A lot of people got up in arms yesterday when it was reported that director Joe Carnahan would be doing a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Death Wish. It was an interesting move for the director, who just earned tons of critical acclaim for his most recent film, The Grey, and it was met with many comments about "raping the original" and how a remake is completely unnecessary. Now Carnahan has taken to Twitter to not only confirm that he is taking on the project, but to explain how it will differ from the 1974 Michael Winner film.
While there's only so much that can fit into 140-character spaces, the first thing that Carnahan said was that his version won't be a remake, but rather a "re-imagining" of the novel by Brian Garfield. Furthermore, the film will be moved from New York City to Los Angeles, and it will be set in modern times (he says that he will be using the L.A. seen in Michael Mann's Collateral). Explaining what he meant, the filmmaker said, "It's on buses, cabs, metro trains. I want to show an unseen version of L.A. L.A. on foot. Prowling. Hunting. The vast emptiness of downtown." Responding to a fan's Tweet asking him if he had seen Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, Carnahan complimented the film and said that, "It took on a different dimension. That's the key."
It's also confirmed that Killing Pablo, his planned film about drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The big question regarding Death Wish now is who Carnahan will get to step into Bronson's shoes. I personally think it would be a huge mistake not to bring back the star of his last two projects: Liam Neeson.
UPDATE: Carnahan has sent out another Tweet, announcing that he is writing a role in the film for Frank Grillo, who worked with the director on The Grey. He says it is the only time he has ever written a specific role for a specific person. He does not say what that role is, however.
