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From the Sony newswire:
COLUMBIA PICTURES ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO HORROR THRILLER ‘THE GRUDGE’ FROM SENATOR INTERNATIONAL
CULVER CITY, CA December 11, 2003 – Columbia Pictures has secured domestic distribution rights to Ghost House Pictures’ English-language remake of the Japanese horror thriller Ju-On (The Grudge), it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, co-presidents of production for Columbia Pictures.
Ghost House Pictures is the genre-film co-venture of Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Senator International, which will finance the film. Raimi, Tapert and the film’s original producer Taka Ichise (Ringu) will produce the English language version, which will be helmed by the original’s writer/director Takashi Shimizu. Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane of Senator International will serve as executive producers alongside Roy Lee and Doug Davison who originally gave GHP a look at the project. The screenplay for the new film will be adapted by Stephen Susco, combining elements from the original Ju-On and its three popular sequels.
The Grudge is the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born – passed like a virus, from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror.
“The Grudge has all the elements that make a great thriller and with filmmakers like Taka Ichise and Sam Raimi steering the production, we have no doubt it will be as scary and ingenious as the original,” said Tolmach, who will supervise the production along with Shannon Gaulding, Director of Production for Columbia Pictures. The picture is scheduled to start shooting in Tokyo at Toho Studios in late January 2004.“Ju-On is a genuinely frightening and wonderful thriller. Takashi Shimizu has crafted some of the most unique onscreen scares. He is relentless in his delivery, leaving you no time to catch your breath. I’m betting on Shimizu to bring the American horror genre to a whole new level of fear,” said Raimi, who is currently completing post-production on Spider-Man® 2, which Columbia Pictures will release on July 2, 2004.
Columbia Pictures previously announced a co-financing deal with Ghost House and Senator on the thriller 30 Days of Night, based on the popular comic book series.
In addition, Sony’s Screen Gems division has acquired North American distribution rights to Ghost House’s horror film Boogeyman, which tells the story of a young man returning to his childhood home to confront the terrifying visions that have haunted him all his life.Ryan
Saucy. That’s all I’ve to say, really.
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