Well it looks like now that someone got Oldboy out of the way, Hollywood must feel that the rest of Park Chan-wook’s films should be remade as well. Why? I have no idea, but news just broke that the third film in his Vengeance Trilogy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, is getting the good old fashioned American remake treatment from the scribe of The Departed and Body of Lies, William Monahan. This would be the second Asian film Monahan has adapted for American audiences with the first being Infernal Affairs, which became The Departed here in the states and which he won an Oscar for.
Starring as Lady Vengeance will be Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron, and though I’ve never seen Monster, if she won an Oscar for it and can get dirty, mean and bloody, then she can definitely pull it off. This is a film where her underutilized acting chops will actually need to be fully used for a change and I actually trust that she can nail it.
Regarding the entire project, Monahan was quoted saying that “this will be very American — and very unexpected,” whatever that means for a movie that already has unexpected turns in it. He goes on to say that “Park is a genius; it’s the Everest of adaptations and I’ve got blood in my teeth to do it.” That second line I can agree with, though Oldboy is the Everest of adaptations, but I don’t think it’s something that should or needs to be done. We need to first see if the Oldboy remake works and if that does then maybe this remake will be ok as long as they get a director who can handle this kind of awesome genre work.
If you’re interested in seeing the solid Korean film, it was one of the first films I reviewed for the site and a film I recommend checking out if you can.
What are your thoughts on Hollywood going on a Korean movie remaking binge? Do you care or is it no big deal?
Recent Comments