Korean Comedy HELLO GHOST To Get Adam Sandler Makeover

With Spike Lee's Oldboy bearing down on us and recent news of remakes for the other films in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy on the way, not to mention American versions of Confession of Murder and New World, there's no shortage of Korean films being remade by Hollywood these days. The trend is still hot it seems as the latest project to be optioned by Tinseltown is supernatural comedy Hello Ghost, which scared up some strong business in the winter of 2010/11.

Adam Sandler is set to headline the film, which is called Ghost, and will directed by Chris Columbus for Universal. Sandler will take on the lead role that was played by popular Korean funny man Cha Tae-hyun (My Sassy Girl, 2001) in the original. The comedy follows a man who, following a failed suicide attempt, is plagued by four ghosts who need his help to move on to the afterlife. It's a solid premise for a harmless family comedy and given the original's lack of popularity in the West (though it's a solid film), it is unlikely to draw the same backlash from fans as the incoming Oldboy remake.

It remains to be seen when this will get off the ground, as both Sandler and Columbus are currently busy with other projects, but with a Karen Croner (Admission) script already in hand it seems like this is a go. CJ Entertainment, the Korean studio in charge of this summer's hotly anticipated Snowpiercer, will also take part in the redo, as they continue their aggressive expansion into international markets.

CORRECTION: I previously wrote that CJ was in charge of the original but, while they are involved with the remake, it was Next Entertainment World (N.E.W.) that originally produced Hello Ghost.
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