The long-rumored director's cut of Clive Barker's 1990 film "Nightbreed" could find life if fan support for the project is enough to jolt studio interest.

20th Century Fox reportedly forced Barker to cut the film down to 101 minutes, losing 25 minutes of footage. The studio was uncomfortable with the longer running time and with some explicit material. Later, rumors flourished that the footage was lost.

Mark Miller, a friend of Barker, recently set out to discover if the footage was truly lost. To his surprise, an unnamed studio production executive verified it was safe and secure.

"My jaw dropped," Miller said. "Struggling to remember my already limited vocabulary, I asked what had to happen in order for the footage to see the light of day. He explained to me that someone, namely one of the higher ups, had to have a good reason to pull it out of storage. I, having that good reason, nodded and thanked him. He couldn't have been a nicer guy.

"Excited, I pictured myself walking through large dusty warehouses filled from floor to ceiling with ancient reels of arcane footage. Im sorry to report, that's not what happened."

According to Miller, one studio executive claimed "there wasn't a big enough audience for the film and that the answer to my request must be 'no.'

"Not even worth the cost to upgrade to Blu-ray," Miller said. "Ouch."

Though studio interest appears limited, Miller hopes fans will help breath life into the project.

A director's cut would feature some nasty graphic gore during the climax, more disturbing scenes in Median and additional character development.

"So endeth my search, thus far," Miller said. "But this doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Whats important is that weve all learned two very essential pieces of information: One, the footage is not lost; it's in waiting. Two, the only thing standing between us and the directors cut of 'Nightbreed' is -- good news -- its already loyal audience ...

"It ain't cheap to restore and release a movie. Let's show the powers-that-be that it's worth their while, shall we?"

Fans interested in voicing their demand for an extended version of "Nightbreed" should send either an e-mail to philandsarah@clivebarker.info, or a Tweet to @philandsarah. Leave your name or screen name, and feel free to add your country of residence and/or thoughts on why "Nightbreed" should receive a director's cut.