'The Woman in Black' to be Produced by Hammer Films

Jane Goldman, 'The Woman in Black' screenplay adaptation

Hammer Films has optioned feature rights to Susan Hill’s bestselling ghost story The Woman In Black and will produce with Talisman Films.

Jane Goldman, who wrote the screenplay to the eagerly anticipated Kick-Ass, is adapting the novel and James Watkins will direct.

The story is about a young lawyer who is ordered to travel to a remote country village in order to deal with the estate of a client. While there he catches glimpses of a mysterious woman dressed entirely in black, which leads to him uncovering several tragic secrets.

Hammer Films president and CEO Simon Oakes and Richard Jackson of Talisman Films will produce, with EMG co-chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East serving as executive producers for Hammer.

Roy Lee and Doug Davison’s Vertigo Entertainment are also attached and Lee is taking an executive producer role.

“Woman In Black is an iconic British horror story, and so makes a perfect match for Hammer,” Oakes said. “Jane Goldman has written a terrific screenplay, and with James Watkins at the helm we feel that this feature adaptation of Susan Hill’s classic novel will be both dynamic and terrifying.”

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(Source: Variety)