Renee eyes The Eye

Renee "You Had Me at Hello" Zellweger is looking to take the lead role in the remake of the hit Pang Bros thriller, The Eye.

The big entertainment press is all excited because it means a "reunion of sorts" with Renee's Jerry Maguire co-star, Tom Cruise, who is producing the Hollywood version of The Eye with his producing partner, Paula Wagner.

It's the latest Asian horror remake, and Renee wants to head down the same lucrative path as Naomi Watts (The Ring), Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Grudge) and Jennifer Connelly (Dark Water) (Skeleton Key with Kate Hudson doesn't count, even though it's copied from the A-suspense playbook).

The remake will even get the J-horror imprint from Ringu's Hideo Nakata, who will direct.

What's really hilarious, all these years later, is that 2002's The Eye isn't a Japanese horror film, as E! called it. Reuters says it's a Hong Kong movie, which is part right I guess.

The Eye is a Thai film! Sort of. Let's see. Danny and Oxide (as opposed to Rusty) Pang are Hong Kong born, but they have mainly worked in Thailand. The star, Angelica Lee, is Taiwanese. The film was made in Thailand, had a cast of mainly Thai actors and the soundtrack was mostly in Thai (I think). Production money came from Singapore. Okay, The Eye is a mutt.

Whatever, I think the squinty-eyed Nurse Betty star is a great choice. Let's see it.

Meanwhile, the Pang Bros are involved in their own Hollywood feature.

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)