Christian E. Christiansen Evidently Out; Maybe It Won’t Be So Teen-Friendly After All?
You’ll recall just the other day one of our writers was rather upset at the idea of a reported PG-13 remake of Clive Barker‘s “Hellraiser,” adapted from from his own series of short stories “The Hellbound Heart.”
“[The 1987 original] dealt with a lead character, unfulfilled by his ritualistic S&M practices, who then finds an ancient puzzle box that tears his soul apart. So yeah, freaky sex, bloodletting, supernatural monsters. Everything about the blood-soaked original (and the underrated second film) screams R-rated,” we wrote.
The original report at Bloody Disgusting pegged director Christian E. Christiansen to helm a Dimension Films PG-13 take on the material. A Danish filmmaker known for foreign-language pics, “Zoomers” and “Crying For Love,” Christiansen is about to make his American feature debut with “The Roommate,” the Minka Kelly/Leighton Meester thriller that looks rote and was practically laughed off the stage when its trailer was recently unveiled at the New York Comic Con festival.
Well, those who were worried should worry…. somewhat less. Collider reports that Christiansen in fact, does not have the gig and instead the “creative team” (cough) behind “My Bloody Valentine 3-D,” and the upcoming Nic Cage vehicle, “Drive Angry 3D — director Patrick Lussier and writer Todd Farmer — are indeed the pair behind the new remake (they were also behind the aborted version of “Halloween 3D“). Apparently Christiansen had been in the running for the director’s chair along with “Saw IV-VII” writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and previously mentioned foreign helmers Alexandre Bustillo and Pascal Laugier.
Perhaps Bloody Disgusting were on to something. They claim Dimension is seeking Amber Heard for a role in the picture and Farmer and Lussier just worked with her on “Drive Angry.” Everything Farmer and Lussier have made thus far has been rated a hard R, so it remains to be seen whether the rumored PG-13 idea will stick, but Dimension Films — other than “Piranha 3D“— are pretty fond of that cash audience-friendly rating.