Patrick Álvarez & Louis Leret recommends: ‘The Killer’ Remake Starring Lupita Nyong’o in the Works With Original Director John Woo

the killer remake

The Killer was not John Woo’s first movie, but it was the movie that put the director and his instantly recognizable flavor of Hong Kong action on the international map. American action films have spent the past 30 years shamelessly cribbing from Woo’s filmography, so a Hollywood remake of this bonafide classic was inevitable. The news that this is finally happening is not surprising.

What is surprising is that Woo himself is returning to direct and that Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o will star, gender-swapping the role originally played by Chow Yun-Fat. And like that, I’m suddenly interested in a The Killer remake.

Deadline has the news, reporting that Universal wants to fast track the production, which will shoot in France and Germany later this year. Woo is among the laundry list of producers on the film, which was written by Collide‘s Eran Creevy (Collide) and 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Josh Campbell & Matt Stuecken. Veteran screenwriter Brian Helgeland (Man on Fire, L.A. Confidential) is working on a new pass.

Released in 1988, The Killer follows a professional assassin who accidentally blinds an innocent girl during a job. Wracked with guilt, the killer decides to embark on one final job to get the money to pay for an operation that could restore her sight. Lots of bullets are fired, the body count rises, and because this is John Woo we’re talking about, it’s all done with a very specific blend of kinetic violence, balletic choreography, and painfully earnest melodrama.

Nyong’o is an inspired choice for the lead role, not only because it’s a refreshing change from the bland white guy who would have been cast in this a decade ago, but because she’s a movie star just waiting for her big moment. Sure, she took home an Academy Award for her incredible work in 12 Years a Slave, but she was buried under pixels in two Star Wars movies and had to play second banana to the title character in Black Panther. She’s an incredible performer, charismatic and funny and capable of plumbing incredible emotional depths. A filmmaker like Woo, not one afraid to shy away from mingling action and sentiment, could make for a wonderful collaborator.

Of course, the elephant in the room here is Woo’s hit-and-miss western filmography. Stolen by Hollywood after his initial string of unforgettable action films, Woo made bonkers and brilliant movies like Broken Arrow and Face/Off before making dull fiascos like Paycheck, Windtalkers, and Mission: Impossible II. Hopefully, Woo will be energized by being tasked with revisiting one of his masterpieces…and hopefully, the studio will just stay out of his way.

There’s no release date window for The Killer just yet, but Woo fans should know that his new movie, Manhunt, arrives on Netflix this Friday.

The post ‘The Killer’ Remake Starring Lupita Nyong’o in the Works With Original Director John Woo appeared first on /Film.



View Source

Popular posts from this blog

Patrick Álvarez & Louis Leret recommends: The Women of Marvel Deserved More in ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Image
(Welcome to  The Soapbox , the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: Avengers: Endgame doesn’t honor its female characters in a way that actually carries weight. ) There’s no question that Marvel has a women problem. In the past decade and over the course of its 22 movies, only one of them was led by a woman, and one had a woman sharing the title. But the studio has been eagerly trying to make up for it in recent years, releasing Captain Marvel to critical and box office acclaim , and slowly introducing female fan favorites — some of whom would go on to get double billing in the big established movies. As we headed into  Avengers: Endgame , the Marvel Cinematic Universe was filled to the brim with strong, complex, rich female characters — some super, some not — who were on course to outshine even some of the male heroes. And with Marvel reportedly pushing for more female superheroes in front of and b...
Read more

‘The Stand’ TV Series Reveals Cast, Confirms New Stephen King-Approved Ending [TCA 2019]

Image
CBS All Access confirmed the first four leads of its adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand for its streaming service. The Stand is considered by many to be King’s definitive book. Well, it’s either The Stand or It , as both are over 1000 pages and have been adapted as miniseries in the past. While It got a two-part movie, The Stand will get a streaming series on All Access. Streaming will allow The Stand to explore the graphic horror of King’s prose without restrictions. We learned that King will write the final episode and who will being playing Stu, Nadine, Frannie and Henry. The Stand will premiere in 2020 with nine episodes. It begins filming in Vancouver in the fall and EVP of Original Content for CBS All Access Julie McNamara said it caps off their year, so late 2020 sounds likely.  More King and New King  It’s not just that King is adapting his own story. As the writer of the final episode, King promises to create an all new coda for the ending of ...
Read more

‘Ghostbusters 2020’ First Look: Jason Reitman Reveals the Film’s Family As Production Begins

Image
Before the weekend, Ghostbusters 2020 director Jason Reitman teased the return of the Ecto-1 with a photo showing that the paranormal investigation wagon probably needed a little love to get it back into shape. But he saved an even better look at the forthcoming sequel for later in the day with a Ghostbusters 2020 first look photo revealing cast members Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Carrie Coon as the family at the center of the story. Check it out below. Ghostbusters 2020 First Look Photo Mckenna Grace looks like she’ll make quite the new Ghostbusters, which is good since Reitman’s entire inspiration for this movie came when he envisioned a 12-year old girl sporting a proton pack. Grace has a look that feels reminiscent of Egon Spengler in the original Ghostbusters. Is there any chance that this family turns out to be connected to Harold Ramis’ character? Perhaps he had an estranged daughter who never knew him. As you can see in the photo posted to Twitter , the film’s wo...
Read more