Sharlto Copley offered the villain role in Oldboy
We reported in December that Clive Owen was offered the role after Colin Firth passed. Now the District 9 star will likely play the mysterious billionaire who releases the protagonist (Josh Brolin) from captivity after 15 years. Elizabeth Olsen is also attached to star as a case worker who helps Josh Brolin's character investigate his past.
Spike Lee is directing Oldboy from a screenplay by Mark Protosevich, who is producing alongside Roy Lee and Mandate Pictures president Nathan Kahane. It isn't known when production will begin on the remake.
Oldboy comes to theaters October 11th, 2013 and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Lance Reddick, Michael Imperioli, James Ransone, Richard Portnow. The film is directed by Spike Lee.
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ejk1
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx Well, it's difficult to say. In Oldboy's case, it's perfectly fine. For one, many people don't enjoy foreign films because of subtitles or dubbing, so a remake is necessary to serve citizens of a country that don't know the foreign language a (hopefully) quality film. I say this because it isn't just an American happenstance--Kurosawa's Throne Of Blood is a Japanese retelling of Macbeth.
Also, this can only help the original Oldboy gain fans. At best Oldboy's standing in the US is cult fave at best. If the remake is good, it could make people go and find the original so they can compare and see which is better. If the remake is bad, it may drive people to find the original in the hopes of seeing why a remake was made in the first place. Either way the original film gets great pub.
Now I don't know if this remake will be any good. It may be terrible, which may make people say that it should not have been made. But that's not necessarily correct. The attempt should not be confused with the execution. The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, is the third attempt at the same film. There was no reason before the completion of that film to say it would be better than its predecessors, yet there it is in all its top fifty American films of all time glory. And why? Because the right people were put in the right places. Sometimes this happens, sometimes not. In Oldboy's case we think we know because of who's involved, but we won't know for sure that this particular remake will be bad until it's released.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag
m2
I don't have a problem with this at all.
1 year agoby @m2Flag
Err
yay?
i still wish clive owen took the job but whatever i like copely.
1 year agoby @err2005Flag
Cripple
@jayaottley, very glad to hear that about Bale and Firth. My respect for them continues to rise. As for Lee, yeah, I hate his rants. They ruin his image and my respect for him as a person. But what I'm saying is let's hope the best parts of his directing and personality come together for this. Because he does have some great films to his credit.
1 year agoby @crippleFlag
Jay.A.Ottley
@cripple As well Lee to me despite he is a take no sh*t director, in my opinion he has gone slightly down hill and that may have been due to his racist remarks phase against Eastwood & Tarantino
1 year agoby @jayaottleyFlag
Jay.A.Ottley
@cripple Well Colin Firth and Christian Bale stated that they refused to look at the script apparently stating that Oldboy is one of the finest pieces of world cinema and can never be remade.
I admire them for this
1 year agoby @jayaottleyFlag
Nicholaus XX
@cripple -- Agreed.
@ejk1 -- True, but we can't say how good or bad it is until we watch it. And if it is a good as they say, then it "shouldn't" be made, because you cannot perfect what is already(realistically) perfected. Correct?
1 year agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
ejk1
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx I agree with your last sentence. I don't see this project being good as constructed. But let's leave the blanket statements like, "Oldboy should not be remade." That's unrealistic, and just doesn't vibe right. While I haven't seen Oldboy, I doubt it's the Holy Grail. It, like any film, can be duplicated, for better, same, or worse. Seven Samurai became Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo became A Fistful of Dollars, which then became Last Man Standing. I could go on, but you get the idea.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag
Cripple
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx, @ejk1, @jayaottley I agree, an American remake can be even better than the original with the right cast and crew. My main problem is that Protosevich wrote this script, I mean I like I am Legend, but I don't think the writer of that should be anywhere near this. Plus the fact that 3 actors have passed up on the villain role and 2 others on Olsen's role does not bode well. I get the feeling that with all them passing on it, that there have got to be problems with the script.
And as for Lee, I'm not too big on him. We do have to remember though that when he hits the target, he HITS the target. And he is a take-no-sh*t director, which is something this project will need. All we can do is hope for the best, and when it sucks, at least we were able to see it coming.
1 year agoby @crippleFlag
Nicholaus XX
@ejk1 -- Yeah, I mean, I'm not completely against Hollywood turning foreign movies into American remakes, especially if they get the right directors(I heard the American remake for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" was really good/great, and "Let Me In" winded up being a good movie).
But, in this case, I don't think the cast and director will sum up a positive result.
1 year agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
ejk1
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx@cripple@jayaottley If Hollywood sees fit to remake Kurosawa films, and do it successfully, then there isn't much reason to think they wouldn't do this, nor pull it off. The main problem, as Ottley said, is Lee. He will probably screw this up.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag
Nicholaus XX
@jayaottley@cripple -- Would I sound like a dickwad if I said I didn't see the original, lol? I just heard nothing but great things about it and I see no need for it.
1 year agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
Jay.A.Ottley
@cripple@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx
Agreed.... The film and the manga are both amazing and I'm sorry Americans can't pull something like this off, especially someone like Spike Lee
1 year agoby @jayaottleyFlag
Cripple
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx, I totally agree, Oldboy should never be remade. But as far as bad news goes, the news we've gotten on this remake is good news.
1 year agoby @crippleFlag
Nicholaus XX
As much as I love Sharlto Copley, this remake shouldn't even be made, and for that reason alone, I give this a thumbs-down.
1 year agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
Cripple
Holy hell yes.
1 year agoby @crippleFlag
ejk1
Good choice.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag