to the world as a loud and proud lesbian woman. She’s not just a model, she is also a writer.
In February 2015, she released her memoir, titled Straight Walk. She opened up about her life and personal experiences to her readers, discussing issues such as the poverty she experienced at an early age, as well as her relationship with the American comedian and writer, Sandra Bernhard.
Keeping It Realistic!
Out of the $80 million budget allotted by Universal Studios for The Mummy, $15 million was spent on special effects. It comes as no surprise that the investment needed to pull off the mystery and magic encapsulated in the movie would amount to a fair sum, and the producers didn’t want the remake to be a copy of the original.
They wanted a totally different look and effect, and they were ready to throw down for it. “The Mummy should be mean, tough, nasty—something that the audience hadn’t seen before,” John Andrew Berton Jr. said. He was the Industrial light & magic visual effects supervisor for The Mummy. The team used motion capture so they could capture the movements of the actor playing the mummy and achieve “a menacing and very realistic effect.”