Before you react to this one let me say this: I’m on your side – I don’t like remake news either…I just have to deliver the bad news. So with that said, I’ll report that Alfred Hitchcock’s catalog is being pilfered once again by the remake machine, this time for his first film, THE LODGER. The 1927 film is going to be remade by Sony Pictures and David Ondaatje has signed on to direct.
Of course there is a bit of “re-imagining” going on as the studio plans to modernize the film by setting the plot in present day Los Angeles. But perhaps the most outrageous aspect of this news item is that Sony doesn’t even know if they film will go direct-to-DVD or not. Can you believe that? – Hitchcock not even getting a theatrical run!
The plot of the original film revolves around the hysteria that Jack the Ripper’s killing spree created in 1888. – Which is weird because Sony is putting the story in present day Los Angeles, not London. Maybe the “Night Stalker” will be taking the place of Jack the Ripper. Either way, I can’t say this looks very promising.
However, if my childhood crush was in the film, I might change my mind…