Timothy Olyphant is Snake Plissken?
I know you are remaking Escape From New York next, as well as Blood of the Innocent. So who is Timothy Olyphant going to play? Jack the Ripper? Dracula? Or Snake Plissken?
Breck Eisner: (Laughs) All three if you ask me. I love working with Timothy Olyphant, and I will be working with him again. He is an amazing actor. A talented guy. And he's incredibly funny. He needs to do a great comedy, because he is a funny guy. But I will work with him again. I can promise you that.
Can you talk at all about this idea? That he might very well be our next Snake Plissken?
Breck Eisner: Creatively, he would be great for it. We have not yet discussed internally within the studio who will play Snake Plissken. There are many factors that go into those discussions. First and foremost, obviously, is the creative one. We can't make the movie unless we get the perfect Snake Plissken, and that's a tall order. There are very few guys that could do it. He would definitely be one of the guys who could. There is no question about that.
Well, I hope you do hire him. He's one of the reasons why I enjoyed The Crazies so much.
Breck Eisner: Well, thank you. He is a great actor and a pleasure to be around.
You've said in the past that you would have never attempted to redo a George A. Romero film if it were one of his more well-made, more cherish projects. And that Zack Snyder had a lot of balls to tackle Dawn of the Dead. But now, you are going after Escape From New York, which is one of both John Carpenter and Kurt Russell's seminal works. Do you hold George A. Romero in higher esteem than John Carpenter? Do you think Carpenter is a lesser director? Or do you truly believe that this material is in need of a face-lift?
Breck Eisner: I don't consider John Carpenter or George A. Romero to be better than one or the other. They are both different types of filmmakers. And I am a big fan of both of theirs. Its not my favorite, but one of my all-time favorite horror movies is The Thing. I hold them both in high esteem. They both made movies that are great, and some that are not so great. I wouldn't say that I am a big fan of John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.. Kurt Russell surfing? That just gets me every time. But certainly, there is a risk involved with remaking Escape from New York. I read the script, and it is really good. We are doing a polish on it. But I really like the script. I went back and rewatched it. I'd seen it as a kid countless times. When I was a kid, I loved that movie. The reality of Escape from New York today is that the social meaning of it is not true any more. The movie is a comment on urban decay. The suburban flight. All of that was coming out of the late 70s and early 80s. When the movie came out. That doesn't exist today. The thought for me is, "Is there any relevance today to make Escape from New York?" When we were developing it, when I was looking at it, and I was analyzing it, I realized that the world is a completely different place. New York has a completely different character now than it did back then. The idea of turning it into a prison is a completely different level of social commentary. I liked the idea of discovering this movie through a completely different set of eyes in a different decade. That gave me the confidence that there is a reason to make this movie. That, and there was a similar thing that I found with The Crazies. George A. Romero had made this incredibly low budget movie. Escape from New York wasn't a low budget movie for the time, but John Carpenter was working from this much bigger canvas. A lot of things, like the president's plane crashing into the building? It was quite telling that they had a simulation on an Atari video screen. There are a lot of places in that movie where its obvious that Carpenter wanted to do bigger and better, and cooler things. He couldn't, because he couldn't afford that. We can do that now. The other thing, I think, that is missing from the original Escape from New York is the identity and the recognizability of New York. The New York sets were all shot in St. Louis after a big fire rendered a bunch of warehouses uninhabitable. Aside from a few establishing, lower-end matte shots, that New York is not often there. It's just these random, obscure warehouses. My idea, which I am really excited about, is making sure every location is clearly identifiable as the real New York City. A repurposed New York City.
Southland Tales touches on some of these themes. Have you looked at that movie as far as what Richard Kelly did right, and what he did wrong?
Breck Eisner: No, I haven't actually watched that film since I started working on Escape from New York. That's a good idea. I will.
There's some great ideas in that movie. There are also some not so great ideas. It's a very strange tale.
Breck Eisner: That often happens when your ambition is bigger than your budget.
The idea of a sequel to the Crazies has been tossed around quite a bit, but you've never said that its something you'd truly enjoy doing. And you have quite a bit on your plate. Do you think that if a sequel does happen, it will be made by someone else? And do you have a seed of an idea about what the story will be, and who you would like to see do it?
Breck Eisner: I would love to pass this off to someone else. To see their interpretation of the movie. The way George A. Romero did with me, I would love to hand it off to the next guy. And see what he or she does. That would be kind of exciting. There have been no internal discussions about franchising this movie. The design of the film? The open ending of it has nothing to do with setting up a franchise. It's what felt right to me in ending this particular movie. I didn't want to tie it up in a big bow, I didn't want everyone to be okay. This movie is a cautionary tale. The ending is ambiguous. That is on purpose. The fact that I love 70s horror had a lot to do with it. 70s horror hardly ever ended happy. Those films ended kind of bleak. I couldn't help but be influenced by that.
The Crazies was released February 26th, 2010 and stars Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith, Brett Rickaby, Preston Bailey, John Aylward. The film is directed by Breck Eisner.
Escape from New York is in development . The film is directed by Breck Eisner.
Comments (36)
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Remy72883
@Shogun BlizZzardI just think in the opening credits when he has alot of stubble and just picturing him with a bandanna would be bad ass, but you right Jensen Ackles could do it as well, i just think tom has the build and everything, plus i wouldn't mind seeing him break some necks and shoot some people, you figure if he doesn't do something dramatic after smallville he is gonna be type cast and labeled im just hoping that doesn't happen, cause i really like him as a actor
3 years agoby @remy72883Flag
Cyn
@Shogun
Bah Humbug!!
