Up there with R&J, Hamlet is probably the most referenced/re-interpreted Shakespeare play for the big screen. Just when you think all angles have been covered (Hamlet 2’s version was fairly original), Catherine Hardwicke, Emile Hirsch, The Jinks/Cohen Company and Overture Films have got another version coming. The Lords Of Dogtown pair of Hardwicke and Hirsch would be reuniting on a contemporary adaptation the play that should include deceit, revenge and incest.
Ron Nyswaner is onboard to write the screenplay, which would be told as a thriller and takes place in modern-day America as a young man agonises over whether or not to avenge his father’s murder at the hands of his uncle. Hirsch has had a large role in developing the project – Screen Daily mentions that he worked with Jinks and Cohen on Milk and conceived the new version and that during rehearsal it flooded Hardwicke with ideas on the look of the film. Judging by the article, I expect the production not to begin until the Fall and the budget should fall somewhere between the 20 million range.
