Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and celebrates his reign by constructing a grand hall and holding an immense feast the likes of which have never been seen. But the revelry is too much for outcast monster Grendel, who launches an attack on the great hall during the night, killing and devouring many warriors as they sleep. Again and again he returns for his vile feasts and it seems none can stop his siege. This big budget film will be Paramount's major Fall 2007 release in the USA (Australian release date yet to be confirmed) and will be a massive hit with fans of fantasy and science fiction as well as a larger audience attracted to the adventure, special effects and fantastic story–telling. It will star Anjelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn, Crispin Glover and Anthony Hopkins. Directing the screenplay by Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) and Neil Gaiman, will be Academy Award winning director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Contact, What Lies Beneath, Who Framed Roger Rabbit...). The film will be made using the next generation of performance capture techniques pioneered by Zemeckis and first used in The Polar Express. This technique combines a photo–real animation with a level of special effects that have never been matched before.