Movies
Takashi Miike’s ‘Audition’ Gets U.S. Remake
It’s surprising to me that, even through the J-horror craze, Takashi Miike’s Japanese masterpiece, Audition, has yet to be remake. Yet, here we are, and I want to take some piano wire to my neck…
Deadline reports Friday night that Terminator, Rambo, and Basic Instinct exec producer Mario Kassar is assembling an English-language adaptation of Audition, the infamous 1997 novel by Japanese author Ryu Murakami about a lonely widower who gets more than he bargains for when he puts out a fake casting call to find a new girlfriend. Audition was adapted in 1999 into a cringe-inducing cult film in its own right by Japanese helmer Takashi Miike. The new Kassar-produced version is based on the original Murakami novel and will transplant the story to an American setting.
In this version, to be directed by Richard Gray (The Lookalike), Audition‘s unlucky protagonist is Sam Davis, who lives alone with his son following the death of his wife seven years prior and is convinced by a filmmaker friend to stage the fake auditions. The former ballerina with a mysterious past he falls for is now named Evie Lawrence, but otherwise details fall closely in line with Murakami’s best-seller.
Gray adapted the script and will tackle a fall shoot for Audition.
1995’s pumpkinhead scarecrow is back in the sequel Jack-O 2, and filmmaker Fred Olen Ray (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Evil Toons) has unveiled the first trailer.
Ray writes and directs the sequel.
“JACK-O 2 pushes our characters—and our audience—to the edge while honoring the outrageous spirit of the original,” says Ray. “It’s a return to practical, in-your-face horror filmmaking.”
The original film introduced its killer pumpkinhead scarecrow as he was summoned on Halloween night to seek vengeance on behalf of a warlock. The new trailer continues the Halloween murder and dark wizardry exploits.
Genre stalwarts Sybil Danning (Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf), Richard Gabai (Demon Wind), Sushii Xhyvette Holder (Naked Cannibal Campers), Martin Nicholas (The Alien Dead), and Annah Arias star.
“My passion springs from the heyday of the 1970s drive-in movie theater where I thrilled to great homegrown exploitation movies like Slithis, Death Curse of Tartu , and Gator Bait,” noted Ray. “When I began my career, it was in movies like Shock Waves and my swamp epic The Alien Dead starring serial legend Buster Crabbe. I have long awaited a return to the genre I love so much, and now Jack-O 2 is my chance.”
Ray will produce alongside Sean Donohue, with original Jack-O director Steve Latshaw and exploitation maven William Grefé (Mako: The Jaws of Death) executive producing.
There’s no official release date yet, so stay tuned.
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