I remember when I was a kid and this boy in our neighborhood was possessed by an 18th century magician. Then he and his sister ended up in a real action adventure type situation. It must be the biggest coincidence in the world, but Universal Pictures is about to make a movie about just that same situation. Wow, what are the odds?

Variety reports that Danish director Nikolaj Arcel has been hired to direct Island of Lost Souls. The movie is based on a Danish film called De fortabte sjaeles o, written and directed by...Nikolaj Arcel. Boy, the coincidences are piling up! In addition to the possessed boy and his sister, the movie is about a centuries old battle between good and evil. The original was one of 2007’s highest grossing films in Denmark. I’m not sure how much you have to make to do that, but probably more than $50.

The upcoming American version will be written Jennifer O’Kieffe, who won a prize while in UCLA’s screenwriting program but doesn’t seem to have any credits. Although they share a title, this movie does not appear to have anything to do with the 1933 Bela Lugosi-Charles Laughton film that was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau.