Steven Spielberg wants Will Smith for OLDBOY remake

[Ernest Rister]

Based on the new posts, I guess I have to repeat myself...

Spielberg has been wanting to make a western for a very long time. Spielberg may take the original premise of Oldboy, but I guarantee you the resulting film will only bear scant resemblance to Oldboy. It probably won't even have the same title, it will be a Spielberg-helmed western INSPIRED by Oldboy -- like Star Wars was inspired by The Hidden Fortress or The 13th Warrior was inspired by Beowulf.

[GreenScar]

I would love to see Spielberg do a Western. I had never read about this. Can you point me to some links? Thanks!

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

I would love to see Spielberg do a Western. I had never read about this. Can you point me to some links? Thanks!

He's talked about it off and on through the years. See, the thing you have to realize about Spielberg's body of work is that he wants to create a film legacy where he's worked in as many genres as possible. From true-crime (Sugarland Express) to Hitchcock thriller (Jaws) to sci-fi (Close Encounters) to farce (1941) to 30's serial adventure (Raiders of the Lost Ark), to family fantasy (E.T.), Dickensian melodrama (The Color Purple), coming of age drama (Empire of the Sun), historical drama (Schindler's List, Amistad), war film (Saving Private Ryan), political thriller (Munich), Capra-esque comedy/drama (Terminal), film noir (Minority Report)...you see where this is going? He's missing a gangster film, a Western, and a musical, and Spielberg has talked for many years about being frustrated in not finding a musical property to direct. He's also wanted to shoot a Western, and when he approached Tom Cruise with War of the Worlds, he offered him one of three projects -- War of the Worlds, a western, and something else that remains secret. Cruise chose War of the Worlds. So Spielberg's got a western on the brain, as well as a musical. I don't know if he'll ever do a crime/gangster film as he has so much admiration for Coppola and Scorsese...

The point is, Spielberg is at his best when he's trying something new. I think he's like a gifted gift sleepwalking through his classes when he has to cover the same old territory, which explains why his sequels and genre re-treads seem to lack compared to his first go at them. Spielberg is to his craft what Mozart and Michael Jordan were to theirs. Not everything Mozart wrote is memorable or exceptional, Michael Jordan lost games and didn't hit every bucket. But when they were on, they excelled to such an astonishing prodigious level, people could only look on in awe (and bitter envy).

So I welcome Spielberg's western, inspired by Oldboy. And I think a lot of you who are so knee-jerk in condemning the project are going to be served a heaping pile of crow once the project finally comes to fruitition.

[WyldeMan45]

There are just so many elements of Oldboy that Will Smith just couldn't fit or do. Somebody mentioned earlier that in the Original Oh Dea Su was a middle aged chubby average guy, that was part of the appeal this average looking man was abducted for an unknown reason. Now we add Will Smith who although is only a few years younger than Min-Sik Choi just doesn't look middle age and the guy is ripped, there is nothing average about him, because people have so many ideas about what they expect in a Will Smith movie and from him, and we need an unknown for this role otherwise we will know right away he wont get gritty. I honestly know we will never see (SPOILERS)



Will Smith rushing a hallway with a hammer beating the living s*it out of everyone, eating a live octopus, banging his daughter or cutting out his tongue.

[Ernest Rister]

And for the umpteenth time, Spielberg doesn't even have a SCREENPLAY yet, he just wants to make a Western, with Will Smith, inspired by Oldboy. You guys really need to throttle back with the plot speculation and just wait to see what is finally realized.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

And for the umpteenth time, Spielberg doesn't even have a SCREENPLAY yet, he just wants to make a Western, with Will Smith, inspired by Oldboy. You guys really need to throttle back with the plot speculation and just wait to see what is finally realized.

And while you are obviously the Spielberg defender, all the articles have said Oldboy Remake, not western inspired by Oldboy or the captive scenerio.

[opterasis]

One thing never ceases to amaze me. All the people that act like a remake is the end of the world. Who exactly is going to force you to see this? Don't like the idea? Don't see it. I hated the idea of a "When a Stranger Calls" remake, so surprise, I didn't see it!

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

And while you are obviously the Spielberg defender, all the articles have said Oldboy Remake, not western inspired by Oldboy or the captive scenerio.

"All" the articles? You mean the ONE article in Variety which explicitly states Spielberg doesn't even have a screenplay yet, not to mention a writer?!

[RazorBlade]

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith both Rock.. this should be good

[GreenScar]

I've liked everything Spielberg has done (even the ones most don't like). I would love to see him do a Western and a Gangster movie. Will Smith in another Western? Not so sure about that (but Spielberg can do anything he sets his mind to IMO).

It is true that the article (the original report) doesn't say it's a direct remake (or not). It does say that he's looking for a writer. I would suggest everyone wait and see what develops.

[jadedeath]

Let me guess:

Spielberg will insist on the antagonists being German... right?

Logan

[InstantKarma]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Yeah, Speilberg went from the GREAT Minority Report to the mediocre AI then Indy 4? Sounds like a downhill spiral.

Minority Report blew. AI was an incredible imitation of Stanley Kubrick, which is to say that it was thought-provoking but still blew. Haven't seen Indy 4 yet, but my understanding is that it blew... lol

I think Spielberg still makes some brilliant dramas, but the escapist-film genre that he started out in...well, he's jumped the shark.

[InstantKarma]

Originally Posted by mikejet

He's a good actor though. His best performance was the Fresh Prince when his father came back.

He really IS a good actor, when the script requires him to be one. His best performances were in Where the Day Takes You, and Seven Degrees of Separation.

[GORT]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

Indiana Jones 4

Geroge Lucas

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by GORT

Geroge Lucas

I still can't get over the brutal rape scenes in Indy 4, i still get choked up thinking about him and spielberg forcing Indy in the woods over that log, and against that pinball machine.....

[theprophecy247]

will smith can do any role

[RustyK94]

Would be nice to watch will smith rip his tongue out and beg like a dog.

[Crim122]

As much as I love Spielberg I would not want to see him remake Oldboy, I dont want to see anyone remake Oldboy.

Hollywood just needs to leave foreign films alone

[clownface]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Oldboy was an incredible film, and there is absolutely no way in hell, that Will Smith could ever be that gritty or insane. He is quite possibly the worst choice there is for that role. Please leave Oldboy alone, there is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Korean version!

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Heart&Soul]

Will Smith isn't world-weary enough to pull this off.