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BREAKING: Josh Brolin was rumored to be on the short list to star in Spike Lee’s Oldboy, a remake of the cult 2003 Korean revenge thriller from Park Chan-wook. Now it’s official: Brolin will topline the Mandate Pictures redo, which begins production in March. Brolin, who just wrapped Men in Black 3 with Will Smith, next begins work on Warner Bros’ Gangster Squad. It looks like he’ll squeeze in Oldboy before shooting Jason Reitman’s Labor Day opposite Kate Winslet; that movie is set to begin production in June.
The new Oldboy has script adapted by Mark Protosevich, who will co-produce. Roy Lee and Doug Davison will produce via Vertigo Entertainment with Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule. Mandate president Nathan Kahane will executive produce. Originally, DreamWorks was looking to pick up remake rights in 2008, with the idea that Steven Spielberg would direct Smith. The story centers on a man who is kidnapped on his daughter’s birthday and held for 15 years in solitary confinement without explanation. He is eventually released and sets out on a path to take revenge on those who destroyed his life.
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Ugh.
Talk about totally missing the point with Oldboy. Why take an already big and intimidating guy to turn into a big and intimidating guy? What was so amazing with the original Oldboy was to see the actor’s transformation. In actuality, Paul Giamatti would’ve been amazing in the role. Shoot the opening of the movie with his regular ole pudgy self and then have him slim down like we’ve never seen before would be marketing gold.
Idiots.
In that case, maybe it should’ve been Jonah Hill. They could shoot him now all slim, then fatten him up again for the flashbacks.
or just not remake it at all.
Good ideas, all. Sadly, Giamatti can’t open a movie. I can see why they were leaning toward Will Smith, as he comes across as so genteel and civilized; then to see all that stripped away. However, I think the perfect guy would’ve been Ed Norton.
Ugh, Paul Giamatti sucks for edgy roles. They should’ve *reversed* it so that Bale is the hero and Brolin’s the bad guy.
Dumb comment (sorry).
If Brolin is a good actor (which he is), he’ll downplay his ‘toughness’ in the pre-imprisonment scenes. More importantly, the protagonist (Oh DaeSu) isn’t supposed to be a wimp, he’s a slovenly, drunk, gambler type who got thrown into prison for public disturbance/fighting and misses his daughter’s birthday. “W” shows that Brolin can do drunken idiot quite well…
Agree with this. Give the guy some credit. He’s a good actor.
For the first time since it was announced, I can see this picture working.
Why? I mean really Old Boy can’t be done better and certainly not by Brolin. Brolin is way over exposed and adds nothing to a production. Even in No Country For Old Men the best movie he was in since goonies he was completely unecesarry.
PLEASE do NOT remake this film – it is a classic. The lead performance is amazing and they will just screw it up. They will try to over-explain things and turn him into some Dirty Harry/Death Wish guy which is exactly what is NOT needed. If Lee wants to direct Brolin in a revenge movie, fine, go make one up. Leave OLD BOY alone.
I am so second to that. OLDBOY is one of the best Korean movies I’ve ever seen, please leave it alone. I don’t care who’s in the cast. Why is that Hollywood always wanna turn all the good art into junk by re-shooting or rewriting them??????????????????????????
Listen Oldboy is good but not the best….Actually its Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance out of the trilogy
I don’t mind Brolin in the roll. I think he’ll be great. Protosevich is a good writer (and a great guy) so I know he’ll do a good job given the restraints he’ll be under… The thing is the original film was so dark and twisted and fantastic, there’s no way any studio is going to release a movie that even comes close. I mean, those of us who know the ending and the big reveal can’t help but wonder if in fact this new American version will deal with that. And if they don’t the entire movie looses its power.
I agree; the whole idea of the remake is obviously highly questionable and I wasn’t too excited when I heard, the Spike Lee announcement struck me as a 50/50 chance of being a good one (I liked his thrillers 25th Hour, Son of Sam and Inside Man), but this is the first piece of news that makes me reconsider.
Agreed. Spike, Protosevich, Josh Brolin – these are all smart, quality filmmakers who will bring something to the Old Boy table. Looking forward to it.
As long as Terence Blanchard does the music, I’m in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihmeUP0HyEQ
Personally, I think they ought to get MC Hammer to resurrect his Hammer Time era, that’d be the perfect soundtrack.
Taken meets Castaway
I love soundbites like yours, ridiculous pronouncements based on nothing but a few lines of information. It’s a very “freshman d-girl” thing to do.
Obviously you never saw the original.
Taken meets Castaway… uh, no, sweetie.
The original is a favorite of mine, but it had it’s flaws. I don’t mind remakes either, I just hope it isn’t shot-for-shot.
Wrong director. Wrong actor. I could just about trust Soderbergh or Fincher with a remake, and even then it could never top the original.
To Spike Lee : PISS OFF !!!
Can spike lee possibly lose more fans?
Definitely won’t be paying a nickel for this unnecessary remake.
I hope Mandate loses every cent they have for financing this worthless and unnecessary remake. Years from now, we’ll look back and consider this remake happy period of Hollywood’s history as one of its lowest and most shameful points. Come up with something new and original and if you can’t, you don’t deserve to be in this business. You don’t fucking remake something that is perfect to start with, executed better than any English speaking director could dream of. Every critic in the world is going to slam this remake just because it can never measure up to the original. It’s like remaking CHINATOWN or A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. OLDBOY is a modern classic on that level. This is an atrocity.
