Elizabeth Olsen Speaks On Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ Remake

With Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ pencilled in for a 2013 release, Elizabeth Olsen shed some light on the American remake of Park Chan-wook’s cult classic to the good folks over at Empire. “It’s going to be a different story, just because, one, it takes place in a non-descript city in America, and, two, it’s ten years later, so technology is different. It’s practicalities that have had to change. It’s not trying to redo the film – it’s coming at it from a different view. As well as focusing on the primary source of the Korean film, for our film there’s also the Japanese Manga, so we’re using the primary source of the illustrated novel, really. I like to compare it to Let Me In and Let The Right One In. “Those aren’t the exact same films, but they’re just a different take on the same story.”

At this moment in time, the remake of Park Chan-wook’s modern classic has the likes of Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley, Nate Parker and Samuel L. Jackson on board to star alongside Elizabeth Olsen. Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ follows Brolin’s character, Joe (Dae-su Oh in the original), a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned on his daughters birthday. For fifteen years he is held captive, and upon his release must begin his journey to find the reason for his imprisonment. He soon finds out that his kidnapper has plans for him more tortuous than his solitary confinement. Copley plays a mysterious billionaire out to destroy Joe’s life, while Olsen will play Marie, a caseworker who helps Joe investigate the past. Parker is reportedly in talks to play a doctor who works with Olsen, while Jackson is expected to take on a small but key role as the head of the motel where Brolin’s character has been held hostage. The original film, released in 2003, won the much coveted Grand Prize Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ‘Oldboy’ is based on Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi’s 90′s manga series.