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Good News for the Oldboy Remake / TK

Trade News | November 10, 2009 | Comments (19)

Sometimes the best news isn’t about what’s going to happen, but rather about what’s not going to happen. For once, the wheels of the remake machine have ground to a halt. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, according to the good people at Latino Review, Steven Spielberg’s Oldboy remake has died in the womb.

Apparently, Spielberg and Dreamworks have been meeting with Mandate, the Korean production studio to get the rights sorted out, and it just ain’t happenin’. It was reportedly to be a direct adaptation of the original manga comic, and not a remake of Park Chan-wook’s 2003 twisted mindfuck of a masterpiece. But regardless, you will not see Will Smith (Spielberg’s choice for the lead) aw-hell-nawing up a remake anytime soon.

Hopefully ever.

You see kids? Sometimes, good things do happen. It’s nice to know that just tossing two of the biggest names in Hollywood into the mix doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. And while, given the remake of the incredible Infernal Affairs into Scorsese’s absolutely brilliant The Departed or Verbinski’s remake of Ringu into The Ring, we know that good remakes can be done, Smith in Oldboy just seemed fundamentally wrong.

I say good fucking riddance. Chop its head off, bury the fucker and salt the earth where it lays.


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Comments

Woohoo!!
Thank you TK, thank you. Thank you for telling me that there may still be some hope left in Hollywood.
And thank you Mandate. Let us not forget you in this.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at November 10, 2009 5:00 PM

I know this statement will get me kicked out of Pajibaland forever. I did not like Old Boy. There I said it and I feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Posted by: Jadashay at November 10, 2009 5:09 PM

The Ring? Good? Aw hell naw!

Posted by: TSF at November 10, 2009 5:11 PM

Yay!

Posted by: John W at November 10, 2009 5:31 PM

yeah, cause latino review is never wrong.

the reality is probably much worse. it's probably going to be re-tooled into a megan fox vehicle.

or something equally as fucked.

trust no one.

Posted by: gp at November 10, 2009 5:36 PM

When this project rises once more from the ashes, like a Phoenix who likes fucking up films that are perfectly good instead of blowing up the moon and messing with Scott Summers...

They're going to want to go younger, hipper, and more fresh-faced than Will Smith.

SHIA!

Posted by: Daniel Hall at November 10, 2009 5:45 PM

So I'm the only person alive that thinks the Departed wasn't very good?

Posted by: John Denver's Wingman at November 10, 2009 5:49 PM

*shrug* I have nothing against an Oldboy remake. This might have sucked, but it does not detract from my appreciation for the original. I must admit I also have a real curiosity about what a Spielberg-directed Oldboy would look like. As saccharine as Spielberg might be perceived at times, he has some very dark, disturbing moments in some of his films, and I think he renders those moments effectively.

However, if Spielberg himself were going to direct this and he only had time for one more project, I'd just assume he were working on the Lincoln biopic or that long-rumored Interstellar project instead, so perhaps this is good news in that respect.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 10, 2009 6:04 PM

THANK FUCKING GOD.

And Daniel Hall, your vision disturbs me on many levels.

Posted by: Cruise at November 10, 2009 6:13 PM

If this report is true (Dear Lord, let it be true), I only have one thing to say:

Oh, Happy Day!

Or, if you prefer:

Hail, Holy Queen!

Score one for preserving great foreign cinema.

Posted by: Robert at November 10, 2009 6:30 PM

Fucking nice one!
But...
The Prophet Hall has spoken and it is only a matter of time.

Posted by: Bob at November 10, 2009 6:51 PM

TK, you can act all sanctimonious and shit about Spielberg not getting the chance to remake Oldboy. Don’t think for one second that the company that owns the rights declined Spielberg’s offer out of some notion of trying to keep Oldboy pure and unfucked. Trust me, those motherfuckers are just trying to get more money for their product ( Didn't you learn anything from the Wire?). Sooner or later Oldboy is going to get made.

Posted by: Guess Who! at November 10, 2009 6:56 PM

Sa-weet! But I'm strangely disappointed--I had an awesome fantasy that Will Smith would shock the world by going hard-core Oldboy and destroy his reputation.

Posted by: Cara at November 10, 2009 7:03 PM

Yey! This makes me so happy. As much as I like the Fresh Prince, I just can't see him hammering someone.

That wasn't meant to sound dirty, its just so many generally dull DIY terms sound dirty...

screw, hammer, nail, drill, tap, butt joint, cupping, hardwood, grinding, plane.

Shit that last one doesn't really work, but whatever, I see a girl over there and I'm totally gonna lathe her ass.

Posted by: Temet Nosce at November 10, 2009 7:06 PM

You're not the only one JDW. I saw Infernal Affairs first, and thought The Departed was bloated.

But I'm so glad there won't be an Oldboy remake.

Posted by: ruru at November 10, 2009 7:30 PM

Thank god for this abomination not happening. Also, having read the manga, I think it's great they're not doing a straight adaptation because it's just not a good story.

Wingman and ruru - I agree with you both. The remake of Infernal Affairs was subpar by far. It had an amazingly glaring plot hole that removed the motivation for the final rooftop meeting, undercutting the ending. Instead of thinking how tragic, I was left wondering why I should care for a character as stupid as that. And combining the psych character and love interest was an awful choice.

Posted by: blair at November 10, 2009 8:01 PM

I really hated The Departed. Original was fine, but the American remake was awful, Martin Scorsese really has just gone to seed.

Posted by: Will at November 10, 2009 8:32 PM

Cruise:

It's coming. Prepare yourself for Oldbeouf.

Posted by: Daniel Hall at November 10, 2009 9:03 PM

Well that's one down. Now I only have Let the Right One In, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion to worry about.

Posted by: Steph at November 11, 2009 12:21 PM





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