Screen Rant » poltergeist

Poltergeist Remake Delayed

Ross Miller — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:47:27 +0000

For those you who outraged by the news that a Poltergeist remake was coming – you can now breath a little easier. Well, at least for a while longer. Bloody-Disgusting is reporting that MGM’s remake of the classic 1982 ghost-horror has been pushed back from its original November 24th, 2010 release date to an undetermined date in 2011.

As far as we know, House of Sand and Fog director, Vadim Perelman, is still set to helm the Poltergeist update, and Knowing writers, Juliet Snowden and Stiles White are still writing the screenplay. With the film being at MGM, my immediate reaction was this delay might have something to do with their recent financial difficulties. However, we now have an official reason for the delay, as the studio contacted Bloody-Disgusting directly to tell them the film’s set to start production sometime in early 2010, and they simply couldn’t get it done and dusted in time for its original November release.

Ah, and here was me hoping it would be delayed indefinitely and then scrapped altogether. No such luck, I suppose. At least we’ll have a few more months (and I imagine it won’t be much longer than that) to cherish the original before we have to see ads for the remake everywhere we look. I said it when the original release date got announced: Poltergeist is just one of those film’s that really doesn’t need to be remade.

I don’t see the idea benefiting greatly from an updated telling, even after 27 years have passed. The original Poltergeist holds up well even now, and I imagine a lot of the current moviegoing audience have seen it, so I don’t think it’s a valid reason to say that a remake will (re)introduce people to the story. As always, I’m willing to give it a chance but my expectations are low at this point – past (horror) remakes have conditioned me to think that way.

Are you glad the Poltergeist remake has been delayed? Do you think the original should be updated or left alone?

As stated, Poltergeist is set to start production in early 2010, and now has a release date of sometime in 2011. We’ll keep you posted on the exact date.

Source: Bloody-Disgusting

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Poltergeist Remake Gets A Release Date

Ross Miller — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:14:14 +0000

Shock Till You Drop is reporting that the remake of Tobe Hooper’s classic 1982 ghost film, Poltergeist, has been set a release date of November 24th, 2010 (Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.). We’re still in the dark as far as a cast or production start date, but now we know when MGM is planning to release the remake.

The original Poltergeist was directed by Hooper and co-written, produced and overseen by Steven Spielberg. The film is about a family who were haunted in their house (which was built on an Indian burial ground) by ghosts that end up “kidnapping” the young daughter of the family. As stated, there’s not many details on the remake, including how close it will follow the original’s story. My guess is that in the vein of, for example, the horrible Amityville Horror remake, the story won’t change that drastically.

Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) has already been tapped to direct the remake, with Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (Boogeyman, Knowing) reportedly on-board to write the screenplay. Although Perelman garnered some critical acclaim with House of Sand and Fog (it got three Oscar nominations), that’s not exactly in the same genre as a Poltergeist movie. And the writing duo (although they wrote the enjoyable enough Knowing) doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence, especially because they did Boogeyman – I will despair if this Poltergeist remake is as bad as that movie. The pair’s writing credits also include the remake of another horror classic, The Birds.

When will it end?…

Like many, I had hoped that doing a Poltergeist remake was just an idea – a property the studio had acquired as an option but wouldn’t actually do anything with. No such luck. This is just one of many unnecessary horror remakes that have been made and are still in the works. Every so often a decent one comes along (The Ring personally comes to mind), but those are very few and far between (it would take a while to list off all of the bad ones).

Until some inspiring details get released about Poltergeist, I’m going to expect it to suck. There’s little that has taught me to think any differently.

Are you looking forward to this Poltergeist remake?

As stated, it is set for a November 24th, 2010 release.

Sources: ShockTillYouDrop via /Film

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 31, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:04:44 +0000

I can’t believe that it’s now the end of August! Soon the winter blockbusters will be knocking at our door and the next thing you know it’ll be Oscar time again. Where does time go? Is it playing like a re-run somewhere, can you just flick to another dimension to a time where you are still awaiting a fourth Indiana Jones movie? Who knows, but I do know that it’s another Weekend Movie News Wrap up featuring a new aspect: a weekend box office update.

This week:

After our box office round-up we see what George Clooney and Jason Reitman are doing Up in the Air, we find out what former superhero is joining the Toy Story franchise, we look at who might be helming the Poltergeist movie and the Voltron film and what is new on the Inglorious Bastards casting front.

