Mark Hartley's PATRICK Receives Funding And Artwork

Mark Hartley is going to be a very busy man in 2012. His upcoming Cannon Films documentary Electric Boogaloo has already been announced and now it appears that the funding is also coming together for his long talked about remake of 1978 cult classic Patrick is coming together as well. Here's the IMDB synopsis of the Richard Franklin original:

After the shocking bathtub death of his mother and her lover, the sinister Patrick lays comatose in a small private hospital, his only action being his involuntary spitting. When a pretty young nurse, just separated from her husband, begins work at the hospital, she senses that Patrick is communicating with her, and he seems to be using his psychic powers to manipulate events in her life.

Screen Australia have just committed funding to Hartley's take on the tale - though the press release neglects to say how much - which should mean that the project will move ahead soon. The question is whether Patrick or Electric Boogaloo will shoot first. Sharni Vinson, Richard E Grant and Rachel Griffiths will star. And, yes, that is the film's brand new sales art up above.