RINGS

2017 ‧ Drama film/Thriller ‧ 1h 57m

Initial release: 1 February 2017 (France)

Director: F. Javier Gutiérrez

Film series: Ring

Music director: Matthew Margeson

Budget: 33 million USD

Starring: Matilda Lutz , Alex Roe , Johnny Galecki , Aimee Teegarden , Bonnie Morgan , vincent D'Onofrio

ABOUT

Rings is an upcoming 2017 American supernatural psychological horror film directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez, produced by Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes, and written by David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes and Akiva Goldsman. It is the third feature length film in the American Ring franchise, directly following The Ring and The Ring Two. Starring Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan and Vincent D'Onofrio. Principal photography began on March 23, 2015 in Atlanta. The film will be released on February 3, 2017 in the United States.

PLOT

The film is set 13 years after the events of the first chapters of the horror franchise.

Julia (Matilda Lutz) becomes worried about her boyfriend, Holt (Alex Roe) when he explores the dark urban legend of a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after viewing. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a "video within the video" that no one has ever seen before.

PRODUCTION

Pre-Production

Paramount Pictures announced the initially titled The Ring 3D with F. Javier Gutiérrez directing. In August 2014, Paramount was in talks with Akiva Goldsman to write a third draft of the screenplay, previously worked on by David Loucka and Jacob Aaron Estes. In November, Gutiérrez posted an Instagram photo that showed that the current title of the sequel is Rings. On January 16, 2015, Matilda Lutz was added to the cast for the lead role. Alex Roe was cast for the male lead role on March 20, 2015. Aimee Teegarden joined the cast on March 27, 2015. Johnny Galecki had signed on to star in the film on April 1, 2015, he would be playing Gabriel, a professor who mentors and helps both Holt and Julia. The film had been rumored to be a prequel, however Gutiérrez had stated that was not true and that the film is taking place 13 years after the events of The Ring.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on March 23, 2015, in Atlanta and wrapped on May 31, 2015. Reshoots took place in July 2016.

Post-Production

Post-production began in June 2015 at Paramount Pictures Studios and was concluded in October 2016.

RELEASE

Paramount Pictures originally set the film for a November 13, 2015, release, but in September 2015, the film was pulled from the schedule. In October 2015, Paramount rescheduled the release date to April 1, 2016. On February 17, 2016, the film was rescheduled for release on October 28, 2016, to take the place of Paramount's previous October horror release staple, the Paranormal Activity series, which ended in 2015 with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. On September 22, 2016, the film was delayed to February 3, 2017, most likely to avoid competition with Ouija: Origin of Evil, leaving it as the only horror film that debuted around Halloween 2016.

Marketing

The film's first trailer was released on August 24, 2016. The second trailer was released on January 5, 2017, alongside a new international trailer containing new footage. In January 2017 Paramount released a prank video where an actress dressed as Samara jumped out of a TV to scare unwitting patrons at an electronics store. The video was generally well-received, garnering 200 million views in 24 hours on Facebook.