Warner options Argentine 'Boyfriend'

Studio eyes U.S. remake for hit comedy

By CHARLES NEWBERY, JOHN HOPEWELL

BUENOS AIRES -- Warner Bros. Pictures has optioned the U.S. remake rights for "A Boyfriend for my Wife," the hottest comedy out of Argentina last year.

Deal was negotiated by Alejandro Cacetta of Disney-backed Patagonik Film Group, which produced the film, and Guido Rud of FilmSharks International, a leading sales agent based in Buenos Aires.

"Boyfriend" is about a husband who tries to get his wife to fall in love with another man so he can leave her. It stars Adrian Suar of crowdpleasers like "Comodines" (Cops) and "Apariencias" (Appearances) and Valeria Bertuccelli ("XXY").

Juan Taratuto directed "Boyfriend," his third hit comedy following "Quien dice que es facil" (Who Says It's Easy) and "No sos vos, soy yo" (It's Not You, It's Me). Script was penned by Pablo Solarz ("Intimate Stories").

"Boyfriend" was the second hottest film in Argentina last year, with 1.5 million ticket sales, putting it right behind "Kung Fu Panda" at 1.55 million admissions and ahead of "The Dark Knight," "Wall-E" and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

FilmSharks has handled sales of "Boyfriend" to more than 17 territories.

Steven Spielberg's "Old Boy" Remake Still on Track

Steven Spielberg recently announced that he will remake the 2003 Korean cult film "Old Boy" with Will Smith starring in the lead role.

Since then, the Japanese publishers of the original manga have filed a rights lawsuit against Show East, the Korean producers of the film. But there are many problems, including a possibility that Show East may be bankrupt. So will we ever see an "Old Boy" remake?

Reuters has now revealed that with all the problems revolving around the property, Spielberg is still moving forward with the remake. The reason is because the rights were purchased from a company called Cineclick Asia, which owns the international rights to "Old Boy" and is the one that negotiated the remake deal.

Otra remake coreana... y van

Sí, parece que el asunto se transformó en una moda. Tras los anuncios de las remakes de "OldBoy" y "The Host", Hollywood ahora ha puesto en la mira el clásico de culto coreano "Die Bad" para una remake a ser dirigida por Marc Forster, el reciente destructor de la reputación que había recuperado James Bond gracias a su lamentable "Quantum of Solace".

La película del año 2000, dirigida por Seung-wan Ryoo ("The City of Violence", "Crying Fist", "Arahan") y que se presentó aquí en el BAFICI, creo, de 2001, se componía de cuatro historias separadas centradas en el mundo gangsteril. Previsiblemente, las cuatro historias se unirán y la acción se trasladará de Seúl a Nueva York.

Después de "OldBoy", la remake de "The Host"

Aquí abajo está la información de "Variety" sobre la remake de la gran película coreana "The Host". De hecho, ésta me molesta más que la anterior noticia de Spielberg rehaciendo "OldBoy". Básicamente, porque la dirigirá un novato que viene de la publicidad (mal presagio) y porque "The Host" es mejor película --al menos para mí-- que "OldBoy". La ecuación no podría ser peor. Eso sí, los coreanos deben estar facturando de a millones!!!

Acá la info, en inglés, de "Variety"...

Universal Pictures and Gore Verbinski will remake the 2006 Bong Joon-ho-directed Korean thriller "The Host," with commercials director Fredrik Bond making his feature helming debut and Mark Poirier ("Smart People") to pen the script.

Story follows a town terrorized by a giant mutant squidlike creature hatched by toxins that flow into a nearby river from a military base. When the creature grabs a little girl, her dysfunctional family must band together to rescue her.

Verbinski will produce with Vertigo's Roy Lee and Doug Davison, along with Paul Brooks.

The film, originally titled "Gwoemul," did record-breaking business in its theatrical run in South Korea.

Bond has directed campaigns for Nike, Adidas and Levi's. He and Verbinski had been looking for a project to do together, and Bond said he embraced the opportunity to mix a larger-than-life monster with a heartfelt family drama.

"It processes a few genres together, and visually it feels close to the stuff I've made over the last few years in commercials, the tonality of humor and the scale," Bond said.

Verbinski set up the project through Blind Wink Prods., the company he formed at Universal, where he is developing to direct an adaptation of the vidgame "Bioshock."