Weekend Box Office

It looks like Tropic Thunder will retain its box office crown and gross another $14-16 million over the Labor day weekend. Fox’s tinkering with Babylon A.D. didn’t do any good as the film will only bank $11-13 million this weekend. Ouch – what a summer Fox has had!

Don Cheadle’s Traitor did a modest $2.2 million on Friday and it should bank $10 million when all is said and done over the weekend. Meanwhile Disaster Movie was a disaster coining only $2 million on Friday – look for an $8 million weekend.

Death Race crashed an burned on its second weekend dropping a mighty 63% grossing just $1.7 million on Friday. Look for a little over $8 million by the end of Labor Day weekend.

Art house hit The Dark Knight will have crossed the $500 million barrier and the Caped Crusader epic should bank about another $11.5 million. Holy legs, Batman!

Movie News

1. Speaking of Batman, former Dark Knight George Clooney has signed on to Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. The comedy film follows a business man who is addicted to collecting air miles. Sounds strange and quirky so it should be up Clooney’s street. I imagine it’ll fly high in awards season!

Source: Variety

2. Another former Batman, Michael Keaton has signed on to Toy Story 3. Keaton will play Ken (of Ken and Barbie fame). His other half will be voiced by Jodi Benson. Benson was also the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. I didn’t know that already. Seriously.

Source: IESB

3. It looks like the Poltergeist remake has snagged itself a director. Vadim Perelman director of House of Sand and Fog is in talks to direct the horror film. Nothing is set in stone yet, so this could change. Heck, they could even give Brett Ratner a call.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

4. More Bastards have landed (that’s a Peter Jackson reference for you). Christoph Waltz has joined Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards as the main evil-doer of the film, Colonel Hans Landa. Meanwhile National Treasure star Diane Kruger has also come on-board the film, in the role first intended for the much older Nastassja Kinski.

Source: CHUD

5. The Voltron movie has nabbed a director in the form of Max Makowski. The film is a Transformers-esque giant robot movie. Makowski has in the past brought us One Last Dance (a film that I have sitting on DVD but have never watched), as well as episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

No, seriously, he did. I have nothing to say about this. Nothing at all.

I will say that there’s probably a joke in there somewhere.

Source: Latino Review

That’s it for another week. See you at the movies!

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: July 27, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:25:35 +0000

Man, where does time go?

Hard to believe that The Dark Knight is now a distant memory (well, I can still hear the cash registers ringing).

It’s now time to look forward to a new batch of movies. This week we have a horror remake bonanza featuring:

Leonardo DiCaprio entering The Twilight Zone, the return of Freddie Kruger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, MGM turn on the television and revisit Poltergeist and The Wolfman goes live.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way have joined forces with Warner Brothers to try and buy the rights to the Rod Serling scripted episodes of The Twilight Zone in an attempt to get a feature off the ground.

It’s not sure if DiCaprio would star in the film (or films) or what format they would take. Way back in In 1983 Warner Bros released a four-segment film that was directed by the then hot fab four of Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg. The film was however released under tragic circumstances when star Vic Morrow and two children were killed on set during the Landis’ segment.

No director or writers have been attached - yet.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

2. New Line Cinema (or what’s left of it) is bringing Freddie Kruger back from the dead. They have hired scripter Wesley Strick to pen the remake of Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The remake is being produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production shingle.

The aim is that he film will be released next year on the 25th Anniversary of the original film.

Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to re-release it?

Source: Hollywood Reporter

3. MGM has decided to revisit the Poltergeist franchise. They are currently in the planning stages of remaking Tobe Hooper’s iconic 1982 horror film.

When the original film was released Steven Spielberg had to take out a full page ad in the trades to say that he didn’t direct the film.

I don’t think that he’ll have the same problem here.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

4. The website for The Wolfman has gone live. It features a pretty spolier free synposis and two pictures of the titular monster and Benico Del Torro and Anthony Hopkins in character.

There are also some words from an old Gypsy poem (and the original film starring Lon Chaney Jr.):

Even a man who is pure of heart,
And says his prayers every night,
May become a wolf,
When the Wolfsbane blooms
And the Autumn Moon is bright.

Spooky!!

Did I mention that this was a remake of a 1941 film?

Source: The Wolfman

That’s it for another week.

See you at the movies!!

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