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It's Official - Verhoeven goes topkapi over directing the next CROWN-ing acheivement of Brosnan's career!
Hey folks, Harry here.. Back in 1999, I was out in Los Angeles up to my usual no good, when I got contacted to go meet with Mike Medavoy - as a film geek - I knew his place in the history of 70s films like ANNIE HALL, ROCKY and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.... how he'd ushered films like PLATOON, AMADEUS, ROBOCOP, The TERMINATOR films and a good many others to fruition. At the time he wanted to talk with me a bit about THE 6TH DAY - a film that was a year away at that point... sadly, not a film on the level with those other films. It was amazing as he sat me down and handed me the leather bound copies of the original production drafts for the films that reached BEST PICTURE status... with production notes - and chatting about the history of such things.
However, the height of that meeting was when he asked if I'd like to join him at a screening room for a film he'd wanted to take a look at. The title in question was TOPKAPI (1964) - a brilliant film from Jules Dassin. At the time, I knew Jules Dassin, but had never had the opportunity to see TOPKAPI. Peter Ustinov had won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his AMAZING performance... and as I sat in what I can only describe as the most plush and heavenly screening room I've been in... I watched one of the most stunningly beautiful, bizarre and great crime, comedy, adventure, thrillers I'd ever seen.
Earlier this year at Half-Ass-A-Thon - I programmed the film to play after STARDUST - as the film is stunningly trippy and colorful and would be a wonderful film to watch afterwards, plus... it was just a movie that I new many would never have had an opportunity to see.
WELL - that'll change. The movie has been on DVD for quite sometime, but with no real push... The director, for those of you unfamiliar was the wonderful director behind THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, BRUTE FORCE, THE NAKED CITY, NIGHT AND THE CITY, RIFIFI - and when a director has a filmography that strong... you should make it a point to attempt to see everything that they've done - and TOPKAPI is another stunner.
Why do I bring all this up? Well - The sequel to THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake, that John McTiernan helmed - is being based upon TOPKAPI - and I wanted to be sure that those of you unfamiliar with the film, familiarized yourself with it at your earliest convenience. Be it through rental or purchase.
With director Paul Verhoeven officially set to helm this sequel/remake... I'm fascinated how they'll adapt TOPKAPI into the world of THOMAS CROWN, because personally - TOPKAPI, to me, is a wondrously unique film... with characters that talk to the camera and the delightful carnival of crime. Who will play the hypnotically sensual partner in crime, I'd cast Monica Bellucci... if such things were left to me... but in the casting of the Peter Ustinov or Robert Morley characters... there are no portly substitutes worthy of their suspenders. And what of Akim Tamiroff's role?
This sequel/remake will be filming beginning in January - and we're sure to have casting updates a plenty as this project begins to ramp up over the next two months. With Verhoeven attached - and following his stunning return to form with BLACK BOOK... this could very well be a remarkable film - but at the very least - seek out the original - that's reward enough to discover through this project announcement.
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is great. And Verhoeven is a filmmaking god. I'm there.
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I wish he'd do another big budget sci-fi movie, but I've loved just about all his films. Question is, will he be able to work lots of tit shots into the film?
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...they're making a sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair and they're basing it upon a completely unrelated caper movie from the sixties? This is bloody ridiculous - the Brosnan Thomas Crown movie was jumped-up pseudo-pretentious crap anyway.
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Sequal/remake? When will the goddamn snake puke on its own tail?!?!?!
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How unoriginal.I wonder if they can get brad pitt and george clooney back for this...oh wait that was another crappy sequel to a remake.
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that they don't try to do a pure remake of Topkapi but pay it homage this way.
As for the Peter Ustinov character...Robbie Coltrane isn't quite old enough but he should be able to pull it off (he could shake off Hagrid with a nice bit like this). Although the roll will probably go to a Yank. -
i am gonna buy it right now. Have not seen it in ages. Great movie!
