Nicole Kidman Speaks Out On Taking Risks, Roles And Taking … 
SUMMER SLUMP? Will Smith’s ‘MIB3′ Slows … 
Oscilloscope Takes U.S. Rights To ‘Reality’ 
‘Mud’: Did Cannes Save One Of The Best For … 
Cannes Podcast: Pete Hammond On ‘Lawless’, … 
Over-Achievers Of This Year’s Upfront 
Aussie Pay-TV Shakeup Impacts Hollywood 
USA: ‘Rebounding’ & ‘Modern … 
Interview: Philip Kaufman At Cannes With ‘Hemingway … 
R.I.P. Television Mogul Lee Rich 
Cannes Biz Shines Despite Wind & Rain 
Full 2011-2012 TV Season Series Rankings 
2011-12 Season Network Rankings: Fox Still On Top But Down, … 
HLN Set To Air Daytime Emmy Awards 
Grant Bowler Cast As Richard Burton Opposite Lindsay Lohan … 
UPDATE: Dish Network And Broadcasters Ask Courts To Decide … 
Cannes Surprise Screening: Change Of Plans On Juan Antonio … 
Kevin Hart In Talks To Join Kevin James In ‘Valet … 
Anthony Hopkins Up For ‘Red 2′ Villain; Can … 
Cannes Conflicted Over ‘The Paperboy’ As … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘American Idol’ Posts … 
EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures is developing a new version of Scarface, the title first released in 1932 and then turned into the iconic 1983 film that starred Al Pacino as Cuban gangster Tony Montana. I’d heard that the studio has been meeting writers to script a take for a film that will be produced by Marc Shmuger and his Global Produce banner along with Martin Bregman. Bregman produced the Pacino version.
The film is not intended to be a remake or a sequel. It will take the common elements of the first two films: An outsider, an immigrant, barges his way into the criminal establishment in pursuit of a twisted version of the American dream, becoming a kingpin through a campaign of ruthlessness and violent ambition. The studio is keeping the specifics of where the new Tony character comes from under wraps at the moment, but ethnicity and geography were important in the first two versions. In the 1932 Scarface, an Italian (Paul Muni) took over Chicago, and in the Brian De Palma-directed remake, a Cuban cornered the cocaine trade in 1980s Miami, only to be consumed by it. Ann Dvorak, George Raft and Boris Karloff starred in the original, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio starred in the remake.
Does the Universal library title Scarface deserve an updated version for a new generation? I’m told that when Universal put together the 1983 film, there were howls of heresy; after all, the film was considered a Howard Hughes-produced classic, with a script by Ben Hecht. Howard Hawks directed it with Richard Rosson. The remake became iconic in its own way, particularly in influencing hip-hop culture. Tony Montana’s image is still widely merchandised; his signature line “Say hello to my little friend” remains the biggest-selling cell phone voice ringtone, and Universal has sold more than 10 million DVD units worldwide.
Loading ...
This is an even worse idea than that Deep Blue Sea remake.
The movie business is… a business.
Just so they never try to remake Cool Hand Luke.
I just hope that Joan Crawford rises up and scares the heck out of all the idiots who tried to re-make “Mildred Pierce” with a wanna be.
Mitigate risk through strategic repetition- the modern film executives mantra.
I really don’t get what all of this whining is for. I like reinterpretations of movies and characters that I enjoyed the first time. No one complains about The Dark Knight remaking Batman for the third time. Or the fact that just about every western, action film, thriller, etc, follow the exact same structural templates. There have been remakes going back to the beginning of the film industry. The whining from bitter “original-screenplay” snobs is getting old. When audiences stop paying to see this stuff, studios will stop making it. Will audiences (including the people in these Comments) stop coming? No.
You’re one hundred percent right. All the archetypes for great stories were covered by Greek, Roman and Norse Myth, and by the Bible. Every story worth telling is simply a redressing of those concepts and ideas. What is the story of Tony Montana if not Icarus? The boy who flew too close to the sun bc he was drunk with power, and then fell to earth? Isn’t Rocky a combo of Cinderella and David v Goliath? Anyone ever read the New Gods comics by Kirby? Where do you think Lucas got the idea for Star Wars from? Isn’t Superman a variation of Christ as the savior? Wasn’t King Kong the first box office smash to get a sequel? Need I go on????
Actually, Superman – conceived by two teens growing up Jewish – is a combination of Gollam and Moses mythologies. Superman was never a Christ-figure, although the “sending-my-only-son” theme is a chared component.
Get your facts straight, Louie.
Hi Gary,
Superman “was never” a Christ-figure?
1. You’re mistaken.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/2006/06/Supermans-Second-Coming.aspx
2. Louie doesn’t need to get his “facts straight.” He was stating opinion, not fact, about a similarity that need not be intended by the comic-character’s original creators, whether they were raised in the Jewish, Hindu or Bahá’í Faith.
