GREENE – Smalltown McDonough couldn’t contain the likes of Dustin Warburton for long – after a string of horror-themed literary successes, he’s set his sights on Hollywood.
Warburton, an Oxford Academy graduate, first came on the horror scene about five years ago with the Chenango-inspired “Taste,” a collaboration with fellow McDonough native and artist Nathan Gorman that was part haunted house tale, part graphic novel. He followed that initial success with his similarly-inspired “Strange Things,” “My Brother Eats Spiders” and “Mortician’s Food.”
Now, he’s getting his first story credit on a Hollywood film: “Spiders 3D,” due to be released in theaters this summer. The film, inspired by an idea of Warburton’s, is about a new species of poisonous spiders discovered in New York City. When an old Soviet space station crashes in a subway tunnel, the spiders mutate to gigantic proportions and terrorize the Big Apple.
“I pitched the story to Nu Image Studios back in December ‘09 and worked on it for a couple months,” Warburton said of the film, which was directed by horror aficionado Tibor Takacs (best known for 1987’s “The Gate” and later TV movies like “Mansquito”). Nu Image/Millennium is the studio behind the 2010 blockbuster, “The Expendables.” Warburton’s catchy tagline for this newest Hollywood fright fest? “Eight legs. Three dimensions. One disaster.”
Although now a resident of Vermont, Warburton is known for coming back to his former stomping grounds every time he completes a new project – often visiting schools along with Gorman, hoping to inspire a new generation of horror writers.
This Saturday, Warburton will celebrate his work on “Spiders 3D” with a special appearance at 1 p.m. at The Village Cafe, 62 Genesee St. in Greene. He and Gorman will be discussing their books and film work with the public, and signing autographs and selected copies of their books – along with limited edition movie posters from “Spiders 3D.”
And just before that, also on Saturday morning, Warburton will be at his mother’s downtown Norwich store, The Unique Boutique, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Warburton’s planning on getting even deeper into the Hollywood movie scene. He’s currently working on two different film projects. One’s with “Gremlins” star Zach Galligan – a modern-day Goonies/Gremlins/Poltergeist mashup story that he says Corey Feldman is interested in. He’s also re-writing a horror script that has actors Eric Roberts and Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) attached.
Although he’s mum on much of the details of the latter project, Warburton did let one secret spill: He’s pretty sure it’s going to be shot in McDonough. “We’re getting everything in place to pull off an indie-style shoot this summer,” the author said. “It’s a psychological terror film set in the woods – and I think McDonough would be the perfect place to film it.”
As if that weren’t enough irons in the fire, Warburton’s also at work on book number five, “How to Scare Kids,” a parody manual for monsters on how to scare more effectively. With story by Warburton, this work will be illustrated by internationally-famed artist Rob Granito. “I’ll be back sometime in May to do an author signing on that and visit some local schools,” he said.