Kimberly Peirce
A photographer, animator, and writer as well as a director, Kimberly Peirce made her mark in the film industry with her passionate version of a true-life tragedy, Boys Don't Cry (1999).Originally from...
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Only 3 Women Are Directing Blockbuster Movies in 2013, and That's a Problem
March 08, 2013 9:19am ESTKimberly Peirce, Chloë Moretz, and Julianne Moore on the set of Carrie After losing out on a 2013 Oscar nomination in the Best Director category, Ben Affleck and his film Argo became the season's biggest talking point. After losing out on a 2013 Oscar nomination in the Best Director category, Kathryn Bigelow and her film Zero Dark Thirty faded out of the picture. Already battling wishy-washy political arguments that threatened to shift the spotlight away from the film, Bigelow's docudrama thriller was all but knocked out of Oscar consideration when the critically acclaimed director failed to sit alongside 2012's contenders. The snub was a reminder of a sad fact that remains a talking point each year: In the 85-year history of the Academy Awards, only four women have been nominated for the "Best Director" Oscar. And only of them won: Bigelow, for 2009's The Hurt Locker. There's an imbalance of female and male directors represented in the Hollywood mainstream. It's a point argued year after year, yet it's a statistic that never seems to change. According to a study by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, School of Theatre, Television and Film, 18 percent of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2012 were women. And only 9 percent of all directors working on those films were women. While that's a 4 percent bump up from 2011, the percentage of women directors working in 2012 was the same as in 1998. In 2013, three women are slated to direct studio-driven, wide-released feature films: Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (May 10), directed by Tina Gordon Chism, Carrie (Oct. 18), directed by Kimberly Peirce, and Disney's animated feature Frozen (Nov. 27), co-directed by Jennifer Lee alongside Chris Buck. A few more will sprout from between the blockbusters into limited releases: Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa (March 15), Sofia Copolla's Bling Ring (June 14), Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist (April 26), Maggie Carey's The To Do List (Aug. 16), Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves (Sept. 20), Susanne Bier's Serena (Sept. 27), Diablo Cody's Paradise, and the Soska sisters' American Mary. Women are making movies, but considering the sheer number of films in theaters from year to year, they're not making enough movies — and they're rarely making them with the support of Hollywood. RELATED: Kathryn Bigelow: Oscars' 'Best Directors' Didn't Need to Be a Boy's Club Chism, screenwriter of 2002's Drumline and 2006's ATL, makes her directorial debut this spring with Peeples, but breaking through as a female force in Hollywood required hard bargaining. "I've always been attracted to writer/directors and Nancy Meyers was a huge inspiration for me in her work," Chism says. "So, as a writer, I've used my script as leverage to get in the room to plead my case to direct it. If I didn't have that script, I don't think I would have been given the opportunity." With Peeples — which stars Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington — ready for release, Chism already has a follow-up in place, a thriller set up at Sony. Despite having a feature under her belt, Chism says the process was the same: more teeth-pulling, more clinging to her script, more proving herself capable. The writer/director recalls her first studio meeting, during which Fox gave her a number of different script ideas, none of which worked for the budding filmmaker. "We talked about all kinds of ideas and I hated all of the things they pitched me," Chism says. "I thought, 'This is a nightmare.' In that meeting, they told me they were toying around with a movie about a band. At the time, it was about a white kid and a black kid who can't read. And I come from the South and my mind went to historically black colleges. Thank God. And I remember, they were like, 'There are all-black colleges?'" "I'm not sure if I'll have to do that forever," Chism says. "I think it has to do with power, basically, and in this industry, the writer doesn't hold the largest bit of power. So it's more palatable for people to deal with women as writers." Hollywood does appear to be more receptive to hiring females in that role; Lauzen's study reveals that women account for 15 percent of the writers working on the top 250 films of 2012. Like Chism, Jennifer Lee also comes from a writing background. Before being recruited by Disney Animation head honcho John Lasseter to co-direct Frozen, Lee had sold two screenplays: an adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights and an original script being developed at Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company. She was brought into the Disney fold by her Phil Johnston, a friend from Columbia University's film school who recruited her to write on Wreck-It Ralph. After meeting weekly for years in order to "push each other as writers," Johnston asked Lee if she would be willing to move to Los Angeles on a week's notice to take over Wreck-It's script, which he had initially developed years before. The success of the 2012 Oscar nominee — and the nurturing environment of a long-gestating animated film — landed her the job co-directing Frozen. Concept art from Jennifer Lee's Frozen RELATED: Why 2012 Was Not 'The Year of he Woman' Unlike live-action's homogeneous roster of filmmakers, animation has traditionally welcomed female directors. In 2012, Brenda Chapman became the first woman to receive an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Brave (sharing it with Mark Andrews, who took over as director halfway through production). Vicky Jenson (Shark Tale) nearly took home the award in 2001 for co-directing Shrek — in the category's first year, only the producers were awarded with the gold statue. In the grand scheme of Hollywood, Jennifer Yuh Nelson possessed the most important honor: Her Dreamworks Animation film, Kung Fu Panda 2, is the highest-grossing female-helmed movie of all time, with a whopping worldwide gross of $665.7 million. In terms of creativity, box office numbers are inconsequential. But in Hollywood, they're a calling card and a record-setting number like Nelson's Kung Fu Panda 2 gross goes a long way. Which explains why women filmmakers are climbing uphill to get projects with larger budgets off the ground. Running down the list of the highest-grossing directors of all time (based on BoxOfficeMojo.com's director filmography totals), we don't find a woman until No. 60: Lana Wachowski, director of The Matrix trilogy, who first entered the industry as a man. Further down at No. 81 is Betty Thomas, one of the few women to have shaped a career out of directing modest blockbusters. Including The Brady Bunch Movie, Doctor Dolittle, 28 Days, and the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Thomas' films have collected nearly $563.3 million. NEXT: Moviegoing Demographic Myths and Why Female-Driven Blockbusters Work Chloë Moretz in Carrie For women to stake a claim in box office history, they must be given the opportunity to direct blockbusters, the type of genre filmmaking narrowly aimed at adolescent boys. A 2011 study released by the Motion Picture Association of America cites that the gender composition of moviegoers was balanced, about 51 percent women, 49 percent men, with the 25 - 39 age demographic representing the largest portion of the audience, around 28 percent. Yet most of the major studio tentpoles are male-driven. Out of 45 movies based on comic books released between 2003 and 2013, only one of them was directed by a woman: Lexi Alexander's 2008 film Punisher: War Zone. The lack of women represented in genre movies makes Kimberly Peirce's horror remake Carrie an event in itself. Like many female directors actively working in the film industry, Peirce is hesitant to make gender divide a talking point when discussing her new adaptation of the Stephen King classic. The Boys Don't Cry and Stop-Loss director wants to be seen as simply that — a director. Still, she believes women do add perspective to genre stories, and in the case of Carrie, perspectives that echo themes laid down by the book's author. "What I love about King was, he was writing about a fear of the period," Peirce says. The director recalls King's notorious experience of working as a janitor and discovering a bloody tampon, a terrifying event that Peirce revels in. "Women may have fear about their tampons and their menstrual cycles, but you know what? They’ve got to deal with it on a monthly basis. It’s a fear that you know in a way that this guy may not know. So it took on epic proportions. So it is really interesting that it was a man’s fear that birthed [the story], and then I get to [view it] through a different tunnel." Peirce acknowledges that Brian De Palma, director of the acclaimed 1976 version of Carrie, knows "a lot about women." Peirce also finds her approach to the material unique, because it's informed from personal experiences. "The truth is, I have a mother and I have had wars with my mother [and] I know what those wars feel like," Peirce says. "I know what those feel like from my perspective, the claustrophobia in the female-female, mother-daughter relationship. I also know how snarky the girls can be. It doesn’t mean the men can’t be. Female terror is a very interesting terror. It’s relentless, it’s diffuse, it communicates." RELATED: 'Carrie' Carries the Torch Of the '76 Original As Carrie Torches City For her follow-up to Peeples, Chism made a point to pen a thriller with a strong female voice, and it's a challenge for her. According to the writer/director, Drumline, ATL, and Peeples all tested higher with men, and she sees that as the result of an ability to write strong male characters. With her next movie, she wants to challenge the pre-conceived notions of what a movie with strong female characters has to be about. "I think that the similarities that a lot of minorities have to face — whether it's a woman in business or African-American — sometimes the reaction is, 'I don't want to make