We all love a classic movie. Moreso a classic thriller. Especially if the film in question was an Alfred Hitchcock flick. Hitchcock’s movies had a lasting power that both delighted and terrified. Paramount Pictures is apparently looking to remake one of his best films, “Vertigo.” Paramount has already acquired the rights and it makes sense considering they were the original producers of the film. The Hitchcock estate has also championed the studio to handle the remake.
While our current roster of actors doesn’t have a Jimmy Stewart, Paramount is looking at Robert Downey Jr. to potentially take on the role of the acrophobic John Ferguson. That’s currently as far as our knowledge extends for casting.
After policeman John “Scottie” Ferguson watches a fellow cop fall to his death during a rooftop chase, he becomes stricken with vertigo and a deathly fear of heights. Benched by his condition, Ferguson is approached by an old college friend and asked to tail his wife, who has begun acting suspiciously. Reluctantly, Ferguson takes the job, and gets embroiled in a mystery that may take fighting his phobia to solve.
The Technique That Changed Cinema
The film is a Hitchcock favorite, and also employed the first use of the technique known as the “Zolly” shot. In which a camera is moved towards or away from a point while on a dolly and zooming in simultaneously. This creates a disorienting shot that can makes it seem as though the focal point is stretching away from the audience. Probably the most popular Zolly shot use in film history is in Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” In “Vertigo“‘s case, it illustrates that plunging of the stomach and dizzying off-balance feeling of Ferguson’s acrophobia.
“Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight has been tapped to write the script. Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor wrote the original film, adapted from the novel “From Among the Dead” written by Boileau-Narcejac. We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
