Fresh off the success of sci-fi thriller Knowing, which opened in first place at the U.S. box-office this past weekend, screenwriting couple Juliet Snowden and Stiles White have been talking to The Wrap about their upcoming projects – remakes of both The Birds and Poltergeist.
Acknowledging fans’ concern towards these new versions of the classic movies, White suggests that their version of the Hitchcock classic will return to the original novella by Daphne du Maurier for inspiration: “We went back to the source material rather than going to his film. Ultimately, what you would get is a modern-day retelling of what if a bird phenomenon happened like that again.”
With regards to Poltergeist, expect a straight-up retelling of the original movie, albeit with a contemporary setting. “Poltergeist is a much more specific story – one family, one house. It’s treasured; it’s valuable. It was a real snapshot of the American family in the year that it came out and I think what we would do with the reimagining of it is, ‘What is the American family up to today?'”.
Snowden and White will undoubtedly encounter much resistance to these two projects as development moves forward, and fans will be hoping to avoid another abomination like The Boogeyman (2005), which the couple also wrote. However, they are keenly aware of how highly audiences regard the originals, with White explaning that, “Those are beloved movies that go beyond just a good film… You know, it’s like riffing to a Beatles record: it’s more than just a record – it’s fused into your life.”
