Peter Jackson to Remake 'The Dam Busters'

Peter Jackson has established himself as King of the epic film. After the unparalleled success of Lord of the Rings, followed with the success of King Kong, Peter Jackson has chosen another remake to add to his epic collection. Jackson plans to remake The Dam Busters, and his plans come with a $50 million price tag.

Jackson told the trade publication Screen Daily of his plans to remake the classic British war film, and has tapped King Kong animator Christian Rivers to direct. The original 1954 film tells the true story of the bouncing bombs the British developed in order to destroy German dams during World War II. Jackson was quoted by Screen Daily as saying "There's that wonderful mentality of the British during the war - that heads-down, persevering, keep-on-plugging-away mentality which is the spirit of Dam Busters."

Jackson has said he will try and make the remake of the Dam Busters "as authentic as possible and as close to the spirit of the original as possible." Peter Jackson also admitted that he saw the film first as a child an "really loved it."

The New Zealand publication Stuff reports that "Most of the US$50 million film will be shot in Wellington, where about 10 full-scale replicas of the Lancaster bombers used in the 1943 raid will be built by visual effects company Weta Workshop. Some filming is also likely in Britain."

Peter Jackson, a long time aviation buff, told The Dominion Post that "always thought that out of all the World War II true stories this is one of the most extraordinary. My parents were English and they were both involved in the war. When it comes to World War II, I'm very based in this English mindset. Mum and Dad talked about it all the time. I almost feel like I lived through World War II."

The rumor mill has been floating the idea of a Dam Busters remake for some time. In May, reports came out that said Jackson had teamed up with Sir David Frost, the man who owns the rights to the 1951 Paul Brickhill novel on which the original film was based. Around the same time, Jackson had been filming one of the last surviving Lancaster bombers that took part in the bouncing bomb campaign along the Ruhr Valley.

The original 1954 film, which documented the true story of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, starred Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd. The original movie was distinctly split into two halves: The first showing the development of the bouncing bomb, and the second show the mission itself. The movie was relatively accurate for the time period in which it was released, though the new remake looks to include information that has been declassified since the original film was made.

[Additional Sources: Screen Daily, Stuff]