ESCAPE FROM NY news

Good interview with director Breck Eisner (who did the decent remake of THE CRAZIES) about FLASH GORDON and ESCAPE FROM NY:

"IF: What’s the status of FLASH GORDON?

EISNER: I’ve been working hard on that for over a year. We have a draft in, the studio really likes it, we’ve re-upped our option and doing another draft, and continuing to develop that and moving forward. That's obviously a giant movie with years of development and pre-pro to go. That's a big touchstone for me. I would love to make that movie.

iF: Is the BROOD remake or ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake still happening?

EISNER: ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is real, and I passed on THE BROOD. I just liked the original BROOD too much and the execution was perfect. I remember liking the original and thinking it was way out there, different and took incredible chances. I watched it again. It still holds up. It’s gutsy filmmaking. It has some really cool and intense things going on. It felt to me, I wanted to leave that movie alone and I wasn’t the guy to do it. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is a remake I am doing at New Line that I definitely feel is worth the remake. It’s a great concept with an awesome character in Snake Plisskin and it’s a movie that had limited resources when it was made back in the day, much different technology and world was a completely different place. The movie commented on the world in a different way than it will today. It’s one I would love to recreate and expose to a whole different audience.

iF: I really don’t think you could remake THE BROOD, because it's such a bizarro movie – which is part of its charm.

EISNER: That’s the problem, they would want to tame it down. Who wants to tame that movie? What’s so exciting about that movie was it was so bold and daring. To take that edge off of it, no thank you.

iF: Can’t you bring Kurt back for ESCAPE? If they bring Harrison Ford back as Indiana Jones …

EISNER: The first movie I ever worked on, I was a P.A. on TANGO AND CASH. I met Kurt Russell a million years ago on my first Hollywood job, but I’m not sure he would come back.

iF: Does it make you nervous about that. It’s like casting Matt Damon as INDIANA JONES. Kurt is still viable and he’s still around.

EISNER: It’s absolutely a risky one doing ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. There were two of them, but I consider there is only one real ESCAPE. There was ESCAPE FROM L.A. and it was really terrible. That character died a bit for me and a lot of fans when they had him surfing a wave in L.A. or whatever he was doing. Of course there is a lot of pressure for casting and whatever actor decides he wants to play Snake. The character that was established by John Carpenter and by Kurt Russell, that character will still be there. That’s going to be the same character. Snake Plisskin is going to be Snake Plisskin. He’s going to still be badass, still wear an eye patch and still be a total anti-hero. Kurt Russell created that character and that character is still going to exist in the execution of the new film.

iF: What kind of actor do you want to take over the role? Will you try to go a different route, or do you still want the character remain Snake?

EISNER: Things will happen to the movie and a different actor will have a different interpretation of the character of course. If you want to keep it open a bit. The truths of Snake are going to remain the truths of Snake. His name is Snake for chrissakes, he has an eye patch. [laughs] How many different ways can you go with that?

iF: How close will this movie be to the original?

EISNER: In ways very close, in terms of concept, character and characters. All those characters are there – Cabby. Brain. Snake. In terms of the staging, the actions, set pieces, some of the plot, that’s going to change. The set up and the island of course is changing. The original ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was a commentary on urban decay and surburban flights coming out of the '70s and early ‘80s. That doesn’t hold true anymore today, so it’s going to have a different set-up and different social relevance.

iF: Will you try to shoot in ESCAPE in New York?

EISNER: My goal is to shoot the whole thing in New York. It depends on affordability. We have to keep the film under control cost wide. We will certainly be shooting some of it New York and suing set extensions to replicate New York. I want the movie to look like New York. Every shot, has to be identifiably New York, not some generic, abandoned warehouse.

iF: So is Kurt Russell completely out of the question?

EISNER: I am going to try to get Kurt, we’ll see if I get lucky enough to get him. Luckily, we go back a little. I read some article where he said, he wants nothing to do with it though.

iF: So you would actually try to get him to do Snake?

EISNER: He wouldn’t play Snake again, he shouldn’t play Snake. He’s done it, but I would love to get him to do a cameo."

For whole interview, including a discussion about THE CRAZIES:
http://ifmagazine.com/mobile/feature.asp?article=3888

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