Al Pacino may have recently turned 80, but the influence of his classic, rip-roaring character Scarface is still being felt.
Here's the proof: we're getting a Scarface remake from Universal Studios, with Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino helming. He's set to work from a script by Fargo and No Country for Old Men makers Joel and Ethan Coen.
Variety confirmed the news, with Guadagnino locked and loaded after several previous filmmakers dropped out. Previous names attached to the project have included Jackie director Pablo Larrain and Training Day's Antoine Fuqua.
Brian De Palma directed the 1983 movie, which was scripted by Oliver Stone. In fact, that Scarface was already a reworking of the earlier 1932 James Cagney vehicle. Nevertheless, the eighties version is considered by many to be the definitive one, resplendent in mountains of cocaine, savagely OTT violence and gaudy eighties-flavoured excess, all of which has secured it as a classic.
Variety describes the reboot as "a reimagining of the core immigrant story told in both the 1932 and 1983 films, and will be set in Los Angeles".
Of course, the dynamite element in De Palma's movie is Pacino's ragingly volcanic performance as the Cuban immigrant turned feared mobster. The site of Pacino, machine gun in hand, warding off an explosive home invasion, yelling and frothing at the mouth, isn't easily forgotten.
Therefore, whoever takes on the role in Guadagnino's film is going to be a brave soul. The filmmaker isn't exactly known for crime movies, having helmed the sensitive Call Me By Your Name and the bold remake of Dario Argento's classic horror Suspiria.
The Coens, however, are well versed in the genre, having regularly sketched criminals of all stripes, from out of their depth (Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo) to terrifyingly accomplished (Anton Chigurh in No Country). The possibility of them reworking Scarface's journey is an exciting one indeed.
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