Not long ago, it seemed pretty certain that we were going to be getting a remake of the 1988 William Lustig / Larry Cohen film MANIAC COP. Filming was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles this year, with Nicolas Winding Refn producing and John Hyams directing from a screenplay by Ed Brubaker. What could possibly stop a train like that?
Well, something has apparently derailed the project. In an interview with Birth Movies Death, Cohen cast some serious doubt on the possibility of the remake happening, and seemed seriously pissed while doing so.
As far as I know, that’s not happening anymore, and if it is, they might be trying to keep it a secret, as they’d owe me $250,000.
Ed Brubaker wrote the script, and I’ve read the script, and it’s not very good. Ed Brubaker is a very good writer of comic books, I think. But if he’s written a good script for a movie, I haven’t read it. I wrote six new scenes for the picture, based on what I’d read. And, had I written the whole script, the movie would probably be happening, as the script would be good. I wrote three films for Bill Lustig, though they changed a lot of [Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence] and Bill got fired from it… and I would’ve written the fourth movie, had they asked. But they didn’t, and now it’s not getting made."
According to Cohen, the script that he was so unimpressed with started out very much like the 1986 film MONA LISA, with someone driving prostitutes around, before turning into a new MANIAC COP story.
As for why the remake isn't happening, Cohen says it's because Refn wasn't able to raise enough money, even though we heard last year that funding had been secured.
…he didn’t get it, so now it’s not happening. If it is, I would like to be paid, or I’m going to call my lawyer, and it’s getting shut down."
It's a shame that the remake has run into trouble, and that Cohen has been made so bitter in the process, because the possibility of a new take on MANIAC COP from this creative team sounded promising.
Hyams directed UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING
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