Overture Films has sent out an official press release announcing that principal photography began today on Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ adaptation/remake of Let the Right On. The press release mentions a few new additions to the cast, which include Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) as the policeman, Cara Buono (Kelli Moltisanti in “The Sopranos”) as Owen’s mother and Sasha Barrese (The Hangover) as Virginia. It was previously announced that Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz would play the leads Owen and Abby and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) would play the guardian of “Abby”.

The release points out that “while the new film will pay respect to the original Swedish version, [the filmmakers] intend to forge a unique identity for Let Me In, placing it firmly in an American context.” But we already knew this. President and CEO of Hammer Films Simon Oakes provides a quote, saying that the “The brilliance of [the original] story deserves to be seen by audiences on a wide scale and we are excited that the pieces are in place to make that a reality.”

I know a lot of people are violently against this remake, but I am very happy with the talent that has come together to make it happen. And at very least, Let Me In will hopefully help mainstream America find Tomas Alfredson’s 2008 Swedish film. And lets face it, audiences outside of the film geek circles really need to see that film. Read the full press release after the jump.

On behalf of Overture Films, we are excited to announce that principal photography began today on LET ME IN, writer/director Matt Reeves’ adaptation of Let the Right One In, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reeves (Cloverfield) and young stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Moretz ((500) Days of Summer) were among those on-set as filming commenced on the Hammer Films production at Albuquerque Studios. Filming will also take place in various other locations in New Mexico before returning to Albuquerque to wrap in January.

In the haunting and provocative LET ME IN, an alienated 12-year-old boy (Smit-McPhee) befriends a mysterious young newcomer (Moretz) in his small New Mexico town and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood. The film is based on the bestselling vampire novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, and is an English-language remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film of the same name.

The filmmakers note that while the new film will pay respect to the original Swedish version, they intend to forge a unique identity for LET ME IN, placing it firmly in an American context.

“This project is very personal to Matt as it is to the many passionate fans of the original story,” said Simon Oakes, President and CEO of Hammer Films. “The brilliance of that story deserves to be seen by audiences on a wide scale and we are excited that the pieces are in place to make that a reality.”

Updates to the cast list include Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) as the policeman, Cara Buono (“The Sopranos”) as Owen’s mother and Sasha Barrese (The Hangover) as “Virginia.” It was previously announced that Smit-McPhee and Moretz would play the leads “Owen” and “Abby” respectively and Oscar®-nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) would play the guardian of “Abby”.

Hammer Films acquired the remake rights to Let the Right One In at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival where the film took home the Founders Award® for Best Narrative Feature. The production is scheduled for a 2010 release in the U.S. by Overture Films. Exclusive Film Distribution is handling worldwide sales and distribution of the film.

Producing the film are Hammer’s Oakes, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, along with Oscar®-winner Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in Love). Hammer’s Alex Brunner and Tobin Armbrust will executive produce along with John Ptak, Philip Elway and Fredrik Malmberg. Overture’s Robert Kessel, EVP Production & Acquisitions, will oversee production for the studio. Swedish producers John Nordling and Carl Molinder, who produced the original film, are also involved as producers on this remake.

LET ME IN is the first film in a two-picture co-production, financing and distribution agreement between Overture Films and Exclusive Media Group, the parent company of Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures.

Be sure to visit LET ME IN on Facebook and Twitter:

www.twitter.com/letmeinthemovie
www.facebook.com/letmein

ABOUT HAMMER

Hammer is the legendary British film brand, which was originally launched in 1934 and delivered a hugely successful run of films in the 1950s including Gothic classics “Dracula” and “The Curse of Frankenstein” and Sci-Fi picture “The Quatermass Xperiment.” Hammer’s reputation became branded worldwide as ‘Hammer House of Horror.’ In the 1960s Hammer struck distribution deals with Universal, Warner Brothers, Fox and Columbia. Hammer went on to produce a huge volume of films which included such titles as “The Plague of the Zombies,” “The Nanny,” “Quatermass and the Pit,” “The Devil Rides Out” and “One Million Years B.C.”

Not in production since the 1980s, the company’s brand is now being aggressively reinvigorated by Exclusive Media Group through new investment in the development and production of film, television and digital-platform content.

Hammer’s return to horror was heralded by interactive web serial “Beyond the Rave,” which was broadcast by MySpace in 13 territories in 2008. Today, Hammer has an active development slate totaling more than 25 projects across diverse genres sourced out of both Europe and the United States. Hammer recently wrapped production on “The Resident,” which stars two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee and is directed by Antti Jokinen.

ABOUT EXCLUSIVE MEDIA GROUP (EMG)

Formed by strategic investment group Cyrte Investments in May 2008, Exclusive Media Group (EMG) (www.exclusivemedia.com) is the parent company of Spitfire Pictures and the legendary British studio, Hammer, which now has a combined share holder equity and bank facility in excess of $100 million. The company is run by Nigel Sinclair, Guy East and Simon Oakes, with Sinclair and Oakes serving as co-chairmen and co-CEOs (out of Los Angeles and London respectively). East is president of EMG and chairman of Exclusive Film Distribution (EFD).

Under EMG, Spitfire and Hammer operate as two separate production entities with offices both in London and Los Angeles. EMG aims to produce 6-8 films per year and to acquire additional pictures for worldwide distribution through EFD, its London based subsidiary responsible for worldwide sales and distribution. The group also develops projects for television and digital platforms.

EMG has over 300 titles in the combined Hammer and Spitfire libraries and pursues an aggressive library acquisition policy. The Hammer library is noted for its remake potential and the company is in discussions with A-list writers and directors to revive and re-imagine some of its highly touted titles.

Cyrte Investments is part of Delta Lloyd Asset Management, one of the Netherlands major asset managers, which in turn is majority-owned by London Stock Exchange listed Aviva plc, one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

ABOUT OVERTURE FILMS

Overture Films (www.overturefilms.net) develops, produces, acquires, and distributes feature length, theatrical motion pictures worldwide. The studio is a wholly owned unit of Starz Media, a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group. Its affiliated companies, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment, make the films available domestically to viewers via home video, premium television, Internet and other outlets.