The Michael Bay-produced remake of The Birds finds a director

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The names Michael Bay and Alfred Hitchcock should never be uttered in the same breath unless they are the answer to the question “do you know which directors are the polar opposite of one another?”, but today we have some news regarding the Bay produced remake of the classic THE BIRDS. Having been in development for quite a while, Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Universal have now found a director to helm the update to the avian horror movie.

Variety reports that Danish director Diederik Van Rooijen will helm THE BIRDS. If that name doesn’t ring any bells it is likely because this will be the filmmaker’s first American film. Van Rooijen’s filmography is primarily based around short films and television work with two features called DAYLIGHT and TAPED. None of the films seem to indicate any reason why he was selected to direct THE BIRDS, but I am sure we can look back to the Platinum Dunes movies made to date for an idea of where this is going.

The original plotline followed a San Francisco socialite who moves to a small northern California town that is suddenly under attack from various types of birds. Plot details for this pic are unknown at this time.

Tippi Hedren starred in the original THE BIRDS which spawned a very poor cable sequel. I am intrigued by a modernization of the story, but are audiences really going to go into seeing the movie with a straight face? I watched the Hitchcock original a few months ago with some friends who had never seen it and they chuckled and laughed versus being scared or thrilled. Even with modern special effects, THE BIRDS may not be the type of movie that works these days.