Hollywood-based Universal Pictures will base production on the new horror feature film ‘Dracula’ in Belfast when the film enters production later this year.
Directed by Gary Shore and produced by Michael De Luca, ‘Dracula’ has now entered the pre-production stage and the three month shoot will last from August to November of this year.
Even though the production is based in Belfast, the film will also be shot across other various locations in Northern Ireland. The announcement was made yesterday by Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter D. Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
Luke Evans (The Three Muskateers, Immortals, Fast & Furious 6) will star in the film alongside Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis) and Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!, Dead Man Down). Based on the iconic villain that came from the pen of Irishman Bram Stoker, ‘Dracula’ will tell the origin story of the man who became Dracula, the vampire from Transylvania. Written in 1897 by Stoker, the story focused on the immortal vampire Dracula who attempted to relocate to England from his castle in Transylvania, only to be pursued by a group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Northern Ireland Screen, funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund, has awarded the film £1.65million production funding which is estimated to deliver £15million expenditure on local goods and services. With the next series of HBO’s hugely popular and multi-award winning show ‘Game of Thrones’ set to begin shooting in Northern Ireland this July, Universal’s decision to film ‘Dracula’ in Belfast is a further boost to the Northern Irish film industry and it will also certainly help attract more foreign productions to Irish locations.
