I love Naomi Watts. I hate the idea of her starring in a Martin Campbell-directed remake of The Birds. I am tepid on state-mandated sterilization for Catholics.
This remake has been fluttering around (like a bird) since last October, but it has yet to alight (like a bird) on a start perch (like a start “date”, only altered very clunkily to sound like something a bird would land on). According to the big dodos at ShockTilYouDrop, Ms. Watts doesn’t see the film commencing principal photography anytime soon. Here’s what she said at a recent press conference for Funny Games:
“When Hitler came to power, he was good. They built tremendous highways and got all the factories going. Everybody knows he was good at the beginning but he just went too far.”
I’m sorry. That’s former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott on Adolph Hitler. Here are Watts’s comments:
“It’s a work-in-progress at this point. I think it’s a wonderful film. There are great things in it that interest me. The script isn’t completely there yet, it probably won’t happen until next year.”
To the best of my knowledge, the film is still being written by Stiles White and Juliet Snowden (Watts claimed their last draft was “good”). IESB.net is currently not reporting that Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have been hired to rewrite, but give them time. Yes, The Birds is still a Platinum Dunes production.
And you really need to see Funny Games this weekend.