Here’s my vision as to how this casting coup went down for Spike Lee’s remake of OLD BOY:
Samuel L. Jackson: Hey Spike, how’s it going?
Spike Lee: Well, the studio is still concerned marketing a remake of everyone’s favorite Korean revenge flick. They said they “kind of miss the days when Spielberg and Will Smith were attached.“
Samuel L. Jackson: You ain’t got no problem, Spike. I’m on the motherf***er. Go back in there, chill them n*****s out and wait for the Jackson, which should be coming directly.
Jackson’s role is currently vaguely described as that of “the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene.” I would try and decipher which character from the original film fits that bill, but there’s no telling just how much Lee’s piece will deviate from the original (or the manga). Then again, there’s also the fact that the main character just tortures a whole mess of folks in the name of revenge. The source for this news claims that the tortured character in question is this one, but I remain unconvinced until we hear more.
Lee also recently scored on the production-team front, securing Bruce Hornsby to… score… his upcoming flick. Hornsby, having worked in the music business for a long time in his own right, also scored Lee’s most recent effort (RED HOOK SUMMER). The primary reason you may know him, if you do indeed know him, would be this song. Regarding OLDBOY, Hornsby recently had this to say about how the composition process is progressin: “‘I’m working on a few things and I’ll send them to Spike soon,’ he said. ‘The D word has been spoken to me by him,’ the musician added, referring to a dark tone. ‘But I think the score will also run the gamut.'”
OLDBOY does not currently have a release date, but is set to begin filming this fall in both New York and Louisiana with Josh Brolin, Shartlo Copley, and Elizabeth Olsen.