<i>Lilo & Stitch</i> codirector Dean DeBlois to make live-action debut (12986)

Dean DeBlois, the out codirector of Lilo & Stitch, will make his live-action feature debut with The Banshee as part of his overall deal with Disney, according to Variety. The film is a period ghost story set in Ireland that will be produced by Stormcoast Pictures (the production shingle owned by DeBlois and his Lilo collaborator Chris Sanders) and out producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment. "It's the story of a little boy who is ignored by the world and pretends to be a ghost, who comes into contact with a real ghost," DeBlois told Variety. "At its core, it is a story of friendship, love, and loss, but it is aimed squarely toward the Harry Potter audience, the older kids who engage in this kind of supernatural mystery." Stormcoast and Disney are also putting together American Dog, an animated feature that Sanders will write and direct.