‘Oldboy’ Remake May Be In the Hands of Steven Spielberg and Will Smith

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 7, 2008

Oldboy

This is extremely intriguing news. Oldboy is not just one of the best films to ever come out of Korea, but one of the best films period. It’s original, dark, and twisted as hell, and I cringed when the US remake rights were picked up a couple years ago. News from Variety this morning has me cringing a little bit less. Just a little bit though…

Steven Spielberg is apparently in the process of acquiring the remake rights for Dreamworks, in the hopes of directing the film with Will Smith as the star. Spielberg’s currently searching for a writer, so the deal seems imminent. I expect this news will actually make many people more upset than they already were by the unavoidable remake, but I’d ask them to reconsider.

Oldboy, directed by Chan-wook Park, is about a man who’s kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years without explanation or contact with his captor(s). He’s inexplicably released and given five days to discover who did this to him and why. What follows is a grueling, stylish, and suspenseful exploration of revenge, torture, and tragedy. It’s both amazingly violent and surprisingly thoughtful, and a US remake will never do it justice.

Which brings us back to the possible pairing of Spielberg and Smith for the remake. It’ll be both easy and instinctual to pounce on the duo for Spielberg’s very real mishandling of the latest Indiana Jones film and Smith’s perceived mangling of the I Am Legend reboot or Hancock. I would argue though that whatever faults you find in those films, both real and imagined, both men have proven themselves many times before in their careers.

Spielberg is obviously technically and stylistically talented, and he’s proven he can do hard ‘R’ violence and intensity with films like Munich and Saving Private Ryan. He wouldn’t have been my first choice as director (hello David Fincher!) but my concern would easily lessen with his experience, talent, and unlimited budget at the helm. Smith has substantial experience with action films, but they’ve almost exclusively been of the ‘PG13′ variety. He also wouldn’t have been my first choice as actor (hello Mel Gibson! that’s right, Mel Gibson!) but I’m intrigued by the possibility. His last three films have seen him go as dark as he’s ever been (in character, not skin tone) and while they’re light years away from the grotesque depths required for Old Boy, I’m willing to give Smith the benefit of the doubt that he could pull it off.

What do you think? Are Spielberg and Smith up to the task of adapting Oldboy for US audiences?

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Theo

Speilberg just doesn't have the grit to do Oldboy justice. Smith, it closer but he wouldn't be my choice either.

For director, I like Fincher and would be interested to see what Arnofsky could do with it.

For star, I like Daniel Day-Lewis because no other actor can go where you'd need to go for this like he could. Then again, I think he could play just about any role. For some reason I think Gerard Butler could pull it off as well.

curt

GOD DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another movie Will Smith is going to totally screw just by being involved. His name pretty much means pg13. They will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER make an R rated "action" flick with Will Smith in it. And Speilberg would never keep the movie the same. The only thing bigger than his budgets is his ego. He will change this into a friggin metaphor for oppresion of someone, add in some crappy CG dinosaurs, aliens and god knows what else. This pisses me off more than almost anything else I have read in the last few weeks. If you are going to remake a perfect film (already a bad idea) then get someone who will do it the right way. Not someone who's first thought is "how can I make this movie the way I want it to be?" God damn stupid Holleywood.

ife hearted

at the end of the day, this movie is gonna be nothing like Old Boy. its gonna be Will Smith running around all over New York or some city like that. all the powerful scenes of the original will be left out (like the squid eating scene) . i don't see Will Smith being o.k with the "twist" at the end, either.
some movies or remakes just dont transition well for American audiences. but, hey, I'll try and be optimistic. here's to Speilberg and Smith at least making a decent movie

whaler

It'd be pretty hard to translate any Korean film into an american remake that could both a) do the original justice and b) make some cash at the box office (take a look at what happened to My Sassy Girl--> straight to video). The best we can hope for from Speilberg is a reboot that possibly maintains the same style and tone of the original with an ending appropriate for mainstream audiences. I'm actually surprised that Speilberg is making this a project... Why not just let Tarantino remake it, after all he was the one who handed the grand jury prize to Park Chan Wook back in 2004. Better yet, why not let Park Chan Wook direct it himself, he speaks pretty good English and we're seeing more Korean directors branching out lately... As to Will Smith, I'd be deadset against him for the same reasons, despite the fact that he has done "R rated "action" flicks" before (Bad Boys), he lacks the range to pull off Oh Dae Su.

Rob Hunter

I agree that translating Korean films (most Asian films actually) for a US audience while maintaining the original's quality is a daunting, if not impossible, task. (If you haven't seen The Chaser yet, do so before the upcoming DiCaprio remake comes out.) But I still say Spielberg does in fact have the balls to get gritty and dirty... but Will Smith maybe not so much. I remain cautiously optimistic.

J

(SPOILER) The incest won't make the transition if Spielberg is at the helm. That part is integral to the story and the impact would be dampened if taken out. I'm okay with Will Smith as the lead, he's proven himself to be a reliable dramatic actor, barring the "aww hell naawwws".

Cole Abaius

My biggest complaint is actually that Smith isn't old enough. Oh Dae Su seems so pathetic and weak due mostly to how old he is. Middle-age and captivity have not treated him well. He's flabby, out of shape, weak in a physical way. And there's no way that Smit is going to gain 60 pounds to be appear vulnerable for this thing.

Thankfully, instead of watching Smith and Spielberg, I can just watch the original Old Boy. Problem solved.

Nevernude

omg Rob Hunter, did you actually write that Will Smith's last 3 roles have been dark? COME ON!...looking at imdb, Will's last 3 films have been "Hancock" (how the hell can you call his role in this movie dark?!. a PG-13 movie and dark do not go hand in hand!), I am Legend (in which he acted very very well but again, there was nothing dark in that role! if the second part of the movie had seen him descend into madness due to his absolute loneliness then yeah.) and lastly The Pursuit of Happyness (oh yes, now that was one dark movie! big Will swearing his head off, and punching babies in the face, eating octopus's alive and beating the sh*t out of anyone who dared to come within a 100 metres of him).

Will Smith is a fantastic actor but he ABSOLUTELY CANNOT do justice to this role. Things i cannot see Will Smith do in Oldboy;
eat a squid alive.
beat the hell out of henchmen with a hammer
pulling his own tongue out
...

Ed Norton perhaps?

D Train

What's with all the Spielberg bashing? Are you guys serious? No wonder they call this site Film School Rejects. Look at the mans track record. He's like 40-2. And if you think he doesn't have the balls and the clout to pull this off, then you obviously don't know who runs shit in Hollywood.

curt

We know exactly who runs shit in Hollywood. That's why we're all such bug fans of a movie made in Korea. And, no I am not a Spielberg fan.

‘Oldboy’ Remake May Be In the Hands of Steven Spielberg and Will Smith

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