(Also, while we’re getting facts straight: Unless you have something from the two original creators that directly says Superman “is [EXCLUSIVELY] a combination of Gollam and Moses mythologies”, then you don’t have facts either, by the way. You have an opinion, the same as Louie.)
Sean
Gary why don’t you try being less condescending? Grow up.
You mean “shared”?
Whoa, Gary. Calm down. I think Louie was just trying to make a point that the archetypes for movies go back further in time than just a couple of decades. Who cares if the true inspiration for Superman was “a combination of Gollam and Moses mythologies”? The obvious comparison between Christ and the title hero is still there.
Do yourself a favor and stop trolling comments looking for innocent bystanders to tear apart; you could most certainly use your time more productively by visiting Wikipedia and building upon your vast knowledge of nerd-lore.
In the meantime, stop being a bully and snobbing up the comments board with your superior knowledge of DC comic history. It’s just annoying.
what’s “mulholland drive” a rehash of?
Let me try and explain to those who don’t get it why this remake is a really really bad idea.
It’s not that all remakes are bad. There’s been some great ones. True Grit being the most recent. What brings a cringe from any film lover hearing about this one though is that DePalma’s Scarface is a definitive version of the story. For now. Not for all time. But for the foreseeable future.
It’s such an iconic work of pop art and cultural influence that anyone with any artistic integrity wouldn’t touch it. So only hacks or egomaniacs will sign on. And it would take a perfect shot, a 350 yard hole-in-one to make us forget the DePalma version.
Of course, this being Hollywood, and a business, someone with a “take” and maybe even some real talent will try. But for the rest of us, it’ll be, at best, a wreck on the side of the road type of distraction. The remake of Psycho always comes to mind now in this situation.
Yes, the original Hawks version was definitive, as well, but it lost its cultural relevance over time. A long long time. Until maybe Black Caesar which was also classic in its way but never had mainstream impact. So Stone and DePalma mined a little Blacksploitation and maybe The Godfather and created a mash-up remake of a classic. And NAILED IT. Good luck.
Pff!
1983 is still culturally relevant as Jimmy Carter. Move on.
Let’s see what today has to say about today.
Pff!
1983 is as relevant as Jimmy Carter. Let’s hear what today has to say about today.
Article said it was NOT a remake, just sharing the theme goober and the new True Grit was horrible.
Excellent post, kisum.
Definitive schminitive. Thats a title your putting on it. Whose to say the original wasn’t definitive? In fact, 80′s Scarface didn’t garner as much critical acclaim or provide as much cultural impact until years later.
Though there is a 20 year difference in which this one would be made from the 80′s version than the 80′s from the 30s, time is all relative and really doens’t decide if things are ready to be remade. And in the development process, the audience doesn’t decide either. The studios, writers, and producers decide what is long enough for when a remake is appropriate.
The audience will decide if the remake stands on its own as a good movie or colllapse horrible as cheap copy cat. But they only decide this once they see it or decide to see it.
So as the audience, I don’t think we can say when things are too soon to make and whether or not they should be made. Our opinion is hindsight. Think of all the great movies that would never be told if we made this decision.
“Or the fact that just about every western, action film, thriller, etc, follow the exact same structural templates.”
This is perhaps true if you watch movies with the world view of a 3 year old, or are cursed with the defective intellect of a liberal. As a general statement, however, it is patently false.
I’m with you @I’M.. The one with Al Pacino, was indeed a remake.. And we all LOVED IT! I’m ready to see a new version, especially since I know Universal is in control. I don’t believe that they’ll let a legacy that has brought them SO MUCH MONEY, be ruined. I believe the new project will be “handled with care” and judging from the article, it won’t be an exact remake.. Only the key element from the Scarface story, will remain.. (Immigrant comes to a major American city, begins a life of crime as a petty street thug, and ends up running things). The first one took place in Chicago. The last one, in Miami.. So, I’d be moved to believing that the new one will take place somewhere else. It’ll be a new environment with new characters. I’m looking forward to it.
Agreed.
okay, I get remakes, re-imaginings, re-boots, sequels, prequels.
I do get it.
This is what I do not get.
Why don’t writers own their own material?
If this happens, and the studios have to go back to the “creator,” would this still happen?
Just saying….
We do own our material. Until someone buys it from us for what amounts to, usually, if you’ve ever heard of the movie, at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not always. But what is always true is that that is just the name of the game. If you want to maintain your copyright, for the most part, you need to pick a different medium to work in. No body loves the idea of giving over their IP to the studios to do as they may with it, but we choose to be in this business and those are the ground rules.
