Film/Television
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Josh Brolin and Mark Protosevich for Spike Lee’s Old Boy?

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Written by On July 15, 2011

I’m going to stop referring to this as the US remake or the US “Old Boy” now that a director is attached. It’s Spike Lee‘s “Old Boy” now, penned by screenwriter Mark Protosevich. Mandate Pictures wants Josh Brolin to play the lead. This is vaguely comforting though. They don’t want Disney boys and they don’t want, say, Tom Cruise. They’re showing that they are dedicated to real acting talent by approaching an incredible actor with great range.

Regarding the script, Protosevich’s, according to Twitchfilm, is a mixture of elements of the manga, the Park Chan Wook film and his own original material. He’s been involved in the project since 2008, when Will Smith and Steven Spielberg were in talks.

Twitchfilm:

Just as Park Chan-Wook took a central concept from the Japanese manga while radically re-envisioning parts to create something new, the goal here is not to create a slavish shot-for-shot remake but to take elements of the Park film combined with elements of the manga and completely re-envision and re-contextualize those to create a specifically American story around the same concepts and themes…We’re told roughly twenty percent of the Protosevich script is entirely new material.

Mark Protosevich

Many remakes that go through big Hollywood Studios tend to want one thing, sure money from an established fan base. Sometimes this is okay, because the right people are hired. Gore Verbinski remaking “The Ring” was a great idea, “The Grudge” directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of the original) was not. Naivety seems to be informing big studios contentions that you can catch lightening in a bottle twice by attaching a director to remake his own film or any Tom-Dick-Harry to throw together a script. Logic seems to be informing big studios that opt for quality directors, screenwriters and actors to, not simply have an English-language film steeped in United States culture but, really look at the story and reimagine it. Can Spike Lee and Mark Protosevich do that?

I’m not so sure. I’m not a Spike Lee fan, as a filmmaker he’s hit or miss, as a person he seems to be all miss. While I enjoyed his films “Do the Right Thing” and “Inside Man”, I didn’t appreciate his adaptation of the David Benioff novel, “25th Hour”. Protosevich last wrote “Thor”, which worries me. “Thor” was okay in the blandest sense of the word and his script for “I am Legend” lost it’s quality once Will Smith found some friends. Hit or miss, but at least I know Spike Lee intends to make a great movie.

Two years or so ago I was livid at the very idea of remaking my precious “Old Boy”, I’m here now with, still, a sense of discomfort but  a greater sense of interest. Because, at the end of the day, nothing can take the shine off of “Old Boy”, the banter and arguments will draw more attention to the original, and I believe the filmmakers intend to do right by the fans of the film and offer something of quality to filmmaking. Perhaps, I’m like this because no one is trying to get their hands on the real gem of the Vengeance Trilogy, “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.” (Or because all my anger is reserved for the live-action “Akira”) But I understand the anger still, I feel no desire to watch Matt Reeve’s remake of “Let the Right One In”, “Let Me In”, for example, and I role my eyes every time I see a commercial for the dvd release. But then, I laugh when I hear about A. R. Murugadoss’s, Bollywood remake of “Memento”, “Ghajini”. And I flip on BBC America to watch reruns of “Law and Order: UK” which is a rehashing of the original series. I don’t know if I’ll buy a ticket for Spike Lee’s “Old Boy” but I certainly less worried than I was before.

What about you guys? Hate it? Warming up to the idea? Or just indifferent?

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  • Katb

    Hate it not only because it’s a classic but also because Americans can’t stop remaking successful movies from other countries in order to turn it into blockbusters.

  • Aaron B

    This project is obviously in desperate need of some life so the producers went to an interesting director to attract movie stars. But he is a director who has not made a movie in 5 years and his agent probably pushed this as a publicity stunt so he could get another job. As for Olldboy lets face the reality — unless the budget is under $20 million its a money loser. Its pitch black dark. Its an asian-theme not involving kung-fu (obsessive revenge). The action is dreary and guttural, not comic-booky and fun. In short – its a prestige piece for a studio or an auteur but otherwise, a waste of time for the distribution people. The investors (in this case the stuiod) who bought the remake rights just want to get their development costs back, which are probably north of $5 million by now because they hired an A-lister for Spielberg…. so they hope a name director (Spike Lee) can attract actors which in turn can attract a budget. But think about it — can you really imagine your mom lining up for this? Or a 14 year old skateboarder? Material wise its comic book I think the whole affair is a waste of time. However, if it gets more people into Korean cinema that can’t be a bad thing…

    • lay

      uhm … is it skeptical of me to believe that the majority of people who went and watched all those previous remakes did not even know that they were remakes of all those great Asian movies?

  • sierra

    I hated old boy. It is so overrated and pretentious. Maybe i just knew too much about the movie going in (not my fault I accidentally read a spoiler on an article about tablo and his wife) but there was just so much that was messy in this movie. I dont’t know how to describe it…I guess I got bored to death. what’s sad is i knew the “twist” and still didn’t like the movie…then thats saying something. It’s a lot like black swan which was also a terrible film. but old boy will be a better Korean movie than a Hollywood movie. I’m still going to see the Hollywood version but not in theaters either red box or hopefully Netflix instant watch.

    Let the right one in was a Fantastic film. I’ve heard that the American version was not a remake but a companion piece. I haven’t seen it yet, but don’t judge until you actually see it because even people from the original movie praised this one.

    Also despite my dislike for old boy. I love the posters for the movie.

  • Dylan

    “they don’t want, say, Tom Cruise. They’re showing that they are dedicated to real acting talent”

    His personality might be too intense (although, unlike Josh Brolin, he’s at least never been arrested for domestic battery) but Cruise has always been a talented actor. Jerry Maguire, Rain Man, Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Magnolia, Collateral – hell, even Tropic Thunder, just to name a few off the top of my head. I’m still recovering from the awfulness that was Jonah Hex, though, so I might be biased against Brolin right now.

    @Katb: Yes, Hollywood churns out a lot of unimaginative drivel, but so does any major movie market (don’t get me started on Bollywood). To be honest, it’s the international audience that seems to lap up some of the dumbest American movies more than the American audience itself. You vote with your wallet.

    Btw, I agree with sierra that Old Boy is overrated. I enjoyed Sympathy for Lady Vengeance much more.