Could Timothy Olyphant be the next Snake Plissken? Breck Eisner talks remake

June 23rd 2010, 7:59pm

Well, you may not be too thrilled with a remake of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, but this thing is definitely moving along.

In fact more details on the film have come in from director Breck Eisner (THE CRAZIES) who was confirmed to helm the project at the end of April.

ComingSoon got this out of Eisner while talking about the DVD release of THE CRAZIES, “I’m a huge fan. As a kid, I absolutely loved that movie. And Snake is such a bad-ass. The interesting thing about ‘Escape from New York’ is that it was a comment on the urban decay and the suburban flight coming out of the ’70s and early ’80s. Conceptually, it’s an idea that’s not true today because of the world we live in. So, how the prison is created is going to be different than in Carpenter’s version. The anxiety of the world and anxiety of our existence post-9/11 is there, especially the anxiety in Manhattan post-9/11. Plot-wise, they’re different, emotionally they’re very similar. That’s why it’ll be interesting to tackle this movie, to have a slightly different take but with the same results which is Manhattan is turned into a walled prison.”

He also added that there was more script work to be done, “I would be surprised if I found a script that I was just ready to make. I’m bringing on another writer this week and we will do a pass on the latest draft by Allan Loeb. We’ll be doing a significant pass on that.”

Then in a more detailed interview with MovieWeb, Eisner talked about the possibility of Timothy Olyphant taking on the role of Plissken. Here’s the conversation:

MovieWeb: I know you are remaking Escape From New York next, as well as Blood of the Innocent. So who is Timothy Olyphant going to play? Jack the Ripper? Dracula? Or Snake Plissken?

Breck Eisner: (Laughs) All three if you ask me. I love working with Timothy Olyphant, and I will be working with him again. He is an amazing actor. A talented guy. And he’s incredibly funny. He needs to do a great comedy, because he is a funny guy. But I will work with him again. I can promise you that.

MW: Can you talk at all about this idea? That he might very well be our next Snake Plissken?

Breck Eisner: Creatively, he would be great for it. We have not yet discussed internally within the studio who will play Snake Plissken. There are many factors that go into those discussions. First and foremost, obviously, is the creative one. We can’t make the movie unless we get the perfect Snake Plissken, and that’s a tall order. There are very few guys that could do it. He would definitely be one of the guys who could. There is no question about that.

MW: Well, I hope you do hire him. He’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed The Crazies so much.

Breck Eisner: Well, thank you. He is a great actor and a pleasure to be around.