Variety have announced that Lionsgate Entertainment has started development on a low-budget remake of American Psycho, the screen adaptation of author Bret Easton Ellis controversial 1991 novel, which first graced the screen courtesy of director Mary Harron just eleven years ago. According to the report, the project is yet to receive the official green light, but the studio have secured the services of Noble Jones (second unit director on David Fincher’s The Social Network) to pen the screenplay, based on a pitch by Jones that is said to transport the action from 1980s Manhattan to the present day.
Originally said to have been ‘unfilmable’ due to its graphic sexual content and violence, Harron’s adaptation of American Psycho starred Christian Bale as the protagonist, the serial killer Patrick Bateman – a role that had been linked to a host of stars such as Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor and Leonardo DiCaprio. The resulting film initially received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA back in 2000, with Harron forced to make 18 seconds of cuts in order to secure a more acceptable R-rating, and has since went on to achieve cult status. A low-budget straight-to-video stand-alone sequel entitled American Psycho 2: All-American Girl was also released in 2002, but the less said about that one the better.
