Nightmare on Elm Street remake director hired?

The Hollywood Reporter posted that Samuel Bayer has been hired to direct the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Here is what they say:

A director moves onto (Nightmare on) Elm Street
By Steven Zeitchik

With Jason poised to make his return to the big screen this weekend, Freddy Krueger may not be far behind.

Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and New Line have hired a director for the reboot of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” bringing on Samuel Bayer to direct the reimagining of the Wes Craven classic.

Bayer, for the uninitiated, is a sought-after director whose best-known work is in commercials and music videos; he’s won best director at MTV’s VMAs and is responsible for a host of iconic videos, including Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Blind Melon’s video for “No Rain,” featuring the famous girl in a bumblebee costume.

Endeavor reps Bayer, whom a number of film producers have long wanted to work with.

The Michael Bay-run Platinum Dunes have been among those seeking Bayer for films — he is attached to direct the Universal thriller
“Fiasco Heights” for Plat Dunes, though this will be a priority — but he has turned down more than he has accepted, particularly on the horror front.

This time, though, the parties came to a deal, with producers feeling strongly that Bayer is the man to give their film a fresh visual look.

Next up for New Line and Platinum Dunes, which hope to shoot in the spring or summer, is the casting of Freddy Krueger. Rumors have swirled, but one thing that is known is that Robert Englund, who played
Krueger in the franchise’s original go-round, will not reprise his role.

Platinum Dunes’ Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are joining Bay in producing “Nightmare,” which this year hits its 25th anniversary.

Unlike other reboots of classic horror franchises, which synthesize plotlines from several films, this one, insiders said, will feature a strong element of the first picture, in which Krueger famously began haunting teenagers’ dreams, attacking them violently in their subconscious in ways that resulted in their real-life deaths.

Wesley Strick, who was previously behind such chill fests as “Cape Fear” and “Arachnophobia” was previously announced to write.

Fans have been following every move of the new Krueger closely. They’ll now no doubt be YouTubing a slew of music videos for clues as to what he has in mind.