‘Ouija’ Movie Moves Forward As ‘Bates Motel’ And ‘Percy Jackson’ Stars Nab Leads
There was a moment when Hollywood seemed to think that turning boardgames into movies was a brilliant idea, but so far we’ve heard about far more failures than successes.Battleshipwas a notorious disappointment (it did do better overseas than in the US), and after years of developmentCandyland,Monopoly, andHungry Hungry Hipposhave yet to get off the ground.
Nevertheless,Ouijais still determinedly chugging along, and now it even has the beginnings of a cast.Olivia Cooke(A&E’sBates Motel),Douglas Smith(Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters), andDaren Kagasoff(The Secret Life of the American Teenager) have just boarded the picture, which is being produced by low-budget horror masterJason Blum. Get plot details and more after the jump.
Universal spent years trying in vain to adapt Hasbro’sOuijainto a big-budget,Pirates of the Caribbean-styleadventure beforedroppingthe project in 2011. Paramount swooped in to pick it up, but didn’t make much headway either.
Universal then got back in the game last year,refashioningOuijaas a straightforward horror movie and trimming the budget by 95%.KnowingscribesJuliet SnowdenandStiles Whitewere brought on board to write and direct.Michael Bay,Brad Fuller,Andrew Form,Brian Goldner, andBennett Schneirare producing alongside Blum.
Cooke has two films due out in 2014,The Quiet Oneswith Sam Claflin, andThe Signalwith Brenton Thwaites. The latter will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January as part of the Midnights program. Smith is known for his work on HBO’sBig Love, in addition to hisPercy Jacksongig, and was recently seen in Brandon Cronenberg’sAntiviral. Kagasoff will next star in the TV movieDeliriumwith Emma Roberts.
Ouijabegins filming next week in the Los Angeles area. No release date has been set.
