“SAY HELLO TO MY LI’L REMAKE!!” Yes, Brian de Palma and Oliver Stone’s iconic 1983 crime drama, which saw Al Pacino take on the role of poor Cuban immigrant turned wealthy and powerful drug Miami drug lord Tony Montana, is getting a remake. And according to a report from Deadline, Universal is in talks with director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, Olympus Has Fallen) to helm it.
Now before you avert your gaze because of the dreaded “R” word and start complaining about how modern Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and keep just ruining your favourite films from yesteryear, please be aware that the Pacino film was itself actually a remake of a 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks which told of an Irish immigrant who rose to criminal power in 1920’s Chicago. This new version is keeping that same outsider rags-to-drug-fueled-riches structure, but transplanting it to modern day Los Angeles.
The script is being penned by Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton, Ghost in the Shell), working off a previous draft actually written by Fuqua’s Training Day scribe David Ayer (who is currently very busy getting suicidal). Previously Universal courted Harry Potter helmer David Yates, as well as No director Pablo Larrain to take the reins on this remake. Fuqua though is a great choice to helm here, having proven himself adept at gritty crime dramas, intense character studies and the all important element of having people shoot stuff with really big guns.
Fuqua is also no stranger to remakes of remakes of cinematic classics, as he’s just about to release a remake of John Sturge’s 1960’s western The Magnificent Seven which was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 samurai classic Seven Samurai. Then there was The Equalizer with his Training Day and Magnificent Seven star Denzel Washington, which was a movie remake of an old TV series. Fuqua clearly has a thing for this remake business.
Last Updated: August 11, 2016
