Actress Elizabeth Olsen Discusses Oldboy After Reported Offer

posted on 2012-03-05 20:45 EST

Actress speaks highly of Korean film, director Lee while avoiding questions on ending

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In a video posted to MTV's website on Monday, actress Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House, Martha Marcy May Marlene) discussed her possible involvement with the upcoming Oldboy adaptation to be directed by Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X). The Twitch film website reported last week that Olsen was offered the female lead role in the film. The trade magazine Variety reported in October that actress Rooney Mara (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake) passed on the same role.

In the interview, Olsen spoke very highly of the film and of director Spike Lee, while also doing her best to avoid speaking about the ending of the new film, a major point of interest for many fans of Park Chan-Wook's film adaptation of Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi's original manga. In a previous interview, when asked about the ending of the remake compared with Chan-Wook's original ending, director Lee said that "the ending will be something that the audiences will all be... especially the fans of the original will be very happy with. In fact, some may consider it to be a bit darker."

In January, Variety reported that production on the film has been delayed until late summer or early fall because of actor Josh Brolin's press commitments for his Men in Black 3 film. Brolin is slated to play the male lead in the film.

Mandate Pictures is developing the project with producers Doug Davison and Roy Lee (The Ring, Dark Water [2005], Death Note and Godzilla remake plans) of Vertigo Entertainment and Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule Productions. Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) wrote a script, and Mandate Pictures President Nathan Kahane is serving as executive producer.

Variety earlier described the Korean film's story about "a man who's kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he's finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him." (The original manga has the protagonist imprisoned for a different number of years and does not have the Korean film's added plot twist ending.)

U.S. Oldboy Producer Aims to Start Production in September

posted on 2012-03-25 23:47 EDT

Roy Lee: Virginia Tech massacre, Hunger Games nixed U.S. Battle Royale plans

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Producer Roy Lee told The Wall Street Journal newspaper's Jeff Yang last week that he anticipates that production on the American remake of Park Chan-Wook's Oldboy film will begin in September. Spike Lee is directing the film with stars Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) .

Lee also noted that in 2006, he and Neal H. Moritz were proposing an American adaptation of Koushun Takami's Battle Royale novel but the project went dormant after the Virginia Tech shootings. After the release of Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games novel in 2008 and the subsequent film rights pickup in 2009, the similarities between the two works ended plans for an American Battle Royale remake for good. "Look, there isn't a studio out there that would invest the money to do a Battle Royale feature film remake now," Lee said. "Audiences would see it as just a copy of Games — most of them wouldn't know that Battle Royale came first. It's unfair, but that's reality." Yang noted that Battle Royale author Koushun Takami told ABC News that he appreciated his fans' support in the Battle Royale/Hunger Games comparisons but that “every novel has something to offer."

Variety: Sharlto Copley Offered Villain Role in Oldboy Remake

posted on 2012-04-12 15:10 EDT

Site: District 9, The A-Team actor in early talks for role of Adrian

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The entertainment trade magazine Variety reported on Thursday that actor Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team) has been offered the villain role of Adrian in Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan-Wook's live-action film Old Boy. Variety added that Copley is in early talks for the role. Variety's article notes that actress Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House, Martha Marcy May Marlene) will play the female lead in the film. The Twitch film website had reported in February that Olsen had been offered the role.

Variety also added more information about the movie's characters. The site describes the villain's character as "a mysterious billionaire out to destroy the [protagonist's] life" and the female lead's character as "a caseworker who helps [the protagonist] investigate the past."

Past actors who have been offered the role of Adrian include Clive Owen (Intruders, Children of Men, Sin City), Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man, Love Actually), and Christian Bale (The Fighter, Batman Begins, American Psycho).

In January, Variety reported that production on the film has been delayed until late summer or early fall because of actor Josh Brolin's press commitments for his Men in Black 3 film. Brolin is slated to play the male lead in the film.

Mandate Pictures is developing the project with producers Doug Davison and Roy Lee (The Ring, Dark Water [2005], Death Note and Godzilla remake plans) of Vertigo Entertainment and Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule Productions. Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) wrote a script, and Mandate Pictures President Nathan Kahane is serving as executive producer.

Variety earlier described the Korean film's story about "a man who's kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he's finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him." (The original manga has the protagonist imprisoned for a different number of years and does not have the Korean film's added plot twist ending.)

Deadline: District 9's Copley Closes Deal on Oldboy

posted on 2012-05-01 19:41 EDT

Actor previously reported as in talks for role of Adrian

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The Deadline film website reported on Tuesday that actor Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team) has been confirmed as playing the villain role of Adrian Pryce in Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan-Wook's live-action film Old Boy, which was itself influenced by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi's manga Old Boy.

