Naomi Watts & Martin Campbell to remake 'THE BIRDS'
The man with the license to thrill is in talks to direct the Queen of The Ring in an update of the Hitchcock horror.
Casino Royale director Martin Campbell is the likeliest candidate to helm Universal's new take on The Birds, the Daphne du Maurier short story which inspired Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, Variety's TATIANA SIEGEL and MARC GRASER reported Friday.
Aussie actor Naomi Watts (King Kong) has been attached to headline the re-adaptation for some time, but her involvement is script-dependent.
"It's happening," she said in a September interview, "but I haven't read the script yet, but we're in talks, and I hope it works out. They're still working on it and making sure it's just right."
Stiles White & Juliet Snowden (Boogeyman) wrote the version of the script that is being developed.
MATT GOLDBERG at Collider thinks that the Watts/Campbell combo is a no-brainer. "If Disturbia can make a passably entertaining remake of Rear Window, an actress and a director of their respective talents should hit it out of the park with a remake of the far inferior Birds."
The 1963 version, about an avian attack on a California coastal town, starred Rod Taylor (The Time Machine) and future Oscar winner Jessica Tandy (Cocoon), and introduced cinemagoers to Melanie Griffith's mom, Tippi Hedren (Marnie).
Watts currently stars in Eastern Promises for David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Campbell's credits include The Mask of Zorro and GoldenEye.
[Thanks to Shocktillyoudrop.com, the Post-Chronicle, and Borys Kit @ Hollywood Reporter for additional material.]