Paul Haggis to Remake 'Cell 211'

CBS Films is acquiring the remake rights to Daniel Monzon's Spanish language film "Celda 211" and has attached Paul Haggis (Crash) to write the script and possibly direct under his Highway 61 Films banner. The Americanized version will be titled Cell 211.

Plot: A newly hired prison guard wants to make a good impression on his bosses by coming in a day early to get a tour of the facility. Suddenly, a brutal prison riot breaks out and he is knocked unconscious. When he awakens, the guard is forced to assume the role of a prisoner alongside the most dangerous killers alive. He tries to defuse the uprising and escape before the prisoners realize who he really is.




The film is an action thriller that's been described as "Die Hard" in prison. The original was released last year and ended up winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and five other awards at the Goya Awards (Spanish Oscars).



Source: Deadline

Elizabeth Banks joins Paul Haggis 'NEXT'

Elizabeth Banks, Paul Haggis and Russell Crowe

Elizabeth Banks is in final negotiations to star in The Next Three Days for writer-director Paul Haggis at Maple Pictures.

Banks will play the lead role of Laura, a woman who is imprisoned for a murder she claims she didn't commit, as her husband, the recently cast Russell Crowe, desperately tries to vindicate her.

The suspense drama is a remake of the 2008 French thriller Pour Elle, which was written and directed by Fred Cavaye. Haggis is directing, writing and producing.

Haggis, his Highway 61 Films partner Michael Nozik and Fidelite's Marc Missonnier and Olivier Delbosc are producing. Lionsgate execs Alli Shearmur and Wolfgang Hammer are overseeing for the studio.

Filming is scheduled to begin next month. Film is sched for release in 2011 and will be distributed in Canada by Maple Pictures and by Lionsgate in the USA.

Source: Maple Pictures