Oldboy (2013)

[Reinhold]

I can't see this making much money.

edit: I can't see this being anywhere close to as good as the original.

[squints]

SCHPOILOPOLIS (spoils right?)




Incest + Will Smith = Box office gold.

I think a good name for a band would be Will Smith & The Tricky Incest.

[Reinhold]

i suppose you're right, squints. let's hope they attach George Lucas to it, too.

[MacGuffin]

'Oldboy' Remake Apparently Not Actually a Remake
Source: Cinematical

Those of us who were in a moderate panic following the news of a planned Steven Spielberg-Will Smith remake of Chan-wook Park's singular Oldboy can rest a tiny bit easier. According to Will Smith, who's out and about promoting Seven Pounds, the film is in the works -- but it's not a remake after all. Film School Rejects has the money quote:

"We're looking at [Oldboy] right now. Not the film though, it's the original source material. There's the original comics of Oldboy that they made the first film from. And that's what we're working from, not an adaptation of the film."

[pete]

the best part of old boy was the hallway fight.  that sequence was great in terms of execution, audacity, and storytelling.  the ending was pretty awful - awful story-wise and awfully shot.  if for some reason spielberg could make an entirely different 3rd act, I'd get into it.

[MacGuffin]

Steven Spielberg's 'Oldboy' Adaptation To Be 'Nothing Less Than Stunning,' Says Will Smith
Source: MTV

It's been several months since we last heard about Steven Spielberg's plans to adapt the popular manga "Oldboy" into a live-action film starring Will Smith, but fans of both the manga and the original live-action adaptation released in 2003 have been buzzing about whether the edgy story will be softened for American audiences.

With the film and the original manga well-known for their disturbing themes — a crucial plot point involves incest — and graphic violence, is the typically family-friendly Spielberg up to the task of staying true to the dark, violent nature of the story?

"It's the thing that Steven was attracted to," Smith told MTV News. "We're working from the comic and we haven't done anything other than talk about it. So we'll see what happens, but he's not going to do anything that would be less than stunning."

"Oldboy" tells the story of a young man who has been imprisoned in solitary confinement for a decade of his life, with only a television as a link to the outside world. When he finally breaks free, he sets off on a quest to exact vengeance upon his unknown jailers. The manga was previously adapted to the screen by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, whose film garnered substantial critical accolades around the world upon its release, and has received high praise from action-film junkies such as Quentin Tarantino.

In one of the story's most memorable and visceral scenes, the film's protagonist turns up at a sushi restaurant after years of eating gruel in his prison, and demands to "eat something alive." His tormentors present him with a live octopus that nearly kills him as he devours it, making for an unforgettable — and controversial — sequence.

So, cross your fingers and hope that Will Smith has an appetite for octopus, "Oldboy" fans!

[MacGuffin]

Exclusive: Will Smith & Steven Spielberg's Old Boy DEAD!
Source: Latino Review

Late Breaking News...

This just in...

You know that OLDBOY remake...well it wasn't really a remake, anyway (which is a terrible idea by the way) Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were suppose to do a film that was based on the Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya and NOT FROM THE ORIGINAL FILM.

At the time DreamWorks was in the process of securing the rights along with MANDATE, until NOW.

According to a trusted source...

...It's DEAD!

Mandate and DreamWorks didn't see eye to eye therefore DreamWorks has apparently walked away.

No Spielberg.

No Will Smith.

THEY'RE OUT!

Hence no stateside Oldboy remake...or whatever you want to call it.

Stay tuned as more develops.

You guys should be hearing something in the trades soon. 

[polkablues]

This is fantastic news.  My day just got a little brighter!

[MacGuffin]

Has Spike Lee Been Released From Director's Jail...For The 'Oldboy' Remake?
Source: Playlist

All in all, Spike Lee is one of our favorite working filmmakers, and really, how could the man behind "She's Gotta Have It," "Do The Right Thing," "Malcolm X" and "25th Hour" not be? But he's also extremely inconsistent, and the critical and commercial failure of his last picture, the WW2 drama "Miracle At St. Anna," have made things trickier for the director: over the weekend, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he hasn't been able to get financing for any of his films in three years, even a sequel to his biggest hit, the starry thriller "Inside Man."

That film could never get the green-light, and neither could biopics of Jackie Robinson & James Brown and the self-penned ensemble drama "Brooklyn Loves MJ," while even replacing Martin Campbell on the thriller "Nagasaki Deadline," a project that seemed like a straight-up paycheck gig, came to nothing, leaving the director to stick to TV and documentary work.

