Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that it takes nerves of steel on Kimberly Peirce’s part to get behind the wheel of a new CARRIE. Brian De Palma’s original adaptation is considered genre royalty and among the best Stephen King adaptations ever put to celluloid. As with any remake, fans can’t help but wonder what a director like De Palma thinks when he finds out someone else is taking a crack at the story of Carrie White. In a recent interview, De Palma revealed his feelings on the director and her new adaptation:
“I know Kimberly Pierce [SIC], I’ve known her for twelve years. I met her in Paris when she was on a press junket for BOYS DON’T CRY… She’s a bright, talented person. I tried to encourage her to make a movie very quickly after the success of BOYS and it took her years to find right material… but anyway, she contacted me when she decided to do CARRIE. We discussed the right way to approach it, who she was going to cast and we had a few discussions about it and basically I gave her my blessing. She’s a very talented girl and I’m really excited to see what she does.”
As for how the Peirce version of CARRIE will differ from De Palma’s take on the material, the veteran director noted “It will be more like the book, I think, which is Sue Snell’s testimony which puts Carrie in kind of brackets…”
What does this mean to horror fans? Well, besides the fact that Brian De Palma is a total mensch, the fact that he’s excited about the new CARRIE should probably get us excited about it as well. Keep your eyes peeled for De Palma’s PASSION, which hits theaters February 13th. Then set your calendar for CARRIE, who gets her revenge in theaters March 15th. Hit up the new trailer for that film and talk back with your thoughts…