Few pre-film production logos conjure up as much laughs as Neal H. Moritz‘s company Original Film. Seen before such works as the 21 Jump Street remake (and in the upcoming sequel, now aptly titled 22 Jump Street), Fast & Furious sequels, The Green Hornet reboot and more, the irony is striking. For another upcoming work, they’ll be adapting one of foreign cinema’s recently acclaimed films.
Announced today, Mortiz and partner Toby Jaffe have teamed once again with Sony Pictures for an English-language remake of Jacques Audiard‘s crime drama A Prophet. Premiering at Cannes Film Festival in 2009 and then seeing a 2010 U.S. release thanks to Sony Pictures Classics, the film served as a break-out for star Tahar Rahim, who plays a man that rises up through a crime syndicate. [The Wrap]
Making a modest $2 million in the states, the film also picked up a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination and was easily one of the best films of its respective year. Judging from Moritz’s past work, at least in the action genre, it’s hard to muster up much excitement for this Hollywood re-do. He says he’s “grateful to have the trust of Jacques Audiard and his producers, as well as the writers Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Peufaillit, and Abdel Raouf Dafri,” but we’ll wait and see if he can create something that’s worthy of the original. No writers or directors are currently attached and one can see Audiard’s trailer below.
Are a fan of A Prophet? If you had to choose, who would be strong talent for this remake?