For my money,John Woo’s classic 1997 action-thrillerFace/Offis one of the most entertaining movies ever made, so it comes as no surprise that Paramount is developing a remake that will feature a new cast rather than original starsJohn TravoltaandNicolas Cage.
Oren Uzielhas been tapped to write the script, andFast and Furiousfranchise producerNeal Moritzwill produce the reboot, while originalFace/OffproducerDavid Permutwill serve as an executive producer. The newFace/Offshould benefit from the technological advances Hollywood has made over the last 20+ years, though to be honest, the thousands of impressive Deep Fake videos that have flooded the internet in recent years threaten to render this plot rather blasé. But hey, as long as they find two movie stars as charismatic as Cage and Travolta, it doesn’t really matter what kind of craziness comes out of their mouths. I’ll forgive momentary lapses of madness, as evidenced by my love for this movie,
Mike WerbandMichael Collearywrote the originalFace/Offscript, which saw FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) go undercover by swapping faces with known bad guy Castor Troy (Cage). Inevitably, this poses a problem, both for Castor’s brother, Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola), and for Archer’s family, played byJoan Allenand a rebelliousDominique Swain.Gina GershonandNick Cassavetesco-starred as siblings and friends of Castor, and the supporting cast was stacked – seriously, look at this cast of character actors:Harve Presnell,Colm Feore,CCH Pounder,Robert Wisdom,Chris Bauer,Matt Ross,John Carroll Lynch,Tommy Flanagan,Kirk BaltzandDavid Warshofsky, plusThomas Jane,Margaret ChoandJames Denton. Casting directorMindy Marinshould’ve won an award for assembling that ensemble!
Uziel has worked with Moritz in the past on22 Jump Streetand Paramount’s upcomingSonic the Hedgehogmovie. He also wroteThe Cloverfield ParadoxandFreaks of Nature, in addition to writing and directing the Netflix movieShimmer LakestarringRainn Wilson. He’s represented by Writ Large.
Paramount hasn’t been shy about exploiting its library in the wake of its success withMission: Impossible, as the studio has sequels toTop GunandComing to Americacoming to theaters next year. Deadline broke the news.
