Takashi Shimizu, who directed both the Japanese horror smash Ju-On and its successful American re-make, The Grudge, has signed on to helm an adaptation of Hitosi Iwaaki's Parasyte manga -- a science fiction chiller about alien spores that land on Earth and take over human bodies.  New Line Cinema and the Jim Henson Co. are co-producing the live action Parasyte movie, which won't be able to go into production until Shimizu finishes The Grudge 2 for Columbia.

The 12-volume Parasyte manga was one of the first series published by Tokyopop in the U.S.  Then known as Mixx Entertainment, Tokyopop published all 12 volumes of Parasyte here in the States between 1998 and 2002.  If and when the live action Parasyte film goes into production, don't be surprised to see Tokyopop reissue the Parasyte manga series.