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EXCLUSIVE: If eye patch-wearing antihero Snake Plissken is going to slither in a reboot, it won’t be at New Line and Warner Bros. They’ve allowed the option to drop on a remake they’ve been developing, meaning that the reboot of the John Carpenter-directed 1981 classic is up for grabs. The original starred Kurt Russell as Snake, a tough convict dropped into a futuristic New York that has been turned into a post-apocalyptic maximum security prison. He’s charged with rescuing the president (Donald Pleasence), who is held hostage by the prison kingpin (Isaac Hayes) after his plane within the city walls. Snake’s offered a pardon if he’s successful, but fitted with a lethal device that will kill him if he tries to run or misses the deadline. New Line and producer Neal Moritz have been working on the reboot, most recently with The Crazies helmer Breck Eisner attached to direct, and a script by writers that include Allan Loeb and X-Men: First Class scribe Jamie Moss. There have been rumors of interest from Gerard Butler and Jeremy Renner. Those guys were never confirmed and more recently there was word the studio courted Tom Hardy, whose work in Inception, Warrior and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises has made him a go-to guy for tough man work. Eisner and Moritz are also working on Flash Gordon, and Eisner also is attached to The Last Witch Hunter at Summit.
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Snake Pliskin? I heard you were dead!
Now he is…
I’ve read 4 different scripts for this remake, and each of them has been worse than the last… what higher concept do you need than the original? Just do a 3rd sequel starring Kurt Russell as an aged Snake. Escape From Earth. Snake Plissken has to get off this sour rock which has become a horrible prison for all of humanity’s filth, while the rich and powerful live off-world on Mars.
You didn’t like Kajganich’s draft? Why?! I thought it kept respect for the feel of the original, but was full of funky, scary new stuff. Come on, that chase from Madison Square to the Ward’s Island? That was awesome! The flooded subway stuff? The beheadings? Ass kicking trannies? Ice dancing costumes? It would have been fun to see all that weirdness up on a screen. I didn’t read the last two. What were they like? Nothing good at all?
Okay…best idea I’ve heard for a remake of this film yet.
I’m personally opposed the remake, the original was right for its time, a time when sealing off crime addled Manhattan didn’t seem far fetched, and a remake would just look like a lame relic in comparison.
Now if John Carpenter’s getting money from the options being paid for the remake rights, I have no problem with it wandering around in development purgatory at another studio.
I’m disappointed. Of all the crappy remakes, I actually thought this was an inspired choice, esp with Butler or Renner as Snake. Here’s hoping someone else will pick up the rights to this gem.
Good news for a remake nobody asked for. Is it so hard to leave well enough alone? John Carpenter and Kurt Russell defined that world and that character. Russell made Snake Plissken a (minor) icon, the role is his…never mind that he was essentially aping Clint Eastwood.
Besides, no one went to see Escape From L.A…exactly how viable a franchise is this that a remake would really be justified?
Agree 100%!!! No need to remake good films, Hollywood! Grab one of those contest winning screenplays off your book shelves and produce it!!!!
Right on the money Big Guy.
Neil Moritz is the king of remakes.
Maybe Warners realized that there isn’t an actor alive that is as cool as young Kurt Russell. They’re right.
IF – a big if – they were really going to go ahead and do this, maybe Taylor Kitsch.
remember though, up to that time, KR was not cool. He was a dorky Disney star. A walking, talking Ken doll. Good turn as Elvis, but this was the movie that finally broke him out of his Disney typecasting.
I amend my TK comment to second the Josh Holloway from below. I thought TK, but a bit too young, maybe. But JH – PERFECT!
Wasn’t there already a crappy remake called Escape From L.A.?
I kid, I kid.
works for me…
now, creating a brand new film “Escape from Hollywood” starring our greatest action hero Nikki Finke might get my interest…
Always a bad idea to try and remake a cult classic anyways. There was something special about the original. It’s like trying to remake A Clockwork Orange.
Shh! Don’t give them any ideas.
glad to see at least one not needed remake until another studio picks up the thing. is stopped for escape is one of those films that really needs to be left alone for a remake is just reshashing what made the original a classic a first time. not to mention who would they get to be snake to be better then kurts take on the role. can’t be done
“The Thing”??? Already wrapped and delivered. Kurt Russell. What’s next “Overboard”?
actually wasn’t there talk of J.LO and overboard ?
It’s too bad. Kajganich’s draft was ace. They should have made it then. Loeb cut out the nuance and added a heaping dose of misogyny. I stopped reading them after that. Too too too many cooks trying to add too too too many concepts. Isn’t “Manhattan is now a maximum security prison” concept enough?
or Repo Man.
