Ok, this is GOOD news! A couple of years ago I saw an AMAZING Asian film called “Battle Royale“. It is one of the most violent and brutal things I’ve ever seen, but the brilliance of the film is not in it’s brutality… if all you see is the violence in this film then you’re not paying attention. This film is character driven and obscenely engaging!
Basically, a class of students are taken to an isolated Island to fight to the death until only one remains. But there is a time limit, and if there is more than one surviving student by the time limit, the collars around their necks explode Killing everyone. Kill or be killed.
The good folks over at Filmjunk give us this:
It now looks like there is an American remake of this movie taking shape… what I want to know is, what the heck took so long?? It’s still in the early stages, so there’s no writer or director on board yet, but New Line have announced that Neal Moritz and Roy Lee will be producing. Lee is a logical choice (he’s produced tons of Japanese remakes including The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water and Oldboy).
Personally I totally welcome this news. I think (if done right) a remake of this classic will expose a whole new audience to a masterpiece that otherwise would never have seen it. I give this news a big thumbs up.
Now, the question on if it will be done RIGHT is a whole other issue. Let’s hope they do. New Line doesn’t seem to be an inept as some other studios out there… so there is hope. Personally… I’m THRILLED at this news.