it about me being a woman,'" Chism says. "But I've yet to find the formula to walking into a room and an executive not seeing both things when they see me." Over the course of her career, she's well-aware of what an executive is looking for from her. "I [can] feel the expectations that, 'Oh, you're going to do a chick flick and that's going to diminish the numbers we do.' I'd say that's 100 percent the case." Producer Gale Anne Hurd is one of the rarities, a female producer who, while never stepping into the director's chair, has helped both men and women bring sci-fi blockbusters, independent dramas, and hit TV shows to life. In 2013, Hurd launched another season of her hit horror show The Walking Dead and debuted the teen romance drama Very Good Girls at the Sundance Film Festival. And yet, even she doesn't see much of a home for women at the movie studios. "I think it speaks to the fact that independent film is where it's at, because there were more films than ever at Sundance directed by women," Hurd says. "And mainstream film has really taken a step backward in so many ways and one significant factor is that you don't find much diversity in the ranks of directors. Now that's changing a lot in television and I think some of the best work right now is on television. The strides that women are making as directors on television is more than compensating for the steps back in the ranks of major studio directors." The latest from Jane Campion — another of the female quartet to have been nominated for the Best Director Oscar — is a prime example of Hurd's observation. Sundance Channel's upcoming series Top of the Lake, a deeply cinematic crime procedural, was written and directed by Campion. The series premiered in full at this year's Sundance — the first TV series to do so at the festival. Along with Campion's ambitious project, the festival also played host to a number of female-directed indies, including Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely, Lake Bell's In a World…, Jerusha Hess' Austenland, and Stacie Passon’s Concussion. Thanks to a frenzy of distribution company purchasing, most are expected to arrive in theaters this year. NEXT: Hollywood, Wake Up and Make a Change Kerry Washington, Craig Robinson, and David Alan Grier in Tina Gordon Chism's Tyler Perry Presents Peeples In the male-dominated world of directing, those with clout are the ones who can bring along sea change. The female voices are there, they just need to be cultivated and supported. Lee has not been working with Disney for long, but the animation process naturally helped her rise to the top. It promoted her organically. "Animation relies on a large team of people — story artists, visual development artists, animators, and a diverse production staff," Lee says. "And we don't just work together on one film and move on; I'm working with a lot of the same folks I worked with on Ralph. Working together for years, we really get to know each others' strengths and talents. The women get the chance to shine equally." Chism's film recently swapped titles, shifting from We the Peeples to Tyler Perry Presents Peeples. After persisting to hold onto her romantic comedy and direct it herself, she was okay with the change. "They got the movie, they got the script. Leverage diminished." Adding Perry to the marquee also works in her favor: With a built-in audience, a stamp of approval from the Madea mastermind is the cinematic version of "Oprah's Book Club." He also worked as Chsim's biggest supporter. "Tyler was very supportive," she says. "He just let me do my thing. He read it, he had his ideas, and then he said, 'You know what, I'm just going to let you go for it and I want to see what your voice would be, your take would be.' When he needed to block for me or support me, he did that. I have nothing but appreciation for him as a producer." RELATED: Diablo Cody Updates On ‘Sweet Valley High’ Musical Diablo Cody, who wrote the upcoming Evil Dead remake and is expected to have her own directorial debut, Paradise, arrive sometime this year, shares the frustration over the gender divide. She sums up her feelings with comment that may sound defeatist, but it's honest and steadfast: "It's been that way for a long time, so I'm just doing what I can." Lee feels similarly, letting her work on Frozen and her collaboration with co-director Buck speak for itself. "We share a sense of storytelling that doesn't feel male or female. I think we were cast together because of our shared vision for Frozen, and because we work well together." On the first day of shooting Peeples, Perry phoned Chism with words of wisdom. "He called and said, 'Put your head down and make a great movie. That's all anyone cares about. No one cares about anything else other than delivering a great movie. Have a great one, bye.'" From childhood, Chism was taught that "excellence in work is really the only barrier-breaking formula." The mantra pushed her each day on Peeples, even when the scenes were at their silliest. "At the end of the day, for me, whether I'm a female or male, there's a lot of investment, a lot on the line, and you have to make your day, make it good, and make a great film." This year will see the release of three studio films directed by women — a minuscule number. Diversity doesn't have to be forced into the industry — hiring talented directors should always be the priority — but capable and creative female filmmakers are out there, waiting to be employed. They can take on any project, not just ones that boast demographics skewing towards their own gender. "I think a good director can do anything," Peirce says. "James Cameron was not an Avatar. Coppola was not a Godfather. You’re always looking to any character and figuring out where you want to take it." Cody gives us a little hope for the future (or at least, this year): "Let's look at the positives, which is that the worst movies are dumped in the first quarter of the year. So maybe it means the women directed all the good ones." Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches Additional reporting by Michael Arbeiter and Kelsea Stahler [Photo Credit: Screen Gems, Hollywood.com, Walt Disney Pictures, Screen Gems, Nicole Rivelli/Lionsgate]
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'Carrie' Carries the Torch of the '76 Original as Carrie Torches City — TRAILER
October 16, 2012 5:50am ESTIt's hard to decide which Queen song lyric to use as a lead-in to this article: "Put out the fire," or "Carry on, carry on," (there's also "I'm burning through the sky," but now we're just complicating things). But setting the poetic stylings of Freddie Mercury and Brian May aside, let us lend total focus to the content of the new Carrie trailer (first shown at New York Comic Con) from Yahoo, from the upcoming second film adaptation of Stephen King's classic horror novel. The update stars young Chloë Moretz as the titular (anti)hero. It's an interesting choice to tease a movie with a depiction of its ending — anyone who has read Carrie or seen the classic 1976 film by Brian De Palma will immediately recognize the blazing wreckage illustrated in the below trailer as the near conclusion of young Carrie White's tale. There are no twist endings here — director Kimberly Peirce is clearly working faithfully with her source material. But King's is a story with enough emotional dexterity to encourage a whole new line of ideas, especially in the hands of a director like Peirce (who tackled, among other things, the identity of womanhood — a prime theme in Carrie — in her hard-hitting 1999 drama Boys Don't Cry). As Peirce is wont to really delve into the internal of Carrie White, we see that she's also not going to pass up on the opportunity for thrills. A burning city, a girl covered in blood, and combative voiceovers projecting their own theories on what, exactly, happened to Carrie. We might already know, but we're still aching to find out. Check out the new teaser and poster below. Carrie comes out in March of 2013. [Photo Credit: Screen Gems, Sony Pictures] More: NYCC 2012: 'Carrie' Remake Footage Is Fiery NYCC 2012: 'Evil Dead' Remake Debuts the Scariest Trailer You Will Ever See NYCC 2012: Bruce Campbell Hopes People Walk Out of the 'Evil Dead' Remake
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Joan Allen Joins the Stephen King Craze with 'A Good Marriage'
September 12, 2012 10:07am ESTIf you're not a Stephen King fan, then you're probably not liking the world a whole lot right now. Over the past couple of years, there has been an influx of Hollywood projects based on the works of the esteemed horror fiction novelist. A Good Marriage, a novella published by King in 2010, is on the road to finding its form on the big screen, with Joan Allen on board to star. The story revolves around the ostensibly happily married Darcy Anderson who begins to suspect that her husband of 27 years is a serial killer. Peter Askin (Company Man) is set to direct. A definite presence of horror, though an absence of any apparent supernatural elements. This lands A Good Marriage in the Category 2 measure of King adaptations. Here's the breakdown: Category 1 Horror, complete with all the fixins: ghosts, haunted hotels, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, zombie animals, or any other supernatural element. Noteworthy Examples: Carrie, The Shining, Children of the Corn, Pet Sematary Category 2 Horror, but without any of the above fantastical aspects. The monsters are human (or canine), which can make them all the more frightening. Noteworthy Examples: Cujo, Misery, Dolan's Cadillac Category 3 Drama. Hard, thrilling, often morbid drama, but nothing you'd consider "horror." Unless you are inexplicably freaked out by pie-induced regurgitation. Noteworthy Examples: Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile Now let's look at all of the King projects in development: The Stand, The Reach, The Dark Tower, Kimberly Peirce's Carrie remake, Alexander Aja's Pet Sematary remake, the Under the Dome series, Rose Madder... all of these projects, with the exception of new addition A Good Marriage, fall into the first category of King adaptations. (You can read an explanation of each in-the-works King adaptations here.) King does have a slew of writings that don't involve the otherworldly. Among some of his other "realistic" stories that have yet to be translated to film are the books The