UPDATE: Apparently a movie isn’t big enough to contain a remake of ROMANCING THE STONE. Deadline says that an NBC TV series is in the works with Shawn Levy (REAL STEEL, A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUMs) possibly directing the pilot.
August 25th, 2011:
“One hell of a morning has turned into a bitch of a day!”
Even though updates of FRIGHT NIGHT and CONAN THE BARBARIAN were essentially ignored at the box office just last weekend, Hollywood still figures there’s enough value in brand names to keep doing remakes (and yeah, I realize CONAN could just be considered a new take on Robert E. Howard’s character, but if you’re daring to call your movie CONAN THE BARBARIAN, I’m going to call it a remake).
Now Moviehole says that Fox is forging ahead on a remake of ROMANCING THE STONE, and is searching for a director with a “fresh, exciting take” on the material. The studio is also reportedly eyeballing talent like Gerard Butler, Taylor Kitsch and (guh) Katherine Heigl.
The 1984 original, directed by Robert Zemeckis during his phase when he worked with humans, featured Michael Douglas as a gruff soldier of fortune who gets mixed up with a hapless romance novelist (Kathleen Turner) and thief Danny DeVito in South America. A treasure hunt, bicker-banter, profuse perspiration and outrageous adventure ensue.