It had been reported earlier this month that Copley was in talks for the role. According to the article, the film will begin shooting in late September of this year. The report describes Copley's character as "a mysterious billionaire trying to destroy the life of Joe Douchett (Josh Brolin)."

Past actors who have been offered the role of Adrian include Clive Owen (Intruders, Children of Men, Sin City), Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man, Love Actually), and Christian Bale (The Fighter, Batman Begins, American Psycho).

In January, Variety reported that production on the film has been delayed until late summer or early fall because of actor Josh Brolin's press commitments for his Men in Black 3 film. Brolin is slated to play the male lead in the film.

Mandate Pictures is developing the project with producers Doug Davison and Roy Lee (The Ring, Dark Water [2005], Death Note and Godzilla remake plans) of Vertigo Entertainment and Lee's 40 Acres & A Mule Productions. Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) wrote a script, and Mandate Pictures President Nathan Kahane is serving as executive producer.

Variety earlier described the Korean film's story about "a man who's kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he's finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him." (The original manga has the protagonist imprisoned for a different number of years and does not have the Korean film's added plot twist ending.)



Update: Deadline also reported that Elizabeth Olsen will star in Old Boy.

Brolin: Oldboy Remake 'Won't Tone Down Violence'

posted on 2012-05-26 12:03 EDT

In an interview with the website Digital Spy, actor Josh Brolin (True Grit, No Country for Old Men, Men in Black 3) spoke about his involvement with the American remake of the Korean film Oldboy. When questioned about the violence in the Korean film, Brolin revealed that he and Spike Lee, who is directing the remake, would not be toning down the violence.

The live-action Korean film is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. Brolin had previously said that he contacted the Korean film's director, Chan-wook Park, for his blessing.

Sharlto Copley Comments on Spike Lee's Oldboy Remake

posted on 2012-07-25 23:03 EDT

In an interview with MTV News at San Diego Comic-Con, actor Sharlto Copley commented on his experience with Spike Lee's upcoming remake of Park Chan-Wook's live-action film Oldboy. It was reported this April that Copley would play the villain role of Adrian in the remake. When asked about the film and its approach to adapting its source material, Copley answered:

"They've been very true to the spirit of it. It's dark, it's gritty. They're not sort of softening it, which to me was important. And I'm very excited about that movie. I'm very excited about working with Spike and with Josh. I think it's going to be a film that is really worth redoing and [that will make an] idea that is such an unbelievable story accessible to maybe more people than it was originally."

Director Spike Lee Responds to Oldboy Casting Report

posted on 2012-08-04 22:16 EDT

Director Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Red Hook Summer) responded on Saturday to a reported casting call for his planned Oldboy remake that lists one character of Asian lineage. The Angry Asian Man blog posted an unverified casting call with one character listed as "Asian," although it also has another character of "open ethnicity."

A Twitter follower asked Lee to comment on the reported casting call's ethnicity listings, and Lee responded:

Actor Josh Brolin (Milk, Men in Black 3), actor Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team), and actress Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House, Martha Marcy May Marlene) have been attached to this planned remake of Park Chan-Wook's live-action film Oldboy, which is itself an adaptation of Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi's manga.


Update: Lee specifically addressed the reported casting call's character descriptions of "women of color [as] 'drug addicted nutcases' and 'mysterious exotic beauties'":

Director Spike Lee Confirms Oldboy Casting Call, But Has 'Rectified' It

posted on 2012-08-09 01:45 EDT

Casting call descriptions 'taken out to the woodshed' after being leaked

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Director Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Red Hook Summer) elaborated on the recent outcry against casting descriptions for his planned remake of the Oldboy film. In an interview posted on Moviefone's website on Wednesday, Lee confirmed that the previously unverified casting call was real but "worded poorly." Lee said that although he did not write the casting call descriptions, he had to take the blame for them.

"So we've rectified the situation […] We had to take them to the woodshed," Lee explained.

The Angry Asian Man blog posted the following casting call for Oldboy:


Actor Josh Brolin (Milk, Men in Black 3), actor Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team), and actress Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House, Martha Marcy May Marlene) have been attached to this planned remake of Chan-wook Park's live-action film Oldboy, which is itself an adaptation of Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi's manga. According to the posted casting call, the film has a screenplay by Jo-Yun, Chun-hyung Lim, and Park, and it will start shooting in New Orleans on October 1.