Two recent big hit remakes are getting sequels it seems according to the latest issues of Variety.
Surviving a fevered rights battle with Dimension Films, New Line and Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes will make a prequel to their remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" after paying an extra $3 million to keep the franchise in its fold.
"The Longest Yard" scribe Sheldon Turner has been hired to write the TCM script, Turner just completed a polish of Scott Kosar's script for a remake of "The Amityville Horror" at MGM and Dimension.
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures has assigned producer John Goldwyn to ramp up a sequel to "The Italian Job," the F. Gary Gray-directed remake that starred Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Edward Norton.
Goldwyn will supervise a sequel treatment being written by Wayne and Donna Powers, the husband-and-wife team who scripted the remake and set it in Venice and Los Angeles. While the sequel plot is still being fleshed out, St. Tropez, Paris and the Swiss Alps are being eyed as the primary shooting locations.
Most, if not all the cast, made deals that did not include pre-negotiated sequel options; those who return for another heist will be looking for a bigger paycheck.
Thanks to 'Rowen'.
