Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy doesn't hit theaters until October, and that just seems way too long to wait. I'm genuinely excited to see what Lee does with the material and am envisioning a revenge (and blood)-soaked 25th Hour. The good news is that FilmDistrict has finally dropped a tiny morsel from the upcoming film. The bad news: it's chicken scratch. more »
Also in Friday's Biz Break: indie horror maven Ti West goes "mainstream," Daniel Craig signs for more Bonds, and Spike Lee's Oldboy is snapped up by FilmDistrict for U.S. release.
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With his Sundance conversation-starter Red Hook Summer set for an August theatrical/VOD release, Spike Lee sat down with GQ and gave a rundown of which projects are happening for him, and which are not. Among the Spike Lee joints lost by the wayside due to funding struggles, etc.: His Jackie Robinson biopic, LA riots film, and Wesley Snipes-as-James Brown flick. Surprisingly, Lee admits he's still awaiting the green light on Oldboy — but in the meantime Lee's plotting to direct Mike Tyson on Broadway and has already interviewed the likes of Justin Bieber for a Michael Jackson doc celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bad, so there's that... [GQ]
While talking up this month’s Men in Black III – in which he does an uncanny Tommy Lee Jones impersonation playing Jones’ ‘60s-era younger self – Josh Brolin took a moment to discuss the upcoming project that makes him nervous just to think about: Spike Lee’s Oldboy, the remake of Park Chan-wook’s ultraviolent 2003 film, for which Brolin says he sought Park’s blessing before taking on the Hollywood remake.
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All the fuss over Spike Lee's Oldboy remake star search can finally be put to rest, it seems — though who could have predicted that South African actor Sharlto Copley would've landed the plum co-starring lead opposite Josh Brolin? According to Deadline, the District 9 star, most recently seen bursting out of the woodwork every now and then as the manic "Howling Mad" Murdock in 2010's The A-Team, has nabbed the key role of Adrian Pryce, Oldboy's villain and "a mysterious billionaire trying to destroy the life of Joe Douchett (Brolin)." Bold move, Spike. But does Copley fit the bill (and, more importantly: Can he hold his own against Brolin)? [Deadline]
Oldboy producer Roy Lee recently spilled some vague details on Spike Lee's Josh Brolin-starring remake, promising a "darker" retelling of Park Chan-wook's Korean thriller also adapted from the original manga. "It's very similar, but we've added new elements. Or, Mark Protosevich has come up with new elements to it that will throw off the audience who have seen the original movie because there are new characters and new situations that present themselves in a way that changes the story but eventually go in the same direction." Sure, Spike. Let me just go get my hammer... [Collider via Slashfilm]
Looks like Spike Lee got his rumored dream star for the Oldboy film he's helming: Deadline reports that Josh Brolin will lead the English-language remake of Park Chan-wook's 2003 thriller about a man held prisoner for 15 years who sets out for revenge upon release. With Brolin onboard, will Christian Bale sign on next as his mysterious foil? (And how faithful will Lee's remake be to the brutality of the original?)
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According to Variety, Christian Bale's got a big decision coming up once he completes filming on Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises: What to do next? With no fewer than five juicy options to pick from -- each with a notable director and vastly different material -- Bale might need a little help choosing. So let's help him out!
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When Harmony Korine's short film Umshini Wam screened alongside the latest from Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Thirst) at SXSW, both efforts had an unproven element to unveil. For Korine, the wild cards were his stars, the South African hip-hop act Die Antwoord. But for Park, it was something even more groundbreaking: he filmed the mystical, spiritual ghost story Night Fishing entirely using the iPhone 4.
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Now this is the way to get hooked into Kim Ji-woon's brutal cat-and-mouse serial killer thriller I Saw the Devil: By ratcheting up the tension, the dueling nemeses, the copious blood spatter, and the kind of insane, ultra-violent vengeance that Korean cinema has rained down upon the world in recent years. Because nothing says "I must avenge my dead beloved" like hunting down her killer and becoming a face-bashing, foot-stabbing serial killer-killer yourself.
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