First of all, it's good to see John Landis directing a feature film again. His Masters of Horror episode in the first season, "Deer Woman," was one big ball of confusion, not quite the perfect horror-comedy hybrid that Landis pulled off once upon a time with An American Werewolf in London. However, his second season offering, "Family," had Landis returning somewhat to his heydays as the skilled trickster who directed the still-amazing "Thriller" video. Now he's actually making a full-length movie for the first time in years, and that movie is Burke and Hare, the story of William Burke and William Hare, two 19th century graverobbers who make a lucrative living selling cadavers to medical schools.
Simon Pegg of Hot Fuzz and Star Trek has been cast as Burke, and Doctor Who's David Tennant was set for Hare. However, Tennant has dropped out for undisclosed reasons, and Pegg himself made the announcement on his Twitter page that he's been replaced by Andy Serkis, the man who can go from Gollum in The Lord of the Rings to the mighty ape in King Kong without batting an eye. Other rumored cast members include John Cleese, Bill Nighy and Dan Aykroyd, who starred in Landis' Trading Places way back when.
