Hirsch and Hardwicke Turning Hamlet into Horror?

Catherine Hardwicke's and Emile Hirsch's names have been linked to another pretty famous "H" -- Hamlet -- and if the statements the director and actor have been making all over the Net recently are true, then we can expect another "H" to be joining them -- Horror!

The duo, who previously worked together on Lords of Dogtown, are collaborating on the project. Hirch told Collider, "Where its not a horror-slasher movie, its like a suspense-horror. Its almost like mixing 'Hamlet' with 'The Shining' a little bit and making this kind of scary/cool vision of the play."

And Hardwicke promised MTV that "It's a modern-day film, set at a liberal-arts college where words matter so people are careful and talk in beautiful language, and Hamlet tries to express himself through music." She goes on to say her reinterpretation will continue the filmmaker's love affair with music by combining the spirit of legendary Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain with the Bard. "So, we're using some of the cooler Shakespeare language, in a musical way. [My Hamlet] is like an [aspiring] rock star. He's got six people that go to his performances, go to clubs, and listen to him. It's like an early Kurt Cobain."

Most of the score will be comprised of original tunes, written for the film by Brian Reitzell, a veteran of the punk and indie-rock scene, and Hirsch is studying up to do his own singing and guitar playing. The plan is to begin shooting this fall, possibly in Boston.

- Debi Moore

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