David Ondaatje has signed on to direct a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s first film, “The Lodger,” for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Re-imagined as an urban thriller set in Los Angeles, the film marks Ondaatje’s directorial debut.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony has not yet determined which of its labels will release “Lodger” or if the film will bow straight to DVD.
Michael Mailer will produce alongside Ondaatje, who also adapted the screenplay from Marie Belloc Lowndes’ novel. The novel served as the basis for Hitchcock’s 1927 film.
“Lodger” is based on the true story of the hysteria caused by the Jack the Ripper’s killing spree that took place over several weeks in 1888. Ondaatje’s adaptation is broken into two converging plot lines set in present-day Los Angeles. The first involves an uneasy relationship between a psychologically unstable landlady and her enigmatic lodger, and the second is about a troubled detective engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with an unknown killer.
