Perhaps best know as Tim Burton’s one-time go-to producer, Denise Di Novi (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns) has announced (via The Hollywood Reporter) that she will be making her directorial debut on the thriller Unforgettable for her home studio of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Originally targeted as a directing vehicle for Amma Asante (Belle) with Kerry Washington in the lead, Unforgettable was written by Christina Hodson and David Leslie Johnson and tells the story of a woman starting over with a new husband and step-daughter only to be tormented by the man’s mentally unstable ex-wife. Di Novi is currently looking for a star to fill the lead role.
“The fact that this transition is so clear in retrospect makes it no less exciting,” said Greg Silverman, Warners’ president, creative development and worldwide production. “Denise has been a Warners filmmaker for decades and we know she will have continued success as a director. The cast and crew of ‘Unforgettable’ – and Denise’s home studio, Warner Bros. – are very lucky indeed.”
Di Novi’s first full producing credit was on the 1988 cult classic Heathers, and from there she produced six films with Burton including The Nightmare Before Christmas. Some of her more recent hits include the Nicholas Sparks adaptations Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember, both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies and Crazy, Stupid, Love. She recently did Warners a solid by being the studio’s uncredited on-set representative for George Miller’s blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road.
