Pressman Film CEO Sam Pressman has discussed dipping into the company’s library of valuable IP for future projects, and a couple of notable genre gems were highlighted as potential remake/reimagining material.
While the most notable film mentioned is Bad Lieutenant, the more intriguing ones mentioned in an interview with Deadline are Christmas Evil and Sisters, which was previously remade from the Brian De Palma original.
A Christmas Evil Reborn
“We’ve been doing some really cool stuff that I can’t quite divulge, but there are a number of avenues that, when the writers strike is over, we’ll be able to push forward on,” says Pressman, who is the son of legendary producer Ed Pressman, “We’ve had a lot of fun going through the library looking for these hidden gems that can make great TV series or anime adaptations or stage plays – there are some interesting things brewing in that regard.”
Christmas Evil (aka Better Watch Out) was directed by Lewis Jackson in 1980 and starred Brandon Maggart (Dressed to Kill) and Jeffrey DeMunn (The Blob, The Mist). A toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.
In Brian De Palma’s Sisters, Margot Kidder (Black Christmas, Superman) and Jennifer Salt (Midnight Cowboy) star in the story of journalist Grace Collier (Salt), who is horrified when she witnesses her neighbor, fashion model Danielle Breton (Kidder), violently murder a man. Panicking, she calls the police. But when the detective arrives at the scene and finds nothing amiss, Grace is forced to take matters into her own hands.
Sisters was remade in 2006 with Chloë Sevigny playing Grace.
Pressman Film recently played a part in the remake of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgard, and The Street, which is being directed by Antione Fuqua and written by Goodfella’s Nicholas Pileggi.
