Reading over the many web postings the past few days about the possibility of Brian De Palma directing the sequel to Paranormal Activity, it is a little surprising how shocked many people are by the prospect. I think a lot of people overlook the idea that a sequel to this sort of movie can essentially be an entirely new movie-- clearly, regardless of the screenplay (which may or may not have been completed yet), if De Palma were to sign on for the project, he would be making a Brian De Palma film. And clearly, if Paramount is considering hiring De Palma to direct the film, the whole reason they would do so is because they would expect a Brian De Palma film. Okay, so if the project were to be a go, De Palma would have the freedom to make a film dealing with the paranormal, which itself offers up myriad possibilities of visual storytelling, which happens to be his thing. The film brand ("Paranormal Activity") being what it is, and with a release date already being hyped, it would be a showcase already primed by the machine-- a showcase for whichever director takes on the project. As a De Palma fan, I would love to see him work in this genre with this kind of freedom, and a built-in audience that would hopefully be surprised. The film may happen with De Palma, or it may not, but it sounds like a very good idea.
Posted by Geoff
at 2:55 AM CST
Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010 2:59 AM CST
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Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010 2:59 AM CST
Post Comment | View Comments (4) | Permalink | Share This Post
Just days after getting an update on Brian De Palma's latest projects comes an unexpected report from 
It's been a while since our last update on Brian De Palma's latest projects, so we got the word from the man himself. The director says he is still trying to cast The Boston Stranglers, which Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Motion Pictures is producing. Also still in the works is Tabloid, the John Edwards-inspired thriller being produced by the Film Farm. De Palma also confirms that he has indeed been working with Paul Williams on a stage production of Phantom Of The Paradise, with the original film's Ed Pressman producing. One project has fallen by the wayside, however, as De Palma said he is no longer involved with William Boyd's The Blue Afternoon.
Paul Williams will be a keynote speaker at 
Mark Romanek, who was one of the students who made Home Movies with mentor Brian De Palma in 1979, had put a lot of energy into making The Wolfman before quitting over budget issues just before filming was to begin. According to 
If you've been looking to complete your collection of music from Brian De Palma's cinematically sumptuous adaptation of James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia, your task just got a little easier. Yesterday, k.d. lang released Recollection, a two-CD set that includes, finally, her version of Cole Porter's Love For Sale as performed in The Black Dahlia. Meanwhile, yesterday, I learned something I hadn't realized: the music on the soundtrack during the Man Who Laughs sequence (where the three friends are watching the silent movie at the theater) was done by Mark Isham's assistant, 
A new book out today by TIME magazine's Jim Frederick examines the real life story of the soldiers whose actions inspired the Brian De Palma film Redacted. Frederick's Black Hearts draws on interviews with soldiers from the unit known as "the Black Heart Brigade," with a critical eye toward the leadership, or lack thereof, involved in the soldiers' day-to-day activities. The book, subtitled "One Platoon's Descent Into Madness In Iraq's Triangle Of Death," does not mention De Palma's film. TIME magazine is running two excerpts this week: 