Release date: July 23, 1999
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Remakes 1963 classic horror film. Adapts Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel. Stars a Jedi Master, Zorro's girlfriend, and two indie notables. Allegedly action auteur. Jan De Bont's first foray into the horror world -- unless you count Speed 2.
THE CAST
LIAM NEESON: You may remember him as: Qui-Gon Jinn, trainer of Obi-Wan and Phantom Menace scene-stealer. Other credits include: Nell, Schindler's List, Dark Man.
LILI TAYLOR: You may remember her as: SCUM-fighter Valerie Solanis of I Shot Andy Warhol, John Cusack's pal Corey in Say Anything, the blind chick who redeemed the X-Files episode Mind's Eye.
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES: You may remember her as: Antonio's lucky paramour in The Mask of Zorro; also, 1999's Entrapment.
OWEN WILSON: You may remember him as: nothing, probably, but so you can pretend: Bottle Rocket, The Cable Guy, Armageddon.
THE CREW
JAN DE BONT: Director of Speed, Twister, Speed 2. First proved he could make movies that bite as a DP on 1983's CUJO.
SHIRLEY JACKSON: Cool horror writer whose classic novel The Haunting of Hill House serves as the basis for both this version as well as the 1963 original. Jackson also wrote the short story The Lottery.
OTHER
The Haunting is a Dreamworks SKG production produced by Susan Arnold, Donna Roth, and Colin Wilson. Newcomer David Self is doing the adaptation. Jerry Goldsmith scores. FX from Tippett Studios and ILM-woo-yah!
THE PREMISE: De Bont purports that The Haunting is not a remake of the 1963 Robert Wise classic, but instead an entirely new working of the original novel. Nonetheless, the basic plot stays the same: four experts in the paranormal investigate strange occurrences in an irreputable and forbidding house.
GOSSIP and USELESS FACTS:
- Unlike the original THE HAUNTING, which frightened more by virtue of what was not seen, this new (De Bont-ed) version boasts immense special FX as well as a budget of around $75 million. (The actual budget hasn't been released as the studios insist this isn't an FX extravaganza but a serious psychological thriller. From Jan de Bont.)
- Remember a few weeks back when Liam Neeson said he was quitting the movie biz for good due to a horrible filming experience? Rumor has it that this was the one!
- Seems like Theo (Zeta-Jones) and Eleanor (Taylor) are going to have a peek into Hill House's closet; while the original kept the lesbian undertones to a minimum, the new version is rumored to have a more blatant approach.
LINKS:
Holding Darkness Within
