Matt Reeves, the director behind Cloverfield and Let Me In, has lined up his next project. Deadline is reporting that he will next write and direct an adaptation of the Ray Nelson short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” for Universal.
Published in 1963, Nelson’s story revolves around George Nada, a man who, after attending a hypnosis act, accidentally obeys the command to “awaken” on a broader level, suddenly finding himself privy to a secret alien invasion that is happening right in front of the entire world, but that only he can see. The story, with some major changes, was the basis for John Carpenter’s 1988 They Live.
Official word from the studio maintains that Reeves’ take on the story will not be thought of as a remake.
“Carpenter took a satirical view of the material,” Reeves is quoted as saying, “and the larger political implication that were being controlled. I am very drawn to the emotional side, the nightmare experience with the paranoia of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ or a Roman Polanski-style film.
No timeframe is currently announced for a production start, but Reeves is said to begin working on the script immediately.
