Perelman in the house for "Poltergeist"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - He's heeeere . . .

Vadim Perelman ("House of Sand and Fog") is in negotiations to develop MGM's "Poltergeist" remake as a potential directing gig.

The 1982 original, a haunted-house movie full of literalized children's nightmares, was directed by Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") from a script co-written by Steven Spielberg. The film's exploration of an ordinary family's reaction to an extraordinarily intense situation likely appealed to Perelman, who delved into similar dynamics not only with his 2003 debut "House of Sand and Fog," but also with last year's "The Life Before Her Eyes."

The Ukraine-born Perelman once was attached to Spielberg's endlessly developing "Talisman" project, adapted from the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel, as well as the World War II drama "Truce" at Warner Independent.

The Web site Bloody-Disgusting.com (www.bloody-disgusting.com) first floated the "Poltergeist" possibility late last week.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter