"Dear John ...

Here is some news about Red Dragon from my friend Stephen Pizzello from American Cinematographer Magazine. He has said this about "Red Dragon" :

"The new version has a completely different look [to Manhunter] (darker and more Gothic), and it includes more of the Hannibal Lecter background story from the book ..."

Sincerly, Fabio"

Manhunter.net comments on this rumour ...

I have received valid information in the past from Fabio, so this news is highly likely to be correct.

Originally, it was thought that Dante Spinotti would not be involved in the filming of Red Dragon, due to a prior commitment to another project (Star Trek)

However, it would appear that this is no longer the case as he has been employed as "Cinematographer" on Red Dragon by long-time friend and Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentis

This news is of course particularly interesting to Michael Mann fans, as Spinotti worked closely with Mann on Manhunter as "Director of Photography" back in 1986!

Finally, if the "Darker and more Gothic" quote is true, perhaps Red Dragon is aiming for a visual style similar to that used by Tak Fujimoto and Jonathan Demme on "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991 ?

Resources and links relating to this article ...

• Dante Spinotti page