What is with Hollywood these days? Didn’t we just report the remake of the drama, “My name is Kim Samsoon” and now another movie?
As the saying goes, “success begets success.” And since the numbers will tell you that there is a higher probability of a remake being a success, it’s a prime-time target for lazy Hollywood producers.
Although it was left out as the best Asian Film by CNN, the Korean cult hit, “Old Boy” (2003) is being picked up by Hollywood movers and shakers, Steven Spielberg and actor Will Smith, to be remade for the big screen.
If and when the rights for the film is secured, Will Smith will play the main character of Choi Min-shik who was locked up in a cell for 15 years without reason and suddenly freed. Steven Spielberg is looking for a screenplay writer to begin the process of Hollywood movie magic.
Directed by Park Chan-wook, “Old Boy” won the 2nd highest prize at Cannes in 2004. Quite an accomplishment despite lobbying by judge Quentin Tarantino for the film to win the grand prize, Palm d’Or.
FYI. “Old Boy” is a remake of a Japanese mana (manga in Japanese) of the same name. If Hollywood wants a hit, they should just go to the source directly.
Watch the trailer of the original:
[shouts to POPSEOULers Shar, Grace, Yinan and Danny for the heads up]
first ?
NO! NOOOOOO! I am HORRIFIED! I feel like crying now.
I’m sorry, this just pisses me off. Dammit. Will Smith will NOT be able to pull of the main character. Granted, he’s an awesome actor, but he can’t play this guy well enough.
OMG,
dwight,
you are first????
you are the greatest human in this universe!!!
once more,
OMG!!!!
Pfff… Tch ..Pisses me off.
They will just spoil the image of these great movies >:E
i can’t believe it..
the genius director, steven spielberg copying other’s work..
guess he’s not genius as i thought..
>
now when (if) the remake toped world’s box office for weeks like dark night, then the world would see america as the’idea’ not the originally from asia. what i think is wrong that how Park Chan-wook would green light for his great work to be make again with alittle and more addition to see how itll be in american version.
then america will get the all-best-time credit forever. for america is this, steven speilberg is no doubt, thell.
well america is famous for exploitasion and being the so NO.1’s helper in the world, digsht i say. sounds better if america the NO.1 enemy in the world. even when many of americans against it will they care?
where is the quality of original? why not koreans producers demand the right property our film, for the world to see a successful better,great from asia. why let america to go ahead with everything?
Crapowood needs to BACK OFF these masterpieces!
comparing the most dumbest and nonesense movie Hancock played will smith, and
crime movie Hitman played Timothy Olyphant. timothy is better.
even better to tell its from the original, cast choi min sik as he is again. and how impossible could it be? pro subtitling is common use korean-english as language. they have chance to be known around the world with movies but why letting it go easily? and think pop princess and groupies can make it alone what a laughable.
Oldboy is the complete opposite of Spielberg.
I really don’t think Spielberg nor Smith has the balls to replicate such controversial themes & scenes integral to the original. They’d probably even take out the ‘twist’ in the end and change it altogether…
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
R u kidding me? Steven Spielberg and Will Smith wanna do remakes? Pfft and I was thinking that Spielberg was an original person…
give me a f’in break. . .
okay, this is not even funny anymore. remakes should be banned.
again?!?
But speilburg must be like rolling in it now.
But at least they’re clever enough to know whats a good movie.
as for Will Smith playing the main lead, It’s passable, could be a lot worse *cough*BRADPITT*cough*
I see… Spielburg jumped in to the bandwagon like rest of them. Shame on him, let’s hope it doesn’t suck like latest/final installment of Indiana Jones
I seriously think they won’t keep the story intact…I can’t see Will in this role, especially because of the revelation at the end.
NO STOP IT T______________________T PLEASE WHY *Suicide*
i think will smith can pull of this role. his pulls of many unexpected roles with ease and makes them believable. all the people complaining about how america just copies stuff, too bad! you can either watch the movie or not. most people don’t really care if a movie is original or if its a remake from overseas. if its good, then thats cool.
so, even oldboy itself is not original since it is a remake of japanese manga… while everyone is busy looking at how much hollywood is adapting korean movies, i’m now more interested in looking at how many of korean movies/dramas been remade from japanese mangas/doramas… interesting.. now, who should get the credit…? lol…
Spielberg is good though so it should atleast be entertaining!
buwaaaahahah, leave them do the remake… anyway they will be ashamed of it later. Spielberg? my ass, he cant do it, not even half as good as the original.
