Movies
Writers Tapped to Pen ‘Poltergeist’ Remake
Finally, finally we have bragging rights on this remake – can we now say “I told you so?” It was officially announced today that MGM is moving forward on their remake of Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg’s classic ’82 horror film, Poltergeist, which we broke the news on back in November of 2006. Inside you can find out who is writing the remake and then cringe a little with me.
Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (The Birds, Knowing) are going into the light.
The “Boogeyman” scribes are rolling out more children’s nightmares for MGM’s planned remake of “Poltergeist,” the 1982 horror film that made “they’re here …” the creepiest announcement ever voiced by a 6-year-old kneeling in front of a static-filled television.
The original “Poltergeist,” directed by Tobe Hooper from a script co-written by Steven Spielberg, miraculously skirted an R rating despite its children-in-constant-peril, toy clown-strangling, face-peeling, skeleton-swimming medley of horrors. The MGM/UA release grossed $122 million worldwide and earned Oscar nominations for its ILM-designed visual effects, sound effects and score.
The story of a suburban home built over an Indian burial ground and thus inhabited by a nasty spook earned further cult status when two of the child actors in the movie died after the film’s release. Two nerve-jangling sequels were produced.
Horror thrillers are in Snowden and White’s blood. The writers, repped by ICM, co-wrote the $46 million-grossing 2005 release “Boogeyman” for Sam Raimi and Ghost House. They’ve had a hand in the never-hatching remake of “The Birds” for Universal. And they’ve co-written “Knowing,” a Summit Entertainment release directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage, that is due in March.
Click here for all of our previous stories on the remake.
It was announced two weeks ago that Paramount is resurrecting the Scary Movie spoof franchise with a brand new reboot movie, which will likely arrive in theaters next year.
The new movie, a joint venture between Paramount and Miramax that will technically be the sixth installment in the franchise, is expected to go into production this coming Fall.
We don’t yet know who will be writing, directing or starring in the Scary Movie reboot, but two actors in particular have already expressed an interest in joining the franchise.
The first is Melissa Barrera, who can currently be seen in theaters in Radio Silence’s bloody horror movie Abigail. Barrera is of course also the star of Scream and Scream VI, which kind of makes her a perfect candidate to lampoon herself in a Scary Movie reboot.
“I always loved those movies,” Melissa Barrera tells the website Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun.’ That would be so fun to do.”
The actress adds, “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one.”
In a tweet posted last night, Bailee Madison (The Strangers: Prey at Night, the upcoming “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School”) also threw her hat in the running.
Madison tweets, “Random but scary movie 6 hit me up cause I just feel like we’d have fun okay bye.” Your move, Paramount. And make sure you call Anna Faris and Regina Hall too.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the first Scary Movie was released in 2000, just four years after Wes Craven reinvigorated the horror genre with his meta slasher masterpiece, Scream.
The film parodied horror movies of the time including Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Blair Witch Project, and the horror-comedy spoof scared up $278 million at the worldwide box office. The success of that first Scary Movie paved the way for an entire franchise of horror spoofs, five of them in total released between 2000 and 2013.
Bailee Madison in “The Strangers: Prey at Night’
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
You must be logged in to post a comment.