While we got our first look at one Brian De Palma remake last night with Carrie, news on another has reared its head. We learned around a year ago that Universal Pictures was reaching a few decades into the vault and bringing back Scarface for a new generation and they even hiring End of Watch director David Ayer to scribe. Now the studio is moving forward yet again on the remake, bringing in a new scribe.
According to Deadline, the studio has set Paul Attanasio, who makes a strong fit after scripting another Al Pacino crime drama with Donnie Brasco. Attanasio has since worked on films like The Good German and The Sum of All Fears, as well as serving as executive producer on House.
While no details have been unearthed regarding the Tony Montana character, this project, which isn’t a strict sequel or remake (we’ll see how that shakes out in the final product), will simply take “common elements” from both De Palma’s version, as well as the Howard Hawks 1932 version. The idea of a crime boss (violently) working his way up with overarching ambitious isn’t anything new, but even if it is sufficiently different, it’s no surprise Universal will want to slap the Scarface name on for recognition.
Do you think this writer is a good fit for Scarface? Do you want to see a new version?