Colin Firth has confirmed that he shall not portray the villain in Spike Lee’s OLDBOY remake. This is a downright shame, as the project was gathering momentum and intriguing movie fans worldwide. When it was first announced, there were howls of derision from those who knew and loved the original. Then we heard Spielberg would be directing Will Smith, and derision became surprise. THEN we heard Lee would direct Josh Brolin, and surprise turned to intrigue. THEEEEEEN we heard Colin Firth would be the villain with an incest fixation. And then we heard it would have an even darker ending (is that possible??) Now this project sounded like something we’d like to see.
OLDBOY (2003) is a modern classic from South Korea directed by Park Chan-Wook. It concerns a man who is kidnapped and held captive for fifteen years without explanation. When he is released, he begins a quest for vengeance against his tormentor. Spike Lee’s remake is to begin shooting in early 2012.
Alas, Firth is officially out of the equation. It would have been great to see him play so much against type as a real nasty piece of work and join that pantheon of British actors playing Hollywood villains. But for now, Lee must find another antagonist to ruin Josh Brolin’s life. Although the makers of JONAH HEX may already have done that.
