Universal Pictures options 'On the Job' remake

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

Piolo-Gerald film 'OTJ' to premiere at Cannes

MANILA -- "On The Job (OTJ)," the upcoming Star Cinema action flick starring Piolo Pascual and Gerald Anderson, will hold its world premiere in May as part of a section at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival.


 The Erik Matti-directed film is one of the selections of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs or the Directors' Fortnight, a section at Cannes held independently by the French Directors Guild.



 In "OTJ," Pascual portrays a National Bureau of Investigation agent whose job puts him at odds with his wife (Shaina Magdayao). Anderson, meanwhile, takes on the role of a "hitman" on the run.

It also stars Joel Torre, Joey Marquez and Angel Aquino.

The lone Filipino movie in the section will be screened alongside 30 other films -- 21 feature films and 9 short films -- from around the world.

Now on its 45th year, the Directors' Fortnight "seeks to aid filmmakers and contribute to their discovery by the critics and audiences alike... [It] is distinguished by its independent-mindedness, its non-competitive nature and its concern to cater to non-professional Cannes audiences," according to the Cannes sidebar's official website.

Since its initial program in 1969, the Directors' Fortnight has showcased the first films of world-renowned directors like George Lucas, Chantal Akerman, Sofia Coppola, and Francis Ford Coppola.

The 45th Fortnight will start on May 16, with Israeli film director Ari Folman's "The Congress" as its opening film.

Aside from "OTJ," two other Filipino films will participate in this year's Cannes.

“Death March,” which stars Kapamilya actors Sam Milby and Zanjoe Marudo, will compete in the Un Certain Regard section of the annual film festival, along with another Filipino film, “Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan” by acclaimed filmmaker Lav Diaz.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com