Almost a year ago we reported the surprising news that Martin Scorsese was considering directing a remake of the 1974 drama The Gambler. It was surprising because it was added to the list of the over half-dozen films that Scorsese is either attached to or considering to direct, something that was very surprising for the usually choosy director. But then we didn’t hear much about the project and Scorsese went on to announce that his next project would be The Wolf of Wall Street (and the writer of the original The Gambler, James Toback, came out against the remake if he wasn’t involved since he based the story on his own battle with gambling addiction) suggested that the project might be off.
But The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the project is still alive, just without Scorsese in the director’s chair. In fact, Hangover director Todd Philips is considering directing the remake after he finishes The Hangover Part III. Curiously, Philips has never directed a drama, which makes me hope that Paramount isn’t planning on turning the remake into a comedy.
William Monahan, who previously won an Oscar for his script on the Scorsese’s The Departed, wrote the script for the remake, and it is being produced by Irwin Winkler and Bob Chartoff, who also produced the original. Winkler is also producing Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Anyway, it will be very curious to see if Philips ends up directing his first drama with this film.
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