In my report from yesterday about Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s comeback film, The Last Stand, I mentioned my concern of a Western sheriff being played by a man with an Austrian accent. Well it turns out that the reports of the film being a Western were premature. In fact, an unnamed Lionsgate executive re-explained to Deadline that “It was miscommunicated to you that the film is a Western (although it has that classic feel for sure with Arnold as a Sheriff!). It’s more of a Fast And Furious at the border with high speed car chases, drug cartels and the like.” That certainly clarifies the film’s plot a bit. But shortly afterward came the film’s press release, which revealed even more details of the film’s production and plot:
Korean action-suspense master Kim Jee-Woon (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD) will direct the film, which is to be based on a spec script by Andrew Knauer that was subsequently rewritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Lionsgate has domestic and international distribution rights, with the film having pre-sold well in several overseas territories already. Lorenzo di Bonaventura will be producing the film through di Bonaventura Pictures.
Schwarzenegger will be starring as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.”
That sounds more like a classic Schwarzenegger picture. Actually, I’m starting to get an idea that Sheriff Owens is a lot like Sylvester Stallone‘s character Sheriff Heflin in Cop Land, which remains as one of Stallone‘s best acting performances. Will Schwarzenegger follow in his Expendables co-star’s footsteps?
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