Famed U.S. director Spike Lee to remake Park Chan-wook's "Old Boy"

Movie poster for "Old Boy" [Show East]

Famed U.S. auteur Spike Lee will direct the English-language remake of Korean director Park Chan-wook's film "Old Boy," according to U.S. production company Mandate Pictures.

On Tuesday, Mandate Pictures announced on their official website that Lee will remake "Old Boy" with screenwriter Mark Protosevich, whose works include "I Am Legend" and "Thor," as co-producer and writer of the upcoming adaptation.

"It's a great honor to put this special project into the hands of such a gifted writer and iconic director," Nathan Kahane, the President of Mandate Pictures was quoted as saying.

A numbers of directors and actors including Steven Spielberg and Will Smith had expressed interested in remaking Park's revenge flick in the past.

"Old Boy," starring actors Choi Min-shik, Yoo Ji-tae and actress Kang Hye-jung, tells of a man named Oh Dae-su (played by Choi) who is kidnapped without reason and is set free one day. He goes on a hunt to track down his captor where he finds out he was a target of vengeance.

The film, which is the second installment of Park's vengeance trilogy, won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received high praise from the President of the Jury, director Quentin Tarantino. In 2008, CNN named "Old Boy" as one of the ten best Asian films ever made.

Spike Lee is a famed director, producer, writer and actor who incorporates race relations, media in contemporary life, urban crime, poverty and other political issues into his films. He has also won numerous awards including an Emmy Award and received two Academy Award nominations.

He has directed and produced a number of movies including "Do the Right Thing," "Jungle Fever," "Malcolm X," "25th Hour," "She Hate Me" and "Inside Man."

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