Uwe Boll splits Dungeon Siege movie

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When Quentin Tarantino split his blood-soaked action film Kill Bill into two parts, he did it in part because he knew it was unreasonable to expect an audience to make it through more than four hours of brutality and violence in one sitting, no matter how stylish it might have been.

According to a story today in the Hollywood Reporter, director Uwe Boll is being similarly merciful by splitting his forthcoming $60 million production In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale into a two-part film to be released late next year. However, Boll says his mercy is not for audiences, but for distributors. Boll is quoted in the article as saying the film will be "a huge epic adventure, and to support the exhibitors who can't accept a movie so long, we decided to split the movie in half."

A shorter film is more attractive to exhibitors because it means theaters can schedule more showings each day, which translates to greater potential for box-office business. Combine that with the fact that audiences will now have to pay twice as much to see the whole movie, and the financial reasons for splitting the film are readily apparent. However, the move could also have its drawbacks, as there are now two films to market, and contracts with actors might have to be renegotiated.

The first part of In the Name of the King will release on November 3, 2006, with the conclusion hitting theaters shortly thereafter on December 1, 2006. The movie easily boasts the most recognizable cast Boll has yet worked with, as it features Jason Statham (Snatch, The One), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Narc), Burt Reynolds (Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit), Leelee Sobieski (Here on Earth, Joy Ride), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark), Ron Perlman (Hellboy, City of Lost Children), Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, BloodRayne), and Matthew Lillard (Scream, Wing Commander). Boll will be distributing both movies himself through his new company, Event Film.