Variety reports that busy genre ace Guillermo del Toro will write and direct a new feature-film version of THE WITCHES, based on Roald Dahl’s dark fantasy novel. Fellow Mexican filmmaker Alfonso (HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN) Cuarón will produce. Del Toro is reportedly near completion of his script adaptation of Dahl’s book, in which a young boy on a seaside vacation with his family discovers that the hotel where they’re staying is infested with sorceresses. The movie will be released by Warner Bros., which also distributed a 1990 filmization of Dahl’s story directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Anjelica Huston. “The Roeg film is a brilliant movie,” del Toro tells the trade, “but certain aspects are a departure from Dahl’s original. Dahl had the brilliance of writing children’s stories which shocked adults,” he says, alluding to the approach he’s taking with his version. Del Toro also has the futuristic thriller KILLING ON CARNIVAL ROW in the works at New Line, and is looking for a studio home for HELLBOY II since Sony, which released the original, decided not to take on the sequel.
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