At a certain point in the Hollywood remake game, you just have to throw up your hands and say, “sure, why not, let’s just remake anything!” And that seems to be what might have transpired in Brett Ratner’s mind, because the filmmaker is now set to produce a remake of Garry Marshall’s The Flamingo Kid. See? Sure! Why not? Okay!
Deadline Hollywood reports (via The Playlist) that Ratner will produce the film (through his Rat Pictures) alongside Walt Disney Pictures. And, while a remake like this certainly feels strange, this new film will also have a familiar face on board – veteran producer Michael Phillips, who also produced the original, Matt Dillon-starring production. Hey, look at that! Maybe this idea isn’t insane! Additionally, music video director (and For Colored Girls scribe) Nzingha Stewart will pen the script.
Marshall’s 1984 film set Dillon as Jeffrey Willis, a recent high school graduate who doesn’t quite no what he wants to do, and thus ends up working at a chi-chi beach club, where he’s introduced to a world of privilege (and attractive ladies and popped collars). It’s kinda like when Saved By the Bell did all those Malibu Sands Beach Club episodes. Of course, Jeffrey’s new life has some repercussions in regards to his “old” life, and the eponymous kid has to decide what sort of man he’s going to be. The film was a major coup for Dillon and, coming on the heels of both The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, helped establish him in Hollywood as a leading dude (or, well, kid).
While Ratner’s chops as a director have been varied (at best), he’s been involved with sorts of very different projects in a producing capacity. His producing resume includes films like Catfish, Skyline, Horrible Bosses, Mirror Mirror, and a ton of television, making Brett Ratner’s producing resume perhaps the most interesting thing about him.
Check out the original trailer for The Flamingo Kid, as dug up by The Playlist, below.
