"Pompeii" Buried Alive

"Resident Evil" screenwriter/director Paul W. S. Anderson will direct the 3D historical, disaster feature "Pompeii" in Toronto, April 22, 2013 to July 5, 2013 for Constantin Film and producers Jeremy Bolt and Don Carmody ("Resident Evil"), starring Emily Browning ("Sucker Punch") and Kit Harrngton ("Game of Thrones"). 

The big-budget production, written by Lee and Janet Scott Batchler ("Batman Forever") will be set during the year 79 A.D., focusing on a "Titanic"-style romance between the slave of a shipping tycoon and his master’s daughter. Although the slave is on a ship headed for Naples when 'Mt. Vesuvius' explodes with molten lava, the slave is determined to rescue both his best friend, a gladiator, and the love of his life from the onslaught of fire and ash.

Historically, the city of Pompeii was a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under 13 to 20 ft of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, killing nearly 16,000 people.

Pompeii was lost for nearly 1500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later. Since then, its excavation and preservation has provided a detailed insight into the life of a city during the 'Pax Romana', including buildings, paintings and the intact corpses of people and animals covered in stone. 

Today, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors every year.

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