So far, news pertaining to the planned Oldboy remake has ranged from “Huh?” to “OK, cool,” to “Please God, stop.” First, I’m opposed to a remake of a film that’s fantastic in its own right. What’s the point? But if you simply must repackage Park Chan-wook vengeance mystery, casting Josh Brolin in the lead is a solid idea. I’m not sure I’d go with Spike Lee as the director, but if he’s able to recruit Inside Man collaborator Clive Owen as the picture’s chief villain, all the better.
Now the casting wheel is spinning once again. Twitch says The Kids Are All Right star Mia Wasikowska has been offered the lead female role opposite Brolin in Lee’s remake. Coincidentally, Wasikowska just wrapped work on Park’s first English-language picture, Stoker, about a young girl whose strange uncle shows up days after her father dies.
I wonder if the Korean director guided Wasikowska toward Lee’s project? She’s a fabulous actress who quietly shattered souls in Jane Eyre opposite Michael Fassbender and managed to be one of the bets things about Tim Burton’s bizarre Alice In Wonderland. But I’d never think of her for Oldboy, which means it could be a brilliant stroke of stunt casting. Lee is known for handpicking the right actors for his ensembles, and he’s going against the grain for this remake. Remember when people automatically assumed it would be Denzel Washington mowing down killers in a tight hallway as he tried to figure out who imprisoned him for years? That ain’t happening … but maybe we’re in for something special, instead.
