John Woo Producing 3D Remake of ‘The Killer’

The idea of remakes generally seems to irritate most serious movie fans. Remakes of older, classic films are (usually) annoying enough, but perhaps the worst remake sin Hollywood can commit is to remake a well-respected foreign language film in English.

However, if there’s money to be made then Hollywood will make (or remake) pretty much anything. Such is the case with the long-gestating remake of John Woo’s 1989 classic action flick, The Killer, originally starring Chow Yun Fat. An English language remake of The Killer has been in the cards for years, but after several unsuccessful attempts to remake it in English it looks like things are finally moving forward.

The news comes from an official press release (via Deadline): Essential Entertainment has joined forces with Woo’s own Lion Rock Productions to bring the Hollywood remake of The Killer to fruition… in 3D no less (did you actually expect it NOT to be in 3D at this point?).

The remake will be directed by John H. Lee (A Moment To Remember) from a script written by Josh Campbell (assistant editor on Blade II and Van Helsing). The film already has its lead, who will step into Chown Yun Fat’s intimidating shoes: Korean actor Jung Woo-sung, star of The Good, The Bad, The Weird (he played “The Good”).

Jung Woo-sung in 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird'

What may make this remake easier to swallow is the fact that Woo himself will be heavily involved as a full producer (read: not just attaching his name as exec producer to draw attention). In fact, Woo has been the greatest champion of a remake over the years as the original remains one of the favorite films he’s ever made.

Said Woo:

“While all my films are special to me, The Killer is truly one of my favorites. We are thrilled to reinvent it as an English-language film and know it’s in capable hands by the incredible visual style and tender emotion John H. Lee brings to all his films.”

On the chance that you’re unfamiliar with Woo’s original Killer, the film is about an elite assassin who accidentally blinds a young woman whilst on a job (in one of Woo’s many, many shootout sequences). He then takes on one last job in order to pay for the woman’s eyesight to be restored, but the gangster who hired him refuse to cough up the money. The titular killer then teams up with the detective who is out to catch him. Fans of the original can breathe a little easier as it looks like the plot won’t be altered much (if at all).

A key moment in the original 'The Killer'

Although Woo isn’t in the director’s chair for The Killer remake, he is the producer so he’ll likely have a lot of input as to how it turns out. He clearly loves his original film so I don’t think he’d allow a remake to drop the ball (at least we hope he wouldn’t).

This, of course, isn’t Woo’s first experience in Hollywood as he made Face/Off (arguably his most enjoyable film), Mission: Impossible II, Windtalkers, Hostage and Paycheck. Clearly Woo’s Hollywood career hasn’t been without fault, but at least he’s had experience and isn’t shepherding The Killer remake as a newbie to Hollywood feature filmmaking.

Does The Killer NEED to be remade? Obviously not and the fact that it will be in 3D doesn’t exactly helps matters. But I suppose we can always hang onto the fact that Woo himself is heavily involved.

I leave the rest of the discussion up to you: Is The Killer remake a good idea?

Source: Deadline

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Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Hoult & More Testing for ‘Jack the Giant Killer’

The last we reported on Bryan Singer’s next film, Jack the Giant Killer, the studio had given the project the official green light and the search was on for someone to star in the titular role of Jack.

After being rumored for the role of Cyclops in the Singer-produced X-Men: First Class, rising star Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) has been mentioned as the frontrunner for the lead role in Giant Killer. But now we’re hearing word that although Johnson might have caught the eye of Singer, the actor isn’t the only one in the running for the part.

Heat Vision is reporting that Johnson will test alongside Nicholas Hoult (Clash of the Titans) and the relatively unknown Aneurin Barnard (Ironclad) for the lead. Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight, Harry Potter) was previously up for the role as well, but he has reportedly broken his ankle and can’t test (bummer).

What’s interesting is that aside from Johnson being previously linked to X-Men: First Class, Hoult is actually starring in the X-Men prequel as the character of Beast in his younger years. Singer was effectively using the casting process for First Class to find candidates for Giant Killer. A smart move, I’d say, considering First Class contains a lot of stars who are becoming more and more popular by the day (others include James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Rose Byrne).

If you’re wondering about the conspicuous absence of female casting, then fear not as the key female role of a princess who gets kidnapped by giants and needs rescuing is just as sought after as the lead male role. Heat Vision reports that Adelaide Kane, Lily Collins and Juno Temple are all going to test for the princess role. Kane appeared in the Australian soap opera Neighbours; Collins starred in The Blind Side and can be seen in the upcoming Priest; and Temple is a rising star who has been making a name for herself in such films as Atonement and Greenberg.

Adelaide Kane, Lily Collins and Juno Temple

Interestingly, the actors are being asked to sign eight-or-nine month holds, which is being described as an “extraordinary amount of time for a production.” Is this just as a precaution on Singer and the studio’s part because of the amount of technical work that’s supposedly involved with Giant Killer? Shooting on the film was supposed to have started this past summer, but the daunting special effects work and the studio tightening the budget meant that it was delayed until early next year.

Every so often a project comes along that becomes THE project for the hot young stars of Hollywood to compete for. Other notable examples include David Fincher’s remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Ridley Scott’s Alien prequels.

Jack the Giant Killer represents yet another modern Hollywood film that takes a classic fairytale and puts a twist on it (see Red Riding Hood as another upcoming example). With the winning combination of Singer and Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) directing and writing, respectively, I’m very much anticipating Jack the Giant Killer.

Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of Valkyrie.

As far as the lead role goes, I’d like to see Johnson get it. He was awesome in Kick-Ass and I really want to see him to go on to do interesting projects that also get him a lot of exposure as an actor. And for the lead female role, my vote goes to Temple as I think she’s one of the more interesting young actresses to emerge from the indie scene.

No official schedules have been set for Jack the Giant Killer as of yet, but both Singer and the studio are eyeing tests to start in London in a couple of weeks. Shooting is expected to begin next March, with a release date TBA.

Source: Heat Vision

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November 15th, 2010 | Facebook

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