Directors: Lee Daniels, Shawn Levy And More Line Up New Projects

nullLee Daniels is not one to repeat himself, and after doing kitchen sink drama ("Precious"), swampy southern crime tale ("The Paperboy"), and prestige biopic ("Lee Daniels’ The Butler"), the filmmaker is going horror. The director will get behind the camera for "Demon House," which is "based on a true story" like all of these things are. The story centers on a family who "claim to have been victims of a demonic possession that has spanned over two years and counting…The experience began with unusual occurrences in her home over two years ago, including swarms of flies around her porch in the winter and unexplainable creaking sounds in her basement. The events progressed to possessive incidents including her oldest daughter unconsciously levitating above her bed, medical staff witnessing her middle son gliding backward on the floor, wall and ceiling." No word yet on who will be penning the screenplay. [Deadline]

"Night At The Museum" guru Shawn Levy is keeping things fantastical, signing up to direct "40 Thieves." This will be a retelling of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” that will turn the original tale of "a poor woodcutter who discovers the treasure in a band of thieves’ secret den by saying ‘Open Sesame’ " into a four-quadrant tentpole. Levy is already meeting actors for the lead role, with the project set up at Fox. [Variety]

Eli Roth‘s brewing TV series "South Of Hell" has added Ti West ("House Of The Devil," "The Sacrament"), Rachel Talalay ("Doctor Who," "Tank Girl"), Jennifer Lynch ("The Walking Dead," "Teen Wolf") and Jeremiah Chechik ("Helix," "Reigh") to direct episodes of the Mena Suvari-led show. It will follow "a stunning demon-hunter-for-hire whose power stems from within. Like those she hunts, Maria is divided within herself, struggling with her own demon, Abigail, who resides inside of her, feeding on the evil Maria exorcises from others." Eight episodes have already been ordered by WE tv, and the series will air next year.