Canadian production house Redlab Digital, in collaboration with Los Angeles-based XYZ Films, have acquired all film rights to Charlie Human’s urban fantasy novel APOCALYPSE NOW NOW. On board to write is Oscar® nominated screenwriter Terri Tatchell to adapt the book for screen. As a Canada-South Africa co-production, APOCALYPSE NOW NOW will be produced by Nicholas Sorbara for Redlab Digital (Canada), Sean Drummond and Michael Matthews for Be Phat Motel (South Africa), with Todd Brown from XYZ Films as executive producer and XYZ Films handling global sales.
The Story: Baxter Zevcenko is making a name for himself as the kingpin of his smut-peddling high-school syndicate, while the other gangs are staying out of his business, and he’s dating the girl of his dreams, Esme. When Esme gets kidnapped, things start to get seriously weird, and the only man drunk enough to help is a bearded, booze-soaked, supernatural bounty hunter that goes by the name of Jackson “Jackie” Ronin. Plunged into the increasingly bizarre landscape of Cape Town’s supernatural underworld, Baxter and Ronin team up to save Esme. On a journey that takes them through the realms of impossibility, they must face every conceivable nightmare to get her back, including the odd brush with the Apocalypse.
Says screenwriter Tatchell, “South Africa has always pushed through the usual limits of my imagination and Apocalypse Now Now is no exception. Charlie has actually upped the game and obliterated them all altogether. I am beyond excited!”
Author of the original book, Charlie Human expressed happiness with Tatchell as the writer by saying, “District 9 has been incredibly influential for South African speculative fiction writers, so having Terri Tatchell on board to adapt Apocalypse Now Now is mind-blowing. XYZ, Redlab and Be Phat Motel make exactly the type of films that I’m into, and it’s incredibly gratifying to have them working on a story that was born out of my love for South African urban mythology,”
Calling Charlie Human an“utter mad genius”, and remarked that the character of Baxter Zevcenko is “destined to become a major cult figure.” XYZ’s Brown continues, “Apocalypse Now Now is brash, irreverent, brilliant and incredibly entertaining. We’ve been in love with it since we first came across it and could not be more excited to be part of bringing Human’s creation to the big screen for audiences around the world. Go read the book right now. Really. Go read it,”
We can’t wait to see what comes of this.
