Up-and-coming filmmaker Callie Barker is taking over the Hollywood mainstream with her big new job directing A24’s highly anticipated reboot The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Variety has exclusively learned that Barker will take the lead on the project, which is being touted by officials as a “reimagining” of Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel’s 1974 horror classic. Barker’s visions of the famous murderer Leatherface and the hordes of young men he terrorizes are kept secret. The film is being developed alongside the Texas Chainsaw TV series, directed by Barnstormers Glen Powell and Dan Cohen and J.T. Molnar.
Barker’s rise has been rapid, with Focus Features less than a month away from releasing acclaimed festival player Obsession, the story of a man whose desire for love for his female friend turns deadly. The film was sold in a bidding war at the Toronto International Film Festival for $14 million. “Chainsaw” elevated Barker from his $800 YouTube debut “Milk & Cereal” to one of the most prestigious arthouse brands in the industry.
Curry is currently producing Anything But Ghosts at Blumhouse, where he is directing, co-writing and starring. The film centers on two con artist paranormal investigators who are forced to confront real ghosts and the lies that back up their business. He is also part of the internet sketch comedy duo “That’s a Bad Idea” with his creative partner Cooper Tomlinson. Mr. Barker is repped by Underground Management, United Talent Agency and The Lede Company.
The new Chainsaw movie will be produced by Spooky Pictures’ Roy Lee and Stephen Schneider, as well as Stuart Manasir and Exsurvia Film’s Pat Cassidy, Ian Henkel and Kim Henkel. Image Nation’s Ben Ross will serve as executive producer.
There are nine films in the Chainsaw canon, including 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, directed by Hooper and written by LM Kit Carson, and 1995’s The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, also known as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, written and directed by Henkel and starring Renée Zellweger and Matthew. McConaughey. A novel, comic book series, and three video games have also been released as part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre IP.
A24 won the intellectual property prize in a heated auction last year and officially announced it in February, fending off competing offers from companies including Blumhouse. Verve was keen to partner with A24’s reach and forward-thinking creative approach, while asserting its rights and protecting the film’s legacy.