Hey everybody….Just wanted to let you all know that American producers have been trying to secure the rights for this one since it came out in 03.Different companies and different actors have been attached since.Everyone from Johnny Depp to Nicholas Cage.Somehow I just can’t see Cage lowering himself to barking like a dog…….He He He.So anyhow do not get too excited about this until it actually starts filming.And if they do it just boycott and try with all your powers of persuasion to have anyone that wants to see it watch the original.After some friends of mine said they thought The Departed was an excellent movie I finally got them to sit down and watch Infernal Affairs and they all said No Comparison and 2 of them are now die hard asian film fans and are even into Akirosawa. So it can be done…
a possible remake? AGAIN? what the hell is wrong in the world today? the news is always either about rain or remakes!!!! puhlease..
jeez….
I guess I forgive for will smith?..
Oh chill out, kids. Stop crying. e_e I’m pretty sure Spielberg and Will can pull this off.
Not to mention. Any smart person whose seen Will’s recent movies would not say that “he doesn’t have the balls” to pull of the role.
oh my!
Shouldn’t you be happy for the director or the producer that they will get some money from the rick Hollywood producer like spieldberg? Like it or not, I think it means that 1. the movie is good enough to get chosen 2. korean movie is going to become popular worldwide. So why complain?
i can’t imagine Will Smith with that type of character.
but D= it’ll be rated R her no doubt which means i gotta wait till it comes out on dvd to check it out at the library xD
Old Boy was a really good movie. it’s not like america remakes EVERYTHING. lots of asian countries make dramas and stuff off Japanese manga.
The Koreans will be laughing all the way to the bank! Anyway, Steven Spielberg and Will Smith should be able to make the remake work.
WHAT THE CRAPALASTIC.
this sucks.
WHY DO KOREAN PEOPLE KEEP SELLING RIGHTS TO THE MOVIE!?
now the movie will be famous as an AMREICAN movie and not as a KOREAN movie.
THISSUCKSTHISSUCKS.
gawd. i hate this.
We should all protest in front of Speilbergs house.
Do NOT remake this movie!
I like Will Smith ans Steven Spielberg, but I just know this remake is gonna SUCK compared to Old Boy, what’s with Hollywood??? If America think these movies are good,they should just broadcast it with subs on TV or something
Just wondering, was it Park Chan-wook who was interviewed on CNN some time earlier this year to discuss this film? I haven’t seen the film but I’ve seen clips of it before so yeh.
Oh great, they’ll anal rape another fantastic movie.
@ eito_suki
It’s not remake of manga.
It is based off manga. There’s difference of remaking and basing off a material.
this movie looks pretty good i cant wait till steven remakes this will smith will do a bomb ass job as this character
um you would think popseoul would give its readers recognition for tips?
SACRILEGE!
yes is sucks that they are remaking it but…
WILL SMITH IS THE MAN. I loooove will…he will be good in this. These types of movies are just up his alley–i could definately see him in this…i wonder who will be the girl/daughter…. Whoever they get to play the villian, hes gotta be a white guy with cold blue eyes…oooOOOooo Harrison Ford would be a good yu ji tae….
WAHHH im getting a little excited now!!! GO WILL!!!!
Will Smith is a gtrea actor..but I don’t think he can bring out the character well v.v
watta shame for hollywood.but i would love to see will smith portray the role.=]..cant wait!
wow that preview does absolutely no justice to the acal movie. as for the whole remake thing, i coudnt care less. theres a good korean film named old boy, and if the remake sux ill just tell me friends to watch the original
I hope they don’t make it like The Departed (which was a disservice to the original Infernal Affairs).
Hmmm…I think with the right actor they could actually pull this off…But I don’t know about Will Smith though, cuz I see Robert Downey Jr. would do the role of Choi with more justice.
I didn’t think they would actually get the rights to this cuz there was this whole conterversy linking this movie to the V-tech shootings here in the states that was committed by a Korean boy.
Anywayz if The Departed can do well here, then I guess I’ll give this movie a chance…Although kinda skeptical with Will Smith…
Yes The Departed was such a disservice to Infernal Affairs that it only won Best Picture and Infernal Affairs has sold millions more copies world-wide.
