To Catch a Thief Actually Being Remade by the Folks Who Brought You xXx and Piranha 3D

Speaking with Movie Hole, screenwriter Josh Stolberg (Piranha 3D, Good Luck Chuck) spilled the news that he and Bobby Florsheim have written Paramount's remake of To Catch a Thief, the 1955 Hitchcock romantic thriller starring Cary Grant as a cat burglar and Grace Kelly as the woman he falls for. The update, Stolberg enthuses, will be "more modern" and filled with gadgets -- and is being produced by Neal Moritz, the man behind such modern, gadget-filled flicks as xXx and the Fast and the Furious franchise.

"It's exciting because it's one of my favorite Hitchcock movies and it was fun to come at it from a different angle -- make it a little bit more modern and 'gadgety,'" Stolberg said. "It's the first script that I've ever written that [encompasses] a lot of heists and action sequences and... it was a blast!"

He continued: "We just turned in the script to the studio a couple of months ago and they're working on casting now. It takes place in Santorini. It's a travelogue of the most amazing places on Earth. It's gonna be a fun, fun ride I think."

(Stolberg also reveals that he and Florsheim have written a script entitled Man-Witch, with Todd Phillips attached as a producer and Zach Galifianakis possibly attached to star, about a male witch who "has to go to the witch training academy with a bunch of pre-pubescent little girls to learn how to control his powers before he destroys the world.")

Given the French Riviera backdrop, the romantic intrigue, and the heist element of the original film, To Catch a Thief could potentially duplicate for Paramount what the Ocean's 11 films did for Warner Bros. Back in 2004 when Moritz's remake was first announced, the story was going to take place in Miami -- 2 Fast 2 Furious, much? -- but Stolberg's reference to the Greek island of Santorini as a setting might be an indication that the filmmakers are leaning away from South Beach and more toward the old-world glamour and glitz of exotic European locales.

Still, it's hard to predict how Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief will translate under the guidance of Moritz, a producer better known for his action and genre work (I Am Legend, xXx, Fast and the Furious, Battle: Los Angeles, and the upcoming reboots of Total Recall and 21 Jump Street), than for his romantic-leaning films (Made of Honor, The Bounty Hunter). Plus, a director has yet to be named. But, perhaps more importantly: Which actors should be cast to fill Cary Grant and Grace Kelly's shoes in the remake? (No points for suggesting George Clooney. Too easy.)

· Stolberg talks To Catch a Thief remake, Man-Witch, Last Samurai [Movie Hole]