by: Chris Eaton Source: Pajiba
And what directors are being considered?
There are a lot of people who have never seen Oldboy. To them, I pity. It’s a modern classic of fucked up epic proportions. Park Chan Wook crafted something akin to Scorsese or DePalma in their hey day. It’s a tale of a man named Oh Dae Su who is imprisoned in a room for fifteen years. No explanation why. He’s fed, and allowed to watch TV. His first year in, Oh Dae Su finds out his wife has been killed, and he’s the prime suspect. Numerous attempts to kill himself are thwarted by his captors. On his fifteenth year, he’s released. With one cell phone call, he’s given an ultimatum by his captor. Three days to find out who he is and why he imprisoned Dae Su. That’s the gist of the story, but it goes to a much deeper, sinister place. It’s a tale of revenge, and why vengeance isn’t always the answer to everything.
Many, like myself, think that the film is perfect the way it is. In it’s original Korean form. Since the film came out in 2003, there have been numerous attempts to remake it in America. At one point, Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were talking about making it. If one knows the original film, knows that the film isn’t exactly in the league of what Spielberg or Smith are normally known to do. But, what many don’t know, is that the original film is based on a Manga of the same name. It’s a bigger, meatier story than the original film, and that’s apparently what the first attempt at the American film was going to be. Thankfully, last year, news broke that the project had been abandoned. Many celebrated.
Seems that they celebrated too soon.
According to Pajiba’s twitter (again, the source of all the news in the world), seems that the film is being set up again by Mandate pictures, and being written by Thor scribe, Mark Protosevich. Mandate is apparently pleased with the draft, and has a short list of directors that they are interested in for the film. They include Matthew Vaughn, Danny Boyle, and, shocking, Steven Spielberg. It’s an impressive list, but then again, who wouldn’t want that talent roster making your film? Of the three, Boyle would be the best bet, as his style of film making would suit an American remake, if it ever goes through.
Now nothing is set in stone, and personally, I’d rather not see an American attempt at this story, seeing that the final act is fairly fucked up for American audiences. I guess we’ll see in the next few months.
