At first glance this announcement made me upset; most of Hollywood's remakes are rubbish and in relation to the original(s) it just doesn't match up. I.E. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (The Millennium Trilogy), The Eye, Let the Right One In (Let Me In), Quarantine (REC), The Grudge (Ju-On), etc etc.
Park Chan-Wook is one of my favorite directors for films like Oldboy, which is well underway in its remake production directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin, and I Saw the Devil. Now Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is being remade with Charlize Theron starring.
For those unfamiliar with the original, Lady Vengeance “is the story of a woman who for reasons of her own completes a prison term for a murder she did not commit, reemerging to punish the killer, and avenge the dead.” The film is the final chapter in Park’s “Vengeance Trilogy” following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy. While Oldboy is my favorite of the three, Lady Vengeance is a close second. Theron is a strong choice for the lead role, and I’m curious to see what Oscar-winner William Monahan (The Departed) will do with the script. The press release says he’s “adapting” the original, but that could mean he’ll serve as both writer and director or as the writer only. He previously directed London Boulevard and will next direct Mojave.
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a great film that showcases the lead actress and her determination for revenge. Great film. Lets hope Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance doesn't get remade; that is by far the oddest of the trilogy and frankly not worthy of remaking.
Here’s the press release:
Annapurna Pictures, Denver & Delilah Films and CJ Entertainment Partner for SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE Adaptation by William Monahan
Oscar® Winners Charlize Theron to Star and William Monahan to Adapt Final Chapter of Park Chan-wook’s Acclaimed Revenge Trilogy
Los Angeles, CA (November 28, 2012) – Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah Films, CJ Entertainment, and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures have partnered to produce an adaptation by William Monahan of Park Chan-wook’s SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE.
Theron will star as well as produce with Denver & Delilah partner Beth Kono, Annapurna Pictures’ Megan Ellison and Chelsea Barnard, CJ Entertainment’s Ted Kim, and William Monahan. Justine Suzanne Jones of Henceforth Pictures, AJ Dix of Denver & Delilah, Ted Schipper of Annapurna Pictures and Miky Lee of CJ Entertainment will executive produce. Ellison and Annapurna Pictures will finance the film. Panorama Media will serve as the international sales agent.
LADY VENGEANCE is the story of a woman who for reasons of her own completes a prison term for a murder she did not commit, reemerging to punish the killer, and avenge the dead.
“This will be very American – and very unexpected,” says Monahan. “Park is a genius; it’s the Everest of adaptations and I’ve got blood in my teeth to do it.”
A dramatist, director and novelist, William Monahan recently completed the screenplay for THE GAMBLER for Martin Scorsese at Paramount, and Robert Rodriguez’s SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. He will next direct MOJAVE, an original thriller. He won an Academy Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay for THE DEPARTED, directed by Martin Scorsese, which earned four Oscars®, including Best Picture. His production company, Henceforth Pictures, has a number of feature and television projects in development, including a screen adaptation of his first novel, Light House: A Trifle, and “The Throwaways”, a New Yorker piece by journalist Sarah Stillman.
-Daniel, Jedi Editor
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