After Wayne Cramer departed Sylvester Stallone headlined Headshot, who would take over the action thriller was up in the air. Per Ain’t It Cool News, or to be more accurate an email from Stallone to AICN editor Harry Knowles, the quest for a new director is over. Per the star of Rocky:
“It’s official. We’ve got Walter Hill on board so would love for you to let the world know.”
This will mark Hill’s first directorial project since 2002’s Undisputed.
What does this mean? Hill is quite a legendary action director … if this were 1989. Hill’s best work is several decades behind him now and his resume only has a handful of titles recognizable by the modern audience (48 Hours, The Warriors, Red Heat, Last Man Standing) and thus makes this a curious pick. One imagines that Stallone must’ve called in a handful of favors and made a great argument to Hill to get him on board.
Hill has been behind the scenes as a writer/producer for almost a decade now and it’ll be curious to see how those experiences shape the film. He has had a handful taken out of his hands for re-cuts by the studio, including his last two projects in Supernova and Undisputed. Can he deliver the film he wants to the studio without it being re-cut?
What do you think? Is this the right move, bringing on someone with the name value of Hill?