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As if there are any new ideas left in the heist genre. It's all been done before. The locals are more exotic and the item being copped might be some new technology instead of a painting but it's all just variations on the old theme.
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That's maybe the best heist movie I've ever seen. The long, wordless break-in scene especially is absolutely incredible. So maybe it's not fair but watching TOPKAPI hoping for another RIFIFI was a huge disappointment. It's a silly ass comedy and not an actual crime movie like the other one. It's based on a serious book though which I'm sure is what the remakequel will be loosely based on. (And they can't even do the heist the same because it was already done in MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE.)
By the way, is this really official now or are we still going by somebody said that Verhoeven said it on a radio show?
Finally I would just like to say that especially after BLACK BOOK I would watch whatever movie Verhoeven makes next, even if it's DAREDEVIL 2 or GOLDEN GIRLS: THE MOVIE. -
Why do you think you get invited to these places? They show you a script and you blow your wad like a 16 year old in the back of a station wagon.
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If anyone can do it, Casper can.
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or does the guy on the DVD cover look exactly like Hugh Laurie? C'mon.
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Hope this film is a big hit for him and Brosnan.
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Hope this film is a big hit for him and Brosnan.
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As i live on the other side of the world it was my dream :-) to have one thing posted on AIC. I got a "that's interesting" mail back. And now you are taking the credits for this. What's up with that.
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OMG, I LOVE it when they do that!!!
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I can't recall a Paul Verhoeven movie where a woman wasn't in some way brutalized.
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Thomas Crown Affair is the only remake worth a damn. Took a underacheiving movie and revamp it rather than butchering a classic.
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The dirty ho is flashing her honeypot around! Put it away Rene! Save that stuff for your husband.
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I guess my finger is far from the pulse of the "cool" community.
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Is his voice work for Prince John in Disney's Robin Hood. Fucking awesome.
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I just want to say that Rififi was a remake of The Asphalt Jungle, as directed by John Huston. The Asphalt Jungle was made in 1950 and Rififi was made in 1955.
I know, I’m a queefing pedant.
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Verhoeven and Brosnan should team up to do a rogue Bond film like when Connery went off on his own to do Never Say Never Again. I feel sorry for Brosnan. He gets really undervalued as an actor and the Bond producers were terrible to him. He rocked it out in Tailor of Panama. That was solid gold.
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could have sworn i read awhile ago that angelina jolie was replacing russo.
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I'll settle for a few limbs coming off if it'll please the censors but nobody is as good at exploding heads as Verhoeven. It'd be a waste of his fee not to have at least ONE in there.
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Honestly, Verhoeven?! I'm a fan, but he's not the first person I would choose to direct a sequel to McTiernan's delightful, light-as-a-feather original/remake. I certainly hope they're not thinking PG-13, here....
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Nov 13, 2007 8:19:26 AM CST
Brosnan's Thomas Crown was one of the best films I saw that year
by shiftyeyeddog2
It was a refreshing grown-up film that was exciting and most of all FUN. I couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear for the whole thing. ..and yeah, Russo was smokin'
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the puns and hints always seemed childish and stupid, but this one was as stiff and unimaginative as they get....and why does every headline have to end in an exclamation point?!?!!!!!!!!!
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... Just asking.
Seriously though, I guess one of those accidental omissions, could we make up for it for an article with a brief retrospective on Peter Ustinov at some point? Maybe Vern could do it ... -
...of an original film unrelated to the original film that inspired the first remake? Is that a first? Next up, expect Rob Zombie's Halloween to have a sequel that is a continuation somehow of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Then we'll have a sequel to a remake that's a continuation of a prequel to a remake from an original film unrelated to the original film that inspired Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN. Maybe I shouldn't give them any ideas.
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The chick is hot, but can't act for the life of her. Bring Angelina, or bring back Mrs Russo.
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...also Richard Griffiths, Robbie Coltrane, Timothy Spall, Stephen Fry...