3 years agoby @cyn-de-harvenFlag
Shogun BlizZzard
Nah, he doesn't have the look or voice for this role and if your going to have anybody from the cw it has to Jensen Ackles
3 years agoby @omegablizzzardFlag
Remy72883
for Metal Gear i meant
3 years agoby @remy72883Flag
Remy72883
call me nuts id want Tom Welling for the role
3 years agoby @remy72883Flag
Shogun BlizZzard
MGS is metal gear solid and in still routing for butler as snake olyphant is alright but no bad ass killer
3 years agoby @omegablizzzardFlag
Cyn
What the hell is MGS??
@Shogun - oh The Crazies is fun. I enjoyed it. I'm enjoying seeing Olyphant get bigger and bigger roles and leads.
3 years agoby @cyn-de-harvenFlag
Cyn
Wow. I know they were talking about Gerard Butler for the EfNY remake - but Olyphant would be an awesome Snake Plissken! He's got that same kind of laid-back, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, I-know- some-really-filthy-jokes charm to him. lol
3 years agoby @cyn-de-harvenFlag
Shogun BlizZzard
Gerard Butler is a better bad ass, and fits the character better, not knocking Olyphant, hes a good actor but not for something like this, I turned off Hitman after 15 mins, but thats not his fault thats the writer and director fault, but his walk bothers me it not intimidating, he wasn't Brittish and the he didn't do anything from the game nor was it rated R and plus if they're going to do a adaptation of this movie they should have Kurt Russell as The Duke, like Sleuth, of some part in this movie, I have to see The Crazies before I consider if this movie will be good, and comment on a lower comment Snake in MGS is based off of Snake Pilssken KaoNoshi, but no other character, thats why both of there names are Jack and have an eye patch,
3 years agoby @omegablizzzardFlag
MovieRuler
I think Butler is such a better profile for this role. I love Olyphant but not for Escape. He would be kick ass at another character in the film though.
3 years agoby @movierulerFlag
SamFisher
Tim is a good actor and i think that a role this big could help him take a big step bump up his skills a lot. he is one of the few good actors out there that need a big break to make make them great. Butler would be good as well.
3 years agoby @samfisherFlag
SamFisher
@KaoNoshi your a fu*#ing retard. go learn about movies before you post something. not all the characters that are named Snake come from Metal Gear Solid you ignorant bastard.
3 years agoby @samfisherFlag
Remy72883
I totally agree on that, and Josh i do think their confusing the franchise i think their assuming because of the name Snake their thinking metal gear. I just want to know when that movie is gonna be made, Along with a Fable and Zelda flick, with the way visual tech is now i dont see how they cant make those fantasy based games and make them right, but knowing are luck someone will come along and mess it up and it will need a reboot within 3 years of it being made, Hollywood sucks right now in my opinion
3 years agoby @remy72883Flag
Vito86
I wouldnt mind seeing Tim as Snake, although this whole cowboy hat look is getting a little old, That look should have died along with DeadWood... anyone else agree or is it just me?
3 years agoby @vito86Flag
Remy72883
i want a Metal Gear movie made god damn it
3 years agoby @remy72883Flag
Josh
lol. MGS? Someone's confusing his franchises.
3 years agoby @joshua-bertramFlag
Imsnakeplissken
Watch the new Snake Plissken on youtube.com
Escape from New Jersey people!!! Watch it!!
3 years agoby @imsnakeplisskenFlag
Diaigma
A remake of this would be interesting . . . maybe . . . :P
3 years agoby @diaigmaFlag
Imsnakeplissken
Escape from New Jersey is on youtube.com go check this out. it takes place a few hours after Snake Escapes from new York. 4 part series, part 2 is in the works. Hector De La Rosa stars as Snake Plissken.
3 years agoby @imsnakeplisskenFlag
gothamknight
lol kaonoshi, this aint metal gear solid....but damn plissken does look like snake from mgs
3 years agoby @gothamknightFlag
Ryan Moran
hes the perfect person
3 years agoby @nightwing18Flag
Imsnakeplissken
See snake Plissken here! Go to You Tube dot com. Type in Escape from New Jersey!! Go!!
3 years agoby @imsnakeplisskenFlag
Vanboy
Yeah Todd, I agree. What happened with Butler?. I guess that fell through. He would have been good.
3 years agoby @vanboyFlag
Mutant
I've seen a few films with Tim in them, I would prefer someone else to take on Snake like Gerard Butler
3 years agoby @zenderFlag
KaoNoshi
Pick someone else, I don't want MGS turning into another Hitman fiasco.
3 years agoby @kaonoshiFlag
ed_wood
It could work with him, I just don't want it remade.
3 years agoby @ed-woodFlag
Shervg
One of the best films ever made!!
3 years agoby @shervgFlag
CelluloidDreams
I do like Timothy Olyphant ...Nice on the eyes ...but damn Hollywood stop with the crappy ass Remakes!!!
3 years agoby @2movieguysFlag
Cripple
I would be up for him.
3 years agoby @crippleFlag
Jimthar
wasnt gerard butler originally the one they wanted when they first started talking about a remake a few years ago?? i remember seeing a photoshopped pic of him with the eye patch and all (like the above t.o. pic) so what happened with that??
i honestly think that butler would be a better pick for this movie. now i love olyphants work. i've been a fan of his since i first saw scream 2, and enjoy almost all of his films but i just dont think he is right for this part. butler on the other hand is bigger and stronger and has that badassedness that the character requires. he LOOKS like he could be plissken.
but hey, thats just my opinion. i'll go see this movie either way.
3 years agoby @jimtharFlag