‘The Craft’ Reboot: Zoe Lister-Jones to Write and Direct Blumhouse’s Female-Centric Feature
Turns out, it doesn’t take magic to conjure up a talented female writer and director to lead a much-hyped remake. While Blumhouse head Jason Blum garnered some serious backlash in October of last year when he said it was difficult to hire female directors for his projects (comments he clarified and corrected the very next day), the horror super-producer has now hired a female filmmaker for a scary good reboot. Deadline reports that “Band Aid” filmmaker Zoe Lister-Jones will both write and direct Blumhouse and Columbia Pictures’ much-anticipated “The Craft” remake.
Based on the 1996 film that starred Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True as teen witches who use their powers to bolster their popularity and hit back at the bullies who have made their lives terrible, this new version appears to be building a very similar premise. Per its official synopsis, “When starting at a new school, Hannah befriends Tabby, Lourdes, and Frankie, and quickly becomes the fourth member of their Clique. Hannah soon learns that she somehow brings great power to the quartet.”
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In 2015, rumors abounded that the film was going to be remade by “Honeymoon” filmmaker Leigh Janiak, though that project never panned out.
Lister-Jones made her feature directorial debut in 2017 with “Band Aid,” though the long-time actress has frequently written alongside her partner Daryl Wein, including his films “Breaking Upwards” and “Lola Versus.” With “Band Aid,” Lister-Jones made it a priority to hire a predominately female crew. “There was definitely a large sense of intimacy on set, and I think that our crew definitely lent to that energy,” she told IndieWire in June of that year. “It was a very supportive and nurturing and patient vibe.” Will Lister-Jones be able to pull off the same feat for her biggest project yet? Here’s hoping.
io9 reports that the film will start production in July and that it’s currently being billed as a “remake” of the first film. Blum and Blumhouse are producing alongside Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher’s Red Wagon Entertainment, with original filmmaker Andrew Fleming on board as an executive producer, along with Lucas Wiesendanger, from Red Wagon Entertainment.
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