Long Good Friday remake confirmed
Story by Jack Foley
CLASSIC British crime film The Long Good Friday is to be remade with the action switched from London to Miami.
The remake is to be directed by Paul WS Anderson, of Resident Evil and Alien V Predator fame, and will be released through production company Handmade Films.
The original Long Good Friday featured Bob Hoskins as an East End crime lord whose empire came under attack from a wave of bombings. It co-starred Helen Mirren.
The remake has yet to be cast but will take place in Miami in a bid to attract a wider world-wide audience. Filming is due to start in 2008.
Announcing the project, Patrick Meehan, chairman of Handmade Films, commented: “The original was a highly praised classic and one of Handmade’s most prized films, but its reach was limited primarily to the UK.
“Following continued interest from the US, we realised this remake could attract audiences worldwide with an updated setting and contemporary overtones.
“When Paul [Anderson] presented his creative vision for this project, we were instantly convinced that this is a story that could be successfully refreshed, yet leave the integrity of the original intact.”
Anderson added: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to put a new spin on this classic film which promises to reveal today’s gritty underworld in an equally shocking fashion.”
Please, please, please – nobody mention Get Carter, another remake of a British classic that relocated the action from the UK to America. Didn’t that go straight to DVD?
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