Kurt Sutter to Remake Bruce Lee's 'Enter the Dragon'
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sports, Warner Independent Pictures, Remakes and Sequels
This is how you remake a film: update it; change the name; make it just unrecognizable enough to not ruin the original while still retaining the basic storyline. The formula worked in the golden age of Hollywood -- yes there were plenty of remakes then, too -- and it could work for Warner Independent Pictures, the studio behind a planned redo of Enter the Dragon. The new version will be modernized, retitled Awaken the Dragon and it will barely appear to be connected with the Kung Fu classic starring Bruce Lee. Like Enter, Awaken will deal with underground fighting clubs, but other than featuring martial arts it seems totally different -- in an appreciably fresh way. Rather than focusing on an undercover fighter, Awake will follow an FBI agent on the trail of a rogue Shaolin monk. It's now basically a noir film set in the world of Kung Fu. Maybe they should extend the title to Awaken the Dragon from the Big Sleep.To write and direct the semi-remake, WIP has hired Kurt Sutter, who claims to be a huge film noir fan. So far we haven't seen any feature work from the guy, but fans of TV's The Shield may be fans of his work. He's a co-executive producer of the show and he's written plenty of episodes, directed one as well. He also has another TV project coming soon to the FX channel, a dramatic series about outlaw motorcycle clubs. As far as feature scripts, he's worked on The Punisher 2 (or whatever it's called, since it isn't a sequel), a thriller for Warner Bros. called The Unforgettable and Inland Saints, which is being directed by Joel Schumacher. Awaken the Dragon will be Sutter's feature directorial debut, and he says he's going to make it "more Raging Bull than Crouching Tiger [Hidden Dragon]" -- at least in terms of the "viciousness" of its fight sequences. Instead of casting a known martial arts star for the role of the rogue monk, Sutter will be looking to discover someone new. The FBI agent, however, will be played by an American star.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-13-2009 @ 5:28AM
swanny said...
let a classic!!! stay a classic, alright it may have been in the 70s, special effects a 0!! straight from the master himself, cannot be surpassed.no remake could do this justice, just leave it alone. find something else to do! im sure there is plenty.but not this 1.
Reply
8-10-2007 @ 4:17PM
Jonathan Lapper said...
Well if he's looking for someone new I personally don't know any martial arts but at least three or four times a day I definitely feel like a rogue monk. Five times on weekends. Like just now I was gonna meditate but I didn't. Know why? 'Cause I'm a totally rogue monk, that's why. Rogue monks don't follow the rules.
But if I'm not available there's always Brian Dennehy. Think about it. Casting against type. No one would see it coming. Keep thinking... little bit longer... okay, stop.
Jonathan
http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com
Reply
8-10-2007 @ 4:36PM
Christmas Jones said...
I just recently saw this movie and I don't understand all the hype about it. I thought it was kinda boreing and not much of a plot and the acting was terrible. If they actually have a script that might help alot because Enter the Dragon seems like there was none. The martial arts was not that great either. Maybe Jonathan can help them with thier scritp he's funny.
Reply
8-10-2007 @ 6:15PM
tikirob said...
At the time it was quite the movie. Taste change over time and this movie could benefit from a re-make but they better make sure they respect the original.
Rob
http://www.movie-cat.com
Reply
8-12-2007 @ 6:12PM
Scot said...
Re: Christmas Jones comments
Are you mad? Enter The Dragon kinda boring?
Probably contains the greatest, non special effects fight scenes ever. And theres a good few of them int he film. Ace film with a kick ass soundtrack.
Any remake will be not better the original.
Reply
8-17-2007 @ 3:14PM
Mrs. Holmes said...
Whatever they do...please don't put Beyonce' in it. No hateration...just tired of her. Anyway, they have to remain true to the original characters and personally I don't know who can play Bruce's part, but Jim Kelly's part could be nicely played by Duane Martin and I can't quite figure out who can play the white guy's part. I forgot the white dude's name, but he was/is a handsome man just like Jim Kelly.
Reply