New Line has made the “brave” decision to remake the notoriously brutal Japanese film Battle Royale, giving it the diluted Hollywood treatment. The new version is being put together by maker of noisy “entertainment” Neal Moritz and Asian remake master Roy Lee.

The futuristic flick (the last finished film of Kinji Fukasaku) starred “Beat” Takeshi Kitano as a teacher in charge of the Battle Royale program, which brings entire classes of troublesome students to an island and forces them to slaughter one another until only one remains. Anyone who refuses to participate gets a brand new hole in their carotid artery courtesy of an explosive necklace. But at least they get nifty items like Uzis and pot lids to assist in the massacre!

The original movie (which also brought the oddly attractive Chiyaki Kuriyama to the attention of Quentin Tarantino for his Kill Bill bodyguard Go-Go Yubari) has proven so controversial that it has yet to surface in the US in any official capacity I know of, despite the fact that it’s basically just the next step in the evolution of TV’s endless Survivor (and the only way I’d ever watch that garbage).