Rumor: Rachel McAdams Attached to The Orphanage Remake and Shirley Jackson Adaptation
By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (17)
This is a rumor at this point and does not come from our usual source, the incredibly reliable Hollywood Cog, so take it with a grain of salt. Just don’t rub it in your eye.
First up, it’s been a few months since he heard anything about the American remake of the Guillermo del Toro produced The Orphanage, which was also originally written by del Toro. The needless remake (as they all are) will be directed by Mark Pellington. My source, however, tells me that Rachel McAdams is attached as the lead, a woman who brings her family back to her childhood home, where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. There, her son begins to communicate with an invisible friend, the same friend who terrorized the mom when she was a child.
I am hedging my bets on this one, however, as while I was attempting to get some confirmation on this casting news, I also saw a copy of Production Weekly note from last December which had Sandra Bullock in the lead. Given the genre, neither female seems a natural fit, but it feels like a movie better suited to McAdams. But then again, Bullock is a better age to play a mother. So, it’s hard to say, but I guarantee that the female role will be played by McAdams, Bullock, or some other woman. I’m leaning toward McAdams, if only because the source on this story seems to have some insight into McAdams’ career.
I say that because the source also revealed to me that McAdams is attached to the Michael Douglas produced We Have Always Lived in the Castle, an adaptation of a 1962 Shirley Jackson novel. Horror scribe Mark Kruger penned the script, which is a horror story that revolves around the Blackwood Family — two sisters and their uncle — forced into seclusion after the poisoning of several of their family members. Complications arise when a dubious long lost cousin arrives to secure the family fortune.
In addition to McAdams, Saoirse Ronan is apparently attached as the other sister, while Michael Douglas is set to play the uncle. If, in fact, both of these casting stories pan out, that’d put McAdams in two horror movies. It’s possible that she is attached to both but may drop out of one before the cast is set. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is still searching for a director.
McAdams is also attached or rumored to be in a Terrence Malick project, a Woody Allen movie, and a movie based on the life of Elliot Ness. I’d also expect her back for the Sherlock Holmes sequel.
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Comments
Posted by: Jerce at March 20, 2010 6:05 PM
We Have Always Lived in the Castle was a girlhood favorite. (Yes, I was a very weird child; shut up.) Frankly, this cast has me excited. Rachel McAdams as Constance and Michael Frikken Douglas as Uncle Julian would be awesome! And in case you haven't read the book, the role would be a pretty major deviation for Michael Douglas...but I think he could be great.
Y'all should read the book, though.