ChrisBlackwell's Palm Pictures and its in-house label Arthouse Films haveacquired the remake rights to Jimmy Wang Yu's classic 1975 martial artsfilm, Master Of The Flying Guillotine.

The acquisitionheralds a partial shift back into development and production for Palm Pictures,which made several films in 1998 and plans to unveil a 2004 slate of eight-10titles in October.

David Koh, headof acquisitions and production for Palm Pictures and Arthouse Films, toldScreendaily he envisioned a 70-30 acquisitions-production ratio.

Koh launchedArthouse Films with Jose Martinez in 1998 before it was acquired by PalmPictures last year as a visual and fine arts label.

"We arevery excited about the remake of the legendary Guillotine," Koh added in a statement.

"Itremains one of my favorite martial arts films. The Guillotine remake will be an update of the classicwith a hip-hop soundtrack and an urban edge.

"We planto develop two types of properties. The first being films in the $250,000 to$6m range, which we will develop and finance - these would include digitallyshot movies and original DVD projects.

"Theothers are bigger budget projects such as Guillotine, which we will develop and then seekproduction partners. Our development slate will be announced shortly."

Guillotine stars the legendary Wang Yu as aone-armed boxer and martial arts expert who is hunted by the blind Shaolinmaster of the flying guillotine.

The deal wasnegotiated by Koh, Martinez, who is general manager of Arthouse Films, and MarkRagone, head of business affairs, film and video for Palm Pictures, along withWong Hoi and attorney Jonathan Lonner on behalf of First Distributors (HK).