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EXCLUSIVE: When it comes to directors on the movie Highlander, there can be only one. But it won’t be Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The 28 Weeks Later helmer has exited Summit’s reboot of the film, which still has Ryan Reynolds poised to play the title character. I’m told that his exit is amicable, and that after a year of working on the project, he and Summit could not get past the fact they had differing views of the film, and finally agreed to disagree. Fresnadillo left a remake of The Crow to join Highlander. It’s unclear at the moment whether that is an option, but come Monday, he will be looking for another movie, and Summit will be looking for another Highlander helmer.
Summit Entertainment remains bullish on Highlander, which has a script by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, with the latest draft by Noah Oppenheim. It’s produced by Neal H. Mortiz and Peter Davis along with Enrique López Lavigne and Belen Atienza, with RCR Media Group’s principles Rui Costa Reis and Eliad Josephson exec producing. Justin Lin, once attached to direct, is also executive producer.
They are following the story of the 1986 original, in which Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), an immortal Scottish swordsman who has spent centuries dueling to survive against others like him, must confront the last of his kind. That nemesis is a murderously brutal barbarian (Clancy Brown) who lusts for the Prize and the opportunity to rain hell on the world. I’ve always felt that the original movie’s mythology, hatched by Gregory Widen, was a recipe for a real franchise. While they did a fine job translating that mythology into a syndicated series that starred Adrian Paul, the feature films that followed the original have mostly sucked. I’m hopeful that Summit will get it right this time, even if they are departing from the original’s premise of casting an ageless Scotsman whose flashbacks provided opportunities for trips back into history, and made for plenty of beheadings (the only way these immortals can be killed). Choosing Reynolds, an American (the actor is actually Canadian), makes this different, but Reynolds certainly showed up in Safe House.
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First a correction to the article: the rest of the feature films didn’t “mostly suck” they all universally sucked, the second one so bad it went back in time (although not to Planet Zeist) and made the first one suck retroactively. The original eventually regained it’s awesomeness eventually but it took around fifty viewings on TBS to get back there.
As for the creative disagreements behind Fresnadillo leaving the most glaring one was likely the studio’s insistence on inappropriately casting an at best marginally talented actor that the entire industry insists on ramming down audience’s throats again and again even though they’ve never shown the slightest inclination to pay actual money to see him in anything.
Look if you’re going to remake a fairly beloved cult movie that didn’t exactly burn up the box office the first time around I could see wanting to put a name in it to hedge your bet. I don’t have a problem remaking it at all, I think it’s a great idea and putting an American in it is fine too, you can hire a dialect coach. But what’s the point of putting in a name nobody wants to see? It’s not like Reynolds is simmering and hasn’t gotten his shot, the problem is he has and has shown he’s a lightweight and can’t open or carry a movie. Period, full stop, end of story.
Um Reynolds “showed up” for SAFE HOUSE? What exactly does that mean? SAFEHOUSE was all Denzel, dude. You could have cast Screech from Saved By the Bell opposite Denzel in that role and no one would have noticed or cared.
It means he showed once again that he’s a good actor.
Screech would have been awesome let’s put Dustin Diamond in the sequel.
Reynolds had a funny supporting role in Ted!
Did you see SAFE HOUSE? The movie started and ended with Reynolds. He was the hero in a film told from his point of view. You can call it a Denzel movie, but the story belonged to Reynolds’ character, regardless of who played the role.
Considering the original cast a Frenchman as the titular Scot and a Scot as an Egyptian masquerading as a Spaniard who trained with samurai in Japan as his mentor — both of whom kept their real accents — I’d say casting an American is about par for the course.
The original movie was a better idea than it was an actual finished product. I always felt it started off strong but never really closed the deal. Its a shame that the remake is having issues because thats never a good sign. Remakes can be improvements, but this doesn’t seem on track.
I haven’t read the original script, but apparently it was a much more serious, grave take on the subject matter, kinda like Ridley Scott’s ‘The Duellists’. I wouldn’t mind seeing THAT MOVIE, kinda like – when the prospect of a ‘Total Recall’ remake was mooted – I would have liked to have seen David Cronenberg’s take on the Dick source material. But we’ll probably end up getting Wiseman or someone to make an impersonal, style-less, blue-looking monstrosity instead that completely wastes the opportunity to actually improve upon the original film.
