Spike Lee’s Oldboy gets an official synopsis and release date

Spike Lee’s OLDBOY now has an official release date and a synopsis for us to pick apart as compared to the Korean original. From the get go we were told the American version was going to follow the manga version more than the Park Chan-wook film, but from this summary, it seems to be just like the movie.

OLDBOY will be released by FilmDistrict in theaters on October 11, 2013, just in time for Halloween. They also revealed the following synopsis:

OLDBOY follows the story of an advertising executive (Josh Brolin) who is kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement without any indication of his captor’s motive. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment. His quest for revenge leads him into an ill-fated relationship with a young social worker (Elizabeth Olsen) and ultimately to an elusive man (Sharlto Copley) who allegedly holds the key to his salvation.

Actually, that sounds exactly like the Korean movie. I am interested to see how this movie develops and if they clean it up for American audiences (I hope they don’t). I was very close to including the original OLDBOY on my most disturbing movies Ten Spot but it definitely is not for general audiences. Spike Lee has directed some good movies that give me hope for this project (INSIDE MAN, 25TH HOUR), so I will wait and look forward to the trailer.