I haven't quite processed the notion of a Poltergeist remake just yet -- it still seems more conceptual than actual to me. Yet the fact that they've picked a pair of screenwriters, and that the late Heather O'Rourke has condemned the remake from the grave, tell me that it's about as actual as it gets. Now Bloody-Disgusting has started a rumor that Vadim Perelman -- quasi-arthouse director of House of Sand and Fog and The Life Before Her Eyes -- is in "heavy talks" to direct the new movie. That would be a heck of a contrast to the screenwriters of Boogeyman.

I'm as down on this project as everyone else -- the original film is a moment in time that ought not be disturbed -- but I like the idea of Perelman, mostly because I like the notion of otherwise "respectable" directors trying their hand at genre films. His brooding, portentous style might be a good fit for Poltergeist, I guess. And maybe this will wind up like the doomed adaptation of The Talisman, to which Perelman was attached for a while (and which he seems far better suited to), never making it past the development stage.

Anyway, I emphasize that I'm commenting on a rumor, not relaying hard news. Make of it what you will.

Granted, this might be stepping into TV Squad's domain, but it is about Steven Spielberg after all. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Spielberg's adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's 1984 novel, The Talisman, has hit a financial roadblock. According to THR, the miniseries originally slated to premiere on TNT in 2008, "has been put on hold because of budgetary issues" -- which will definitely put a crimp in the plans to expand the story into an ongoing series. The Talisman focuses on a young boy who journeys into a parallel dimension to save his mother. Sources for THR said that once all the scripts had been completed, it became obvious that the project would require a huge special FX budget that TNT wasn't ready to fork over. Spielberg first bought the novel for his own Amblin Entertainment over 20 years ago. Never one to give up, as late as 2004, he was still trying to make the film under his DreamWorks shingle. Past directors attached to the project include: Vadim Perelman (who just signed for Angelina Jolie's Atlas Shrugged), and Ed Zwick (Blood Diamond).

As I'm sure we are all aware, Spielberg is still working on the fourth installment of Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull -- and I don't think I'm alone in saying that they managed to pick a doozy of a title this time around. There has also been talk that Spielberg might be taking over directorial duties on Aaron Sorkin's film about the 1968 Democratic convention. If he does, the only question will probably revolve around how he's going to work Shia LaBeouf into that one. As for his TV aspirations, until TNT can sort out a budget for the mini-series, it looks like The Talisman is going to stay on the shelf just a little while longer.

Mini-series certainly qualify as some type of "movie," so here goes: Steven Spielberg will produce a small-screen adaptation of The Talisman for the TNT network. As you probably know (if you're a horror fan) The Talisman is a novel co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub in 1984, although the duo got back together again in 2002 to pen Black House -- which gives TNT a perfect sequel opportunity should they opt to go in that direction.

No word yet on who'll be writing/directing/starring in the 6-hour Talisman mini-series, but the last time Spielberg and TNT got together the result was the 10-hour Into the West, which everyone seemed to dig a whole helluva lot.

The Talisman has been rumored as a movie or mini-series for the better part of two decades, but it took Spielberg's involvement to get the job done. Here's hoping this production turns out better than most of ABC's King-flicks. In related news, everything that Stephen King has ever written has now been made into a movie, TV special, mini-series or student film. That includes supermarket lists, greeting card messages and autographs.