“blue-looking”
I am amused.
My guess is the differing views on the film were that JCF wanted to make a film that wasn’t s**t, and Summit wanted the opposite.
Recently, I saw ’28 Weeks Later’ for the first time, and was curious why this guy wasn’t directing tentpole flicks. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo can develop interesting visual ideas and sustain those concepts for the entire film (the last shot is terrific). I’d argue that his film is better than Danny Boyle’s (although the first has serious third act problems), yet he has struggled to get that game-changing blockbuster off the ground since then.
What have you done that is better? Summit has a fantastic team of execs–that is why they went from a foreign sales company to one of the most desirable studios to work with.
Whatever, doesn’t matter what you say. You are surely a miserable failure professionally and personally.
This guy seems to have a habit of starting projects and then walking away when he can’t agree on casting, creative direction, etc… Happened at DW a few years back, he left The Crow and now he’s ditching Highlander. Seems like a pattern.
Yeah, I hate people with standards who stay true to their visions. They should just cave to non-creative studio executives and give up their artistic sensibilities. Pain in the arses they are.
Don´t forget about Bioshock, and also Wednesday, a film that Spielberg wanted him to direct for Dreamworks five years ago. Fresnadillo is trying to beat Ridley Scott in the attached-to-projects-that-never-come-to-fruition area. But films don´t get made for such a variety of reasons anyway.
I know why he left. Does it actually need to be said? There can be only one. And a good day to you, sir.
Why can’t they cast a real Scot to do the lead … Gerard Butler, Tommy Flanagan, Ewan McGregor, Kevin McKidd, David Tennant, Dougray Scott, Billy Connolly (not as lead but every Scot based film should have Billy) and the list goes on)?!? There can be only one!
Because the charactor is only 18 born 1518 died 1536. Have any of you even watch the movie? Those actors are all to old…
Highlander was a documentary. It happened in real time.
I know. I was there.
I’d watch a Highlander with Gerard Butler or Ewan McGregor as the lead, but after watching Safe House I’m more inclined to give Reynolds the benefit of the doubt. Prior to that most of his non-comedic roles have been garbage, but he wasn’t bad in Safe House at all, and despite a previous poster’s comments, no, no, you couldn’t have cast Screech in that role and had him be successful.
Yes, the movie was mostly Denzel, but Reynolds’ role was nearly as important, and it takes a decent actor to act opposite someone of Denzel’s caliber and be in any way impactful. Reyolds manages it.
Garbage? Buried? Smokin’ Aces (terrible movie but Reynolds was very good in it)? As for the Scottish accent being widely considered of paramount importance, it is interesting to note that English was NOT spoken in Scotland before the end of the 17th century. if I recall correctly, the Scots spoke Gaelic or a language derived from it, belonging to the Goidelic language group. So, fundamentalists should look for an Irish actor speaking Gaelic. Good luck. Of course, subtitles would be in order. Movie critics would be soooo thrilled!
My only problem so far with a re-make is that I don’t want Ryan Reynolds in the starring role. Please give it to a lesser known person.
SUMMIT: YOU NEED TO RECAST
I like Ryan Reynolds, but he’s utterly, profoundly, irredeemably wrong for this. David Tennant, Ewan McGregor or Gerard Butler would wipe the floor with this role. Casting Reynolds only alienates everyone who’s a fan of the original.
Don’t you think that McGregor and Butler would be physically inadequate to play the Highlander (i.e., one might be a tad too short and the other a tad too old?) . If people really dislike the choice of an actor for a film, they could perhaps consider staying at home. Just a suggestion based on common sense. However, I too can’t understand why an intelligent actor such as Reynolds would accept this crazy role.
I think this is when Methos would mention something about the time he partied hard with Boethius.
please for the love of what ever god/gods… NOT Ryan Reynolds please say it isn’t so!!!
RYAN REYNOLDS? The casting director should be shot.