LONDON, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Two films based on the story of Beowulf, the hero of the first great written English poem, were in production Monday, the Guardian reported.
"Beowulf & Grendel," directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, is a $12 million co-production from Britain, Canada and Iceland, starring Scottish actor Gerard Butler. The second film, "Beowulf," is a $70 million Hollywood production directed by Robert Zemeckis and financed by Sony Pictures.
"Beowulf & Grendel" has been described by its producers as a "spiritual film," whereas "Beowulf," co-written by "Pulp Fiction" collaborator Roger Avary, has been characterized as "... a sort of dark-ages 'Trainspotting,' filled with mead and blood and madness."
Both films are based on a poem, written in Anglo-Saxon by an unknown author sometime between 700 and 1000 A.D., about a hero named Beowulf who confronts and slays a murderous troll named Grendel.
"Beowulf & Grendel" is set to be released this year; "Beowulf" was in pre-production Monday.
