You may remember a few weeks ago it was announced that Paranormal Activity 2 was going to be directed by Saw VI helmer, Kevin Greutert. Then, only a few days later, he was forced to pull out when Lionsgate decided they were going to pick up an option in Greutert’s contract and force he to make Saw VII. He didn’t want to do it and the move seemed more like Lionsgate trying to screw with the Halloween competition than because they actually needed him.
However Paramount haven’t given up on plans to release a Paranormal Activity sequel this October, and they’e drawing up a shortlist of directors to help them do it. The LA Times reports that at one point they were thinking of the Oscar winning screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind, Akiva Goldmans, but he’s now out of the picture, leaving Brad Anderson (Session 9), Greg McLean (Wolf Creek), and Brian De Palma.
Yes, that’s right, Paramount is thinking of hiring De Palma, the director of Scarface, The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible, to make a sequel to Paranormal Activity. Although he might seem an odd choice, his last movie, Redacted, went the low budget, ‘found footage’ route and he certainly has genre flair. That said, he’s not well known for working dirty and cheap, especially with less than eight months to go until the movie is in theatre.
The studio will have to make a decision fairly soon if they actually want to get the movie made in time, but they’re certainly looking at some interesting directors, and with a script by Michael R. Perry, whose screenplay The Voices ended up on the Black List, Paranormal Activity 2 could turn out to be far better than you might expect.