Skip to main content

Spike Lee adds Samuel L. Jackson to Oldboy remake

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Depending on your personal feelings toward Spike Lee’s English-language remake of Chan-Wook Park’s cult classic revenge flick Oldboy, the following news will either be phenomenal, or will only lightly dent your cynical rejection of any auteur’s attempts to one-up Park. Either way, Samuel L. Jackson is now a part of the movie’s cast.

The LA Times reports:

Jackson has come on board for a small but critical part in the new film, according to a person close to the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene.

Fans of the original will remember the scene as perhaps the most visceral and disturbing of the film. Protagonist Dae-su Oh exacts vengeance on a man who once guarded him by extracting his teeth one-by-one with the claw end of a hammer.

The LA Times has a good point: It’s hard to forget that scene, yet the report then goes on to state that Spike Lee’s version won’t feature the forced dental work. “The new film, which begins shooting this fall in Louisiana and New York, won’t go with the tooth removal, instead inflicting a different kind of torture (we won’t spoil it here, but it’s plenty painful).” Given the numerous ways to torture a person we have to assume that there is something out there as painful as having one’s teeth plucked out with a claw hammer, but honestly we’re having trouble imagining what that might be. Thoughts on how Mr. Jackson might meet his end in the Americanized Oldboy?

Alongside word that Samuel L. Jackson has joined the Oldboy cast, the Times also points out that the film has enlisted the talents of Bruce Hornsby to compose the film’s score. Hornsby has worked with Lee on a number of projects in the past including “basketball documentary Kobe Doin’ Work and the auteur’s new Red Hook Summer,” so his addition isn’t that surprising, though it is odd to hear Hornsby claim that his score wouldn’t necessarily be dark.

“I’m working on a few things and I’ll send them to Spike soon,” he said. “The ‘D’ word has been spoken to me by him,” the musician added, referring to a dark tone. “But I think the score will also run the gamut.”

If any of you who have seen the original, 2003, Korean version of Oldboy can imagine it with a score that is anything other than dark, you’ve got a better imagination than we do. Without spoiling the film’s plot — if you haven’t seen it, please rectify that immediately; it’s fantastic and currently available on Netflix — we can safely say that it deals with some very dark, disturbing themes and while it doesn’t wallow in its characters’ depravity, it is a very dark film. Unless Spike Lee is changing huge swaths of the movie to match his artistic vision, a score that is anything other than “dark” doesn’t make much sense.

Yes, we’ve still got our fingers crossed that Lee isn’t making massive changes to the existing Oldboy plot. Call it wishful thinking.

Editors' Recommendations

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
10 best R-rated movies streaming right now
A woman and her child stands next to a dead body in Anatomy of a Fall.

R-rated movies are typically expected by audiences to push the boundaries of what can be depicted on the big screen. Whether it's gory horror movies or steamy erotic thrillers, these movies were designed specifically to get an "R" rating and be shown primarily to adults.

From modern masterpieces like Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer to classics like Alien, some of the best R-rated movies ever made are available to stream on different platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Max. With bold narratives and unfiltered realism, these are great picks for an enjoyable movie night among adult friends.

Read more
Stop! Watch these Netflix movies before March 2024 ends
Robert Pattinson in The Batman.

One of the blessings of streaming services like Netflix is that, in addition to their libraries of original titles, they also have titles that come and go on a regular basis. While the introduction of new titles is always nice, the downside is that titles usually leave the service when new ones join.

As March turns into April, we're going to lose some genuinely great movies on Netflix. While you still have time, though, you should check these three very different movies out.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Original Theatrical Trailer

Read more
March Madness live stream 2024: Watch every Sweet 16 game
Logo for the Sweet 16 in March Madness.

With the always-thrilling first weekend of the NCAA tournament in the books, we now move from quantity to quality. As we get ready for the Sweet 16, each matchup from here on out will be of the must-watch variety. Just four wins sit between the remaining schools and a national championship, so you know there are plenty of huge moments on the way.

There are 12 games this weekend—eight Sweet 16 matchups on Thursday and Friday, and then four Elite 8 contests on Saturday and Sunday. They'll all be televised on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV. Fortunately, if you don't have cable, there are a bevy of options for watching the Big Dance for free or cheap.
Is There a Free March Madness Live Stream?

Read more