The Birds redux

In surprisingly positive movie adaptation news, Naomi Watts is said to be starring in an upcoming remake of The Birds. According to the article I saw, this time they're apparently trying to stick closer to the original Daphne du Maurier short story—which leaves me a little confused. It's been a long time since I read The Birds, but didn't Hitchcock come up with the Melanie Daniels character all on his own? The original story's protagonist was a farmer or something. Watts would make a fabulous Tippi Hedren 2.0, but who's she going to play in this version? [Source]