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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
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 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Production NotesTagline: Witness the birth of fear.
The origins of the legendary horror character Leatherface will finally be revealed in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning". The film, which is set years before the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movie, stars Jordana Brewster and is being directed by Jonathan Liebesman.
The original 1974 film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, shocked and stunned audiences with its bone-chilling realism. The horrifying story, drawn from a series of true events, is considered by many to be one of the greatest thrillers of all time and a landmark of terror that has influenced countless films in its wake. Iconic in popular culture, its menacing evil character, "Leatherface," will forever be one of the most recognizable screen villains.
With 2003's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, starring Jessica Biel, the filmmakers at Platinum Dunes brought new life and vigor to the horror movie genre, while also honoring its predecessor. Now the company continues on that path with a startling prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic idea of family run.
For more than three decades, the legend of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has remained one of the most terrifying and lingering stories ever brought to the big screen. Ever since the original film debuted in 1974, fans have debated the origins of the story - but now New Line Cinema, in association with Michael Bay, presents the story of how it all began in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The film is produced by A Platinum Dunes / Next Entertainment Production, and A Vortex /Henkel / Hooper Production.
About the Production
The producers behind the successful 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre return to deliver this startling prequel, which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic idea of family fun. For the first time, audiences will learn what led to the origin of Leatherface, perhaps the most iconic horror character of all time.
It's 1969. The conflict in Vietnam has exploded. The toll on the United States is catastrophic, the losses immeasurable, while the draft ramps up to feed the military machine. And 18-year-old Dean Hill's (Taylor Handley) number is up. But before Dean can report to the local induction center, his brother, Eric (Matt Bomer), who has recently returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam, decides to surprise Dean. Despite the concerns of his devoted fiancée, Chrissie (Jordana Brewster), Eric plans to re-enlist alongside Dean in his beloved Marine Corps in hopes of keeping an eye on his directionless brother. Unfortunately, Dean's plans do not coincide with Eric's. Dean's simple strategy to dodge the draft and head south to Mexico is sponsored by his strong-willed girlfriend, Bailey (Diora Baird). But before either couple realizes the true battle they are about to confront, the boys and their respective girlfriends head across Texas for a final fling of serious fun.
Soon after their journey begins, the spirited foursome is spooked by a menacing pair of bikers, Holden (Lee Tergesen) and his girlfriend, Alex (Cyia Batten). When Alex chases the group's jeep, propelling them into a serious accident, Chrissie is thrown from the vehicle. As Alex attempts to rob the injured trio, Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) arrives on the scene and turns the tables on their would-be assassin. While Chrissie hides in the nearby brush, she watches as the sheriff inexplicably taunts her friends before ordering them into the back of the patrol car. Unbeknownst to Chrissie, Hoyt is headed back to the Hewitt family home, where his nephew, Thomas - who is being groomed to become the terrifying monster known as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) - and the rest of the Hewitt clan await. As Chrissie witnesses the horrors inflicted by the Hewitt family upon the people she loves, she realizes she is their only hope of survival.
New Line Cinema, in association with Michael Bay, presents The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the terrifying story of a family left behind in a fading rural town, with no hope, no prospects and nothing left to lose, whose eccentric behavior crosses the line into gruesome, sadistic ritual. The film stars Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird, Matt Bomer, Lee Tergesen, Cyia Batten and R. Lee Ermey. R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Bryniarski, Marietta Marich, Terrence Evans and Kathy Lamkin return to reprise their roles from the 2003 film.
The first original screenplay to be produced by Platinum Dunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is the result of collaboration between Michael Bay and his producing partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. The trio liken their working relationship to that of graduate students developing and nurturing a project with the support of their college professor (Bay) overseeing every step of the process, giving them the benefit of his experience, instinct and success, not to mention his ability to connect with an audience.
“Starting Platinum Dunes was a whim,” says Bay. “It started off as an idea to help young directors break into film. So I put it together with two of my best friends, but we had no idea we'd be as successful as we were with our first two movies. We just wanted to make lower budget movies where the film is the star, and horror movies are much more of a director's medium.”
When the Platinum Dunes partners completed their 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they had no expectations of its success or of making another movie in the same vein. But over the years, people would approach them to talk about the strange antics of the Hewitt family, peppering them with questions about how the family came to be such methodical and violent killers. Finally, during pre-production of their recent remake of The Amityville Horror, Form and Fuller began brainstorming about the Hewitt family history, determining how interesting it might be to explore their origins.
“The fans wanted another Chainsaw, it was that simple,” says Bay. “But then again, it wasn't because we cut off the bad guy's arm at the end of the first one. So the storyline was definitely a challenge, but once we decided to make a prequel rather than a standard sequel, the possibilities were endless. We just had to keep ourselves in check and not go too far out there.”
Brad Fuller adds, “Andrew and I sat down with Michael and discussed whether or not the family's story was compelling. Is being a family of killers enough of a base on which to build a movie? We knew the first step was finding a writer to help flush out the details.”
The filmmakers contacted Scott Kozar, who penned the 2003 remake, but he was tied up with other commitments, so they immediately turned to Amityville writer Sheldon Turner. To get things rolling, the producers gave Turner a copy of the 2003 film and asked him not only to come up with some ideas, but also to come up with answers to questions posed by the original story, such as: How did this family become the people they are? Why is Uncle Monty a double amputee? Why does Hoyt have no teeth and how in the world did he become a sheriff? And, of course, why does Leatherface do what he does, and what's up with those horrific skins he wears?
The producers were thrilled with the answers that Turner devised and shortly thereafter found their director in Jonathan Liebesman.
“We hired a great writer,” says Fuller. “When the script came in as strong as it did, we knew we were prepared to make it, so we went to Jonathan early on. The meetings started, Jonathan made a presentation and showed us how he planned to elevate the screenplay, and that was all we needed to hear.”
The Platinum Dunes producers first met director Jonathan Liebesman in 2002 when they were interviewing a short list of directors for the first The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Sony snatched Liebesman away to direct Darkness Falls before they'd finished reviewing the candidates. They kept in touch and called him again for Platinum Dunes' second venture, Amityville Horror, but instead of Amityville, they earmarked his talents for their next stab at Texas Chainsaw. Although he has the enthusiastic support of the producers, Liebesman was not certain about taking on the film until he discovered that his concerns about another Chainsaw project were the same as theirs.
“Making a sequel to such a great movie, especially one in which the principal antagonist has lost his ability to be menacing, was not especially appealing to me,” explains Liebesman. “But exploring how this legend began was much more interesting. As a fan of the first movie, I wanted answers to the questions it posed. In my first meeting with Michael, Andrew and Brad, I basically laid out what I thought the movie should be and mentioned ideas I would like to see included in the script. At the end of the day, we had the same vision: the movie needed to feel like the beginning of hell.”
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Jordana Brewster as Chrissie in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.
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