'The Birds' Remake Hires New Director

The remake of The Birds, which we learned several months ago had hit a brick wall, may have found a way around it. Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, the upcoming Green Lantern) is no longer the director of record, having been replaced by Dennis Iliadis. Campbell is obviously too entrenched in the DC Comics movie to remake Hitch, so the director of the remake of The Last House on the Left has been tipped for the project by Platinum Dunes. Pajiba filed the report yesterday, adding that Naomi Watts is probably also out of the running now. There was talk for a while that George Clooney would play the Rod Taylor role, but that was always bullroar. There, I said it: Bullroar. Clooney has zero to gain from doing something like this, however, if they were remaking North by Northwest... I didn't care much for the original Birds, so remaking it affects me not one iota. I think it can be made more convincingly from a technical standpoint now, especially since Universal is pumping $60 million into it and turning it into a R-rated flick, which is what this remake should have been all along. To me, though, the biggest decision is replacing Naomi Watts, who is a classic Hitchcock blonde out of time. The worst thing Platinum Dunes and Universal could do here is throw in a Jessica Alba-type because they think it will sell tickets. For starters, it won't; check the track record. And of course, one of the reasons the first Birds isn't up to the level of the Hitch films that preceded it is because Tippi Hedren isn't exactly admired for her performances. Give her some substance, and you'll be on the right track. It looks like this film will probably wait its turn until 2011 or so, but the move at director gives it much more momentum than it had maybe a couple months ago. And I think Iliadis should be fine. I'd prefer Campbell - and they're certainly different types of filmmakers - but I have no argument with a R-rated movie like this coming from the guy who did a fairly good job with his most recent remake.