TwitchFilm is either run by Spike Lee or they must have someone quite close to the production his Oldboy remake. They first broke the news of Lee directing, then more details on the project, and now they have news of the first actor wanted for the project.
The site reports that Mandate Pictures has put Josh Brolin is at the very top of the wishlist to take the role that Choi Min-Sik perfected in Park Chan-Wook‘s classic. No offers are out yet, so it role is still wide open, but it is interesting to see who the producers are going after. I think Brolin would be a perfect fit though, and has the right build for the character. They’ve also uncovered some new details on the production and how it will exactly relate to the original.
Writer Mark Protosevich is said to be using both the original Japanese manga and the Korean film “as reference points for his own script.” The approach to the material will be like that of Martin Scorsese‘s adaptation of Infernal Affairs, his Oscar-winner The Departed. Producers are reportedly using “characters and scenarios from the source material as a launching point while also jettisoning several key elements and events from the original film and working significant amounts of entirely new material into the mix.”
A fifth of the film is even said to be entirely new material, and it will “radically re-envision parts to create something new,” and it won’t just be a “slavish shot-for-shot remake.” The filmmakers will “completely re-envision and re-contextualize” the original source materials “to create a specifically American story around the same concepts and themes.” When this project originally had Steven Spielberg and Will Smith attached, I was down on it, but I like their approach and the addition of Spike Lee and possible Josh Brolin now has me quite interested.
Are you still put off by an Oldboy remake or could it be something special?