So, Abel Ferrara’s not taking this whole Bad Lieutenant remake all that well…
Ostensibly speaking in support/defense of his documentary Chelsea on the Rocks at the now-winding-down Cannes Film Festival, the director of the film that made Harvey Keitel’s cock famous finally went on the record regarding Nu Image/Millennium Film’s redo (set to star Nicolas Cage under the direction of Werner Herzog). Here’s a cherce sampling of what he had to say (per Spout Blog’s Karina Longworth):
First, Farrara tagged a comment about the remake on to his answer to a question about working outside the Hollywood system. “As far as remakes go, Harvey [Weinstein? Not mentioned in this Variety story in connection to the project. Keitel, who starred in the original? Hmmmm….] begged me not to say anything mean, or stupid. [pause] But I wish these people die in Hell. I hope they’re all in the same streetcar, and it blows up.” (Emphasis mine.)
Yikes. Looks like Devin was more right than he could’ve possibly known. While “these people” undoubtedly includes producers Avi Lerner and Edward R. Pressman, it sure sounds like Ferrara has Herzog (and Cage) riding on that combustible streetcar as well. For some reason, I imagine this whole disaster taking place in San Francisco.
Later in the press conference, Ferrara talked up a remake of The Searchers. He might’ve been joking, but here’s the thing: I know of two filmmakers who’ve flirted with the idea over the last several years. One would interest you; the other would have you loading up your Winchester.
You really need to read Longworth’s piece to get a full sense of the crazy on display (Ferrara claims the remake isn’t a done deal yet, but he doesn’t go into any details as to how he plans to kibosh it). Just know that Dennis Hopper was there, too, and, all told, he was probably the stabilizing influence.