Haunted hyphenate for 'Presence'

De Souza to write, helm supernatural thriller

By MICHAEL FLEMING

Steven De Souza has been set to write and direct "The Presence," a supernatural thriller to be financed by Four Winds Pictures. Filming will begin by year's end.

Drama begins when a mother dies in childbirth. Some 25 years later, her son is getting married and thinks it would be swell to return to his birth home and start a married life there. Trouble is, mom haunts the place.

Project was hatched by Drew Grindstaff, who founded the Portland-based Four Winds in 1988. Grindstaff is producing with Tom Craig and Khamraj Anrud, with Mitch Ducksworth, Ron Bard, Hans Koch and Rosemarie Lizarraga exec producing.

Connecticut-based Ducksworth and Grindstaff were able to find investors based on De Souza's commitment to rewrite and direct. Final budget is expected to be north of $20 million, depending on the cast.

De Souza, whose writing credits include "Die Hard" and "48 Hours," most recently scripted a revival of "The Phantom" for Bristol Bay and wrote and directed "Possessed" for Showtime.