Wow, that was a stretch even by my standards.  Anyway, THE TWILIGHT ZONE movie looks to be picking up steam, as news has hit the web via Variety that Tony Peckham of the aforementioned HOLMES would be doing rewrite duties on the big screen adaptation of the classic Rod Serling series.  Jason Rothenberg originally wrote the script.

Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD) is already slated to direct the film, which will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way.  Whereas the first ZONE movie was an anthology composed of films from four different directors, the upcoming Warner Bros. film will be one stand-alone story that uses various elements from the show.

It will be interesting to see just what these elements could be.  Some interweaving of various TWILIGHT ZONE classics to create one unified tale, perhaps?  With a treasure trove of original ideas to cherry pick from, this is one remake we at Famous Monsters can most certainly get behind.

Forget the rumors of Nolan, Bay and Cuarón. Variety reports that the new Warner Bros THE TWILIGHT ZONE feature will be helmed by Matt Reeves. Director of CLOVERFIELD and LET ME IN, Reeves has a lot of upcoming work on his plate in addition to the new ZONE flick.

Reeves is attached to direct THE DARK ENDEAVOR, a take on the Frankenstein tale for Summit Entertainment; a THE PASSAGE, an adaptation of the Justin Cronin vampire novel for Fox 2000; and 8 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING for Universal, in which a man awakes to an alien controlled society. With all these projects underfoot, it’s hard to imagine when Reeves will squeeze in time for THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

Warner Bros and Leonardo DiCaprio are looking to produce this new TWILIGHT ZONE movie as a single stand-alone narrative as opposed to an anthology with multiple tales and directors like the 1983 version. The film is expected to have a strong emphasis on themes used in the original Rod Serling TV series.

Do you think Reeves is a good fit for THE TWILIGHT ZONE? Tell us your thoughts in the comments

Here’s a rundown of the plot as per the press release, and scroll down to check out the pictures: Twelve-year old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is viciously bullied by his classmates and neglected by his divorcing parents. Achingly lonely, Owen spends his days plotting revenge on his middle school tormentors and his evenings spying on the other inhabitants of his apartment complex. His only friend is his new neighbor Abby (Chloe Moretz), an eerily self-possessed young girl who lives next door with her silent father (Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins). A frail, troubled child about Owens’s age, Abby emerges from her heavily curtained apartment only at night and always barefoot, seemingly immune to the bitter winter elements. Recognizing a fellow outcast, Owen opens up to her and before long, the two have formed a unique bond.

When a string of grisly murders puts the town on high alert, Abby’s father disappears, and the terrified girl is left to fend for herself. Still, she repeatedly rebuffs Owen’s efforts to help her and her increasingly bizarre behavior leads the imaginative Owen to suspect she’s hiding an unthinkable secret.

Discuss this story at the Famous Monsters of Filmland Official Forum!

Let Me In

The film is directed by Matt Reeves, director of 2008′s monster hit Cloverfield.

The film is, like the Swedish original, based on the novel by John Adjvide Lindqvist. That original film, directed by Tomas Alfredson and released in Sweden and the US in 2008, has been hailed as a genre masterpiece.

The remake stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Moretz, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins. Shooting is still underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Based on a best selling book from Sweden, the film is about “Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire feasting on his neighbours.”

Speaking of Cloverfield, Comingsoon.net rallied fans of the film together again over the weekend when they revealed there will be a sequel to the box office hit. The site spoke with producer J.J. Abrams of the film at the Wondercon in San Francisco who confirms they’re actually working on a second entry right now. Imagine my surprise because when the movie hit theaters, Abrams and director Matt Reeves rejected the idea of a potential sequel altogether. Read below or see Comingsoon.net for all the details.

“We’re actually working on an idea right now,” Abrams told the packed crowd. “The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you’re going to do something, it should be because you’re really inspired to do it. It doesn’t really have to mean anything, doesn’t mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we’re playing with, which means there will be something that’s connected to ‘Cloverfield,’ but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet.”

“Remakes should be made of movies that aren’t very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong,” Alfredson tells Moviezine. “I’m very proud of my movie and think it’s great, but the Americans might be of an other opinion. The saddest thing for me would be to see that beautiful story made into something mainstream. I don’t like to whine, but of course – if you’d spent years on painting a picture, you’d hate to hear buzz about a copy even before your vernissage!”

If you’ve been following our coverage of Let the Right One In (review), you will understand how furious this news makes me. I’ll agree that an English-language remake may expose the film to millions more fans, but potentially sacrificing everything we have loved about the movie seems too great of a risk (seems likely the way Hollywood is nabbing remake rights). Can we not read subtitles anymore? If the film gets proper exposure (something Magnet Releasing may want to reconsider), the film could be a potential masterpiece even in the states. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ring a bell? Alfredson’s stunning success in the film comes from being subtle and leaving more to the viewers’ imagination for the scare, something we used to see in the good ol’ Hollywood days.