Ridley Scott Possibly Remaking Red Riding

Ridley Scott is one busy man. Of course, that doesn’t mean Scott ends up doing every movie he’s attached to; actually, he mostly doesn’t end up doing the majority of the movies he gets himself attached to, kinda like Sam Raimi. But being that Scott is Scott, it tends to get people excited when his name is mentioned with any project, which is probably why producers like attaching him to things. The latest project to get the Scott Maybe Onboard Treatment is a U.S. remake of the British mini-series “Red Riding”.

Columbia Pictures has acquired rights to the UK mini-series, and Steve Zaillian is currently in negotiations to board the project as writer, with Ridley Scott as director. The writer/director last worked together on “American Gangster”, and before that, “Hannibal”. I liked the former, but the latter could have been better.

The UK mini-series clocked in at five hours, and was “a study of power and police corruption framed around the investigation of the disappearance of several young girls.” The original mini-series were based on the four novels of author David Peace. For the remake, the movie setting will be transferred over to American soil, and the five hours condensed into a consumer friendly running time. Call it 90 minutes or two hours, or thereabouts.

While the remake is in the works, fans of the original can catch it when the Independent Film Channel debuts the series in the States this Fall.