Screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire (Rise of the Guardians, Oz: The Great and Powerful) is currently at work on the remake of Poltergeist and gave a status update on the project during a recent interview:
Via Collider: "...I will say that I handed in a second draft and people are incredibly excited about it. They’re not the director, but they’re in search of a director. I will also say that there are very few people who are as obsessed with the original movie as I am, so I would try to write a script that I would want to see as a fan."
When asked about the rating/tone he was going for, he mentioned that it would stay similar to the original movie: "My version is not a gory, horrible…it’s tonally similar to the first movie, and that’s sort of family-friendly-esque with some real, genuine scares in it. It’s not Saw if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not trying to turn it into something else."
Sam Raimi is producing the movie, and although he was recently rumored to be directing, this interview and other comments indicate that he'll be involved in this like he was on the Evil Dead remake. Poltergeist is a project that MGM has been trying to get off the ground for years now, but it slowed down when they ran into financial troubles. With the studio back on track, there's a good chance this project will be picking up steam and we'll let readers know when we hear more.
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