So now remakes arent remakes,,,reember when there were original movies,,when is the new saturday night fever due
YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!! It’s fair to say that no longer is there Writing Talent anymore because there have been more remakes that Dick Wolf’s repeats of his 3 Law and Orders. By the way, dumb idea to not bring back Stabler and try to fill in the blanks with “blanks” also, why hasn’t anyone ever answered the question of What happened to Courtney B. Vance who terrific as Ron Carver. The downfall was trying substitute with another male and then bringing in all of the boring people as detectives when the only 2 that made sense was GOREN AND EAMES. Where is Jameie Sheridan?
Where is Waterston? They made the folks rich and then get dropped, and I demand that you give Meloni a good contract…he deserves also Goren and Eames.
Think about the brutal killings in the mexican drug wars and you have your new ethnicity. LA is close to the border and this would be the local…. or maybe “Tejas”, but I’ll bet LA gets the nod.
Say “hola” to my lil amigo!
Nothing is sacred in Hollywood.
Sacred? What does remaking a film that’s ALREADY a remake have anything to do with being sacred?
If that’s your limited viewpoint, then you should ridicule the Pacino version for being a remake of the 1932 classic, which is a superior film anyway.
Everything is sacred in Hollywood.
Do I hear Benicio del Toro, anyone?
Taylor Lautner.
(Reads Indrid Cold’s comment andt hrows up in mouth) What?!?!?!
LOL!!! Nice visual!
You CAN’T tell me that Taylor doesn’t look friggin’ AWESOME in ABDUCTION.
If I was Taylor’s agent I’d be telling him to start thinking about his Oscar speech.
I hope the producers will hire on Steven Bauer (played Pacino’s sidekick in Scarface) he is one of the great Cuban actors.
Steven played a great Narco Don in the last Epidode of “breaking bad.”
I heard they’re going with Judge Reinhold.
The title role is going to Chaz Bono. His mom will play his moll. And his brutal enforcers will be played by Ellen DeGeneres and Mike Myers.
HAHAHAHAHAHA! That is solid gold right there.
Isn’t Stephen Bauer Jewish??
the two are not mutually exclusive.
Hes definitly not cuban
is that you Emilio Estefan? Bauer is an awful actor which is why he’s barely worked since Scarface. Go and check his IMDB list if you need proof.
Each generation deserves its own version of Scarface. I’ve seen Scarface and Scarface Redux multiple times, and can’t wait to see this updated version! Pro’lly a Middle Eastern-type….
…zay hello to my leetle kibby-nigh…
Devil’s Double already came out.
Actually, a version of this story that details with the Arab Spring or begins with a Palestinian protagonist could be fascinating. But obviously, that will never happen. Many Americans had/have great empathy for Cubans. Arabs are less ‘chic.’ Cuban cigars, Cuban cuisine, the girls, the dancing, all of that had/has culture cache. It was/is sexy and exotic. There isn’t much about the middle east that fits that description in the public consciousness of America. Unless they went with Lybia…that could work.
The biggest problem is this; they will want the movie to appeal to the same hip-hop/urban crowd as the DePalma version. But if they do that, the film cannot stand on its’ own. Plus, the largest audience for the movie simply doesn’t understand that the 1980s version was a vicious satire.
So, is this new version a satire? Or does it take the Horatio Alger myth that the previous version exploded and treat it with a straight face?
I’m not 100% against this…I can see a version with a middle eastern protagonist, or perhaps even an African lead (Omar from The Wire would be a great choice) that could be very interesting. I just don’t see how you could do it with real integrity and tap into what is clearly the prime demographic.
Yeah, it’ll probably be a Middle Eastern type, or maybe Mexican….I wonder which white actor they’ll cast in the role?
Nope – Russian I say.
Russian? Probably some indeterminate Slavic origin. And his Name will probably be something like Nico Bellic, and it will be set in Liberty City.
I’ll withhold judgement on the new film, but the 1983 version, released almost squarely in the middle of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, was in retrospect a very conservative film by today’s politics. The movie delivered some of the harshest rebukes to communism I’ve ever seen in a movie, and portrayed America (albeit in very crude terms) as a place of freedom and opportunity like none other, even for a criminal. “Crime doesn’t pay”, also a conservative theme, was the unwritten moral tale, that and the need for self-sacrifice, as when Tony Montana essentially sacrificed his own life (and those around him) so the innocent children of a journalist would not die of a car bomb at the hands of a narco-terrorist.
Yeah, it WAS very Conservative….I doubt that the new one will be as Conservative and as Politically Incorrect.
Oh, this is not going to upset anyone.
It is now official. There is no creative executives currently working at studios. And there are no balls whatsoever. Who ARE these people making these “decisions’? Oh, wait. I know many of them and yep, no balls or creative thoughts…none.
all i have in this world is my balls and my word
Yes. I’m sure your generic drivel about how there are no creative studio execs anymore and no one has balls must be true. Yes. I’m sure Universal will endeavor to spend millions upon millions of dollars to put out shit.
