The Latest Remakes & Reboots : POINT BREAK, HIGHLANDER, SCARFACE

In the past couple of weeks there have been lots of news regarding new reboots and remakes preparing to enter the pre-productions stages. Three of the most certain to be remade are "Point Break" (Yes, the bank-robbing surfer dudes movie), "Highlander" and (gasp!) "Scarface". The information regarding these three projects are scarce so far, but they are, at least, showing off some degree of certainty, as opposed to other projects. Read on to find out more about each of these remakes.

Point Break

The 1991 action flick directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow will be remade by Alcon Entertainment, through Warner Bros. As you might remember, Alcon is the company that just bought the rights for the sci-fi classic "Blade Runner", which they will also be rebooting. The original "Point Break" starred Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent on an undercover mission inside a gang of surfers led by Patrick Swayze's character, suspected of robbing banks. The remake already has a script, penned by Kurt Wimmer, and will be produced by Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Michael DeLuca, John Baldecchi and Chris Taylor. In case you're wondering about Kurt Wimmer's credentials as a screenwriter, you might be happy (or not) to find out he has written the scripts for films like "Law Abiding Citizen", "Street Kings", "Salt" and the upcoming remake of "Total Recall". He has also directed two sci-fi actioners, "Equilibrium" and "Ultraviolet". All in all, he's the perfect writer for a bit of cheap thrills. No director is currently attached to the project, but Alcon is fishing for one.

Highlander

The original "Highlander", starring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown, was released in 1986, but despite developing a cult following, it never really became a very profitable property, nor did it succeed in creating a long-lasting legacy, apart from several sequels, one worse than the other, a 6-season TV series largely forgotten today and several subpar spin-off attempts. The story involved immortal warriors fighting amongst each other throughout the ages in order to claim an ability called 'The Prize'. And thus, the immortal phrase 'there can be only one' was born. Summit Entertainment has decided to reboot the whole thing, in the hopes that the franchise can be brought back to life. Initially, "Fast Five" director Justin Lin was hired for the job, but he dropped out, so Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ("28 Weeks Later") was brought in to helm the reboot. Fresnadillo is also set to direct the reboot for "The Crow", but that one has been put on hold for now, until a leading actor can be found, after Bradley Cooper dropped out. The screenplay has also gone through several iterations. The first drafts were penned by Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley ("National Treasure") and Melissa Rosenberg ("Twilight"). The script is currently being written by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum ("Iron Man"). Production is set to begin Spring 2012.

Scarface

Perhaps the most unusual of the reboot bunch is "Scarface". Universal Studios is taking steps to update the 1983 film (originally a 1932 film produced by Howard Hughes). The '83 version, directed by Brian De Palma, starred Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a cuban immigrant landing in Miami during the eighties and rising to the top of the drug business. The crime epic quickly became a favorite among audiences thanks to its stylish excesses and Pacino's explosive performance, but it seems the studio wants to give modern audiences a new version of the classic crime boss rise and fall scenario. They don't actually want to do it with the same characters and plot, but instead take the basic formula and slap the "Scarface" title on it. So far, Universal is still searching for a writer, but there's good reason to believe they're going to fast track the project, so expect plenty of news.

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Monday, September 26, 2011

The Latest Remakes & Reboots : POINT BREAK, HIGHLANDER, SCARFACE

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