'Boys Don't Cry' Director in Talks to Helm that 'Carrie' Remake

Wednesday, 04 January 2012 15:15 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

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'Boys Don't Cry' Director in Talks to Helm that 'Carrie' Remake

Now that it has emerged from the morass of financial insolvency, MGM is eager to mine its archive of familiar properties for potential remakes, with the likes of RoboCop and WarGames in active development. Another familiar title we might be seeing in theaters all over again is Carrie, a remake of the 1976 horror tale directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek in the role with which she remains most closely identified. The remake project might just have a director, as Kimberly Peirce is in talks with MGM and Screen Gems to direct a new adaptation of the early Stephen King novel.

Peirce made her feature debut as a writer and director with 1999's hugely-acclaimed Boys Don't Cry, based on the real life of Brandon Teena, a transgendered youth who runs into love and tragedy living as a man. Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her lead role in that film. Peirce's sophomore feature, Stop-Loss, a drama about war veterans being called back to duty, didn't come about until 2008.

In the interval, she developed numerous potential projects, including a take on the Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi novel Childhood's End.

Now, though, Deadline reports that she's in negotiations to make what sounds like the most commercial film of her career with Carrie. King's story follows a shy high school girl tortured by her classmates and restricted by her fanatical mother. Carrie also happens to be telekinetic, a fact that has some serious consequences when prom comes around.

MGM previously trying to mine Carrie for more with 1999's fundamentally misconceived sequel The Rage: Carrie 2. Apparently, this new screenplay by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa sticks pretty closely to King's original novel rather than attempting a more direct remake of De Palma's film.

Aguirre-Sacasa is a playwright and frequent comic book writer who tackling King's material with the Marvel Comics version of The Stand. He's also been a co-producer on Glee and Big Love, as well being the writer brought in to wholly rejigger the play Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.