Sam Raimi takes "Refuge" as producer

Sam Raimi, director of ''Spider-Man 3'', poses for pictures in Beverly Hills, California April 20, 2007.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Filmmaker Sam Raimi is taking "Refuge."

The genre maestro has signed on to produce a supernatural horror movie of that name, based on a pitch from up-and-coming British director Corin Hardy, a music video director for bands such as Prodigy and Keane.

"Refuge" centers on a remote town terrorized by a Yeti, the mythological creature native to the mountains of the Himalayas. Hardy will direct from a script by fellow British writer Tom De Ville.

The project has been set up at Mandate Pictures, where Raimi's Ghost House Pictures has a deal.

Genre auteurs increasingly are taking on projects from young directors and shepherding them through the independent and studio systems as both producers and mentors. Guillermo del Toro, for instance, has taken on that role with Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage") and other newcomers.

Raimi, who is set to shoot "Spider-Man 4" as well as an adaptation of the videogame "World of Warcraft," is involved in a number of projects as a producer, including the vampire comic-book adaptation "Priest."

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)