Director Tim Burton is joining forces with Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn on an Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman remake. Originally starring beauty queen turned actress Allison Hayes as the titular giantess, the cult science fiction movie was previously remade in 1993 by This Is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest, with Daryl Hannah taking over for Hayes. It would also inspire two other low-budget parodies: Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold and Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader.
Per a new report from Deadline, Burton is attached to direct the reimagined version of the 1958 film using a script penned by Flynn, known for Sharp Objects, in addition to Gone Girl. Burton is also set to produce the project alongside his Wednesday collaborators Andrew Mittman and Tommy Harper, while Kai Dolbashian (The Consultant) is serving as executive producer.
Why Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman Is a Perfect Tim Burton Project
Beginning his career as an animator with a penchant for celebrating the grotesque and unusual, Burton would eventually come to be regarded as one of the most unique directorial voices working in Hollywood. Between his distinct visual style and affinity for creating off-beat characters and unusual situations, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman seems a perfect fit for Burton’s unusual creative sensibilities.
Following a wealthy heiress whose close encounter with an alien spacecraft results in her transformation into a giantess of massive proportions, the original film was made on a reported budget of just $88,000. It would eventually come to be regarded as a prime example of classic ‘50s sci-fi. While Hannah’s made-for-television remake would largely fall flat with critics, the film’s distinctly kitsch premise seems tailor-made for Burton to put his unique spin on.
10 Greatest Tim Burton Monsters In Movies & TV Shows, Ranked
Tim Burton’s movies often make supernatural beings into unlikely heroes, but the director has still created some truly unforgettable movie monsters.
No stranger to reinventing classic ’50s sci-fi tropes, having previously turned the Mars Attacks! Topps trading cards into a black comedy intentionally reminiscent of some of the decade’s most iconic flying saucer movies, Burton’s version of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman offers him yet another chance to play with the beloved traditions of retro sci-fi. Exactly which actress the director will pick as his destructive giantess remains to be seen, but Burton could draw upon his list of frequent collaborators and consider Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Jenna Ortega.
