Thursday July 24, 01:51 PM

Noyce takes helm of 'Blood' remake

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Director Phillip Noyce is preparing to hit the water for the first time since his 1989 breakthrough feature, the thriller "Dead Calm."

Noyce will develop and direct "Captain Blood," Warner Bros.' long-gestating remake of the swashbuckling 1935 classic.

The Academy Award-nominated pirate movie starred Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone and was based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini. Set in the 1600s, it tells the story of a doctor who is convicted for treason against the King of England and sold into slavery, escaping to the high seas as a pirate. (The book also was adapted in 1924 by the Vitagraph Co.)

Warners made the film with First Nation Pictures and has been trying to develop a remake for decades.

Noyce's last big-screen project was the 2006 South Africa-set drama "Catch a Fire." His credits include "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "The Quiet American."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter