Smile director Parker Finn is set to remake the controversial 1981 film Possession, as part of his first-look deal with Paramount.
Following the enormous success of Smile in 2022, the studio eagerly signed the young filmmaker to an exclusive contract, on the proviso that Smile 2 be the first project. With the sequel complete and set to debut October 18th, Finn has moved on to something much more ambitious.
For those unfamiliar, 1981’s Possession came to us from Andrzej Żuławski and starred Sam Neill and Isabella Adjani, and is described as follows:
“Set in West Berlin, a spy returns home from the field to his wife and son. All is not quiet on the marital front, as the wife asks for a divorce and the couple descends into a destructive cycle that not only includes infidelity and neglect, but spins into murder, a tentacled alien creature and doppelgängers.”
The unconventional and disturbing portrayal of a marriage breakdown landed Possession on the infamous Video Nasties list. Of note is a scene in which Adjani suffers a climactic breakdown in a tunnel, resulting in a graphic miscarriage.
According to sources, Paramount have shelled out some serious money for the rights to remake Possession, as every other studio in Hollywood was eager to snap Finn up for the project.
The Batman star Robert Pattinson is on board to produce, and is also rumoured to be taking on the lead role. However, his acting involvement will be “clarified at a later date,” once the project officially gets going.
So, exciting and ambitious times ahead for Finn it seems. We’ll report any further developments on this remake as they come in.
