Luca Guadagnino is in final talks with Lionsgate to direct a new version of American Psycho based on Bret Easton Ellis’s controversial 1991 satirical novel.
Scott Z. Burns, whose writing credits include The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion, will write the screenplay to what is conceived as a new adaptation of the novel, rather than a remake of the 2000 version directed by Mary Harron from a screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner.
That film starred Christian Bale as the titular character and Lionsgate distributed in North America.
In the novel, Patrick Bateman is a mentally unstable Manhattan-based banker who hails from a wealthy clan. Unbeknown to his circle of colleagues, Bateman murders and commits horrific acts of violence in his private life. Whether or not the fictitious character actually perpetrates the acts or they are a figment of his imagination has been the subject of debate among readers for decades.
Frenesy Films will produce the new project with Sam Pressman of Pressman Film serving as executive producer. Pressman is the son of Edward R. Pressman, who produced the first adaptation.
The project marks Guadagnino’s second foray into genre film remakes after he directed Suspiria in 2018 based on Dario Argento’s 1977 Italian supernatural horror.
“We are thrilled to add another elite filmmaker to our upcoming slate,” said Lionsgate motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson. “Luca is a brilliant artist, and the perfect visionary to create a whole new interpretation of this potent and classic IP.”
Guadagnino has been busy with two films out this year. Venice Film Festival world premiere Queer has earned strong notices and awards attention for Daniel Craig in the lead, while Challengers, which had been scheduled as last year’s Venice opening night selection before it was postponed due to the strikes, went on release last spring. The Italian filmmaker is in post on the drama thriller After The Hunt starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Chloë Sevigny.
Burns recently created the Apple TV+ limited series Extrapolations.
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