NEWSCHUNKS for 05.09.09

MR. HYDE AND... MR. HYDE?: We already reported on the upcoming Keanu Reeves movie based on Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, but according to The Hollywood Reporter another version of the story is being developed by Guillermo del Toro. (Weirdly enough, both pictures are at Universal.) The del Toro version will reportedly stay closer to Robert Louis Stevenson's original story. Del Toro still has those Hobbit movies to make (along with several other projects) so the Keanu Reeves Hyde will be hitting theaters first.

S. DARKO DIRECTOR: "A PREQUEL WOULD CHEAPEN THE ORIGINAL": Donnie Darko was a movie that absolutely did not demand a sequel, but next week S. Darko will arrive on DVD. Fangoria asked S. Darko director Chris Fisher if there are plans for an entire Darko franchise, a prospect to chill the blood of fans of Richard Kelly's 2001 original film. Fortunately Fisher expressed little enthusiasm for more Darko movies: "My concern, and maybe it’s unjustified, is that a prequel might step on some of the original, and would create something that’s not in our territory. Like with this movie, or any sequel or adaptation, it raises realistic questions over authorship. With a prequel and a sequel, those questions can be raised in a more dangerous way." (Click the cover at left to buy S. Darko on DVD.)

DEL TORO NEVER, EVER SLEEPS: In addition to the Hobbit movies and the Hyde project mentioned above, his upcoming series of vampire novels and goodness only knows how many other projects he has in the works, Guillermo del Toro has also co-written a remake of the 1973 TV movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark for Miramax. Katie Holmes has been announced as the star.

THE WEB GOES CRAZIES: MTV has posted the first footage from the upcoming remake of George Romero's The Crazies, with a look at one of the film's zombie attacks and comments from stars Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphont and Danielle Panabaker, along with director Breck Eisner. The story concerns an outbreak of deadly madness in a small Kansas town.

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