It seems that the planned remake of the Spanish hit, The Orphanage, is in search of a new director. For the past couple of years Larry Fessenden (Wendigo) has been attached to direct the project, and he’s been busy putting a script together with the help of producer Guillermo Del Toro, however it seems the studio wants to take the project in a new direction and that means Fessenden is out.
JoBlo caught up with him on the set of Stake Land, where Fessenden told them, “The Orphanage was two years of waiting. Working on the script with Guillermo was a very exciting experience, but then I got into a casting miasma and that’s where the thing is; I think they’re gonna do it another way, actually. So I think I’m out of it. Hopefully they’ll still use my script, but I’m not sure I’m directing it anymore. That’s Hollywood for ya.”
Although that doesn’t mean he’s definitely got the boot, it certainly sound like it. Reading between the lines, it also seems that while the studio is still making noises about getting it made, at the moment the film appears to be stuck in development hell, and it’s difficult to tell whether it’ll ever emerge.