Ferrara to transform 'Jekyll'

Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent to star in redo

By MICHAEL FLEMING, ALI JAAFAR

Whitaker

50 Cent

Abel Ferrara is taking another walk on the wild side with a re-imagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which will be contemporized and titled "Jekyll and Hyde."

Forest Whitaker and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson are attached to play the lead roles in the classic tale about a doctor who invents a potion that unleashes his violent alter ego.

Glasshouse Pictures' Brett Walsh and Cheetah Vision Films' Randall Emmett are producing; Luc Roeg, Michael Robinson and Andrew Orr are exec producing for U.K. production banner Independent.

Sean Walsh, Bonnie Timmermann and Chris Lighty also receive exec producer credits.

Independent is handling international sales on the project, which will begin lensing in late summer.

"The combination of such formidable talent in front of and behind the camera will turn this wonderful gothic story into a modern classic for a whole new generation," said Roeg.