MANILA – It’s on! The critically acclaimed movie “On the Job” will be remade into a Hollywood movie.
On Thursday, the Hollywood bible Variety reported that Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to the Star Cinema crime thriller, with Iceland’s Baltasar Kormakur as writer and director.
Kormakur directed the 2012 movie “Contraband” with Mark Wahlberg and the recent hit “2 Guns” with Oscar winner Denzel Washington.
Variety said Hollywood veteran Scott Stuber is also on board to produce to Hollywood remake of the Erik Matti film. Stuber’s producing credits include hits such as “Safe House,” “Battleship” and the recent “Identity Thief.”
“The remake and Kormakur’s involvement were reported this summer, but at the time the film didn’t have a studio to call home,” Variety said.
“On the Job,” which had its world premiere at the Directors Fortnight in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, opened in the United States late September, where it received positive reviews from the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
XYZ Films, which handled worldwide sales of “On the Job,” will also produce the Hollywood remake.
Variety was also optimistic about the remake’s prospects, noting that “Universal and Kormakur have already seen good returns with ‘Contraband’ and ‘2 Guns’ and teaming him up with one of the studio’s top producers could lead to even bigger results.”
The trade publication also noted that Kormakur’s “Safe House,” which “could have similarities to ‘On the Job,’ also hit big making more than $200 million worldwide.”
Variety was among the first international publications that raved about the Filipino film, singling out actors Joel Torre and Kapamilya talent Gerald Anderson – as two hitmen -- for their performance in the film.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
