George R.R. Martin Releases Trailer for Vincent D’Onofrio-Starring Night of the Cooters

Earlier this year, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin confirmed that he was working with actor Vincent D’Onofrio to adapt the 1987 novel Night of the Cooters, which has just earned the below first teaser. As if the subject matter from author Howard Waldrop wasn’t ambitious enough, the upcoming short aims to be equally as inventive, as it blends together live-action performances with animation techniques to truly honor the otherworldly tone of the source material. The film doesn’t yet have a release date, with this teaser hopefully holding fans over until we get more official information about Night of the Cooters.

Night of the Cooters tells the tale of townsfolk in Pachuco Texas in the 1800s rallying around one cause, survival against the unwelcome visitors from “up there.” Join the townsfolk on their journey to figure out what the hell is going on in the big hole at the edge of town. With a screenplay by the one and only Joe Lansdale, and music by the prolific Ramin Djwadi, get ready for a ride like no other through the mind of the great Howard Waldrop. 

“The post-production on the film is where the true look of it starts to unfold — how Trioscope crafts the photography frame by frame with the colorization and detail of each shot. We are watching our film come to life,” D’Onofrio shared in a statement.

Trioscope CEO L.C. Crowley added, “Here at Trioscope, we’ve created a hybrid of animation and live-action drama that amplifies the best of both genres. Especially important within the structure of a short film, our unique approach immediately transports and immerses the viewer into a dramatic new world — one that gives nuance to the actors’ performances and their characters. We’re honored to partner with visionaries George R.R. Martin and Vincent D’Onofrio to bring their wild imaginings to vivid life.”

D’Onofrio will star as Sheriff Lindley, with the rest of the cast featuring Hopper Penn as Sweets, Harrison Page as Luther, Martin Sensmeier as Leo Smith, Cristin McCleary as Atkins, Elias Gallegos as DeSpain, Luce Rains as Skip, Jazzy Kim O’Brien as Lil’ Chisum, and Darius Eteeyan as Billy Strother.  

Over on his blog, Martin confirmed that he hopes the film will be completed by February or March.

Stay tuned for details on the upcoming release of Night of the Cooters.

Are you looking forward to the project? Let us know in the comments below!