The last decade or so has been a mixed bag of highs 'n lows for veteran British director, Stephen Frears. The highs don't get much loftier than High Fidelity, which every relationship weary dude I know(including yours truly) has on their DVD shelf. He also found success with the gritty Dirty Pretty Things, and The Queen, which starred Helen Mirren, may have drawn more attention his way than ever in his storied career. His last couple of films are barely worth mentioning, though, like the awful Gemma Arterton flick, Tamara Drewe. Cheri wasn't so bad, but a proper representation of his talents.
Frears is making an unexpected move for his next film, reuniting with producer Jeremy Thomas and writer Peter Prince on an American remake of The Hit. Featuring a score by Eric Clapton and Terence Stamp in his first starring role in over a decade, the 1984 film centered on a former criminal henchman who tries to live a peaceful life in a remote Spanish village, only to have his old life come back to haunt him. He's tracked down and marked for execution by two hitmen, played by John Hurt and Tim Roth.
The plan is to make this more of an American film, moving the action to Mexico and the United States. Frears hasn't really done a movie like this since, but I'm really kindof excited for this. As much as we like to bag on remakes, they've been pretty good lately. Frears should have no problem tweaking the story just enough to keep it fresh.
Frears' next film is the sports gambling comedy, Lay the Favorite, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bruce Willis. [Variety]