Having worked for Universal a few times as a writer I’ve found Jeff K and Peter C to be among the best this town has. I for one am intrigued by this.
Too much schadenfreude in this business as it is. Why all the hate BB? Is it because your roots are so brown?
No, Universal would never spend millions to put out junk. Battleship, anyone? The Thing? And those are movies that aren’t even out yet, and you can already tell they will be more of a swing and a miss than the lone MLB player in the 90s who wasn’t juicing!
I think The Thing looks amazing.
what…thing…. are you referring to???? The upcoming release id hope no way dude lame
What’s next? Oh… I know. Let’s remake Howard the Duck.
it worked okay for True Grit…just sayin’!
I’d like to see Mel Gibson remake “Breaker Morant”. He already hates the English.
I’d rather see Mel Gibson remake Howard the Duck.
The True Grit remake was Grit-iful.
You fill in the rest.
Why not remake Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane while they are at it.
I’ve actually been saying a great project would be a Citizen Kane remake based on Rupert Murdoch with Mel Gibson starring and directing.
That actually sounds superb. But why call it Citizen Kane?
Don’t forget, not a remake but they they actually did make a Gone With the Wind sequel, a TV-movie I think.
We’ll see remakes of GWTW, Citizen Kane, Casablanca and one day, even Star Wars, soon enough.
This isn’t a remake on the Pacino Scarface. I can’t wait to see the new developments on this mythology.
GTA already did Russian mobster.
They could easily tell the exact same story and not call it scarface. Why not avoid any backlash about using the same title and call it something different?
Oh come on. Honestly, not a single original idea can be formed in Hollywood? Everything, and I mean everything, is based on a book or previous film.
It’s pathetic.
How can anyone decry a new Scarface film for lack of originality? First of all, the Pacino flick was a remake. Second of all, wasn’t the original an adaption of a book? I mean, come on people! For crying out loud, the Odyssey was a sequel to the Iliad and the Aenead was a spin off the the Odyssey….it’s all entertainment!
What if he was Dominican and you could cast a black guy?
Calling all rappers…calling all rappers!!!
Let em rap. Call John Malkovitch. Teddy KGB goes Cuban. John Turturro
as his right hand. JMHO
“Casting isn`t 50% of a movie as many say, its 90%” John Huston
Let me guess, this version will center on the inner city with lots of rap music. The studio execs know who bought all that Tony Montana merchandise.
No doubt the new Scarface will feature rappers and hip-hop, and be based in Chicago or Killadelphia.
Get ready for lots of slo-mo tough stares into the camera, “bling” everywhere the eye can see, and more forced “hip hop slang” than you can imagine.
Also get ready for the inevitable 50 people shot in theaters on opening night by thug Scarface wanna-bes.
@ Steven…. your racism is boring me.
the contemprary tie-in should be Christopher Coke, the 2nd gen Jamaican drug lord with CIA ties.
Dear God! What the fuck is next?
Christ, will the remakes never end…
Balls and my word
It took me some dozen years of heavy movie-going to realize that the word “remake” can throw off enjoyment and critical judgment. I watch even explicit remakes as if they are unrelated to any other movie. I don’t get involved in comparing actors, scripts, or plot twists. Example: Breathless, remake in title and a few big plot points, but otherwise completely enjoyable if you didn’t compare it to the new wave breakthrough flic.
Obilgatory purist gripe!!!
Seriously though, I like Mike’s attempt at reason in this post. The default is to bitch and complain about every revisit, reboot and remake (and I’m sure the commenters will), but even though no film ever “needs” to be made, anything can be done well. Let’s see who gets attached to this before we start the dogpile.
In essence this movie was remade brilliantly recently – french film called A PROPHET. DeNiro also did it in GODFATHER 2. Its not a new idea. Get over it and enjoy.
maybe it will be about brian de palma tracking down nicolas winding refn and stealing back the soundtrack he stole for DRIVE
Damn it!!!
Just write a fucking original with those elements. Fuck the remake shit. Write a fucking original script. I can’t take this shit anymore. Anyone else feel it too??!!!!!!!!!
Stop.
Sounds like you maybe want to take a shot at writing the new script for Scarface? Or are you just making assumptions that this won’t be fresh and original… Before you hate, wait and see how this develops.
It’s a remake. By definition, that usually cancels out “fresh and original”. I’m just sayin’…
At least they waited fifty years to remake the Hawks version. It’s not like it was in the collective conscious of 80′s pop culture via Punk Rock Bands and Disco.
I love this idea! A new Scarface for the younger generation – and another bad ass gangster film for all!
For the younger generation?
Oh no. I bet that instead of an Italian or Cuban, this time he’ll have a Vampire ethnic origin…