According to Deadline Hollywood and The Los Angeles Times, there are two new foreign films set for English-language remakes, and it’s no surprise that they’re both thrillers. That seems to be a genre of choice for this brand of remaking (maybe because of their high concept, fan-pleasing nature).
As Jee-woon Kim makes his English-language debut with The Last Stand, the director will see Allen Hughes take on a remake of his 2005 A Bittersweet Life – the story of a mobster assigned to find out if a mob boss’ mistress is cheating who, of course, becomes taken with her charms. The second thriller from overseas to land in the remake trap is the Icelandic Jar City from 2006. The film, which has a murder unraveling a bunch of secrets and a police detective who’s too old for that shit, will be made by Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk.
Both movies are excellent examples of genre work, so it will be interesting to see if either of these filmmakers will be able to make something comparable. And if A Bittersweet Life: American Style is a hit, does that open the door to remakes of I Saw the Devil or, shudder, The Good, The Bad, The Weird?