“we’ll look back and consider this remake happy period of Hollywood’s history as one of its lowest and most shameful points.”
Hollywood has always been remake happy and, as evidenced below, happily so (I know, there’s a lot of crap as well):
The Maltese Falcon (only ten years after the original!)
Ben Hur
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
A Star is Born
A Fistful of Dollars
The Fly
The Magnificent Seven
Scarface
The Thing
Mutiny on the Bounty
This movie is going to be a mess. The original is one of the most overrated movies of ALL TIME. Really people, just because you are suppose to like it doesn’t mean you should. Can not imagine anyone walking out of that depressing experience thinking it was revolutionary in any way. I keep hearing… well the hallway scene is cool. One scene does not a movie make. Will Smith was smart to stay away from this.
So, what movie did you like? Let me guess, “Godfather 1 and 2″ and the “Star Wars” trilogy.
“Oldboy” is many things but it’s not overrated. It’s dark and depressing but also original, edgy, and completely unpredictable.
I love how you say this movie is the most overrated of ALL TIME. I think your comment is the most ridiculous of ALL TIME.
Not THE most overrated, one of the most. I’ll take Star Wars, you can keep Oldboy.
there’s NO Way they keep the ending, right? has any Hollywood film ever done anything NEAR as dark as the ending of Oldboy?
It’s WAY too taboo. It’s NC-17 taboo. Theaters won’t show it.
I’d be curious to see this just to see how they wimp out on the ending. No way we get a faithful ending. American audiences aren’t mature enough to handle it. I can hear the PTC bitching now.
When Hollywood is run by artists and not accountants then all the bad remakes will stop.
Sure, and then it won’t be a huge business any longer and websites like this wouldn’t exist to criticize how business minded Hollywood is…
Remakes have their place, especially foreign ones as no matter how good the movies are, there are lots of viewers who still won’t see them.
When they’re done well, everybody wins!
-M
Certain remakes just don’t deserve an audience. CONAN proves that. Just stay away. Remaking a huge classic is just not to be done. Trying to ‘re-imagine’ it, ala PREDATORS, is also a proven method for disaster. OLD-BOY is so shockingly good, with an ending so full on mind-f*** good that NO WAY is any remake going to match it.
You’re a bunch of pussies. Remaking a great film in no way detracts from its quality. If anything, it serves to attract new audiences to it. Don’t like the idea of a remake? Don’t watch it. Fucking whiners.
… are we allowed to say that we think the remake of this will be terrible?
Because there’s No Way a hollywood studio is gonna do the original Korean ending (cause a lot of theaters probably won’t show it, due to it’s subject matter.)
and the whole movie is about the ending.
could some one please tell does hollywood care about any thing but the $,remaking ever 1 of my favorite films and not giving a shit about the fans who love the originals,the last 6 to 7 years or so ive started really getting into my foreign films and oldboy is up there its a classic it has its flaws but to me i hold it in high esteem as other great american films,this decade has creatively been Americas worst,and seeing my favourite director ridley scott who has alot of pull and could do any film he wants going back to the well with Alien and Blade runner saddens me,thses film studios need to grow a set of balls and invest in originality
I think I’m gonna go ahead and start writing an “Ichi the Killer” remake. Studios would go for that right? I’m sure they’ll be cool with all the gore,sex, and sheer violence from the original… So who wants it?
LOL – this movie (the remake) will be so “watered down” as to appear like a wet rag, dangling over the the sink waiting to dry – not very attractive. The original is too impressive to try and remake just for the sake of lack of creativity & profit. This will probably go the same path as the “My Sassy Girl” remake – DOA.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Don´t touch masterpieces.
Hollywood allways prostitutes masterpieces….
I´m ungry now, you f%&/%/ hollywood bastards
Spike Lee!? WHHY!? Who cares about the actors, this movie never had a chance with Spike Lee!
The egos of Spike Lee and the writer, Mark Protosevich must be out of control to think that they could remake this movie.
Loved “Oldboy”. I liked “The Departed” and have heard great things about its source material, “Infernal Affairs”. (Yes, I know that one’s from Hong Kong, not Korea.) I’m pretty sure the American version of the latter had a darker ending than the original, so I have confidence in the abilities of the new filmmakers to pull off a good remake.
Infernal Affairs is a fantastic movie. The Departed is only a quasi remake. I like The Departed, but I don’t think it really compares to the original.
The original film, while ambitious, well-shot, well-acted and “entertaining” (I know that’s weird), was flawed. The second act is a mess, like the filmmakers had a brilliant set-up and ending, but had no idea what to do to fill time in the middle. I’m interested to see what will be done with it, and much more eager to see it with Spike Lee as the captain rather than a Spielberg/Will Smith (WTF??) fiasco, surely doomed. I hope and pray Bale takes the role of the villain, but I’m not super enthused by this casting news with Brolin as the ‘hero.’ He’s a very good actor, but I kind of agree with whomever noted this character shouldn’t be an obvious ‘hero,’ but honestly… in Bale’s generation, late 30′s… who IS the Giamatti? Could’ve pared him back up with a Jared Leto, Russell Crowe (pudgy Russell), or a Ben Foster. But that’s kind of a casting bitch, that role. Anyway, Spike… I say, bring it on! And don’t wimp out on the ending!