Platinum Dunes and Paramount are getting ready to move forward on a new haunted house movie starring Russell Brand. Titled The Hauntrepreneur, the story is said to revolve "around a family that has trouble adjusting to a new town and hires a peculiar man who calls himself the Hauntrepreneur to help them. In an attempt to bring them together, the man creates a haunted house filled with an odd cast of characters".
The script was written by Scott Rosenberg (Con Air) and while Brand is attached, a director has not yet signed on. Platinum Dunes is known for their remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, but haven't released a movie since 2010. In early 2011, Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller talked about the reason for a lack of movement on their R-rated horror films and their push toward tentpole movies:
“Lots of rumors out there. I want to set the record straight on freddy and Jason… First, let’s talk Jason . Shannon and swift wrote a great script. We are ready to go, when new line is ready. But as of yet, they are not ready.
As for Freddy, as far as I know, there isnt even talk of writing another script. Rated R Horror movies, right now, don’t seem to generate interest from the studios. Everyday we want to hear from any studio that they want a horror movie, but it hasn’t happened. So right now we are working on a handful of films, including tmnt, and ouija. There is still hope for rated r horror, because it is profitable, but there is a larger interest in tent pole film.”