Renee has ‘Eye’ on horror
Josh Grossberg

LOS ANGELES—Renee Zellweger is setting her sights on a reunion with her Jerry Maguire costar Tom Cruise in The Eye. Zellweger, last seen on the big screen opposite Russell Crowe in the critically praised but little-seen Depression-era boxing drama Cinderella Man, will star in Paramount’s remake of the Pang brothers’ Japanese horror flick The Eye, according to the trades, while Cruise is on board to produce.
The original 2002 frightfest, which cantered on a blind woman who regains her vision after a cornea transplant only to wind up seeing ghosts, scored solid reviews and scared up more than $10 million in international ticket sales. Pretty good for a film budgeted at $4.5 million.
The new version will stick to the story line but will likely cost a lot more, given the Hollywood star’s A-list salary. It’s being directed by Hideo Nakata, the helmer behind the Japanese horror hit Ringu and its sequel, which together spawned the English-language redos, The Ring and The Ring Two.
Cruise will produce the remake with partner Paula Wagner through their C/W Productions banner, having purchased the remake rights in 2002. Also on board as executive producers are Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment, Peter Chan, and the studio’s copresidents of production, Brad Weston and Marc Evans.
The Eye is expected to start shooting early next year with a potential release in late 2006 or early 2007. That’s not the only project Zellweger is eyeing. Having donned a British accent for 2001’s box-office smash Bridget Jones Diary and its sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the Texas-born Oscar winner has just signed on to play famed British children’s author Beatrix Potter in the biopic, Miss Potter.
Potter is the legendary writer behind such popular kids’ tales as Peter Rabbit<, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jermima Puddleduck and Squirrel Nutkin. According to Daily Variety, Cate Blanchett was originally tapped for the role, but dropped out, opening the door for Zellweger. And if all goes well, the movie will mark a reunion with her costar from 2003’s Down with Love, Ewan McGregor, who’s in talks to play Norman, Potter’s publisher and love interest.
That film is slated to begin shooting in March under the direction of Chris Noonan, whose last film was 1995’s Babe. Zellweger is also attached to play Janis Joplin in Piece of My Heart, a biopic of the late singer and will soon lend her voice to Jerry Seinfeld’s animated feature for DreamWorks, Bee Movie. The busy slate is probably a welcome distraction for Zellweger considering she just filed for an annulment earlier this month from country singer Kenny Chesney after just four months of marriage.