Miramax really likes Ben Affleck's direction. The studio gave Affleck a chance with his directorial debut, "Gone Baby Gone," and has now hired the Oscar-winner to bring another crime novel, "The Blade Itself," to the big screen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Blade" centers on two childhood friends who committed petty crimes in their youth before their lives went in drastically different directions. Reunited years later, one must decide how far he'll go to protect the secrets of those past transgressions.

As of now, Affleck is only committed to produce, while his co-writer on "Gone" and Matt Damon's former assistant, Aaron Stockard, will write the screenplay. Obviously, the idea is for Affleck to direct if he likes the adaptation. In the meantime, Affleck is acting again, starring opposite Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams in Universal Pictures' upcoming "State of Play."

In scarier news, Variety reported this week that Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production arm are working on a modern version of the classic "Rosemary's Baby" for Paramount Pictures. It's become acceptable in Hollywood that no matter how revered a movie is, it's a candidate to be remade. This is one that clearly shouldn't be. Screened today, director Roman Polanski's "Baby" is just as scary as any modern flick. Plus, how any filmmaker could match the original's intensity is hard to imagine, and a quality director wouldn't go near a project like this with a 10-foot pole after the public whipping Gus Van Sant got for remaking "Psycho" a decade ago.

Meanwhile, this is truly no surprise, as Dunes' whole mantra has been to remake beloved or popular horror movies. So far, it has really only succeeded critically and commercially with its first flick, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," but is working on new versions of "Friday the 13th," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and Martin Campbell's new take on Hitchcock's "The Birds." The company's first original thriller, "Unborn," is currently in production under the direction of genre fan favorite David Goyer ("Blade: Trinity").

Next column: George Clooney hits the field with "Leatherheads"; and more.

Send your thoughts and comments to buzz@microsoft.com. See you in four.

Sound off: Comment on this story | Also: Features archive

Next: Arduous 'Games' for Watts