'BLADE' director Norrington to helm 'CLASH OF THE TITANS'
The remake of the Ray Harryhausen classic will be Stephen Norrington's first directing gig since 2003's LXG.
Warner Bros. has chosen a director for Clash of the Titans, and he already has some experience with mythic storylines.
Blade director Stephen Norrington was announced yesterday (13 December) as helmer for the remake of the 1981 adventure flick that starred Harry Hamlin and Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion monsters.
According to Variety's MICHAEL FLEMING, Warner and Legendary Pictures have aimed for an '09 release, with production to begin next year. Basil Iwanyk will produce through his Thunder Road banner.
In his first rewrite job since 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, Lawrence Kasdan doctored the remake script by Travis Beacham.
The original Desmond Davis-directed Titans was a loose adaptation of the myth of Perseus (Harry Hamlin) and his quest to save Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker) from the machinations of the goddess Hera (Claire Bloom). With the indirect aid of his father Zeus (Laurence Olivier!), Perseus battles the serpent-haired Medusa, the giant Kraken, and Hera's monstrous son Calibos.
The movie featured the special motion effects of the legendary Harryhausen. There is no word on how the remake's monsters will be created, but CG seems likely.
According to STEPHANIE SANCHEZ at The IESB, Harryhausen was appalled at the idea of a remake. While admitting that current movie magic can do a lot, Sanchez wrote that "the original will always have that Harryhausen charm that no computer can duplicate."
The IESB learned early on that Sam Raimi was approached for Titans but declined. A more recent rumor (which this writer reported) suggested Robert Rodriguez as a contender for the job. Both Sanchez and Moviehole's CLINT MORRIS expressed surprise at the final choice.
"Blade I didn’t mind--it had its moments," wrote Morris, "but his last film [in 2003] was the awful League of Extraordinary Gentlemen! How much money did that lose? The WB have faith in someone like Norrington in helming Titans but they didn’t have enough faith to let Joss Whedon direct his version of Wonder Woman? Makes about as much sense as a Mailbag entry."
Only time will tell how former video director Norrington fares, but we already know his version will be minus at least one original character: in his rewrite, Kasdan jettisoned Bubo the golden owl.