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[Dan]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=6827

A Red Circle for John Woo
Source: Variety
October 19, 2004


John Woo will direct The Red Circle, an updated remake of the Jean-Pierre Melville-directed 1970 French film Le Cercle Rouge for Paramount, says Variety. Jeff Pinkner will write the action thriller.

The original noir tale starred Alain Delon and centered on a thief who is released from prison the same day a murderer escapes police custody. The outlaws pair up and commit a heist as a relentless cop closes in.

Pinkner has executive-produced Alias, and assisted in the creation of the new ABC hit Lost, on which he is executive consultant.

Woo is currently preparing the Rock vehicle Spy Hunter, and plans to follow that by directing The War of the Red Cliff, based on Asian historical events from the year 200 A.D.A.D. He'll circle back to The Red Circle after that.

He's also got at least He-Man waiting in the wings, in addition to the others mentioned. Seriously, how does this man get so much work? And now to remake this classic? Even if they insist on doing a project like this, who goes out and finds John Woo for it? There have got to be better and more appropriate directors looking to add something to their plate.

 

[FoneBone]

I don't know -- this sounds like a return to HK style for him, and maybe something I could actually get excited about.

 

[heavy liquid]

I thought he was going to direct He-Man?

Edit: Doh! Looks like he's got work lined up for him through 2008. Now if he could only make a good movie again...

 

[Dan]

I thought he was going to direct He-Man?

As I stated, that's also in his future, among numerous other projects that could surely go to better qualified and more talented directors.

I dunno, it'll be about 15 years since he's done anything in that HK style, I would very much question whether he even knows how to do anything good at this point. He's spent the past decade just doing generic plotless movies filled with slow motion, guns and explosions.

 

[Celicar]

How in the hell does John Woo continue to get work?

 

[jett]

This will be crap.

 

[FortNinety]

If this was six or seven years ago, I would have been excited. Woo has often cited Melville as a strong influence, and his early work shows this. But now that he's a parody of his own self, I'm not so interested.

 

[cybamerc]

Keep in mind that not every project ends up being greenlighted. John Woo's name has been attached to many, many movies over the years, most of which never happened.