The "reimagining" of cult ‘70s film Patrick is set to be shot in Melbourne as early as next April, producer Antony I. Ginnane says.
Ginnane says the film, to be directed by Not Quite Hollywood’s Mark Hartley, will have a budget between $5-$10 million.
The new film has been in the works for the past 3-4 years and is currently set to have a Halloween, 2013 release. Not mentioning names, the veteran producer says a couple of "significant actors" will reprise the roles of Robert Helpmann and Julia Blake.
The outgoing SPAA president says he had been approached several times from US writers and producers about a possible “retelling”, however they didn’t come to fruition.
“We had explored that a couple of times but they hadn’t really come up with ideas that I especially liked or thought did justice to the original, because I didn’t really want to remake it unless I thought we could bring something new to it and something different and something relevant to audiences today,” Ginnane tells IF.
After he and Hartley formed a close relationship due to the 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood – about the "untold story of Ozploitation" – Hartley introduced Ginnane to Melbourne writer Justin King.
Since then, about a dozen versions of the script have been produced. Bankside Films has jumped on board for international distribution. Initial funding has been provided by the Melbourne International Film Festival’s Premiere Fund. Other funding is expected from Film Victoria and Screen Australia, among others, Ginnane says.
Originally shot for $300,000 in Melbourne over four weeks in 1978, Patrick went on to mainly have international success and grossed about $3.5 million worldwide, according to Ginnane. The film tells the story of a comatose patient who is able to move objects via telekinesis with his mind, in an attempt to manipulate his nurse.
The original was remade by Italian filmmaker Mario Landi in 1980, entitled Patrick vive ancora (Patrick Lives Again).