The Hong Kong Film industry has thanked directors like Tarantino and Scorsese countless times for their interest.
You have Speilberg and Will Smith in a remake.
You should be grateful cause it will bring Korea film industry more money to make bigger movies!
why is everyone acting like old boy is original? people, its based off a japanese manga. get over it.
@haku
ooOOOoooo good point!
agree with haku, it’s a remake of a movie that’s copied from a manga. i’m already over it.
Whats wrong with making remakes? So what if America wants to remake it? I mean, Spielberg is a great director, and Will Smith is great actor, so the chances are that this movie has a good chance it might no be so bad.
I understand that it is a Korean movie but come on, no one in America is going to go see a Korean movie besides Korean Americans.
If the movie is a success then I’m sure that there will be publicity that it was a remake in which then the real movie will get some promotion. There’s no need to be such racist babies about the whole thing.
Popseoul, it’s Oldboy, no space.
Also, I will be disappointed if one of my favourite Korean movies eventually does become remade. I will most certainly tell all my friends about the (most definitely) superior Korean original. And yes the Korean is an adaptation from a Japanese manga, but it takes a lot more skill to make a movie based on a manga and infuse it with such a dark and twisted essence.
The end result will probably be a watered down version of the korean version. If it makes it to theaters I wonder what critics will rate it… Whatever, let’s hope people will google “Old Boy” and realize it’s just a remake and become curious enough to watch the original.
Popseoul get over it Korea can’t barely come up with their own sh*t either..
After all Old Boy is originally Japanese.
And Korea are remaking another Japanese drama HYD, I know plenty more but I’d get tired from typing all of the titles up.
So I’d say Korea is just as bad as Hollywood.
well im surprised that hollywood picked such a twsited tale. However, i realized then who the director is and who is gonna be in it: STEVEN SPIELBERG AND WILL SMITH!!!!!!! If anyone can pull this movie off its steven spielberg who is an amazing director and world reknown at that. the movie will also get more attention becaus eof WIll Smith. So all those people that are complaining about how hollywood wont stop taking korean movies and ruining, just hold your tongues and let them explode until after the movie is out. You DONT have to look at hollywood ruining the movies they take from the asian media. hollywood is expanding and trying to entice the tastes of the american audience thru different styles.
what i dont get by all those disappointed people is why they think a remake will ruin the original???? even if the remake flops, its not like its gonna taint the fame the original. so stop your whining and anger cuz its unnecessary in my point of view. but then again, maybe i’d have a different pov if i were korean and not american.
and i totally agree with Semantics!!! its not like korea doesn’t remake movies from other countries! i mean, how many korean movies are actually based on japanese films and mangas???
Actually, that isn’t accurate. Oldboy was already in the works for a Hollywood remake by director Justin Line (Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). Of course, that project was shelved indefinitely, and nothing has been heard about it since.
If Speilberg is picking it up with Will Smith to play the lead, it could be huge. Provided Hollywood does a remake correctly, I’m all for it, but if it’s just another attempt to cash in on something that others have already done, they can piss off.
As for Oldboy being a remake of the Japanese manga, it’s probably more accurate to say that it’s an adaptation of it, rather than a remake. While the original premise was retained — a man is kidnapped for 15 years for reasons unbeknownst to him — the details of the film, which make it great, were entirely the original thoughts of Park Chan Wook.
And as for the film winning only second prize at Cannes, it’s worth noting that first prize was Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11.” Needless to say, that film won 1st due to political reasons. If artistic integrity were the only consideration, Oldboy would’ve taken first without a problem.
Korean film “A bold family” was a ruthless rip off of a German movie Good Bye Lenin. At least Hollywood pays MONEY to remark and RECOGNITION in the form of END CREDITS while Koreans DON’T PAY AND ROB OTHER people’s works. Sorry but the double standard is sickening!
Show me a country that doesn’t remake anothers work, now that would actually be an interesting topic!!!!
Korean Hana Yori Dango drama & Antique movie anyone o_O
no no no no no!! will smith sucks!!!!!!!!
this is such a classic, a great incredible movie. one of my favorites of all time. they will ruin it.
instead of remaking something if you love it so much american directors how about you bring the ORIGINAL to the big screens and financially back it. put a lot of ads out and interviews telling the public why this movie is so great.
every time a movie comes out and i find out its a remake i just watch original instead and it never disappoints.