Long Walk, Different Seasons, Danse Macabre, and the short story "Hearts in Atlantis" (interestingly, it was two other stories, "Low Men in Yellow Coats" and "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," from King's Hearts in Atlantis collection that provided the source material for the 2001 movie Hearts in Atlantis). Since Hollywood seems to be setting its sights toward even the lesser known of King's works, maybe the news of A Good Marriage is a sign that more of the author's natural pieces will earn their big screen fare. Which ghost-free King story do you most want to see get its film adaptation? [Photo Credit: NOTYETNOTYETNOTYET] More: It's the Stephen King Movie Renaissance: 'The Reach' Headed to Big Screen 'The Dark Tower': Warner Bros. Drops Adaptation Trailer for Andrea Arnold's 'Wuthering Heights' is Hauntingly Beautiful From Our Partners: Bill and Giuliana Rancic Share First Photo of Baby Edward Duke — PHOTO (Celebuzz) Exposed: The Vicious Tweets Which Sent LeAnn Rimes Over the Edge — EXCLUSIVE (Celebuzz)
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Chloe Moretz: Terrifyingly Plain on the Set of the 'Carrie' Remake — FIRST LOOK
June 27, 2012 6:59am ESTWhat makes the destructive conclusion of Stephen King's Carrie so powerful is the absolute plainness that kicks off the story. Carrie White is the daughter of a fundamentalist Christian mother who dresses her in outdated, drab clothing so hideous, no beauty can escape its black hole of style. The look inspires the worst reactions imaginable from Carrie's high school classmates, who torture her so badly, she lashes out with telekinetic fury. An absolutely terrifying scenario, but one we can't wait to see the young Chloe Moretz tackle in the upcoming remake from director Kimberly Peirce. The first photos from the set of Carrie have crept online and now we've got our first look at Moretz in one of the character's signature outfits. Green dress, blue cardigan, a cross necklace — yup, that's the modest Carrie. Moretz is a good looking gal and a solid actress, but even the simplest outfit instantly transforms her into the titular social outcast. Spot on. Costarring Julianne Moore, Judy Greer and Portia Doubleday, Carrie is currently in production and is expected to hit theaters on March 15, 2013. Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches More: Chloe Moretz Offered Role In 'Carrie': Is She The Right Choice? It's the Stephen King Movie Renaissance: 'The Reach' Headed to Big Screen Judy Greer Joins 'Carrie' Remake, Continues Being Best Supporting Player Ever [Photo Credit: Splash News]
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Judy Greer Joins 'Carrie' Remake, Continues Being Best Supporting Player Ever
June 15, 2012 4:55am ESTOne of the funniest and cunning performers working today, Judy Greer is still a relative unknown. Thanks to her ability to slip into every role, she's carved out a niche as being the perfect supporting actress, never making that big leap to leading lady status. Hopefully that'll begin to change with her recent string of high profile roles — after knocking it out of the park in last year's Oscar-nominated The Descendants and keeping things interesting on Two and a Half Men, CinemaBlend reports that Greer is set to join the upcoming remake of Carrie, where she'll play the nurturing high school gym teacher Miss Desjardin. And Carrie needs nurturing — she is a bit demonic, after all. Greer joins an already killer cast including Chloe Moretz as the titular teen and Julianne Moore, as her unhinged mother. Also set to appear in the Stephen King adaptation is actress Portia Doubleday, who appeared in the little-seen (but quite hilarious) Michael Cera comedy Youth in Revolt. Doubleday will play Chris Hargensen, Carrie's mentally-abusive classmate who pushes the troubled gal over the edge. The recognizable horror title should help give both of these actresses a deserved career boost — or perhaps they'll continue being amazing supporting performers. Either way, there presence in Carrie gives the skepticism-worthy project another bump up in the talent department. Directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry, Stop-Loss), Carrie will shoot this summer for release on March 15, 2013. ="font-style:> More: ABC Greenlights Sitcom Starring Judy Greer of 'The Descendants' One on One: Judy Greer Talks 'The Descendants,' 'Two and a Half Men' and More Chloe Moretz Offered Role In 'Carrie': Is She The Right Choice? [Photo Credit: WENN.com]
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Young Pan's Labyrinth star cast in Carrie remake
May 28, 2012 5:00am ESTSpanish actress Ivana Baquero, who was plucked from obscurity for Guillermo del Toro's 2006 movie, is now all grown up and the 17 year old has been cast to play sexy bad girl Chris, opposite Chloe Grace Moretz as the possessed title character. Julianne Moore was recently confirmed to portray Carrie's crazed mother, while Bloody-Disgusting.com reports The Wedding Planner star Judy Greer is also in talks to join the project as the teenagers' gym teacher. The new adaptation of Stephen King's chilling book will be directed by Kimberly Peirce and is set for release next March (13).
