As Alex mentioned last week, there was a rumor going around that Spike Lee was in line to direct an English-language remake of Oldboy, the highly-regarded and brain-shattering Korean thriller by Chan-wook Park. And, for once, a Hollywood rumor has actually panned out, as Mandate Pictures today confirmed that Lee will indeed be the director of the film.
The remake of Park Chan-wook's beloved revenge thriller, which has been in various stages of development since at least 2008, finally signed Lee, who, coincidentally, actually hasn't directed a film since 2008 (the critically-panned box office bomb Miracle at St. Anna).
The remake script was written by The Cell and I Am Legend screenwriter Mark Protosevich, and is being produced by Roy Lee, otherwise known as the guy who went out and bought the remake rights to every single Japanese and Korean horror movie that's been remade in America (including The Ring, The Grudge, and Shutter), executive producer of The Departed (itself a remake of the Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs), and finally that Battle Royale remake that was apparently totally going to happen until the Virginia Tech campus shooting made that seem rather uncouth at the time. Now Hunger Games seems poised to scratch that competitive child murdering itch anyway, so we're probably better off.
Honestly? If someone has to remake the movie, and given that we're talking about Hollywood, someone must indeed, I could think of a lot worse directors to tackle the material than Lee. I'm curious what kind of personal touches he'll put on the material besides merely setting it in New York, or if any of the material will wind up being toned down for American audiences. There's no reason not to watch Oldboy if you haven't already; it's on Streaming, and is a fine way to ruin a good date night. I have a feeling Lee's version will be fine, so far as remakes go, but still - it'll have a hard time topping the original. The longer you wait, the more likely you'll have the ending spoiled for you, to boot.
Saying that I am displeased with this decision would probable be the most understated, sarcastic phrase I have ever uttered.
I totally agree that considering most Hollywood directors, I think Spike Lee is a brave choice and sounds better than most. And also, the Streaming version of Oldboy is dubbed and therefore unwatchable. I love the movie, but Netflix needs to stop putting dubbed movies up. Anyone who likes or even doesn't mind dubs is crazy, because the actor's performance is no longer relevant and then what's the point?
I think this is a very interesting choice. I just hope they cast the right person for the lead role; that is the real killer question now.
I could see Ray Liotta as a good fit, even if he is a bit old.
Incongruous insertion of slavery themes in 3... 2... 1...
I am glad that there will be a remake of this amazing film, but I don't know that it needs one.
I guess all I can really be happy for is Chan-Wook's wallet. I hope he is seeing a very nice pay day from this.
I'm flabbergasted.
Spike Lee has a habit of putting moral messages in every single one of his movies. Oldboy's entire premise relies on moral ambiguity, a complete grey area, this is the exact opposite of every Spike Lee film ever made.
If i had my pick of who would direct a remake of Oldboy... I don't really know. Immediately I would go with Vicenzo Natali, the director of Cube and Splice as someone who could handle the material correctly and not sugar-coat the rougher parts of the film. We'll see how this all pans out in the end.
I'm curious how they'll handle OldBoy. I'm not sure if they will make it as dark as the Korean film. Perhaps they'll make it more like the manga. I'll just be happy as long as they don't cast Mark Wahlberg or someone of his ilk to play the lead.
I think he'll do a very good job. I love almost all of his movies.
Inside Man was a good flick and strayed away from Spike's usual tastes.
So, I think he'll take Oldboy and run with it. Just hope the cast is great as well!!
Inside Man and 25th Hour were both fucking great so I'd like to see Spike do more thriller type movies. Remakes are just a fact of life in the movie industry now, no point complaining about them especially as I'm curious to see how it will turn out.
I don't believe this movie really warrants a remake, its what from 2005? Not to mention I feel like a lot of the idiosyncratic charm will be lost.
Yet, if they're going to do an American remake of the Girl who played with Fire nothing will stop them from Remaking Old Boy.
Fuck it. If he casts Ed Norton in the lead I'm sold.
meh...the original is amazing and I have no intrest in a re-make. As a matter of fact I'll just ignore this and pretend it isn't being made!
I don't see how this has any chance of making money. Oldboy has had AMAZING word of mouth and has been on Netflix forever. My guess is the audience for the remake has probably already seen the original and if not it's not hard to find a copy. While it's absolutely worth watching more than once if you're interested in film, I don't think that a remake has the same appeal.