A long time passed since 10 Things I Hate About You hit the big screen. Julia Stiles got Bourne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become a powerhouse on the indie scene, and Heath Ledger ... we know what became of him. I'm guessing that his death and reminiscing moments about his work is what inspired this next piece of news: Ace Showbiz reports that ABC Family is going to make the Shakespeare-inspired film into a television series, with the film's director, Gil Junger, signed on to helm the pilot. In it, Kate and Bianca Stratford will face "their new high school environment." I don't know if that means freshman hitting the big leagues, or the girls moving to a new zip code, but I can only hope that they come up with a new love interest for Kate. There's only one Patrick Verona.

Hater has been on a long road to production, but it looks like the time is finally here. Almost a year ago, Guillermo del Toro had signed on to direct the adaptation of David Moody's novel. But then the Hobbit swept him away and left Hater director-less. Have no fear, Moody fans, the pic is back on track. Variety reports that the director of The Orphanage, Juan Antonio Bayona, will helm the feature when it kicks into gear next year. So, if you liked the one-two producer-director punch of del Toro and Bayona, this should be a treat!

Hit the jump for a few exhibition news bits for the next few months.

A solid handful of indie titles vie for your attention on the DVD shelves this week. I've already written about the marketing for Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs, my pick of the week, but that shouldn't overshadow the intrinsic quality of the film itself. The DVD from IFC includes Thanks for the Add!, a short film by Swanberg, an audio commentary by Swanberg and actors / co-writers Greta Gerwig and Kent Osborne, behind the scenes footage, and SXSW video production diary spots.

I watched Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (pictured) with expectations set perhaps too high. I thought it would be a thrilling Spanish ghost story; instead it's a rather pallid drama about a mother and a lost son with just a smidgen of suspense and supernatural overtones. Jette Kernion had a response similar to mine, but others liked it much more, including our own Scott Weinberg, who praised it as "entirely captivating from start to finish." The DVD from Picturehouse includes three featurettes and something on the somewhat misleading marketing campaign.

Family dysfunction and elder care may not sound like sexy subjects, but Tamara Jekins "simply takes us into the story of her fascinating characters, and the integrity with which she handles it makes it ring true throughout." That was the reaction of Kim Voynar to The Savages; she was especially impressed by the performances of Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The DVD from Fox Searchlight includes an extended scene, director's snapshots, and a featurette entitled "About the Savages."

Cinematical is absolutely stoked after receiving this exclusive one-sheet for Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (click on the image above for a larger version). Produced (in a very hands-on manner) by the excellent Guillermo del Toro, The Orphanage may, in fact, go down as the spookiest film of the year. Our own resident horror guru Scott Weinberg survived a screening in Toronto earlier this year, and had this to say: "The Orphanage is entirely captivating from start to finish. And if those Spanish movie-makers have a few more 'creepy orphanage' stories to tell, well, I'm definitely not sick of the sub-genre just yet. And whatever Mr. Bayona offers up next, you can bet I'll be first in line to check it out." But he's not the only one; just this week alone, I've had a good five people tell me this film is a gem -- the kind that will have you leaping out of your seat more than once ... if you know what I mean.

The film revolves around a charming married couple, Laura and Carlos, who along with their adopted son Simon decide to purchase and renovate the old orphanage where Laura was raised. Problems arise when Simon makes a few new friends who, well, aren't real. The poster itself is real cool; it's hard to tell from the online version, but the in-theater posters are lenticular, which means those ghoulish-looking kids will disappear and re-appear based on the way you look at the image. Folks, very rarely do we bring out the big guns, but let it be known that The Orphanage is getting the official Cinematical Stamp of Approval. And for those who do not know what that means, it's just another way of saying you're guaranteed to love being spooked-out by this film. Look for The Orphanage to arrive in theaters this December 28.

Juan Antonio Bayona's Il Orfanato (The Orphanage) earned raves at Cannes -- and now it's taking the Toronto International Film Festival by storm. A classically spooky ghost story with more than a few modern touches in the vein of producer Guillermo Del Toro's own work, The Orphanage is a surprisingly entertaining and assured feature-length debut for director Juan Antonio Bayona. Mixing character-driven drama with a host of jumps and starts, Bayona's film chills and startles -- and also works as a sensitive, character-driven drama between the jumps and starts. Mr. Bayone spoke with Cinematical at the Toronto International Film Festival; to download the interview, click here.

I'm not exactly sure what it is about orphanages that strike such fear into the hearts of Spanish filmmakers, but if the resulting films turn out to be as excellent as Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone and Juan Antonio Bayona's debut, The Orphanage, I'm certainly not about to complain. (A third example, Jaume Balaguero's Fragile, is certainly stylish and watchable enough, but in no way is it on the same level as the other two.) The comparisons to Del Toro's mini-masterpiece are logical enough; the masterful filmmaker worked as a hands-on producer for The Orphanage -- and it shows.

The story is a smoothly simple one: Laura and Carlos are a loving married couple who have an adopted son called Simon. The family decides to purchase and renovate the old orphanage where Laura was raised -- and of course little Simon immediately comes across a bunch of new 'imaginary' friends. The orphanage is located next to a creepy old lighthouse, a beautiful beach and a foreboding cave -- locations that provide Bayona with a very effective palette. Without spoiling anything: We're told that young Simon has a deadly disease that requires daily medications, which makes his disappearance from a 'grand re-opening' party cause for serious concern.

Several months go by and Simon is still missing, but his adopted mother refuses to accept that he's gone. Needless to say ... she's right. Toss in the arrival of a creepy old nurse, the intermittent presence of a disturbed child with a sack over his head, and a few cops and parapsychologists who have their own theories -- and you have a meticulously-crafted and powerfully atmospheric little ghost story. But The Orphanage is much more than just another 'haunted building' story.