EXCLUSIVE: 'Deathgames' To Place Kellan Lutz In Period Arenas, Draws Inspiration From Video Games And UFC

"Deathgames." The title alone summons up awesome mental images, right? The title bubbled out of the trades last week as an upcoming project with "Twilight" star Kellan Lutz and "Iron Man 2" star Samuel L. Jackson in late-stage talks to headline. Intrigued by the premise -- Jackson kidnaps Lutz and forces him to fight in a modern-day gladiator arena -- I put in a call to Mike Callaghan, who is producing with Motion Picture Corporation of America, for additional details.

"Essentially the idea is, what if you had 'Gladiator' set in the present with modern-day technology," Callaghan explained. "You've got Sam Jackson essentially playing the Caesar who rules over an arena where people fight to the death. And Kellan plays our gladiator, who enters the film as someone that was kidnapped and rises through the ranks to become the head gladiator, the prized fighter."

That's the basic pitch. Things get mighty interesting however when you take a closer look at Jackson's character and how he stages these fights.

"Everything takes place online. Our villain, Sam Jackson's character -- his name is Logan -- has a fortress in a very secluded part of the world where he's got," -- now dig this, "a huge green screen arena where he has these people to the death and everything's broadcast over the Internet."

Green screen. The kind of stuff they use nowadays to shoot effects-heavy movies. Basically, your actors play out their roles for a given scene in front of a green backdrop. Computer wizards then add digital effects and surroundings into the background. It's something that director Jonah Loop, who make his directorial debut with "Deathgames" after working for years as a visual effects supervisor, has an extensive amount of experience with.

"[Loop] will be creating virtual backgrounds and environments for these fights to take place [in]," Callaghan explained. "So all of the fighters will fight in costume against, essentially, a photorealistic background from different periods... in history."

That's pretty neat. And Callaghan nails the obvious influences at work here in his next statement: "So essentially what the character Logan, Sam Jackson, is presenting to his audience is sort of a mash-up between a UFC Pay-Per-View event and a video game. On one hand, the movie is very contained, but it's going to feel a lot bigger because these fights are very epic and brutal."

Let's consider the UFC comparison first. People who are used to the dazzling acrobatic combat in movies like "The Matrix" tend to be pretty surprised when they tune in for a Mixed Martial Arts event, which is highlighted by up-close punches and kicks rather than backflips and flying jump kicks. Callaghan promises that kind of aesthetic in the finished film.

"There's no wire work with people flipping and doing crazy stunts. It's really very hardcore, a lot of punching. There are weapons involved in some of the fights, so it can get pretty bloody in that regard. We want that realism and brutality that was captured very well in 'Fight Club,' but updated for how you would broadcast those fights for a wider audience," he said.

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