Actress Naomi "King Kong" Watts has been offered the lead in a re-make of director Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 pyschological horror "The Birds".
Watts will play 'Melanie Daniels', a role originally played by actress Tippi Hedren in her big screen debut. The new film will be produced by Michael "Transformers: Prime Directive" Bay for Platinum Dunes. "The Birds", Hitchcock's first film for famous 'monster' studio Universal, is an apocalyptic story set at a northern California coastal town filled with unexplained attacks from ordinary birds. Novelist Evan Hunter based his screenplay on a 1952 collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier, Hitchcock's third major film based on the author's works starting with "Jamaica Inn" in 1939, followed by "Rebecca" in 1940.
"The Birds" is noted for Ub Iwerk's Oscar nominated special effects and composer Bernard Herrman's non-musical, electronic soundtrack that includes simulated bird cries and wing-flaps. The film was shot on location in the port town of Bodega Bay and in San Francisco.
Sneak Peek "The Birds"
