Oldboy

[GeneChing]

I found this on some peripheral research on Smith's Karate Kid remake.

Spielberg, Smith in talks for 'Oldboy'
Pair may kidnap remake of Korean drama
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park's "Oldboy." DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights, and the new pic will be distributed by Universal.

In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he's released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.

Spielberg had been looking for an opportunity to make a film with Smith, who would play the kidnapped man if all the pieces fall into place. Spielberg is looking for a writer to begin the development process.

The film was originally set at U and then found its way to Mandate.

Spielberg is next expected to direct "Tintin."

[GeneChing]

I don't think he has the chops for that amazing hammer fight scene. Who is going to play the girl? I'd watch it just to see Smith eat octopus...

Will Smith and scribe reunite for Asian remake
By Jay A. Fernandez and Steven Zeitchik Jay A. Fernandez And Steven Zeitchik – Wed Nov 19, 4:52 am ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Nothing brings people together like $584 million in worldwide revenue.

In a potential high-profile star-writer reunion, "I Am Legend" co-scribe Mark Protosevich is in early talks to pen the remake of "Old Boy," which "Legend" star Will Smith is developing with director Steven Spielberg.

DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights to the 2003 Korean film about a man's mysterious kidnapping, 15-year imprisonment and feverish quest for revenge upon being released.

A slew of Asian remakes have found their way into American theaters and onto development slates in the past few years. Screenwriter William Monahan won the best adapted screenplay Oscar in 2007 for translating the Hong Kong thriller "Infernal Affairs" into the best picture winner "The Departed."

Protosevich also has written "Poseidon" and "The Cell," and he worked on "Thor" for Marvel Studios.

[doug maverick]

we're usually eye to eye on these things. but i think will smith will do an amazing job on this film, i mean after seeing films like persuit of happiness, ali, and his most recent 7 pounds(at a private screening) i would say not only does he have the chops for this but i predict that he will get the oscar he has been chasing after. i mean steven speilberg directing smith starring, you know its gonna be a mega block buster, but i think the film is gonna also be critically aclaimed. this film has the greatest twist i've seen in any film that has come out in the last 50 years hands down, and the vast majority has not seen it and will be shocked as **** when they do. can't wait, i love remakes when the greats direct them. like marty when he did the departed that **** i loved, still one of my favorite films.

[banditshaw]

this film has the greatest twist i've seen in any film that has come out in the last 50 years hands down, and the vast majority has not seen it and will be shocked as **** when they do. can't wait, i love remakes when the greats direct them. like marty when he did the departed that **** i loved, still one of my favorite films.

Who says they won't change that twist....I think they will to be honest. If they don't great.
I personally think this film doesn't need to be remade.

[doug maverick]

they wont cause thats what makes the movie thats what the whole thing is about.

[Jimbo]

When I first saw this movie years ago, I thought the twist at the end was really ballsy and unexpected, but it didn't freak me out. However, Oldboy is a real masterpiece in execution. I suppose the only thing to do is wait and see, but I can't imagine a remake being as good. In fact, I would be shocked if Will Smith played a character who suffers the plot twist that Oh Dae-Su did at the end. This would seem to be almost off-limits in a major American movie, esp. one starring Will Smith. I can imagine the plot twist being softened or changed entirely in an American remake.

[GeneChing]

Samuel Jackson, Bruce Hornsby join Spike Lee's 'Old Boy' remake
By Steven Zeitchik
August 17, 2012, 10:35 p.m.
Williamsburg, Virginia—

EXCLUSIVE: The English-language remake of Chan-wook Park's cult favorite "Oldboy"already had some big-time names, what with Spike Lee directing and Josh Brolin in the lead role.

Now the revenge drama is getting two more notables: Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Hornsby.

Jackson has come on board for a small but critical part in the new film, according to a person close to the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene.

Fans of the original will remember the scene as perhaps the most visceral and disturbing of the film. Protagonist Dae-su Oh exacts vengeance on a man who once guarded him by extracting his teeth one-by-one with the claw end of a hammer.

The new film, which begins shooting this fall in Louisiana and New York, won’t go with the tooth removal, instead inflicting a different kind of torture (we won’t spoil it here, but it’s plenty painful).

Jackson and Lee recently appeared together at the BET Awards in this spoof that quickly went viral. The actor of course also recently starred as Nick Fury in ""The Avengers" and will soon be seen in a movie about as anticipated as "Oldboy"--Quentin Tarantino"s"Django Unchained."

In a separate development, Hornsby has joined the new ”Oldboy” as the film's composer. The piano virtuoso has a longstanding relationship with Lee; among other things, he composed the score for Lee’s basketball documentary "Kobe Doin' Work" and the auteur's new"Red Hook Summer,"giving the spiritually themed coming-of-age story a melancholy and wistful spin.

In an interview in his hometown of Williamsburg, Va., this week, Hornsby (more on him and his eclectic career shortly) told The Times that the musical ideas for "Oldboy" are beginning to percolate. "I'm working on a few things and I'll send them to Spike soon," he said. "The 'D' word has been spoken to me by him," the musician added, referring to a dark tone. "But I think the score will also run the gamut."

I remember Hornsby well from when he played with the Dead after Brent died.

[GeneChing]

James Ransone Replaces Nate Parker in Oldboy
Source: Variety
October 16, 2012

James Ransone is set to replace the formerly attached Nate Parker in the Spike Lee-directed remake of Oldboy, Variety reports. Scheduling conflicts are cited as the reason for the swap.

Ransone, who previously worked with Lee on Inside Man and who just starred in Sinister, would reportedly play a doctor that works with Elizabeth Olsen's character.

Josh Brolin stars as the lead character Joe (Dae-su Oh in the original) who is captured and imprisoned in a hotel room for over two decades (15 years in the original) with no understanding as to why. When he is suddenly released, he's told that he has just four days to determine the reason for his imprisonment.

Sharlto Copley will co-star as the antagonist and Samuel L. Jackson is expected to make a cameo appearance in the film.

The film will be based on the manga series by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi.

Jackson is only making a cameo? Mutha ****er!

[doug maverick]

Jackson is only making a cameo? Mutha ****er!

yea jackson will be playing the role of "the warden" if you guys remember from the original thats the guy who got his teeth pulled out with a hammer.