Oldboy

News

Sharlto Copley will play Oldboy villain [30th April 2012 19:00:00]

Oldboy, Spike Lee's long-gestating remake of the Korean thriller, has finally bagged its villain, with District 9's Sharlto Copley signing on as billionaire Adrian Pryce.

The part has been a tricky one for Lee to fill, with offers having been made to both Colin Firth and Clive Owen before Copley agreed to come aboard. However, with the two principles in place, Lee will be hoping that production can now begin to pick up pace.

The film will follow Brolin's character Joe Douchett as he attempts to piece his life together after being suddenly released from 15 years of captivity. Having been kidnapped and locked in a hotel room for years on end, Douchett is understandably pissed off, and sets about attempting to piece together what has happened to him.

However, as anyone who has seen the superlative original will know, the quest for knowledge doesn't always lead the seeker down a road they want to go. Indeed, producer Roy Lee has suggested that the new ending will be even more extreme this time around.

"The ending will be something that the audiences will all be ... especially the fans of the original, will be very happy with," says Lee. "In fact, some may consider it to be a bit darker."

Elizabeth Olsen is still rumoured to be attached as a caseworker who meets Douchette as his life unravels around him, and sets about helping him to unravel the mystery. As for a release date, that still remains some way down the track, but things do at long last appear to be moving forward... Source: www.totalfilm.com

Colin Firth offered lead villain role in Oldboy remake [16th November 2011 10:06:07]

We love a bit of counter-intuitive casting here at Total Film, so it's intriguing to here that Colin Firth has been offered the role of villain Adrian in Spike Lee's Oldboy remake.

Josh Brolin is currently the only actor locked in to star in the US version of the Korean modern classic.

Both Christian Bale and Rooney Mara were linked to the film, but have since gone off to shoot new Terrence Malick movies.

Oscar-winner Firth is best known for his stiff-upper-lipped roles (which he does very well), but it'd be interesting to seem him playing a scheming villain (especially seeing as conventional wisdom would have seen him and Brolin swapping roles).

The report comes from Twitchfilm, and there's no word yet on how likely he is to actually sign up.

Given the starkly original (not to mention brutal) nature of the original Oldboy, it's no surprise that folk are treating the remake with hostility, but could some great casting turn that around?

Firth will next be seen in the Coen brothers-scripted remake of Gambit, before starring in WW2 revenge drama The Railway Man.

Oldboy is expected to open at some point next year. Source: www.totalfilm.com

Rooney Mara lands Oldboy female Lead? [29th September 2011 18:08:14]

Rooney for Oldboy? Surely the England striker is better suited to a live-action Shrek film? No, it's Rooney Mara who could find herself starring with Josh Brolin and Christian Bale in Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy - if the rumours are true.

Sources told Twitch that Mara is the project's first choice for the female lead, playing a character renamed as Marie in the US version of the film.

Mara seems to be shifting categories from 'one to watch' into 'one to watch at the multiplex', given her recent work on films such as David Fincher's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake, The Social Network and the Nightmare On Elm Street reboot.

Reports suggest that Brolin has now been confirmed for the lead role, playing a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years before being released.

Christian Bale is thought to be first choice for the villain role, although there's still no word on whether that will happen yet.

Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) has penned a script for the Oldboy remake that includes elements of Park Chan-wook's original, story from the comic which inspired that film and new material. Source: www.totalfilm.com