Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier take on FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS

Today it was confirmed that Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese and Danish director Lars Von Trier are going to work on a follow-up to The Five Obstructions. Von Trier collaborated with Jorgen Leth on the film in 2003. Production is slated to begin next year on the film, which is being produced by Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions and von Trier’s Zentropa Real ApS.  

In The Five Obstructions, "von Trier challenged Leth to remake his short film The Perfect Human (1967) five times, while providing him with a different set of “obstructions” for each new version. The process forced Leth to rethink the history and characters in his original film." Scorsese will have to face a new set of obstructions. No additional details have been released, but it is believed that von Trier will ask Scorsese to revisit Taxi Driver.

Here is what von Trier had to say about this when interviewed this year:

“The idea behind this obstructions thing is that you give each other tasks which will move you into an area where you have been reluctant to go yourself. Under protest, you do that and then you enlarge your repertoire.”

Emma Tillinger Koskoff is producing the project for Sikelia Productions with Carsten Holst and Louise Vesth on behalf of Zentropa Real ApS.

Silence, is next for Scorsese, which begins production in early 2012. Hugo Cabret is set for release in November 2011. Von Trier’s Melancholia is in competition at Cannes and opens on May 18.

I am a huge fan of Taxi Driver and I love Scorsese as a director. This sounds like a pretty cool concept and one that I am excited to see unfold. What are your thoughts on the news?