For anyone who has seen OLDBOY, whether they like/respect it or not, I imagine that it is going to very hard to accept how Spike Lee’s new take might turn out. The Korean original is so distinct, so visceral, so defined in its pain and sorrow and beauty, that it’s not so much a matter of being hard to top as a matter of it being nearly impossible to forget. That being said the casting of Sharlto Copley as the villain is already a step in the right direction towards crafting a solid piece of new storytelling, and Copley had this to say recently about the upcoming movie and his place in it:
“They’ve been very true to the spirit of it. It’s dark, it’s gritty. They’re not sort of softening it, which to me was important. And I’m very excited about that movie. I’m very excited about working with Spike and with Josh… I think it’s going to be a film that is really worth redoing and make that idea that is such an unbelievable story accessible to maybe more people than it was originally.”
A few new story notes (ergo there are spoilers below if you haven’t seen the original:
– The title will follow the manga and be OLD BOY, not OLDBOY as it was with the first film.
– Josh Brolin’s main character of Joe Douchett will be imprisoned for “over two decades,” as opposed to the fifteen year time span used in the original film.
– Upon his sudden release, Joe will be told that he has “just four days to determine the reason for his imprisonment.”
What I’m most curious about, which is also a question that I can’t imagine being answered until I’m in the theater watching the film, is what OLD BOY will do in relation to the original film’s absolute motherf***** of an ending. Copley is currently in mid-prep for his part, so look for production to be starting soon.
The antagonist of the Korean film.
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