A big reason for the fast track was creative: Loeb nailed the humor in Plissken without slipping into camp, and he changed Snake’s rescue-mission target from a president to a female senator, thereby upping the banter quotient. But just as big a factor was economic: They found a much cheaper way to turn Manhattan into a giant prison....says Vulture HERE.
This Manhattan was evacuated and turned into a privately run penal colony after the detonation of a crude radioactive dirty bomb on the outskirts of the city. “It is not a disaster movie,” says a source close to the project. “It is an exposé of an ecosystem, if you put a huge wall around Manhattan and then dropped in the most fucked-up, dangerous criminals on Earth.”More details about elements that'll change, and what will remain the same, can be found in the Vulture piece. Including: an interesting bit regarding contractual stipulations laid down by John Carpenter mandating how any interpretation of the Snake Plissken character must be approached. Check it out! This is the latest in a long line of EFNY remake attempts. Previously, BLACK HAWK DOWN scripter Ken Nolan made a promising run at the concept (find my extensive review HERE), which was followed by a "processed turd" of a draft by TERMINATOR 3's Jonathan Mostow (script review HERE). Did Loeb knock this one out of the park? Dying to find out, although the notion of Snake/Woman "banter" strikes me as a little to obvious and easy. At one point, Len Wiseman was attached to direct this - that was ages ago in Hollywood terms so I'm doubting he'll be back (we recently learned he was directing a new UNDERWORLD 3-D movie - so he's probably busy now). We'll give you more details on all of this as more come in...