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Preview by: Jack Foley
HAVING taken time out to explore some real acting depth in Spanglish,
Adam Sandler returns to comedy for his next venture, a remake
of Robert Aldrich's 1974 film, The Longest Yard, starring Burt
Reynolds.
The new version keeps the original's name and one of its stars,
in Reynolds, but adds a heavyweight line-up to the mix.
It's directed by Peter Segal (who has previously worked with
Sandler on 50 First Dates
and Anger Management)
and co-stars the likes of Chris Rock, Gary Oldman, William Fichtner,
James Cromwell, Brian Bosworth, David Patrick Kelly and Nick Turturro.
The film tells the story of pro quarterback, Paul Crewe (Sandler),
and former college champion and coach, Nate Scarboro (Reynolds),
who are 'doing time' in the same prison.
The duo are subsequently asked to put together a team of inmates
to tackle the guards, and duly struggle to coach their team to
victory in a football game 'fixed' to turn out quite another way.
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For added authenticity, former NFL
players, Brian Bosworth, Michael Irvin and Bill Romanowski, are
all set to appear in the remake, lending some grit to the football
footage.
According to the film's director, Segal, the time is right to
unleash a new film on cinema-goers, given that it's been over
30 years since the original.
He also feels confident that people will embrace Sandler as an
action-hero, describing the film as containing 'much more action
and drama than I’ve done, but still has comedy to it'.
In an interview with About.com, he states: "When I first
heard about the fact that Happy Madison had purchased the rights
to remake the movie, I thought that sounded like a good one.
"Just my gut. Not having anything to do with the film, not
being a part of it at that point, I thought, ‘Okay, good,
I’m ready to see a remake of that.’"
He went on to reveal that Sandler has undergone a vigorous training
regime to be ready for the role, working out with Sean Salsbury,
a 14-year NFL veteran quarterback.
Whether or not UK audiences are ready for another American football
movie remains to be seen, although the quality of the cast alone
seems to suggest this may be worth touching down with when it
arrives.
The film is due for release in America on May 27 and should follow
in the UK later this year.
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