Summit Entertainment is looking at bringing the bloody origin of Dracula to the big screen, and Brad Pitt is along to co-produce. Vlad is being written by and likely will star actor Charlie Hunnam, who I thought was brilliant in Undeclared(best Judd Apatow ever) and Green Street Hooligans. I didn't know the guy was a writer, too. The title comes from the real life inspiration for the Dracula character, Vlad the Impaler. Anthony Mandler is aboard to direct.
Given that the original Dracula story by Bram Stoker doesn't really deal with Dracula's early days, it's likely that this is going to a fictionalized account of Vlad's real life exploits. Expect big battles, plenty of dudes impaled on sticks, and probably very few references to him being a vampire.
This looks like a promising film, but I'm awaiting some casting details before I get too excited.
Slashfilm has more on the story here.
