With news that Gil Kenan (Monster House) will be directing MGM’s reboot of Poltergeist, you can finally put to rest the rumors of Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) sitting in the captain’s chair.  Raimi will still be behind the scenes as a producer on the remake of Tobe Hooper’s 1982 classic horror film.  Written by committee, the most recent adaptation has seen work by David Lindsay-Abaire (Oz the Great and Powerful), Scott Derrickson (Sinister), Juliet Snowden (The Possession), Stiles White (Boogeyman) and Paul Harris Boardman (The Exorcism of Emily Rose).  That’s quite the mix of horror writers in there, with Lindsay-Abaire holding it down for the familial aspect of the story that centers on a suburban home possessed by spirits.  Hit the jump for more.

Shia LaBeouf has spent the last few years starring in numbered movies: Indiana Jones 4, Wall Street 2, Transformers 1-3.  Now that he’s one of the most powerful young actors in Hollywood, LaBeouf looks to be branching out into less sequel-heavy fare.  He has the period bootlegging drama The Wettest County in the World in the can, and is currently filming the political thriller The Company You Keep with director/star Robert Redford.  Though LaBeouf has suggested he’s ready to dive back in for Indy 5, the latest project he signed on to is unique enough to counteract any cinematic karma.  Variety reports LaBeouf is attached to star in a love story going by the working title A Giant.  Written and directed by Gil Kenan (City of Ember), the film centers on a girl who moves back home to reconnect with her brother and forget a series of bad relationships: “Instead she forms a relationship with a 20-foot tall man-child who lives next door, to be played by LaBeouf.”

A Giant is the first project that David Linde (Biutiful) and Tory Mertzger will shepherd under their new production company Lava Bear Films.  No distributor is on board yet, but Universal is in pole position due to Linde’s relationship with the studio.  More after the jump.