We sometimes find ourselves wondering why people who are otherwise furiously creative really want to get into remaking others’ work. We wonder even more when it’s someone like Gus Van Sant remaking Psycho, or Walter Hill, who has now announced that he’s remaking 1962 drama **What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
The original is, of course, a grandstanding battle of egos between fading former child star “Baby” Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) and her former grown-up star sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), who is in a wheelchair after an accident she cannot recall. Jane is now in control of her care, and of her life. And she’s slowly losing her mind…
Hill has written the script and will direct the film. He’s partnering with The Aldrich Company, which has held the rights since Robert Aldrich produced and directed the 1962 film, and has granted him the chance to make the new version.
“The two equal leads demand great performers – that is a given,” Hill says in a statement picked up by Deadline. “The intensity of the Gothic storyline makes a reconfiguration of the drama still a potentially searing experience. The idea is to make a modern film without modernizing the period. It needs to resonate the golden age of Hollywood.”
Whoever does take on the roles will have big shoes to fill and an upward battle to win over fans of Crawford and Davis. For his part, Hill is currently putting the finishing touches to Sylvester Stallone action pic Bullet To The Head…