‘Vertigo’ remake readies at Paramount, Robert Downey Jr. may play lead role

Jordan Hoffman
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

To the mission tower once more!

Paramount Pictures has acquired rights to remake “Vertigo,” the James Stewart and Kim Novak-led Alfred Hitchcock psychological thriller that is considered by many critics to be the greatest film of all time. (It swapped places with the previous number one, “Citizen Kane,” on the 2012 Sight and Sound poll; both were knocked out last year by “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.”) 

More from GoldDerby

The project is being developed by Team Downey, Robert Downey Jr.’s production company, and Steven Knight, the British writer-director-producer behind “Peaky Blinders” is attached to write. Knight also just landed a deal to bring “Star Wars” back to theaters after Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson exited the franchise. Trade reports suggest that this is likely being packaged as a vehicle for Downey to star in.

“Vertigo,” based on a 1954 French novel by the team of Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, was released in 1958 by Paramount and was nominated for two Oscars—sound and production design. On the one hand, it’s a simple crime mystery, but on the other it is a queasy look at psycho-sexual dominance, the allure of voyeurism, and a great many creepy obsessions. Even today (perhaps even more so today) one watches this film and thinks “gee, this guy is a little weird, ain’t he?” The movie also exploited then-new technologies in color film, camera lenses, and special effects to dreamlike ends. Bernard Herrmann’s score will also be tough to beat.

So why remake it? Especially since other directors have simply used it as inspiration? Well, it’s a pretty well-known IP. For decades many have incorrectly used the term “vertigo” as a synonym for “fear of heights.” (Stewart’s character has a fear of heights which triggers his vertigo condition.) In 2017, arthouse director Guy Maddin led a group that kinda-sorta remade “Vertigo” using found footage as a project called “The Green Fog,” which you can watch on Vimeo (possibly because this is one of those “uh, this may not exactly be legal” projects that can’t be monetized.)

But there has never actually been a straightforward remake of a Hitchcock movie, except by Hitchcock himself (this would be the 1956 Hollywood version of his 1934 British film “The Man Who Knew Too Much.”) Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot version of “Psycho” in 1998 was more of a cinephile’s experiment than anything else.

Last year, Downey released “Sr.,” a documentary about his father, with Netflix. He has not appeared in a mainstream Hollywood release since bowing out as Iron Man in “Avengers: Endgame,” unless you count the kiddie pic dud “Doolittle,” which we choose not to do. 

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.