THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Remake Gains a Screenwriter
MGM has hired Nic Pizzolatto to draft their remake of John Sturges' classic 1960's western, The Magnificent Seven. Pizzolatto is a novelist that took on screenwriting, he wrote a couple of episodes for AMC's The Killing. Tom Cruise is already set to star in the movie, and Matt Damon, Kevin Costner, and Morgan Freeman might join him.
The story follows a group of American gunmen who are hired to protect a small Mexican village from a group of savage bandits, led by Calvera. Cruise will take on the role of Chris Larabee Adams, who was played by Yul Brynner, Damon would take on the role of Vin Tanner previously played by Steve McQueen, Costner would possibly be playing Britt played by James Coburn, and Freeman would be taking on the role of the villain Calvera.
The original Magnificent Seven is one of my favorite westerns. I kind of hate the fact that it's being remade, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. I just hope that whoever ends up directing can at least make it into a decent remake. It's hard for me to see Cruise in a western, but we'll all soon see how that works out.