If Jeff Nichols‘ excellent "Midnight Special" spurs Hollywood to make more Amblin-esque, ’70s/’80s era science fiction that’s as big on character as it is concept, that would be a great thing. However, the industry is still in the business of redos, so while getting an original concept like Nichols’ picture made will still likely involve jumping through a lot of hoops, Hollywood is just going to do another version of John Carpenter‘s "Starman."
READ MORE: The Essentials: 7 Great John Carpenter Movies
THR reports that Shawn Levy, the guy behind "Night At The Museum," "Real Steel," and the "Pink Panther" remake, will helm the picture. Arash Amel ("Erased," "Grace Of Monaco") will pen the script that follows an alien from another world who takes the form of a woman’s dead husband and falls in love with her, all while on the run from the government. It’s high-concept stuff, which is probably why some are already concerned that Levy might not have the right sensibility for the material. Guess we’ll see.
At any rate, it’s worth remembering that when Carpenter first made the movie, he viewed it as an updated, sci-fi version of Frank Capra‘s screwball classic "It Happened One Night." And you see him talk about the original movie in full with this vintage episode of "Cinema Showcase" from 1984 below.
