Have Spielberg And Smith Said Goodbye To Remaking Old Boy?

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 10, 2009

oldboyremake

Word on the web is that the answer to that question is a big old fat Hell Yeah!

Latino Review is reporting that the oft-discussed, continuously derided pairing of director Steven Spielberg and megastar Will Smith on a remake of Park Chan-wook’s film Old Boy is officially DOA. News of the planned remake was revealed almost a year ago and was met with immediate criticism. Everytime we covered it on FSR (here, here, and here) the comment sections were over-whelmingly anti-remake (and anti-Spielberg/Smith). Well now everyone can relax because Dreamworks will not be getting their hands on the film’s rights.

Per the LR post, Dreamworks was in negotiations with their Korean production counterpart, Mandate, but “didn’t see eye to eye therefore DreamWorks has apparently walked away.” Without Dreamworks there’s little to no chance of Spielberg’s involvement. And without Spielberg the assumption is that Smith will drop it as well. LR states “No Spielberg. No Will Smith. THEY’RE OUT! Hence no stateside Oldboy remake…” So cue the celebration right?

Except for one thing.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a remake of Old Boy. It just (most likely) means that Spielberg and Smith won’t be attached. So I ask you… were these two guys the worst possible director and star you could have imagined on this project? I’ve said from the beginning that I thought Spielberg was good for this. The man can do dark… just watch Munich and try to find one shred of lasting joy or light in that film. You won’t find it. He wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I had no issue with him at the helm. I am happy to see Smith go though… I think he’s a fine actor, but I don’t believe he’d let his character go as low and as dark as the one in Old Boy needs to go.

So with them gone the door is wide open to a host of other names. Maybe Brett Ratner can step in as director? Maybe Sam Worthington can be cast in the lead role? Then you’d really have something to bitch about…

Are you happy about this news? Who would you like to see step in to Speilberg’s and Smith’s shoes?

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ommytror

I agree that Spielberg could actually have done a good job with the source material but I also don't think we need a stateside remake.

sarasorrentino

I am so happy Will Smith is out. I have a deep hatred for him, and I'm starting to believe Spielberg is a little overrated too. An Oldboy remake needs a young and more visually striking Director, someone who makes more stylized movies.

steven

you have a deep hatred for someone who have not done nothing to you personally LMAO.

sarasorrentino

Yes, yes I do. And I am not ashamed of it.

steven

lets see what happens when you meet Will Smith face to face i bet the hate will change to like LOL.

carrie

"old boy"+Spielberg+Smith=oxymoron
in clear,it's an happy news

GenoThePeoplesChamp

I hope this whole remake things gets dropped. I loved Old Boy, and a stateside remake could never be what it would need to be.

pretty_weird

It'd be cool to see Robert Rodriguez or Tarantino do a take on it. And maybe Ben Foster, Sam Rockwell, or Jeremy Renner be the lead.

adamcharles

If this remake is gonna happen then this is the remake that Neil Labute and Nicolas Cage were supposed to do together, and I'm not kidding. The dark, uncomfortable humor is exactly what Labute thrived at early in his career, and think what you want about Cage but there are few stateside actors fearless enough to take on a role like this.

I'd also get excited if it was Fincher and Norton reuniting. Maybe De Palma and Sean Penn. Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis, or Paddy Considine could also be good. Any sort of combination of those would peak my interest.

wan73d

In terms of directors, there's really no one who I think could fairly replicate Oldboy. Tarantino seems like an obvious choice for the attempt given the hallmarks of his work, but I feel like he'd consider such a remake near sacrilegious. Another interesting option would be Danny Boyle simply because of the range he's displayed throughout his work, which is exactly what a film like Oldboy requires. My fanboy pick is the Coen brothers because how meticulous the pair are and because they could certainly handle Oldboy's depravity. I never really despised Spielberg's involvement, but I was and am skeptical due to his involvement in certain, more recent projects.

In terms of actors, I have to agree with a few previous suggestions. Sam Rockwell, Sean Penn, and Edward Norton would all be interesting in the role. Rockwell certainly has the physical appearance down, Penn is an intriguing choice in nearly all roles, and I'd be interested to see how Norton fits within the action elements of Oldboy. I might also throw the name of Michael Imperioli in the ring for the role of the main antagonist, originally played by Lee Woo-jin.

Have Spielberg And Smith Said Goodbye To Remaking Old Boy?

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