The Oldboy Remake Might Be Losing Steam
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels, Cinematical Indie
When it comes to US remakes of foreign films, there probably isn't much that hasn't already been said -- I imagine, "It wasn't as good as the original" will always remain at the top of the list. But, the grumblings of world cinema fans has never stopped Hollywood from taking a foreign property and molding it in its own image.Oldboy was a hit on the festival circuit and won the Grand Prix in Cannes in 2004. Supposedly, it made such an impression on Quentin Tarantino that he lobbied (unsuccessfully) for Oldboy to receive the Palme d'Or over Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Justin Lin, director of Better Luck Tomorrow, had been attached to direct the US remake of the South Korean film -- however, Bloody Disgusting reports that, not only is Lin no longer on board, but the film might not happen at all. According to the site, Lin "has a lot of other projects in the works and that the only way he'd make it is if everything 'gelled' together right. He loves the original film and wouldn't want to disrespect it". The film follows a man wrongfully imprisoned who seeks revenge for the lost time. There is way more to the story than that, but it's a complicated and twisted film ... so if you haven't seen it, it's worth taking a look. And don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to catch up since it looks like it could be a while before Hollywood gets their hands on this one.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-25-2007 @ 7:52PM
Peter said...
Good.
Now get Roy Lee off the project. And The Host. And every other potential Asian franchise.
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1-26-2007 @ 11:35AM
robert said...
how about instead of remaking good foreign into mediocre domestic films they just give the original a theatric release in more than five theaters and let it play for more than a week?
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1-26-2007 @ 11:52AM
Nova said...
It is a shame American audiences will never accept a movie with subtitles. Old Boy, and for that matter the while trilogy, are great movies and should be seen in their original form. Also, I don't see Hollywood allowing all of the severely twisted portions of this movie to remain in a remake. The brutality of the movie is part of it's beauty.
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