If I hadn't seen it in Variety, I'm not sure I'd believe this. I mean, when we first heard about a remake of BAD LIEUTENANT, I just assumed it would end up going direct-to-vid if it even got made.
But nope -- Nic Cage is breathing an illegal BAC of life into the role once inhabited by Harvey Keitel. Okay, I can see that, since Cage is pretty eccentric when it comes to selecting projects. But Cage is, surprisingly, not the weird part. Veteran filmmaker Werner Herzog is directing.
An acclaimed art-house director, Herzog gained attention for more recent projects like GRIZZLY MAN and RESCUE DAWN but is probably best known for his infamous collaborations with Klaus Kinski (if you haven't seen AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD and FITZCARRALDO, you clearly don't watch enough films). Although given his experience with Kinski, working with Cage should be a piece of cake.
Abel Ferrara's original fun-filled 1992 flick featured (nude) Harvey Keitel as a lowlife asshole detective who spends his days gambling, f*cking, drinking and doing lots of drugs while occasionally while investigating the rape of a nun. TV guy William Finkelstein (NYPD BLUE, LAW & ORDER) and producer Ed Pressman (THE CROW) are behind the remake, with Nu Image/Millennium footing the bill for the iniquitous festivities.
Extra Tidbit:
My own surreal Herzog experience: sitting on the set of THE GRAND with Woody Harrelson, Brett Ratner and a CHUD writer as Herzog casually told stories of how he's cheated death on many occasions.
