Sam Raimi Is Remaking a Cult Classic ’70s Horror Movie Starring Anthony Hopkins

Director, writer, and producer Sam Raimi is taking on a horror project that sounds like it could be right up his alley. While he won’t be helming the film, he will be involved in a producing capacity, alongside Roy Lee, who was involved with the summer horror hit Weapons. As producers, the pair will be going back to the archives to revive a ’70s cult classic for a brand-new audience that’s sure to get horror fans excited.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate is moving forward with a remake of 1978’s Magic, a cult horror film directed by Richard Attenborough and originally starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith. Raimi and Lee will serve as producers on the film, while the duo behind Freddy vs. Jason and the Friday the 13th remake, Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, will take on screenwriting duties. In addition to Raimi and Lee, Chris Hammond and Tim Sullivan, who have been involved with the film’s development for quite some time, are also on board as producers.

Hammond and Sullivan, with help from Lionsgate, had to work hard to track down the rights holders and surviving producers of the original film to make this remake happen. Sullivan, in particular, has been a longtime fan of the original movie, so at least this remake will be made with a lot of love for the source material.

What Is ‘Magic’ About?

Anthony Hopkins with a dummy in the drama/horror film Magic 1978
20th Century Fox

Written by William Goldman, who adapted his novel of the same name, Magic starred Hopkins as Corky Withers, a magician who rises to considerable fame alongside his ventriloquist dummy, Fats. Corky, while talented, is struggling with severe mental issues, and this all comes to a head when he’s in the process of signing a deal for his own show. Corky doesn’t want to reveal the extent of his mental state, so he departs for the Catskills to reconnect with an old love, but Fats has no interest in rekindling old relationships and begins to assert control over the matter by any means necessary.

Reviews for Magic have been positive over the years, with the film registering an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus says of the film, “Thanks in large part to Anthony Hopkins’ layered performance, Magic is an unusual albeit creepily effective experience.” Hopkins went on to receive Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for his performance in the film, and the movie proved to be financially successful in terms of its budget, grossing $23.8 million off of a $7 million production cost.

Magic

Release Date

November 8, 1978

Runtime

107 minutes

Director

Richard Attenborough

Writers

William Goldman

Producers

C.O. Erickson, Joseph E. Levine

• Ann-Margret

  Peggy Ann Snow

• Corky Withers / Fats (voice)

• Burgess Meredith

  Ben Greene

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}