"but in the casting of the Peter Ustinov or Robert Morley characters... there are no portly substitutes worthy of their suspenders."
C'mon Harry, think a little bit. Use the old IMDB. It ain't that hard.
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Topkapi and The Thomas Crown affair are not actually two completely unrelated films. Both are loosely based on the novel The Light of Day by Eric Ambler, which was itself loosely based on the exploits of a real life art thief.
So basically, what we have here is a sequel/remake of a film based on the same book as the remake that is now its prequel.
How's that for interesting lineage? -
"...I new many would never have had an opportunity to see."
"new"? Really? Really. -
So, are they making a sequel to a remake of an original film that was loosely inspired by a novel that inspired a separate film that is now being remade to act as the sequel to the remake? So a novel was written that inspired the creation of two separate films that would both be remade 40 years later to act as a franchise? Is THAT a first?
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...of the box. Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller = box office gold I tell ya.
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She can act and in my opinion would be a worthy successor to Rene Russo.
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Probably a first. I mean, I've never heard of it happening before.
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Followed by The Thomas Crowne Revolutions.
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...Thunderball/Never Say Never Again comes close.
I mean you could, not me. -
Yeah, but Never Say Never Again wasn't actually a part of the same continuity, so I wouldn't really consider it to be one.
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Neither of the other two did just loosely.
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I'd buy that for a dollar!!!!
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Instead of calling it "The Topekai Affair", they should build on the brand equity of the THOMAS CROWN name instead of the word AFFAIR (Similar to how the Bourne films are titled). It would be shooting themselves in the foot to do otherwise.
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It'd be great to be able to edit your own posts. I mis-spelled Topkapi in the last post.
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very well then, carry on.
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Nov 13, 2007 11:15:53 AM CST
i LOVE when sequels dont use the name (much less numbers)
by shiftyeyeddog2
It's been done plenty of times before, and it works:Hunt for Red October/Patriot Game/Clear & Present Danger/Sum of All Fears
Army of Darkness/Evil Dead
Once Upon a Time in Mexico/Desperado
Last Picture Show/Texasville
Chinatown/Two Jakes
Fugitive/US Marshals
Mad Max/Road Warrior
Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick
Hustler/Color of Money
Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal
ALL Bond movies
Dirty Harry movies
...and I'm sure many many more
To use a number or even working the same name in is just cheap marketing. Why can't stories just have their own individual titles? Hell, if you leave it out, maybe you'll bring in MORE people who didn't like the first film in a series, but think the newer flick looks interesting. -
I loved the Thomas Crown Affair...everything about...they have already posted that Angelina Jolie has agreed to be a part of it...dunno about that...would have really preferred Renee Russo..cause man she's hot...and the two of them have crazy chemistry....but you know who would rock..the french chick from A Good Year..(which I finally saw...and totally loved)...verhoven is a great choice...but like every movie out there...it's gonna come down to the script...so let's how they do that...but if the first script is any indication..this should be fun....soooo looking forward to this....
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Well, DIE HARD wasn't a remake, but the first two were based on unrelated books. I guess this is in the same tradition but taking a step further by having them be based on unrelated books that were made into movies already.
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Hey, someone had to start it.
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Excellent.
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he's strictly an Rated R director. Seeing as there is no way this is going to be rated R, I can't see how this would fit in with Verhoeven's output. I guess if David Lynch can make a good G-rated film anything is possible, but to me the charm of Verhoeven's films are their vulgarity and dark sense of humor.
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No, no, no! I want Verhoeven to direct the CALL OF DUTY 4 movie. Now that WOULD be cool news. Kevin McKidd as Soap, Jamie Foxx as Griggs, Jason Statham as Gaz, and Bernard Hill with his bristling tache as Price. Make it happen Paul.
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lowercase t in tokyo, until they stop whaling.
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and he said "fuck this". the non gay one from the mighty boosh looks like ustinov there.
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Where Verhoeven takes the audience into new perils of shits and grins...don't 'cha know.....!