I love Will Smith and think he is a great actor. I also love Steven Speilberg and think he is a great director. But there are some movies that are so good they should NOT be remade. This is one of those movies.
Come on now, Korea knocks off everything from Hello Kitty to the Backstreet Boys, so why are some so upset when it happens to films? Old Boy is my favorite movie and Will Smith is my favorite actor, so I’m not upset at all. I just hope its a good remake and not a “Sassy Girl”
I thought that talks with Will Smith & Steven Speilberg were rumored, but not confirmed?
*ps.
i dont really care about the newest remake, as long as its better than the remakes of My Sassy Girl and Il Mare. Because those were just lame.
I would pay money to see this remake. Steven Spielberg is a LEGEND but Old Boy is not his genre of movie. And Will Smith?
WOW.
I’m very surprised quentin tarantino didn’t try to take the project or martin scorsese as he remade infernal affairs 3 years ago (DEPARTED). He couldn’t have remade it with DiCaprio. It’s also too bad stanley kubrick is dead as he couldn’t made a great remake out of this OLD BOY plot.
could have*
“oldboy” is based on a Japanese manga of the same name. So your point is moot, popseoul. why don’t desperate netizens like yourself stop worrying about westerners remaking their already remakes of movies and dramas and concentrate on making hit dramas and movies not based off of other countries hit series, i.e., Anego the superior forerunner to Dalja’s Spring, or how about White Tower based on the japanese novel Shiroi Kyotō written by Toyoko Yamazaki.
Oh and I guess you guys forgot to mention this article by the Chosun Ilbo about how “great many new Korean dramas and movies are based on Japanese works, noting that the “Japanese Wave” has more staying power than the now ailing “Korean Wave.” An excerpt from the article: “Among the domestic films released this year, blockbusters like “200 Pounds Beauty,” “Highway Star”, “Black House”, “Kidnapping Granny K” and “Lovers Behind” were all based on Japanese sources. Last year and this year, as many as 21 films were produced in Korea using Japanese source material, a significant rise compared to just five from 2001 to 2005. In other words, Korea depends on Japan for its creative juice.”
Now why aren’t Japan and their netizens getting their panties all twisted in a bunch over Korea’s lack of creative ideas and blatant stealing of inspiration from other sources?? Looks like you guys are just a bunch of hypocritical, nationalistic racists.
A remake of a remake? Wow. Can’t wait to see Spielberg’s adaptation, however, I wish Tarantino was on this too. And to “sometimes i really hate being korean”, I couldn’t agree more. Let’s stop the bigotry!
This movie was on of the most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen! And I really can’t see Will Smith in this role!
the americans either appreciate the asians’ works a lot, or they have completely ran out of ideas, or even probably trying to show they can do a ‘better’ job than the asians.
chances are they have no more ideas, and at the same time, trying to do a better job than the asians.
Will Everyone stop bashing people for a second and give the remake of the movie a chance.Im not going to lie the original is good but it will be interesting to see Will Smith pull off the main character of the movie and I hope that they add the “twist” in the movie also.As for Korea,you guys remark movies too so dont bash on other countries if you know you are in the wrong too.
sorry *remake
ok I’ve never seen the movie Old Boy before.
but the story sounds really interesting.
I think I will wait for the hollywood remake.
BTW I love Speilberg and Will Smith and both of them are geniuses. So for them to team up in one movie is definitely a must watch for me. So let’s give both of them a chance and wait for the movie.
@BKJSuh
basing or remakes… still it’s not original n use other sources…fyi, the word remakes comes from popseoul itself in the above post…
@sometimes i really hate being korean
i like yiur points… thx for the info..
I’m so incredibly mad about this news!
There is no way they can pull it off.
Hollywood is picking up anything and everything from everywhere else… that’s nothing new.
i’m scared they’ll screw it up big time, but it seems to be a trend with Korean movies going to Hollywood.
What’s the point of doing a Remake of a movie that was absolutely awesome in every way ?
I understand a director that puts his hand on a b Asian movie that barely got out of the country, but a movie who won a prize at Cannes? It’s already genius.
Besides, this movie is WAY to controversial for the american scene, they’re pretty much just gonna censor it, replace all names and places by American ones and VOILA! Millions of dollars without lifting a finger…