Get Out and US writer-director Jordan Peele has an all-new take on Clive Barker’s Candyman headed our way next summer. Original Candyman and Hell Fest actor Tony Todd is expected to return in some capacity for the new movie, and today we have a fun story told by Todd about the filming of Bernard Rose’s original 1992 adaptation of Barker’s short story The Forbidden. It’s a tale that centers on all those damn bees Todd needed to be covered with on and off again throughout the first film. And its a story about how Todd managed to make a solid $23,000 for all the bees stings he sustained along the way.
Tony Todd reveals this about the bees and his interaction with them in the movie.
“I negotiated a bonus of $1,000 for every sting during the bee scene. And I got stung 23 times. Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain. Once I realized it was an important part of who Candyman was, I embraced it. It was like putting on a beautiful coat.”
Embraced who Candyman was like putting on a beautiful coat? Yeah, and I’m sure the $1,000 per sting contract helped a bit too, right Tony? I’m just kidding. Now I don’t know about you, but I would surely strap on a coat of bees if I could get paid $1,000 for every time one of the little jerks decided to sting me. I mean, sure, twenty-three times seems like a lot of stings to sustain, but I think it’s safe to say, you know, they weren’t all doled out in the same sitting. I am pretty sure that twenty-three bee stings in one sitting would kill a man – even a man of substantial size like Tony Todd.
Jordan Peele will produce his upcoming Candyman sequel through his Monkeypaw Productions with Little Woods director Nia DaCosta taking on directing duties. Aquaman and Black Mirror: Striking Vipers star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has already signed onto the new movie as the main character, a visual artist named Anthony who takes on an interest seeking the legend of the Candyman, similar to the role played by Virginia Madsen in the original movie. If Beale Street Could Talk actress Teyonah Parris will co-star as Abdul-Mateen II’s girlfriend and Tony Todd will return for the 2020 sequel, although it has not been specified what Todd’s role will be. Universal is set to release the film on June 12, 2020.
Related: Candyman Vs. Leprechaun Movie Got Shot Down by Tony Todd
Meanwhile, the original Candyman movie was written and directed by Bernard Rose based on The Forbidden by Clive Barker. Steve Golin, Sigurjon Sighvatsson, and Alan Poul produced the hit horror movie which starred Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, and Xander Berkeley, and featured music by Philip Glass, cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond, and editing by Dan Rae. Propaganda Films and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment were the production companies behind the original movie which TriStar Pictures unleashed into a theater near you back on October 16, 1992. The $8 million movie scored a solid $25.7 million at the box-office. This story comes to us via The Guardian.
