Mel Gibson to remake Guinea Pig: Flowers of Flesh and Blood

Mel Gibson, director of The Passion of the Christ, had recently expressed his interest in remaking the cult classic and highly controversial Japanese film, Flowers of Flesh and Blood, part of the Guinea Pig series of films which reached legendary status when actor Charlie Sheen, believing the events to be real, contacted the MPAA and FBI.

"It's one of my favourites" says Gibson "And has been a great inspiration for me in the past. There's a purity to the film, it doesn't burden itself with needless backstory, it just shows us this event. I'd like to bring this powerful experience to a wider audience, I feel as if this is a very important film and that people are missing something essential for the times we live in." He also had this to say about the short runtime of the original film "People seem to think that it's a problem, but the material is there to make a two hour film, yet still keep the purity of the original. I'm working with Paul Haggis on a script, and lets just say that there will be a few surprises in my version. It's not a straight up remake."

With Gibson attatched to produce and direct, and Paul Haggis writing, the question of the cast still looms. "I can confirm that Katie Holmes has been cast, but as for the male role, we're still considering many actors, it's an extremely popular role. That's all I can say for now." It was rumoured that Gibson himself would star, but he says "That's just not true. I would love to do it, but it was never even considered that I would star."

It's hotly tipped that big name actors Hugh Jackman, George Clooney and Edward Norton have all been campaigning for the role, as well as Rufus Sewell and Crispin Clover. Many actresses such as Alison Lohman, and Sarah Michelle Gellar had auditioned for the main female role as well.

Flowers of Flesh and Blood has already started pre-production with an estimated $25,000,000 budget, filming starts between September and October this year, with a May 2009 opening being speculated.