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Nov 13, 2007 4:56:44 PM CST
THOMAS CROWN AFFAIRS IS AN IMMENSELY REWATCHABLE MOVIE
by bringingsexyback
It showcases Brosnan's persona so much better than James Bond. I'm of the camp that thinks he plain sucks as Bond. Too wussy. But as Thomas Crown, he was perfectly suited to the role. Glad there's going to be a sequel, and hope Rene Russo will be in it. She was definitely 50% of the original's charm.
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Topkapi vs. Uncapie: Requium
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I believe you have it confused, Both Thomas Crown affair and Topkapi are based on the exact same book. So this isn't just "based on unrelated books that were made into movies already." This is "based on the same book that was made into two extremely different movies already."
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He just got some cheesy scripts and direction to work with. Especially now after Casino Royale, that tried so hard to be gritty and real it makes the Brosnan Bonds look a little silly. But with the proper script and direction, he could have been a great Bond. It's the Cloony/Batman syndrome.
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so why wouldnt the second one be?
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That made me laugh!
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Because Dassin thought his wife (Mercouri, the lead) was amazing and could do no wrong and filled the movie with her, but she was awful. I hate seeing that sort of delusion out of directors. The movie was only interesting for Ustinov's crazed performance, but she had top billing, and the camera was constantly pointed at her stupid face, which pretty much ruined it for me.
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Now I've seen everything.
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Brosnan, Russo, Belluci, directed by Verhoeven! It's a natural!
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With Verhoeven at the helm, this sequel/remake might top it.
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"...so why wouldn't the second one be?" Um, didn't stop the PG-13 installments of the Robocop and Die Hard franchises from happening...
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Can't wait to see what he does with it.
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I agree. There have been franchises that had sequels with lesser ratings. But there's no reason to think this is going in that direction. If anything, I think the choice of Verhoeven only reinforces the idea that they're fine with an R movie. I was only addressing Fulmer's brushing it off like it was already a PG13 franchise.
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Point Blank and Payback. Both based on "The Hunter" by Richard (Donald E. Westlake) Stark.
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jesus fuckin phone service
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verhoeven saw the shittyness and amped up the sex and violence to make it worthwile, and also one of the most iconic shots ever. open wide!
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You're right, I'm confused. But I looked it up and according to the credits Thomas Crown is not based on any book. And the book Topkapi is based on (Light of Day) seems to be about what Topkapi is about, but not what Thomas Crown is about. So I guess there are not two separate books but only one is based on the book. I think.
Anyway, to the classily named guy who dissed Verhoeven, I can see you going after BASIC INSTINCT, but not BLACK BOOK. I think BLACK BOOK is the best movie I've seen so far this year. If anything directing a Thomas Crown sequel is a step down for him. -
liked the first one alot- seems like theyve taken their time with the sequel...but i find brosnan to be very watchable. looking forward to this, though the choice of verehoven seems a little odd. maybe this sequel will be a departure from the tone of the first? what about angelina jolie? i heard she was in the running
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was the cinematic equivalent of a glossy magazine- it was plastic, dull, unmemorable, and worse left me with the distinct impression I'd seen it before. (And I haven't seen the original)Brosnan did suck as bond, but I'm not sure how much of that was his fault- at least 2 of the films (if not 3) rank among the worst in the series. They should never have fired Dalton, who was an excellent Bond in 2 shitty movies.
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...just saying... that's all..
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Nov 15, 2007 8:30:25 AM CST
Stone Cold Steve Austin with a wig could play the chap on the le
by darfurontherocks
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after Black Book. Now that was a good movie...tits, betrayal, war...
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Nov 15, 2007 1:24:42 PM CST
Verhoeven will once again be suffocated by studio influence..
by polyh3dron
I think Black Book was awesome because he was outside the Hollywood system and was allowed free reign. Now that PV is returning to the studio system I feel that studio interference will make him compromise his work to the point where it is bland, just like Hollow Man unfortunately.
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