Putting rumors to rest, it appears that Spike Lee has accepted an offer to direct the American remake of Oldboy for Mandate Pictures. In a press release today, Mandate Pictures made it official. Studio president, Nathan Kahane, who will serve in an executive producing capacity, told the press that “it’s a great honor to put this special project into the hands of such a gifted writer and iconic director.”
This is good for Spike Lee, who has struggled to get projects off the ground after his last film, Miracle at St. Anna, bombed. Lee, who has wanted to make a sequel to his 2006 hit Inside Man, is currently reprising his role of Mookie (from Do the Right Thing) in Red Hook Summer.
Oldboy, tells the story a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned on his daughter’s birthday. For fifteen years, he is held captive, and, upon his release, must begin his journey to find the reason for his imprisonment. He soon finds out that his kidnapper has plans for him more tortuous than his solitary confinement. Originally released in 2003, the film would win the Grand Prize Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.