Upstart filmmaker Curry Barker continues his mainstream Hollywood takeover with a big new gig: director on A24’s anticipated film reboot of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Variety has learned exclusively that Barker will take the lead on the project, billed by insiders as a “reimagining” of the 1974 horror classic created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. Barker’s vision for the famed killer Leatherface and the gaggle of young things he terrorizes are under wraps. The film is being developed alongside a “Texas Chainsaw” TV series from Barnstorm’s Glen Powel and Dan Cohen, and director JT Mollner.
Barker’s rise has been swift, and Focus Features is less than a month out from releasing his acclaimed festival player “Obsession,” about a man whose wish for the love of a female friend turns deadly. That film was acquired in a bidding war that fetched a $14 million sale out of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Chainsaw” takes Barker from an $800 debut feature “Milk & Serial” on YouTube to one of the most prestigious arthouse brands in the industry.
Curry is currently in production on “Anything But Ghosts” at Blumhouse, serving as director, co-writer and star. The film centers on two fraudulent paranormal investigators who are forced to face real ghosts — and the lies underpinning their business. He’s also part of the internet sketch comedy duo That’s a Bad Idea alongside creative partner Cooper Tomlinson. Barker is repped by Underground Management, United Talent Agency and The Lede Company.
The new “Chainsaw” film will be produced by Roy Lee and Steven Schneider of Spooky Pictures, and Stuart Manashil and Exurbia Films’ Pat Cassidy, Ian Henkel, and Kim Henkel. Ben Ross of Image Nation serves as executive produce.
There are 9 films in the “Chainsaw” canon, including 1986’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” which was directed by Hooper and written by L.M. Kit Carson, and 1995’s “The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre” aka “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation,” written and directed by Henkel and starring Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey. A novel, a comic book series and three video games have also been released under the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” IP.
A24 won the prize piece of IP in a heated auction last year, formally announcing in February, and fended off competing offers from companies including Blumhouse. Verve repped the rights and was intent on partner with A24’s reach and forward-looking creative, while still preserving the film’s legacy.
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