“Somebody Stop Him!”

It looks as if Blair Witch 2-director Joe Berlinger has at least some ability to scare people: the rumour that he his planning a remake of The Wicker Man has struck terror in no less a soul than that film’s star, Christpher Lee. "I read a review that mentioned that this person, who ever he is, had directed Blair Witch 2," Lee told Empire Online. "Then it mentioned right at the end of this review that there is talk that he is intending to remake The Wicker Man. There were three words after that: SOMEBODY STOP HIM!" Lee was in obvious agreement with those sentiments, telling us that "it simply wouldn’t work in America. I think it is a unique film." The veteran actor has long maintained that his role in the 1973 film, which was written especially for him, is one of his favourites. In it, he plays Lord Summerisle, the leader of a pagan cult on a remote Scottish Island that becomes the subject of a murder investigation by a catholic policeman (Edward Woodward) from the mainland. The film has a famously shocking conclusion that has ensured its status as a cult classic. He did, however, reveal that he might soon be collaborating with the Wicker Man’s original director again. "Robert Hardy has written another script, which in many ways I think is better [than The Wicker Man], which we are trying to get together called The Riding of the Laddie. It’s a fantastic story that is really thrilling and exotic and erotic and exciting," Lee enthused. "It’s just like The Wicker Man, but not like the Wicker Man because it’s not the same story, of course." It’s safe to say that Joe Berlinger – whose transition from celebrated documentary maker to feature director bombed so spectacularly last year – should not expect a call.