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Julianne Moore signs on for Carrie remake
May 14, 2012 5:00am ESTChloe Grace Moretz will play the titular character, originally portrayed by Sissy Spacek in Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's chilling book. Twin Peaks star Piper Laurie played the mum in the acclaimed original. The remake, to be directed by Kimberly Peirce, is set for a March 2013 release.
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It's the Stephen King Movie Renaissance: 'The Reach' Headed to Big Screen
May 10, 2012 6:18am ESTIt's official: the Stephen King Movie Renaissance is now in full swing. With the announcement that two producers are headed to the Cannes Film Festival to sell a big screen version of King's short story The Reach (a tale King is often quoted as saying he would "most like to be remembered for after his death"), a new era of the author's movie adaptations has begun. There's been no shortage of movies based on the writings of King since the author's career exploded in the '70s, but finally the quality is hitting its peak. That hasn't always been the case. Most people would label Stephen King as a horror writer, thanks to seminal works like Carrie, The Shining and It. In the '80s and early '90s, that's exactly what he was to Hollywood: a source material mine that resulted in two decades of half-hearted, shlocky horror flicks — apologies to anyone with a strong passion for Gary Busey's werewolf movie Silver Bullet or Children of the Corn. Brian de Palma's Carrie or Stanley Kubrick's The Shining stand apart as outliers to the trend, but more often than not, King's works were reduced to silly adaptations cashing in on the man's success. Heck, King himself even boarded the train with his directorial debut, Maximum Overdrive (you know, the one where a killer mac truck takes down a little league game. But Stephen King isn't simply a horror writer. In the second half of the '90s, some of his most interesting, genre-bending works were translated into compelling big screen dramas. The Shawshank Redemption, Dolores Claiborne, Apt Pupil and the The Green Mile showed off the potential of King's works when taken seriously. There were still some painful horror misfires as Hollywood segued into the new millennium — remember Dreamcatcher? — but with most of the horror tomes translated to screen decades before, Hollywood was finally looking for new ways to bring King's books to life. Jump to today, and you'll find a movie business even more enthralled by King's work than ever before. With the author working as steadily as he was years ago, Hollywood is pushing to take the author's recognizable brand to the next level — and on a variety of levels. The Reach (part of King's Skeleton Crew collection) is an unconventional by Hollywood's standards: the story follows a 95 year old woman is decides its finally time to leave her home, Goat Island, and cross the waters to the mainland. Along the way, she comes across the ghosts of those who passed away on the island — many of them familiar faces from her past. The movie is budgeted in the $12-15 million range, a distinctly indie approach to adapting King. The Reach joins a plethora of King adaptations currently in the works, ranging from blockbusters to independents to TV series: The Stand: Warner Bros. was courting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows director David Yates to take on King's end of the world saga, but has since turned to Ben Affleck. The 1994 mini-series is a TV movie classic, but the WB hopes to launch a two-movie franchise that can do service to the book's epic scale. Pet Sematary: First made in 1989, Transformers producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, writer Matthew Greenberg (who penned the entertaining King adaptation 1408) and director Alexander Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3-D) will bring King's terrifying dead pet story back to life. 11/22/63: Director Jonathan Demme, who won an Oscar for his work on The Silence of the Lambs, is set to write and direct a feature based on King's latest novel, a time travel saga revolving around JFK's assassination. Carrie: Continuing the trend of gravitas, Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry, Stop-Loss) tackles a retelling of King's supernatural high school drama with one of the finest young actresses working today: Chloe Moretz. Keeping the bar