Brian De Palma to reopen Boston Strangler case
By Jay A. Fernandez
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Brian De Palma has long had a thing for the notorious.
The "Scarface" director has signed on to take the helm of "The Boston Stranglers," an adaptation of a nonfiction book about Albert DeSalvo, the man who confessed to a series of murders in the Boston area during the 1960s.
De Palma similarly plumbed real-life-derived atrocities in "Casualties of War," and the recent commercial disappointments "Redacted" and "The Black Dahlia." His last hit was "Mission: Impossible" in 1996.
The Strangler case continues to stir debate. Many question whether DeSalvo -- a publicity hound who confessed to the murders and was later stabbed to death while incarcerated on unrelated charges -- was the actual killer.
The murders were the basis of a 1968 movie that starred Tony Curtis as DeSalvo and Henry Fonda as the detective pursuing him. That version was based on an earlier book by Gerold Frank. Several TV and DVD movies have been derived from the events.
The latest version is based on Susan Kelly's book "The Boston Stranglers: The Public Conviction of Albert DeSalvo and the True Story of Eleven Shocking Murders." It will be produced by Gale Anne Hurd, who produced the June 13 release "The Incredible Hulk."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
