Remake of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Coming from Writer/Director Walter Hill

Steve Barton   |  

Jul 11, 2012

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I don’t know how many of you have seen the original Bette Davis/Joan Crawford tour de force What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but it about scarred me for life the first time I watched it. Here’s hoping the planned remake announced today can do it justice!

According to Deadline, Walter Hill (pictured; The Warriors, Streets of Fire, “Tales from the Crypt”) has partnered with The Aldrich Company to develop a remake of the 1962 classic. Hill will write the script and direct the film. The original was directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, with Lukas Heller adapting the Henry Farrell novel.

The story is set in a decaying Hollywood mansion where Jane Hudson (Davis), a former child star, and her sister, Blanche (Crawford), a movie queen forced into retirement after a crippling accident, live in virtual isolation. “The two equal leads demand great performers — that is a given, Hill said. “The intensity of the Gothic storyline makes a reconfiguration of the drama still a potentially searing experience. The idea is to make a modern film without modernizing the period. It needs to resonate the golden age of Hollywood.”

The Aldrich Company controlled the rights on behalf of the original director and entrusted them to Hill. “I am greatly honored that Walter Hill will be joining us in the collaboration of this film,” said the late director’s daughter, Adell Aldrich. “I know that he will respect the material and the legacy of this terrific project.” Hill and Aldrich will produce.

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