Chris Rock Writing the Remake of Akira Kurosawa’s HIGH AND LOW

Yeah, unfortunately another classic film is getting the remake treatment. Black Voices reports that Chris Rock is going to write a new draft of the screenplay for director Mike Nichols' remake of the Japanese classic film High and Low. 

The original High and Low film was directed by Akira Kurosawa's in 1963. The story is a detective thriller about wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper. The original film is fantastic and if you haven't seen it yet I suggest you watch it. 

The film is based loosely on Evan Hunter’s King’s Ransom. At a crucial point in his business life, executive Gondo learns that his son has been kidnapped and that the ransom demanded is near the amount Gondo has raised for a critical business deal. Gondo is prepared to pay the ransom - that is, until he learns that the kidnappers have mistakenly abducted not Gondo's son, but the child of Gondo's chauffeur. Now Gondo must decide whether the other man's child is equally worth saving.

It's definitely an intense story, but I don't know if Rock has got what it takes to write the script for this film. The movie shouldn't be remade in the first place, and I'm not sure how Rock got the gig. I love his stand up comedy, but I have yet to see him write a decent scripted feature film. 

As far as the director Mike Nichols goes, he's made some pretty solid films such as Charlie Wilson's War, The Birdcage, Regarding Henry, and Biloki Blues. Back in 1999 Martin Scorsese was involved with the project in which The first draft of the script was written David Mamet. There's no word on if he will still serve as a producer on the project. 

What do you think about Chris Rock taking on the writing duties on this remake?