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ChristopherLandon Tagged Articles at Cinematical

'Disturbia' Screenwriter Sells "New" Thriller to Warners

by Scott Weinberg May 8th 2007 // 7:04PM

Filed under: Horror », Deals », Warner Independent Pictures », Scripts », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »

Christopher B. Landon, the screenwriter who just got done making big money by ripping off, er, remaking ... no, "re-imagining" Rear Window for 15-year-olds who can't be bothered with Alfred Hitchcock, is about to pen another script -- and it's another one that sounds more than a little familiar. The Disturbia scribe seems to be taking his inspiration from something a lot more modern this time around: He wants to do a movie about three teenage witches. And I highly doubt that Andrew Fleming's The Craft is going to earn a spot in the opening credits.

According to Variety, Landon (who apparently never met a movie he wouldn't unofficially re-make) just sold a script called The Flock to Warners. (Never mind the fact that there's a Richard Gere movie called The Flock that's hitting theaters this summer.) The synopsis goes like this: "Set in contemporary times, story revolves around three teens accused of practicing witchcraft. Girls endure terrifying consequences as a result of the ensuing hysteria and scapegoating." Maybe they'll get Fairuza Balk and Robin Tunney to star.

Coming soon from Christopher Landon: An original screenplay about a town overtaken by birds. After that, a flick about a young girl possessed by the devil. (Obviously I'm being a bit over-snippy here, but I'm just amazed at how much money Disturbia brought in, despite the fact that the movie's been made several times before.) Obviously there's something to be said for giving people the same old leftovers. I think what irks me most is not that Disturbia is a bald-faced Rear Window retread, but mainly that Mr. Landon took a "story by" credit on the flick. That's just tacky.

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Another Spin with 'Christine'?

by Scott Weinberg Apr 1st 2007 // 3:31PM

Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », Remakes and Sequels »

At this point you could start preparing your own John Carpenter Remake Film Festival. With the"re-imaginings" of Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog already in the rear-view mirror, and with Halloween and Escape from New York facelifts on the horizon, it now looks like yet another of Carpenter's creepy classics is about to receive the re-do treatment.

According to ComingSoon.net, Disturbia screenwriter Christopher Landon is in talks to pen a remake of Christine, which was a 1983 killer car horror film based on a novel by Stephen King. The scribe aims to stick a little more closely to the source material and focus a bit more on the "possessed nerd" angle -- as opposed to the "killer car" slant that Mr. Carpenter leaned on. (I think JC covered both angles pretty well, actually, but Landon seems to be a fan of both the book and the movie, and that's obviously a good thing.)

Apparently the original plan was for Christine to be reborn by way of television. Both the Sci-Fi Channel and NBC had considered the project, but now it looks like it'll be a traditional feature film. Mr. Landon doesn't spill too many beans on the new adaptation, but we'll share the word once it comes down the pike. (Nerd trivia: The two leads from Carpenter's Christine have gone on to become pretty successful directors; John Stockwell helmed Blue Crush, Into the Blue and Turistas. Keith Gordon directed The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear and Waking the Dead -- all of which I consider pretty excellent films.)

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