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EXCLUSIVE: FilmDistrict is closing a deal for U.S. distribution rights to Parker, the Taylor Hackford-directed thriller that will star Jason Statham. Production starts in early August. The John J. McLaughlin-scripted film is an adaptation of the Donald E. Westlake novel series, and Statham is playing a character that Mel Gibson played in the Brian Helgeland-directed Payback and Lee Marvin played in the John Boorman-directed Point Blank. Parker is a thief, but one who follows a strict moral code he’ll kill to uphold. The producers are Steven Chasman, Sidney Kimmel, Les Alexander, Jonathan Mitchell and Hackford. The film’s casting up quickly, and the movie was a prominent sales title during the Cannes Film Festival where Sierra/Affinity’s Nick Meyer sold offshore rights and made the domestic deal. Meyer has sold most world territories. Incentive Filmed Entertainment funded the film, and produced with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Sierra/Infinity. Sierra/Infinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment previously teamed on Shark Night 3D, a movie that will be released in September.
FilmDistrict, the distribution company funded by Graham King and Tim Headington and run by Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney to encompass films that can play in wide release, came out of the gate with the sleeper horror hit Insidious and on Sept. 16 will bow the Ryan Gosling-starrer Drive, which played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. At that festival, FilmDistrict beat out other suitors to acquire U.S. distribution rights to the Rian Johnson-directed science fiction film Looper with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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Parker’s code isn’t moral in the books, it’s practical. He kills only when it’s absolutely necessary because having to cover up a murder is just another problem he’d have to face. He’s far too amoral to care about moral consequences.
This sounds good. Statham seems perfectly cast in this role. Hopefully they keep a hard edge like they did in Point Blank and don’t attempt to make the Parker character “loveable” like they did in the Mel Gibson version. Their were several books in the Parker series so this could be the beginning of a franchise, if done right.
It’s just too bad Donald Westlake died before this came about; he was always furious about the name “Parker” not being applied to his character Parker for various legal reasons… in the 6 or 7 previous Parker films, the character has never even been NAMED “Parker,” so this is a coup of some legalistic wrangling.
Hopefully they don’t make the mistake of confusing Westlake’s writing with Stark’s writing, as they did in Payback… that film was filled with far too much “comedy” and wackiness. When writing as Westlake, his books were filled with brilliant humor, but when writing as Richard Stark, Westlake eschewed all comedy, concentrating exclusively on Parker’s ruthlessness.
The best version of Parker out there right now, incidentally, are the two recent graphic novel adaptations of The Hunter and The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke. Just brilliant work.
I thought it was Westlake who kept film makers from using the name because Parker was played by different actors. Which never made much sense to me. What were the legal reasons preventing Parker’s name being used?
The use of the name “Parker” has been restricted because of the James Bond precedent (at one point, film rights to that character were scattered about between multiple producers, resulting in things like NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, the out-of-continuity Connery film that went head-to-head with a Roger Moore film at the B.O.). Westlake wouldn’t let producers use the character’s name unless they were willing to commit to multiple adaptations, to help maintain HIS legal grasp on the name.
And yeah, those Darwyn Cooke comics kick SERIOUS ass; we’d be lucky if this film does HALF as well by the character.
cst — I regret to inform you right here on the internet in front of everyone that that is NOT (not) the reason why the un-aforementioned movies where not (that’s that word again) called PARKER. Because the character’s name is James Bond! And Stark Westlake was known for only signing his original work, not Ian Flemming’s work — because Ian Flemming was an entirely different person!
Maybe next time you should spend five minutes on Wikipedia before posting so you don’t embarrass yourself. Just saying.
The irony of this post is truly mind bottling.
I bow to your superior knowledge, Man Who Spells Ian Fleming’s Name Wrong!
@cst. Thanks.
Westlake told several semi-conflicting stories about the legalistic wrangling, but the clearest seems to be that he sold the rights to ONE movie without having a lawyer smart enough to retain the rights to the character’s name for other films based on other books. That movie never got made, but the producer would not release the name. Westlake waited a couple of decades for the eventual reversion clauses to kick in, and afterward refused to let producers use the name unless they promised to make a series of films OR to revert the use of the name back to him in case there was no sequel film. There have been quite a few previous Parker movies, but most people have no idea they were all intended to be the same character:
* Made in U.S.A. (based on The Jugger)
* Point Blank (based on The Hunter)
* Mise à Sac ["Pillaged"] (based on The Score)
* The Split (based on The Seventh)
* The Outfit (based on The Outfit)
* Slayground (based on Slayground)
* Payback (based on The Hunter)
In addition, the Parker-related novel Jimmy the Kid has been filmed twice. Other Parker-related novels that have been put to film include The Hot Rock (which started out as a Parker novel, but became the first Dortmunder novel when it started to get funny) and Stephen King’s The Dark Half, which is about a writer who writes under two names, and puts away the grim and evil crime writer persona… who then comes to life. Kinda like Westlake put Stark to bed for 25 years.
Which novel will they adapt for the film?
I’m beyond excited about this. ‘Stark’ actually wrote 25 books, which are all gradually being re-published by the University of Chicago press. This would make an UNBELIEVABLE franchise, as there are so many stories. Part of Westlake’s genius was deconstructing the heist thriller. Each story had a new twist — and quite often things would get fucked up — sometimes to the point where the whole job went bad and Parker would just have to escape with his life without the haul.
These books inspired me to write a project called THE HEISTERS, featuring a female ‘Parker.’
Agree about everyone’s assessments of the previous adaptations. Even Hegeland’s director’s cut of PAYBACK still wasn’t dark enough …
@cst (I can only imagine it means Certainly Strained Typist)…Everyone who knows James Bond knows that “Ian Fleming” is just a pen name for Ian Flemming because his publisher felt the two M’s would be confusing for people.
Maybe you should change your name to liu (or “Look It Up!”)
“Parker is a thief, but one who follows a strict moral code he’ll kill to uphold.”
WTF?? Strict moral code? The only code Parker has is if you get between him and his money, you’re dead. End of story.
I hope this is only bullshit and the film doesn’t inject something that does NOT belong in a Parker story. Hopefully these guys will stay close to the books. But I doubt it.
They’re finally using the damn Parker name and it looks like they”re about to screw it up.
I’m very, very nervous about this moral code stuff. Parker had a code, but I don’t know if morality had much to do with it. The whole point of the books is his amorality. Efficient completion of the job was his number 1 priority and to get that there were no real lines Parker wouldn’t cross. Is he going to be using matches to get a woman to talk? Beat another one so that she’ll make an effort during sex? Hollywood is going to punk out on this for sure.
I’ve always been a big fan of the Stark books. Back in 1988 I produced an action movie entitled, Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer. As an homage to my favorite action hero, Parker, I named Rutger’s character in the film, Nick Parker.
*sigh* It really is a shame when a man of Taylor Hackford’s status has to go from making movies like Against All Odss and Dolores Claiborne as well as many others to making movies full of gratuitous violence, probably nudity and profanity as well. Poor Helen Mirren must be crying herself to sleep over this. I can’t say I blame her..bring on another Devil’s Advocate, Taylor. At least the charactors converse in it.
The problem the Payback had for me, besides being a tad silly was they promoted it as ‘you’ll root for the bad guy’ but Gibson’s Parker wasn’t really that bad… and of course the correctness folks make you create villains that are worse and deserve all they get so he doesn’t come across so heinous.
Jason, I think is a good choice – after all this character is very similar to his Transporter character in regards to the job and his methodology.