But an interesting rumor emerged overnight, one that might see Lee return to the big screen, for a project that many films fans have been dreading for some time; the long-gestating remake of Park Chan-Wook's modern Korean classic "Oldboy." Ever since that movie, a brutal revenge story about a man imprisoned for decades by a mysterious stranger, was released back in 2003, talk of an Americanization has circulated, and 2008 saw Will Smith and Steven Spielberg, an actor/director pair as ill-suited to the project as possible, attach themselves to the film. They departed not long after when Mandate and DreamWorks fell out, but late last year, it was reported that writer Mark Protosevich ("I Am Legend") had turned in a draft that had executives jumping for joy, and that Spielberg had been approached again, along with Matthew Vaughn and Danny Boyle. It seems that those three have all turned the film down, as Twitch, who've been on a pretty hot run with the scoops of late, report that Lee is now in talks to helm the remake, which would mark his first directorial feature since "Miracle At St. Anna."

If it works out, Lee would certainly mark a better choice for the material than Spielberg, even if it still doesn't quite seem like the right choice. But then, our ideal pick for director would be, well, no one, and if it gets Lee back to work, and hopefully gives him the cache to get something he really wants to make going, than we suppose it at least gives the remake some purpose. Of course, none of this is confirmed yet, and Drew McWeeny says on Twitter that he believes that there are legal issues over the rights to the film that may tie things up. Only time will tell if Lee's appointment will finally push one of the less necessary remakes around forward, at long last.

[squints]

Spike Lee Confirmed to Direct Oldboy Remake
Source: ComingSoon

Mandate Pictures announced today that Spike Lee (Inside Man) will direct Oldboy, a remake of the highly-acclaimed South Korean film. Mark Protosevich has adapted the screenplay and will co-produce. Roy Lee and Doug Davison (The Departed, The Grudge) will produce. The film is a Vertigo Entertainment/40 Acres & A Mule Production. Mandate President Nathan Kahane will executive produce.

"It's a great honor to put this special project into the hands of such a gifted writer and iconic director," said Kahane.

Oldboy tells the story of a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned on his daughter's birthday. For fifteen years, he is held captive, and, upon his release, must begin his journey to find the reason for his imprisonment. He soon finds out that his kidnapper has plans for him more tortuous than his solitary confinement. The original film, released in 2003, directed by Chan-wook Park won the Grand Prize Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Spike Lee and Mark Protosevich are represented by CAA. Dan Freedman, SVP of business affairs, negotiated the deals for Mandate.


--------------------------------------------


this is going to be.........interesting?

[MacGuffin]

Josh Brolin To Star In Spike Lee's 'Oldboy' Redo For Mandate
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline

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.

[Orgin]

Wasn't t there a Indian remake of this film already?  So...this would be the 3rd time a movie base on this manga is going to be made.

[Ravi]

Wasn't t there a Indian remake of this film already?  So...this would be the 3rd time a movie base on this manga is going to be made.

Yes, it was called Zinda (Life). I haven't seen it, but it wasn't an officially sanctioned remake. The director is known for ripping off foreign films.

[MacGuffin]

Sharlto Copley Cast in 'Open Grave,' Confirmed For Spike Lee's 'Oldboy'
BY THE DEADLINE TEAM

EXCLUSIVE: Sharlto Copley is heading to Hungary to begin shooting Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego's Open Grave, and he has closed his deal to play the villain in Spike Lee's Oldboy, a remake of the cult 2003 Korean revenge thriller from Park Chan-wook. The actor, who made his mark with his starring role in the Oscar-nominated District 9 followed by The A-Team, will play the lead character in Lopez-Gallego's follow-up to Apollo 18. Copley's character wakes up in the pit full of rotting bodies with no idea how he got there, begins to have flashbacks of himself murdering people and stars to believe he's the killer. Charles Roven's Atlas Independent is producing. Copley has also been confirmed to play the villain Adrian Pryce in Oldboy. Pryce is a mysterious billionaire trying to destroy the life of Joe Douchett (Josh Brolin). The new Oldboy begins shooting in late September from a script adapted by Mark Protosevich, who will co-produce. Roy Lee and Doug Davison produce via Vertigo Entertainment with Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule. Mandate president Nathan Kahane executive produces.

Copley, repped by WME, just wrapped filming District 9 filmmaker Neill Blomkamp's Elysium opposite Matt Damon and Jodie Foster for MRC; it will be released in March 2013.

[I am Schmi]

So is it a remake, or an adaptation? Honestly, I haven't even explored the whole manga oldboy side of the things, I have seen the Korean adaptation though. If the original source is quite different from the korean adaptation, I might become interested in this.