director TONY SCOTT talks about THE WARRIORS and other projects
Director Tony Scott recently spoke with Comingsoon.net to discuss his latest film The Taking of Pelham 123. To read Venkman's Review of Pelham click here. But more interestingly, Scott also spoke about some of his upcoming projects. And it looks like Tony Scott is gonna be one busy guy.
My dance card is so full, I'm so lucky...I've got 'The Warriors,' I've got 'Hell's Angels' - I've owned the Hunter Thompson book for 12 years and Steve Gaghan is writing the script right now. I own all these great titles. Another one called 'Lucky Strike' about guys who repro aircraft. 'Potsdamer Platz,' which is by the guys who wrote 'Sexy Beast.' Now with all these movies that are ready to go. They're scripted, they're budgeted, and now I've gotta make them before I die. I'm getting old.
That's a whole lot of movies to take the reigns of! And all of these projects seem pretty far along in preproduction. Add to that list a sequel to his hit 1983 vampire film "The Hunger", the drama "Emma's War", as well as a producing role in the much talked about, untitled "Alien" prequel he's been developing with his brother Ridley Scott. To read more about the drama surrounding that film click here. But it looks as if he will fist take on "Unstoppable", with Denzel Washington attached to this film as well. The film that is very close in plot to "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," involving a runaway train containing toxic chemicals being chased by an engineer and a conductor.
But here's the project I've wondered about for some tie now. Tony Scott shared some insight into his 'retooling' of the 1979 cult classic "The Warriors".
Retooling is a good word, it's not a remake. I'm shooting in present day L.A. The original, they don't stand up very well. They're great cult movies, but that was the '70s, and I'm doing it around the gang culture in L.A., which is a very fast disappearing culture. They're homogenizing all the looks from the MS-13s to the 18th Streets, the Crips, the Bloods, and I met with all the gang members, and they all said, 'If you get this movie on'--because 'The Warriors' is their favorite movie--'We'll all stand on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, 100,000 gang members for the beginning of the movie and we'll sign a treaty and we'll be there.'
What? Are you serious?! Tony Scott, the 65 year old film director from England, met with L.A's toughest and roughest gang members and got them to agree to a truce? That's some crazy ish if you ask me. I would like to have been there for that conversation. He continued, adding...
But if I'm not making it, you have to think, 'How hard can it be?' Because in its simplest form, it's about ten little Indians getting from Point B to Point A through the course of the night, and I can't get the script right. I've been struggling to get the script. I've been wanting to make this movie for ten years now, and now I've got all these gang members. It's not just hip to touch those worlds, it educates me and the public, and they're so colorful and fantastic.
"Colorful and fantastic". Tony's a great spin man. I believe he meant to say "Bloody and violent". He does have a point though. The original film was very low budget, and the story is pretty straight forward. It wouldn't be worth making if he's not bringing something new and exciting to the table. Hopefully they can hammer out a script that he's happy with. "The Warriors" is beloved by so many. But at the same time there are a lot of people completely unfamiliar with it. He must walk the line between being faithful to the fans as well as bringing "The Warriors" to a larger audience.
So what do you think? Don't care? Don't know what "The Warriors" is? Or are you pissed they're remaking it?
Source: Comingsoon