Gerard Butler to Escape From New York?
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, MGM, Remakes and Sequels
I am now certain that John Carpenter made a Pact With the Devil. With this evil bargain Carpenter gained an awesome career making classic after classic in the 70s and 80s. Satan, on the other hand, gained remake rights to all of these classics, which he is now selling off to the studios. With a just announced redo of Escape From New York added to the list, all five of Carpenter's features from 1976 (Assault on Precinct 13) to 1982 (The Thing) have been or are being remade. Of course, The Thing doesn't exactly count since Carpenter's was already a remake, but if I hear about an update of Christine or Dark Star, I'm going to start getting worried about my most beloved Carpenter classic, Big Trouble in Little China. The new Escape From New York is being written by Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) but no director is attached yet. Gerard Butler, a hot property now that 300 is a hit, is in negotiations for the role of patch-eyed Snake Plissken, who was played by Kurt Russell in the original as well as the sequel, Escape From L.A. (I guess he definitely won't be doing Escape From Earth now.) The film, for those of you who aren't familiar, is set in Manhattan in the future (1997 in the original) after the whole borough has been turned into a maximum security prison. When the President of the United States crash lands on the island, his rescue is put in the hands of Snake, a prisoner who is offered freedom if his mission is successful.
Robert Pattinson Talks 'Breaking Dawn' & 'Unbound Captives'
Gwyneth Paltrow Joins Nicole Kidman in 'The Danish Girl'
Discuss: The Movies That Haunt You_thumbnail.jpg)
'Yogi Bear' Will Cry Me A River With Its Cast
Watch This: Movie Titles That Slip Into the Dialogue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-28-2008 @ 7:44PM
Laura Cousins said...
Escape from New York was a bad film in my opinion. Gerry is a brilliant actor so why should he waste his time on ridiculous low-budgets like this?
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 11:10AM
Chris said...
Why????
What the hell is wrong with people?
Why must they mess with iconic roles? I'm sure when Dirty Harry, Die Hard, Rambo, Bullit and any John Wayne movie is re-made, they can find someone suitably pathetic to try and fit in those shoes too.
That's it, I'm moving to Hollywood with a copy of my DVD list and just keep pitching re-make ideas to studios Hell, I'll make a mint with the lack of creativity or originality that I could show!
It's high time Citizen Kane and Casablanca got a re-do, don't you think?
Hey, wait! I know. Let's do a movie about a galactic empire and a young moisture farmer who gets swept up in a rebellion and takes down a galactic government. We could cast Colin Farrell as Luke Skywalker, Gerard Butler as Han Solo, Katie Holmes as Leia, and Robin Williams as Chewbacca. Maybe Morgan Freeman could do Darth Vader's voice and Wilford Brimley could be Obi-Wan Kenobi.
I think I'm going to be sick.
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 11:12AM
Christopher Campbell said...
Wasn't Casablanca already remade sorta as Havana? Also, Colin Farrell is not wimpy enough for Skywalker.
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 12:10PM
Akbar Fazil said...
1. Its a mistake to remake this movie.
2. Its a huge mistake to not cast Sawyer from Lost as Snake Plissken. (I like Butler, but Sawyer is the man)
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 12:39PM
Morgan said...
Escape From New York was terrible, and the only thing worth half a turd in it was Russell. I don't see it getting any better without him.
Reply
3-13-2007 @ 1:40PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Morgan,
I am curious exactly why you thought Escape From NY was terrible.
Reply
3-18-2007 @ 6:24AM
Gus said...
At last! I am not alone! there are others who love (and remember) Big Trouble in Little China.
Crouching nun, hidden candle go and eat my wire work
Reply
3-21-2007 @ 2:41PM
josh said...
"At last! I am not alone! there are others who love (and remember) Big Trouble in Little China."
How could you be on the internet and think you were the only person that remembers BTiLC? It's a cult classic.
Reply
7-14-2007 @ 8:11PM
SnakePlissken said...
!st comment was brilliant, as 4 morgan, listen mate u dont like EFNY, go to some other forum n have a sookie la la, point taken from 1st comment, ive bought my ticket to LA, taken my script LOST and remade it as erm, NOT HERE... so what next, remake the news??? i mean its all BS EFNY was an absolute classic, which, (not fond of) james cameron did special effects for, the music is awesome, but understand what carpenter did, he wrote the script, story, music, and directed it?? amazing, and its a funny comic sgtrip movie b4 its time, as for teh remakes of his others, the fog an assual on precinct 13, they were crap, so what next?? im remaking the telly tubbies tee vee series, with well, any1 thats not hot, so i can make them in2 super stars in a production that was worthy of toilet paper..
enuff said, they remake escape, well were in trouble... The thing remake was amazing, but carperter knew what he was doing, he knew hawks back 2 front, if u have studied carpenter, his favirote director was hawks, and carpenter admits all his movies r westerns, so will any1 that remakes carpenters movies understand the quintesential idea of what carpenter was trying to do?? I THINK NOT...
Hollywood, BLOW IT OUT UR ASS
Reply