It takes a bold individual to think to themselves, "You know, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds could use a remake," and a bolder one still to put that plan into motion. Enter Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company, who have teamed up with Peter Guber's Mandalay Pictures to revisit and remake the 1963 horror classic. Along with Universal, the production companies have now tapped director Diederik Van Rooijen (Daylight) to helm the picture.

Variety reports that Van Rooijen is leading the flock on The Birds remake, but no new plot details are available at this point. The original film, adapted from Daphne Du Maurier's short story, centered on a San Francisco socialite who moves north to a small California town, only to find that it's come under attack from various types of birds. If you're unfamiliar with the picture, this trailer should help give you a general idea of what the film is about:

Seriously, how great was Hitchcock? Not just as a director, but as an entertainer. When's the last time a director sent out a five-minute teaser trailer in which he simply spoke to the audience and delivered a tongue-in-cheek presentation about his upcoming film via a natural history lesson? (And those props!)

I admire Universal's desire to remake their classic horror films and monster movies, though it goes without saying that no one can really remake a Hitchcock movie (see Gus Van Sant's nearly shot-for-shot Psycho remake in 1998). So with that in mind, I'd love it if Van Rooijen put his own spin on the property, though with Bay's input there's every chance it'll end up something closer to Birdemic than The Birds.

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