I already brought you some key information from my roundtable interview with Tony Scott yesterday, which he talked about some of his plans to remake/reimagine the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. But that's not even close to all the information he gave to our gathered crowd of onliners. Not even close.
While we spent a lot of time talking about The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which opens today, Scott was also happy to talk about other projects past and present, from his directing debut Hunger to the character-driven piece he's working on with Mickey Rourke. While you'll have to wait for the full interview to hear about his thoughts on the homoeroticism of Top Gun and how he got teamed up with Jerry Bruckheimer in the 80s, below is a rundown of Scott's upcoming projects (at least some of them) and what he has to say about them. Mum's the word on the Alien movie for now, but on the other stuff, we got some interesting and maybe even new information. The one to watch out for here I think is Potsdamer Platz, which I know I had never heard of before. Tony Scott and Mickey Rourke together? How has it taken so long for this reunion to happen?
Alien prequel-- Scott is producing
"I’m on time out on that one! I don’t want to get caught in the middle. We’re in the process, but I don’t have enough information to bring it to this table. But we’re going to make it! "
Emma's War, based on a true story-- Scott is producing
"It’s something I’m not going to direct, and we’re going to do it through our company." He also confirmed that he wants Nicole Kidman to star in the film, about a British aid worker who travels to the Sudan and falls in love with a Sudanese warlord.
Hell's Angels-- Scott is planning to direct.
" And I’ve been working on Hell's Angels now, I’ve owned the Hunter S. Thompson book for 12 years, and Stephen Gaghan is writing the script right now."
Lucky Strike-- Scott is planning to direct.
"There’s another one called Lucky Strike, about the guys who made the Reaper aircraft."
Potsdamer Platz-- Scott is planning to direct.
"Potsdamer Platz, which is written by the guy who wrote Sexy Beast. It's not a little movie, two guys around a table. But it's about the Jersey mob, based on true story about the Jersey mob. They try and take over the construction business in Germany. I've got a great cast, with Mickey [Rourke]. All of a sudden Mickey is bankable. Mickey was always my man, but before last year.... I used Mickey in three movies prior to that."
The Hunger, a remake of Scott's first film from 1983-- Scott is producing.
"I'm producing it, so I control it. It's gone to the next level. It's not a re-invention not a re-interpretation. It ends up actually in Sao Paolo. It starts in New York and ends up in Sao Paolo. It's a very different movie, but it springboards off the original. We're writing it right now, we've got a great writer."
The Warriors, a remake of the 1979 film about New York City gang life-- Scott is directing.
"With Warriors, it’s not a remake. I’m shooting it in L.A., and I’m doing it present day. The original doesn’t stand up very well, because it was very 70s New York, but this one I’m doing about the gang culture in L.A. I met with all the gang members – from the 18th Street to the Crips, the Bloods – I met all the guys, and they said, “If you get this movie on…” – because The Warriors is obviously their favorite movie – “We’ll all stand on the Vincent Thomas Bridge” – 100,000 gang members in the beginning of the movie – “And we’ll all sign the treaty, and we’ll be there.” But I’m thinking, “How hard can it be?” Because it’s really about 10 little Indians getting from point b to point A over the course of the night, but I can’t get the script right. I’ve been struggling to get the script. I’ve wanted to make this movie for ten years now – I love it – and I’ve got all these gang members. [...] L.A. is now the city of the future. If it's the Warriors, it's sunset and it's quiet. I've got a whole different feel. I'm letting it breathe in a different way. Then on the Vincent Thomas bridge, which is Long Beach, you have a thousand gang members up there, then Cyrus goes bang. It's almost like 9/11, bodies coming off, it just goes ballistic. Then these guys have got to get from the Vincent Thomas back to Venice, through all these different gang territories. And it becomes anarchy. The gangs are meeting, they're meeting for a truce. Just like they were in the original. But once that truce is broken, they go back to their turf. And our guys, the Warriors, they've got to get back to their turf, back to Venice."