Ten bucks says that Millenium Films picks this up and hires Nic Cage as Plissken…
That’s a great call , I’d actually put money on this being he case.
I was under the impression that WB were never that thrilled by this project because Canal Plus not only have the right to co-finance the project but also distribute the film internationally.
And isn’t Flash Gordon set up at Sony not WB?
Moritz is the perfect ‘big on lot producer’ for Sony. He costs them a fortune and all his most interesting (and successful) projects are set up at other studios while dreck stays with Sony.
Repo Man escapes New York. I’d go see that.
Not bad idea, terrible scripts. The last drafts had a happy ending where Snake ends up in the Cayman Islands. I’m not joking. That’s not a typo.
To all those who continuously say, “If it ain’t broke…” about remakes, you’re showing your age.
Those of us who were alive and got to see these things first run (or on VHS if we were too young at the time), of course we’re biased. We were younger and loved these flicks.
But with a few important exceptions (THE WIZARD OF OZ, STAR WARS, etc.), maybe it’s not so bad.
If a new audience gets to see updates then wonders about the originals and watches them, what’s so bad?
After never having seen Glenn Ford’s RANSOM, I watched the Gibson flick then rented the original soon thereafter. I probably never would’ve seen it without having seen Gibson’s version.
If they don’t work (LOVE DON’T COST A THING vs CAN’T BUY ME LOVE), then it’s no harm, right?
Thoughts…?
I understand what you are saying but I respectfully disagree with you.
It’s quite a different world now in terms of remaking films people are aware of. This isn’t the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. where they would remake films that had vanished from the public consciousness and hadn’t been seen in some time (and weren’t available on video).
These “old” movies from the ’80s and ’90s they’re remaking — ARTHUR, FOOTLOOSE, THE THING, FRIGHT NIGHT, TOTAL RECALL, etc. — have never left the public eye to begin with. Films don’t vanish like they used to — they end up on video, on TV, on Netflix. They are, many of them, still in “circulation.” Kids today may have even seen them already one way or another.
I think a lot of these studios behind the glut of remakes are going to find out that simply remaking a “known commodity” — even a genre film like FRIGHT NIGHT or THE THING — isn’t necessarily going to equate to big dollars.
How many people cared about the remake of THE OMEN? Did anyone see Russell Brand in ARTHUR? What about that BAD NEWS BEARS remake that crashed and burned? IMO these new movies are fighting an uphill battle because people not just REMEMBER the old movies, they’re readily available, they still screen on TV and people can access them easily. They’ve never really gone away.
Add in that so many of these remakes are completely inferior to begin with, and I don’t think the prospects of Hollywood going “remake crazy!” are particularly encouraging for either them or us, the viewing public.
Good. No need to remake this classic. How do you not mention Lee Van Cleef in the description? WTF
One problem facing the remake was that the core audience for such a film just didn’t want to see Kurt replaced. When the idea first surfaced, he was only in his mid-fifties and even admitted to still being interested in the role.
In retrospect, the studio may have been better off trying to cash-in on the “aging action star” trend of the past few years. It may not have been a blockbuster, but a gritty, low-budget sequel with Kurt would’ve certainly brought out nostalgic fanboys.
While I generally agree with remakes being a bad idea (though there can be exceptions), Escape From New York lost it’s sacred cow status when the original team all willingly participated in Escape From LA.
Carpenter already made a “remake” – it was called “Escape from LA”.
Almost an identical plot, just on the west coast and the person to be rescued was the president’s daughter. Otherwise, almost an identical film.
As I watched “Lost”, I always thought Josh Holloway would make a great Snake in the remake.
There really is no need for a remake of this movie. Why bother doing a remake of a movie that is a cult classic? Especially after the debacle of Escape From LA. If Hollywood does indeed go forward with a remake then I am going to avoid it. This generation needs to see Escape From New York and not wait for a remake that won’t measure up to the standard that the original set the bar with when it comes to Snake Plissken.
I love the film. It is perfect as it is. No reason to remake it. Unfortunately, the sequel sucked. All they did was copy the same blueprint from the original and dumbed it down. Snake plays basketball for his life? Really? Snake surfs? Really? They should have moved Snake forward and out in the world. They had all the ingredients to have a solid Mad Max franchise but screwed it up with LA. They did do some comics with Hurricane comics. Snake operating in the real world amongst the black market, underground, criminal element. It seemed like the direction they should go with the film.
How about do something more than a remake is well duh…Excape from New York Part II: Return to New York. or a diffreent title and ideis “Excape from Area 51″ After the Naxis took over the world and made Area 51 a Max Prison.Bec i made my own sound track. Yet there should have some one look like kurt russel at a younger Snake.
Please no..No John Carpenter film should ever be remade!!!