Martin Campbell has his second new project in consecutive days, this time one setup at U.A and Lakeshore Entertainment according to Variety.

Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff - two writers and producers on 24 have been plucked by Tom Cruise to come up with a contemporary spy thriller which very much mirrors what the actor did with J.J. Abrams and his feature directorial debut, Mission Impossible III.

There’s no word yet on the title but it’s said that the concept is original and it should have an impact creatively and commercially.

Again it’s another nail in the coffin of The Birds remake - at least for Campbell’s involvement anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind Campbell as a director, his movies have never particularly insulted me and I have found them entertaining but they are often kinda one-note and flat. He’s not a hack but he’s very much a safe guarded director who does his job perfectly fine.

But his remake of The Birds I could imagine being horrible.

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Nice to have you back Mel. Even though I have been enjoying your directorial exploits over the past couple of years, I always looked forward to the acting side of your career.

Variety say Gibson after turning down a ton of projects in the last five years (including Lethal Weapon 5) has committed to star in Edge of Darkness an adaptation of a six-hour long 1985 BBC mini-series which was directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) - who is also on board for this adaptation.

The script comes from William Monahan (The Departed) and it will be Gibson’s first leading role since Signs in 2002 and his first on screen part since The Signing Detective in 03…

Gibson will play a straitlaced police investigator whose activist daughter is killed. He plunges into the case and uncovers systemic corruption that led to his daughter’s death.

Gibson had long been a fan of the mini and was receptive when King and Campbell approached him several months ago.

Production will begin in August - and it will be produced by Graham King’s GK Films banner (he went after Monahan personally) and by the BBC.

The original show was a bit before my time. Research tells me it starred Bob Peck and former Bond villain John Doe Baker and that it’s extremely well respected. A 9.1 IMDB rating (admittedly after less than a 1,000 votes), the series is thought to be the very best of British original drama and was dealing with the atmosphere of the Thatcher administration and the secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry in the U.K.

Can’t believe I’ve never heard of it.

Great to see Gibson back - Monahan is a great screenwriter - the original material looks very rich (though has potential to be turned into cliche crap) and anything that delays Campbell or takes him away from The Birds remake is very welcomed by me. Anything that causes that film problems makes me happy.

The more Platinum Dunes’ remake to Alfred Hitchcock’s crowd pleasing masterpiece The Birds is put off, the more unlikely it will ever happen.

Which is good news because absolutely none of Hitchcock’s works post Shadow of a Doubt should even be thought of as a remake. Each one of them is such a personal directorial vision and so masterfully crafted that you really are playing with fire when you attempt to remake one of them. Just ask Gus Van Sant, he will tell you all about it.

Speaking to Shock Till You Drop whilst promoting her new movie Funny Games (also a remake, and so soon after King Kong… that will give a girl a reputation) actress Naomi Watts who will star in the role made famous by Tippi Hedren in the original gave us the good news…

“It’s a work-in-progress at this point,” she says. “I think it’s a wonderful film. There are great things in it that interest me. The script isn’t completely there yet, it probably won’t happen until next year.”

“Work-in-progress” is a term I most definitely wanna hear every time this remake is mentioned. It basically translates as “It’s not good enough to film”.

Though I will be honest with you guys. Although I don’t think The Birds should be remade, I DO THINK that if a studio was absolutely intent on remaking a Hitchcock classic then this would be the one to do. I mean you simply can’t remake Vertigo, Psycho or North By Northwest… but if you took on The Birds I think you could probably make a decent adaptation out of it with the right man on board and some seriously good CGI.

Like, really really good CGI. I’m not saying it should be remade because it shouldn’t but if it had to be a Hitchcock… then The Birds is the one that sticks right out at ya.

Martin Campbell, a decent studio director who gave us the last Bond movie and the two Antonio Banderas-Zorro movies is still attached to helm from a script whose last known draft came from Stiles White and Juliet Snowden, two of the writers behind one of the worst horror’s in recent memory with Boogeyman. Naomi Watts is expected to have a big input in the film’s creative progression, as it was rumored to be one of the dealbreakers in getting her on board.

All is not lost with the remake of THE WOLF MAN if The Hollywood Reporter are to be believed.

The trade say that not only Brett Ratner has met with Universal over the revival of the classic 50’s monster, but a whole host of other experienced directors have either held talks, or will hold talks over the next few days in regards to the movie which has now been officially pushed back to a March start date.

A decision is expected to be announced early next week. Brett Ratner is still said to be favourite because of his track record of coming on board projects late and delivering a financially successful movie, and for the simple fact of how fast and problem free he can work. As a studio you can see their point but for the sake of the film’s quality, please choose from the guys below (or my picks David Cronenberg and John Landis).

Those names are:

Frank Darabont (THE MIST, THE GREEN MILE, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION)

He’s certainly a director that’s great with period movies and characters with his three Stephen King adaptations. He’s a really great director, I’ve yet to see his latest film but on his previous two I would love to see him work on this. He would take us deep into the character that Benicio del Toro will create, I like this choice.

James Mangold (3:10 TO YUMA, WALK THE LINE, COP LAND)

Really accomplished director and I never thought he would be interested in a horror movie. His slate is clean right now so he could move straight into it if called upon. Really love his work, so I would be happy to see him direct this too.

Joe Johnston (HIDALGO, JURASSIC PARK III, JUMANJI)

Yeah I don’t mind Johnston’s works. He’s always reminded me of a lesser talented brother to Steven Spielberg. I don’t think he can make films as accomplished as the two guys above him in this list but his films are always full of life and energy and they usually hit the genre mark that is set out. He doesn’t always succeed in making a great movie but I think if he found the right script he could do a great job.

And then the trades say that Universal are interested in but have not met with Bill Condon, the director of DREAMGIRLS and that late 90’s movie about Universal’s FRANKENSTEIN director James Whale titled GODS AND MONSTERS. I know he’s a fan of the Universal horror movies and although I didn’t like DREAMGIRLS, I think Condon did a very good job in delivering exactly what the studio wanted. That movies wasn’t easy to make. I would take him in a heartbeat over Ratner.

Martin Campbell (CASINO ROYALE, THE MASK OF ZORRO) was also said to be keen on the position but the studio said he wasn’t in contention. Whether that’s because Campbell’s schedule is full right now or because Universal didn’t want him I do not know.

Apparently a big problem the studio are having is convincing directors to come on board, even though the script is strike locked and can’t be changed to suit the director’s vision. They literally have to go out and shoot the story that Romanek and Andrew Kevin Walker had set out and with so many writer/director’s out there… this is certainly a turn off from there.

I certainly think it would rule out Cronenberg (though remember he’s just my pick, no-one elses).

It’s this kind of thing that can see a movie get scraped, or worse… given to the hands of Brett Ratner. Guess we will find out what’s going on next week.

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