Oldboy Set Visit: Josh Brolin and Director Spike Lee Reinvent a Classic Oldboy, originally written as a Japanese manga, or comic book, is the story of a man awoken to captivity. He knows not where he is, how he got there, or why he is being imprisoned; much less, who is holding him captive. All he knows is that he is being held prisoner in a door-less, windowless room with no contact from any other human, save for a nameless, faceless guard that shoves the same tray of food through a slot in the wall everyday. The man is eventually released after twenty years of captivity without a single explanation, leaving him to solve the mystery of his imprisonment, and seek revenge for the torment he had endured. Its a brutal, tragic story that unfolds with as many twists and turns as questions, culminating in a shocking and much talked about finale that left moviegoers speechless and gasping for breath. Of course, this only underscores the level of anxiety that many fans of the original film have regarding the planned remake, as they nervously wait to see how {PENWiQOPlPiISN||Spike Lee} and company will handle such edgy material. Spike Lees Oldboy takes place in a non-descript city in America. And like many production sets these days, the crew had chosen to film in New Orleans in order to take advantage of the large tax incentives available, something that was not only good for the films bottom-line, but the city as well; which was still noticeably recovering from the 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It was a crisp, chilly morning when we drove out to Algiers Point, a quiet, sleepy time warp of a town just across the river from the blaring, neon decadence of the French quarter. This little burrow had remained remarkably unchanged by the passing of time and progress, with its quant rows of tiny, weatherworn, French style cottages, rusted metal storefronts, and no frills juke joints. The lack of modern time stamps, such as billboards and fast food chains, only added to the rustic charm of the town, which, luckily, was undamaged during the storm. We arrived on set around 10am, just in time to watch the crew film an exterior scene in which the shadowy antagonist, played ever convincingly by District 9s Sharlto Copley, exits a neighborhood bar with an unusual package in hand. Accompanying him is an even more mysterious female assistant, played by French newcomer, Pom Klementieff. The movie also stars Elizabeth Olsen as a young woman tangled up in Josh Brolins quest for revenge, as well as Spike Lee film veteran, Michael Imperioli, as his childhood friend. The script, which was penned by Mark Protosevich, was shrouded in as much mystery as the main characters mission to find the truth, with very little details being revealed in order to keep the storys intrigue in tact. Luckily for us, FilmDistrict, the distributors of the new movie, was gracious enough to arrange a question and answer session with the cast and crew in hopes of shedding some light on the project. And believe me, questions we had. After all, anyone who has even seen Chan-wook Parks 2003 original knows why the movie skyrocketed instantly to cult classic status. From its ultra gory, hyper-realized fight scene in which the main character battles a seemingly never-ending line of attackers down a long, narrow hallway with only a hammer and his bare fist (shot in one, long, breathlessly choreographed take, no less), to the stomach churning, nausea-inducing octopus scene, in which Korean actor, Min-sik Choi, infamously eats a live octopus on film. Yes, LIVE... its tentacles writhing and squirming in futile resistance across the actors face as he ruthlessly chews deadpan into the camera. Im still traumatized! Throw in a jaw dropping twist at the fevered peak of the climax, and youll understand why so many people initially bristled at even the thought of a remake. And so as Spike Lee, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Michael Imperioli, Pom Klementieff, and screenwriter, Mark Protosevich, all cozied up with us into the back of the Old Point Saloon, the elephant of a question squeezed its way into the back room with us as well; shuffling and huffing loudly as not to be ignored. Check it out the Trailer at our FB Page.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 03:10:23 +0000
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