With the launch of its worldwide streaming platform, Paramount aims to breathe new life into its cult films through series adaptations. This will be the case of Liaison fatale, Flashdance or even Italian robbery in the coming years. But according to Deadline, this recycling of internal licenses could also be born on the big screen since the American studio has just acquired the rights to make a remake of Cold Sweats (or Vertigo in VO) by Alfred Hitchcock, released in 1958 and considered the one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. At first glance, Paramount would have already recruited Steven Knight, the creator of the Peaky Blinders, See and Rogue Heroes series, to re-adapt the script by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor. As a reminder, Cold Sweats is an adaptation of Boileau-Narcejac’s thriller D’entre les Morts, itself strongly inspired by the novel Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach. In addition, the American studio has already found an actor to take over from James Stewart in the role of police officer John Ferguson, in the person of Robert Downey Jr. The interpreter of Tony Stark alias Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has remained quite far from film sets since Avengers: Endgame and The Voyage of Dr. Dolittle, and could therefore make its big comeback with this remake. It would also be the second time that an Alfred Hitchcock film has the right to a recovery. We obviously think of Gus Van Sant’s Psycho released in 1998, little appreciated by the public and critics because of its experimental attempts and the plans of the original film redone identically. Finally, several films by great American filmmakers are strongly inspired by Cold Sweats, including Obsession and Body Double by Brian de Palma, Mulholland Drive by David Lynch and Le Grand Frisson by Mel Brooks. See also on Konbini
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