Kate Hudson attends the premiere of Dark Blue copyright Sue Schneider
© 2003 Sue Schneider
Skeleton Key
By: Corona's Coming AttractionsDate: Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Skeleton Key
Genre:
Supernatural/Thriller.
Studio:
Universal Pictures.
Production Company:
Unknown.
Project Phase:
Released.
Who's In It:
Kate Hudson (Caroline); Peter Sarsgaard; Gena Rowlands, John Hurt; Joy Bryant; Forrest Landis.
Who's Making It:
Iain Softley (Director); Ehren Kruger (Screenwriter); Daniel Bobker (Producer); Clayton Townsend (Executive Producer); Dan Mindel (Director of Photography); Joe Hutshing (Editor); John Beard (Production Designer); Louise Frogley (Costume Designer).
Premise:
A young female caretaken experiences strange, unearthly happenings in an elderly couple's New Orleans home.
Release Date:
Unknown.
Comments:
Production is scheduled to commence in the fall of 2003.
Scoop Feedback:
April 1, 2003... Almost Famous star Kate Hudson is in talks to play the lead character in Skeleton Key, a new horror movie in development at Universal Pictures. Iain Softley (Backbeat) is directing from a script by Ehren Kruger (Scream 3, The Ring).
The Hollywood Reporter describes Kruger's story as The Ring meets The Sixth Sense, about a young caretaker who works for an elderly couple in their New Orleans home where strange things happen.
Universal plans on shooting the movie sometime this fall. [Source: The Hollywood Reporter.]
September 2, 2003... Longtime fans of Coming Attractions will remember Darwin Mayflower and his reviews of screenplays in early stages of development. Now that the former Directors of Corona's Test Pattern have successfully launched their latest website, Screenwriter's Voice, Darwin's back dispensing his two-fisted judgment on the latest Hollywood writers have to offer. Up for critique this week: the first online review of Ehren Kruger's screenplay for THE SKELETON KEY.
With Kate Hudson set to star in this supernatural thriller, Darwin Mayflower took a close look at Kruger's script to see if it had all the ingredients to make it fly just as his earlier work on THE RING proved. Unfortunately it seems that Kruger's script has too much dead weight saddled on it and not enough of the vital ingredients of horror that THE RING possessed. "SKELETON KEY needs a swift kick in its ass, a flow of blood-red heat, if it wants to be anything more than its B-movie horror shallowness suggests," writes Mayflower in his review. "A horror movie with people who aren't scared isn't a horror movie; if the people don't come to truly fear what they're up against then there's no sense of imminent danger."
Sounds like it needs a rewrite. Don't forget that CA is tracking this project over in Development Heck.
[Screenwriter's Voice.]
January 29, 2004... On Monday of this week the news that Peter Sarsgaard had been the second known individual to be cast in Universal's new supernatural thriller SKELETON KEY was announced. Sarsgaard will play the love interest for Kate Hudson's character, a woman that experiences mysterious haunting-like events while working as a caretaker for an elderly couple in New Orleans.
We've been sent a list of characters for SKELETON KEY that the film's producers are hoping to cast shortly. As informed by our source, SKELETON KEY will begin shooting on April 12 in Louisiana.
The characters are:
SKELETON KEY was written by THE RING and SCREAM 3 scribe Ehren Kruger. [Anonymous.]
April 22, 2004... Sometimes the scoops that arrive in the inbox are short and to the point, but that still means we have to establish their validity. Today's example is a scoop that arrived early this morning concerning a new and previously unannounced cast member for SKELETON KEY, the soon-to-be shooting horror film starring Kate Hudson. We've already broken a scoop about the film's characters which contained information on one of the young co-stars needed for a part. The casting director for SKELETON KEY was looking for a young caucasian male between the ages of 8 to 10 years old to play the part of Martin Thorpe. Well, now we know who got the job.
Forrest Landis, one of the youthful co-stars in last year's CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, got the part. Our scooper told us this info which we later confirmed; Landis' official website now mentions his involvement with SKELETON KEY.
To read more about the premise and development history of SKELETON KEY, follow our link to the film's page below.
[Deposited anonymously.]
May 28, 2004... Universal Pictures issued a press release stating that filming has begun on THE SKELETON KEY, the studio's new supernatural thriller starring Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt and Joy Bryant. Iain Softley (K-PAX) directs from a script by Ehren Kruger (THE RING).
Hudson plays Caroline, a live-in nurse caring for the elderly husband (Hurt) of a New Orleans couple. Intrigued by the husband and wife's old Gothic mansion in the Lousiana delta, Caroline explores the dark rooms using a skeleton key that can unlock every door in the house. When she discovers a hidden attic room, she accidentally unlocks a deadly secret.
Universal has also provided us with additional crew names for the project. Joining Softley are director of photography Dan Mindel (SPY GAME), editor Joe Hutshing (SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE), production designer John Beard (THUNDERBIRDS), costume designer Louise Frogley (MAN ON FIRE) and executive producer Clayton Townsend (BAD COMPANY). [Universal Pictures.]
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