See it with samurais in 2013.
Here’s an interesting one–how often does a Best Picture winner get remade? Not often. Actually, I can’t think of one at the moment (if you can, good for you).
That streak’s about to break, though. The Hollywood Reporter says that Ken Watanabe will star in a Japanese remake of “Unforgiven,” Clint Eastwood’s 1992 western Best Picture winner. The film also starred Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman.
Lee Sang-Il will direct the film which will be called “Yurusarezaru Mono (A Thing That Can’t Be Forgiven),”
Like the original, the remake will be set in 1880. THR says “Watanabe will play a samurai with a violent past, who lives on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido with his Ainu (the aboriginal people of the island) wife, but is brought out of retirement for one last job.”
In addition to being a star in Japan, Watanabe also has worked in many Hollywood films, including “Inception,” “Letters from Iwo Jima,” and “The Last Samurai.”
The cast also includes Koichi Sato in the Gene Hackman role and Akira Emoto in the Morgan Freeman role. Filming is expected to begin this fall on location in Hokkaido, for a 2013 release.