set high is four-time Oscar-nominated actress Julianne Moore as Carrie's mother. Under the Dome: Lost writer and comic book overlord Brian K. Vaughn is set to adapt King's massive ensemble drama into a TV show for Showtime. Rose Madder: Nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2004 for In America, Naomi Sheridan is writing an adaptation of King's story of marital abuse and otherworldly escape. The Dark Tower: King's seven-book Western/Fantasy epic is getting the Lord of the Rings treatment from director Ron Howard, writer Akiva Goldsman and producer Brian Grazer. Originally set up at Universal, the movie/television hybrid (the plan is to jump back and forth between the two mediums over several years) has recently jumped to Warner Bros. There's no shortage of King in the works, but for one of the first times in the author's career, it finally looks like Hollywood is doing it right. Find Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and remember to follow @Hollywood_com! More: Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' Reborn at Warner Bros. Pierce Brosnan Stars In Stephen King Miniseries Steven Spielberg, Stephen King to Collaborate on 'Under the Dome' Adaptation Photo Credit: WENN [THR]
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Chloe Grace Moretz designing Carrie prom dress
May 01, 2012 5:00am ESTThe Hugo actress, 15, will portray possessed teenager Carrie White in the chilling tale, taking on the part made famous by a young Sissy Spacek in director Brian De Palma's 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King novel. Production on the forthcoming project doesn't begin until 1 June (12), but Moretz has been keeping busy creating her character's outfit to wear in the film's key prom scene, in which Carrie wreaks havoc with her supernatural powers. She tells ETonline.com, "I'm actually building my own dress and kind of going really deep into it, and I've never gone so deep into a role before. "It's cool; it's a lot of work. Fun, but a lot of work." Moretz insists she won't be drawing inspiration for her look and performance from De Palma's film - because she's never seen it. Speaking to ComingSoon.net, she says, "I'm actually not looking at the original even though De Palma's movie was (considered) one of the best movies ever made. It's completely iconic and I'm proud to be able to be doing a retooling of it." But that doesn't mean she isn't doing her research: "We're kind of going off the book. It's darker and much more psychological. More Black Swan. You're really looking into her mind and it really looks into the relationship of Margaret and Carrie. It's set in modern time, so it's a lot different." The remake will be directed by Kimberly Peirce and is set for a 2013 release. Julianne Moore is in negotiations to play Carrie's mum.
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Julianne Moore Offered Role of Scary Mom For 'Carrie' Remake
April 27, 2012 1:55pm ESTAmerica's most respected ginger Julianne Moore has reportedly been offered the role of the horrifying religious zealot mother for the upcoming remake of Carrie. According to Deadline.com, MGM has sent the script to the 51-year-old actress in the hopes that she'll play Margaret White, the role that was originated by Piper Laurie in the 1976 original. Chloe Moretz is already set to play movie history's testiest prom date Carrie White, in the Kimberly Peirce-directed re-imagining of Stephen King's classic chiller. The four-time Oscar nominee, who recently played Sarah Palin in the horror movie for liberals, HBO's Game Change, is known for her known for her wide array of in beloved comedies (The Big Lebowski, The Kids Are All Right, 30 Rock) and well-received dramas (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Children of Men) and just about everything else in between. While Moore hasn't appeared in too many horror films (especially if you don't count Hannibal and you definitely shouldn't) the actress, interestingly enough, appeared in the maligned remake of another horror classic: 1998's Psycho. What do you think of Julianne Moore as the possible choice to play Margaret White in the Carrie remake? Sound off in the comments section! [Photo credit: Dave Edwards- © 2011- DailyCeleb.com- All Rights Reserved] More: Chloe Moretz Offered Role in Carrie Remake: Is She The Right Choice? Roberto Aguirre- Sacasa to Pen Carrie Remake Julianne Moore Joins Suck City
