Walter Hill Confirmed To Direct Sylvester Stallone In 'Headshot'

A week ago, Wayne Kramer walked away from the director's chair for the film Headshot, in which Sylvester Stallone is slated to star. Blame creative differences; in other words, there was a staredown over material and the star won, as tends to happen. Shortly afterward Sylvester Stallone wanted Walter Hill to step into the job as director, and that is now happening. In other words, the director of The Warriors, 48 Hrs. and the Deadwood pilot is on his way back!

Stallone told AICN,

It's official. We've got Walter Hill on board so would love for you to let the world know. We've been on the same track since The Driver, then 48 Hrs didn't happen so here we are almost 35 years later, I'm finally driving with Walter Hill.

First thing from this email: Sylvester Stallone could have been in The Driver and/or 48 Hrs.? That's good trivia. Beyond that, I'm now really curious to see Headshot, just because of Walter Hill's involvement. I like Wayne Kramer, but this hire turns the movie into something potentially landmark. In reality will it be a landmark movie? Probably not, but that tiny sliver of potential is enough to keep me hooked.

The film has Sly's character "[teaming] with a young NYPD detective in a high-stakes investigation that leads from the dingy back alleys of New Orleans all the way to the power corridors of Washington, D.C. The unlikely duo, brought together by two vicious murders, take on all who stand in their way, and are willing to sacrifice everything to exact revenge."

The next step is casting the young detective, but there's no word on that part of the process yet.

And let's go back to Sylvester Stallone's explanation for Wayne Kramer's departure. I'm sure this is only part of the story, but having seen Running Scared I can see how Wayne Kramer might in fact have been wanting to make something far more violent than was originally envisioned.

Initially, Mr. Kramer was hired to direct a dark comedy; however his vision was much darker and exceptionally more violent than how the project was originally conceived. It was decided that it would be better for everyone to move on and consequently Mr. Kramer was dismissed by producers earlier this week. There were no volatile clashes, it was simply a professional parting of the ways.