3YEAR PACT FOR GRUDGE PRODUCER

Variety reports:

Twentieth Century Fox has signed Japanese producer Taka Ichise ("The Grudge") to a three-year, first-look deal.

Pact, which covers English-language projects, is the first overall studio deal for the director-producer. Accord also allows Fox to finance specific Japanese-language projects via Taka's Tokyo-based production company Oz Co. Taka also operates Los Angeles-based OZLA Pictures.

Taka has produced more than 50 genre features for local, regional and worldwide markets. He's best known for producing the Japanese horror pic "Ju-On" and "Ju-On 2," as well as their American remakes "The Grudge" and "The Grudge 2."

Sony will The Grudge 2 on Oct. 13.

Taka also produced the 1998 Japanese hit "Ringu," remade in the U.S. as "The Ring," and "Honogurai mizu no soko kara," remade Stateside as "Dark Water."

He's developing The Entity at Fox Searchlight, with Hideo Nakata ("Ringu," "The Ring 2") attached to direct. Also in development are an untitled horror project at Paramount, with director Takashi Shimizu ("Ju-On," "The Grudge") attached, for Ghost House Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment; a remake of Creepshow for Warner Bros.; and remakes of his Japanese horror pics Infection and Premonition, to be written by Channing Gibson and Keith Gordon, respectively, for New Line, also with Vertigo producing.