Posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 by Angie Han
Over the past decade, Todd Phillips has built himself a comfortable niche as the director of lucrative R-rated comedies. While he came out of the gate with confrontational documentary Hated, his first non-documentary feature was Road Trip, followed by Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School for Scoundrels, Due Date, and the two Hangover films — three if you count next year’s installment. But it seems the filmmaker’s now eager to try something completely different.
Phillips has just entered talks to direct The Gambler, Paramount’s remake of the 1974 drama starring James Caan. He takes over for Martin Scorsese, who was once attached to helm with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead. More details after the jump.
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The last big news late last week was that The Departed team of screenwriter William Monahan and director Martin Scorsese would remake the 1974 film The Gambler. James Caan starred in the original as a New York English professor who has a serious gambling addition. Thing is, the film wasn’t just any old movie, at least for the screenwriter, James Toback. The script was a particularly autobiographical one, with Caan’s character being a thinly veiled version of Toback himself.
So when Toback learned of the remake the same way most people did — by reading about it on the internet — he was none too happy. (Especially as he is friends with multiple remake participants, including possible star Leonardo DiCaprio.) In his frustration, the writer/director penned a heartfelt letter that gives a rare insight into how the original creator of a film might feel about the remake process. Read More »
As audiences wait to see what Martin Scorsese has done by moving outside his comfort zone and working with 3D in a family movie, the legendary director is already looking ahead to get back in his comfort zone with a gritty New York drama. He’s currently developing a remake of the 1974 film The Gambler with screenwriter William Monahan. The original film starred James Caan in a Golden Globe nominated performance as a New York English professor, beloved by his students, who wrestles with a serious gambling addition, continually going deeper and deeper into debt. Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to play the role in the remake. There’s more after the break. Read More »
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