Another day, another remake. This time it’s Joel Schumacher’s FLATLINERS getting the treatment. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Pictures has tapped SOURCE CODE scribe Ben Ripley to pen the remake. Lawrence Mark (I, ROBOT) will be producing.
The 1990 original, written by Peter Filardi, focused on five medical students (Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt) who experiment with their own mortality, and what they discover has unsettling psychological implications.
Further Films, who produced the original, will also be involved in tis remake, which doesn’t have a director yet.
On a personal note, I’ve never been in love with Schumacher’s film, so I don’t have much objection to this news… other than, you know, it’s another goddamn remake. However, the fact that they’ve attached an interesting, up-and-coming writer (SPECIES sequels notwithstanding) might make this a little more palatable. What do you think?