Some time ago, it was announced that director Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn) was going to remake the 1992 thriller BAD LIEUTENANT. The original movie starred Harvey Keitel, and we saw too much of him in that movie… for those of you who’ve seen it knows what I’m talking about. Nevertheless, I thought it was a great cult hit and Harvey’s acting was superb.
The word is that Herzog wants Nicolas Cage to play the main role this time..
But wait.. hold the brakes! According to the German filmmaker, this is not a remake. Even though it has the same title, it will not have the same storyline as the old one. As a matter of fact, Werner Herzog doesn’t even know who the hell Abel Ferrara is, who was the filmmaker of the 1992 movie.
This is what Warner Herzog said to Defamer in a recent interview…
its not a remake. It’s like, for example, you wouldn’t call a new James Bond movie a remake of the previous one — although the name of the bad lieutenant is a different one, and the story is completely different. It’s very interesting because Nicolas Cage really wants to work with me, and just anticipating working with an actor of his caliber is just wonderful.
There’s an interesting screenplay; it’s a very, very dark story. It’s great because it seems to reflect a side of the collective psyche — sometimes there are just good times for film noir. They don’t come out of nowhere. There was some sort of a mysterious context with the understanding of people in that particular time. And it’s going to be in New Orleans, which is a fascinating place. Part of it was the decision of the producers for tax incentives — which is totally legitimate. However, I thought to myself: “We have seen a lot of New York in movies; we have not seen New Orleans in feature films.” Or very few feature films. After Katrina it’s a particularly interesting set-up. The neglect and politics after the hurricane struck are something quite amazing. It has to do with public morality.
No. I have no idea who Abel Ferrara is. But let him fight the windmills, like Don Quixote.
Werner Herzog jokingly said that last part because Abel Ferrara has once protested the idea of remaking his movie and cursed everybody who wants to do that to die in hell
Now that it’s not a remake, I’m curious who this version’s going to turn out.
They should call it Badass Lieutenant.
That’d be rad!
[...] I heard that Wener Herzog was remaking Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant I had mixed feelings (even though Herzog claims it isn’t a remake). On one hand, why?? On the other hand, Werner [...]