Posts tagged remake
Jason Statham To Star In Brian De Palma’s Remake Of ‘Heat’
Feb 8th
Sierra/Affinity has announced today that Jason Statham is set to star in Brian De Palma’s (The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, Scarface) remake of the 1987 action flick ‘Heat.’ The script for the film is adapted by two-time Oscar winner William Goldman (All The Presidents Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Goldman also wrote the original screenplay of the 1987 version of the film which starred Burt Reynolds. Both the modern take as well as the film from the 80’s are based on Goldman’s novel of the same title. Steven Chasman will produce alongside Statham. ’Heat’ will commence principal photography in France in late 2012 or early 2013.
Described as a “tightly-wound, fun action-thriller,” ‘Heat’ tells the story of a tough recovering gambling addict (Statham) who makes his living providing protection in the rough edges of the gambling world. Statham’s character refuses to resort to gunplay, strictly using hand and edged weapon combat. When a dear friend is brutally beaten by a high-rolling mobster, he helps her get her revenge and he ends up in more trouble than he ever imagined.
Len Wiseman Speaks On ‘Total Recall’ – Reveals He’s Handing In His Directors Cut Over The Weekend
Jan 21st
On the promotional campaign for ‘Underworld: Awakening,’ Len Wiseman opened up to Comingsoon about his upcoming action thriller ‘Total Recall.’ The filmmaker revealed that he’s turning in his director’s cut this Sunday;“I’m very close to handing over my cut. It’s going really well. The combination of mystery and emotion and action, it’s coming together. Colin [Farrell] is a large part of that and I’m really happy with him.”
Wiseman also shed some light on what he found the most surprising and challenging aspects of the material: “I think the complexity of the dual stories was the most surprising and challenging thing. When you see Total Recall, the [Paul] Verhoeven film you experience it, it’s finished. When you’re involved in diving into the material again and going back into the Philip K. Dick story, you realize there is so much to be discussed about the dual stories. There’s the reality story and there’s the fantasy element. They’re running parallel together, so you always have to keep those two alive. That’s the inherent nature of the concept and what makes the concept so cool. I will say, at the same time, this made all of the conversation I had with my cast fun. “Every little detail has to apply to both scenarios. My actors would ask, ‘So, in this scene, am I – because I know that I’m lying, because I’m the double agent – how well do I act? It sounds like a silly question, but do you want the other character to see through that or am I so good as a double agent that you would never suspect I’m the best buddy or the wife.’ It’s all of those little things. So, that’s my long way of saying the dual nature of the story was the best thing about this.”
Official Synopsis For ‘Total Recall’ – Starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale & Bryan Cranston
Jan 16th
Sony Pictures has made available this first official synopsis for Len Wiseman’s upcoming action thriller ‘Total Recall.’ Starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Ethan Hawke, the film is based on the Philip K. Dick story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” The original ‘Total Recall’ followed a man (Arnold Schwarzenegger) haunted by a recurring dream of journeying to Mars who buys a literal dream vacation from a company called Rekall Inc., which sells implanted memories. The man comes to believe he is a secret agent and ends up on a Martian colony, where he fights to overthrow a despotic ruler controlling the production of air. The new story ditches the Martian storyline and instead involves nation states Euromerica and New Shanghai, with Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) a factory worker in the latter who begins to believe he is a spy, although he doesn’t know for which side. Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) is the leader of Euromerica who, under the cover of protecting his people, is secretly readying an invasion of New Shanghai. Jessica Biel plays Melina, while Kate Beckinsale plays Lori. ‘Total Recall’ is scheduled for release August 3rd. Check out the new synopsis below:
“Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.”
Behind-The-Scenes Featurette For ‘Contraband’ – Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale & Giovanni Ribisi
Jan 12th
Universal Pictures has let out the hatch this new “inside look” featurette for Baltasar Kormákur’s upcoming crime thriller ‘Contraband’ – the American remake of the Icelandic film ‘Reykjavik-Rotterdam.’ The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Haas, and Ben Foster. Look out for ‘Contraband’ in cinemas January 13th in US, and March 16th in the UK. You can check out my interview with Mark Wahlberg for the film here.
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of ‘Contraband’, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling — full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs — where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best — running contraband — to settle Andy’s debt.
Production On Spike Lee’s Josh Brolin-Starring ‘Oldboy’ Remake Delayed Until Late Summer/Early Fall
Jan 6th
Variety’s Jeff Sneider is reporting that production on Spike Lee’s remake of Chan-wook Park’s classic South Korean film ‘Oldboy’ has been halted until late summer/early fall, due to Josh Brolin’s press commitments for ‘Men in Black 3.’ Sneider also reveals that Clive Owen is now unlikely to take on the role of the villain in the film – which had previously been linked to Christian Bale and Colin Firth. ‘Oldboy’ tells the story of a 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. The original film, released in 2003, won the much coveted Grand Prize Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
I’m a big fan of both Josh Brolin and Spike Lee, I still don’t quite grasp remaking such a unique and flawless film though if I’m honest. I am however giving this film the benefit of the doubt as Spike Lee is such a talented and original film-maker himself, without doubt one of my favourite directors working today. The combination of Spike Lee and Josh Brolin is certainly a FAR better fit to the material than Will Smith and Steven Spielberg – who had previously been linked to the project. Expect more details soon.
Mark Wahlberg Interview For ‘Contraband’
Dec 28th
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of ‘Contraband’, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling — full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs — where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Alongside Mark Wahlberg, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Haas, and Ben Foster. ‘Contraband’ is released in cinemas January 13th in US, and March 16th in the UK.
What was it like having Baltasar Kormákur on board as director? Seeing as he played your role and produced the original Icelandic film?
Mark Wahlberg: At first I was concerned that he might refer to the way he played things, but he really wanted me to do my own thing. He was great, he‘s really smart. There was no bells and whistles. I don’t think he’s ever made a movie with the tenth of the budget that we have of on ‘Contraband.’ But he still has the same approach, he’s not off in a trailer, he’s on the set the whole time jumping around and running, showing me how to climb things. I really like his style, he’s covering all of the bases, he’s really smart about all the performances. With him you can try different things, which makes the performances a lot more layered. He obviously starred-in and produced the original, so he knows the story inside and out.