Oldboy director sought for Metal Gear movie

by James Ransom-Wiley { Apr 27th 2006 at 4:25PM }

Park Chanwook, director of 2003's Oldboy, recently revealed to The New York Times that he was approached about a movie adaptation of the Metal Gear Solid series. Anyone familiar with Oldboy will recall the exaggerated fight scene shot entirely from the perspective of a classic side-scrolling brawler. This sequence, as Chanwook claims, earned him idol status in the gaming world. Oddly enough, Chanwook admits, "I've never played [a video game]."

When a "Japanese designer" from the Metal Gear staff approached Chanwook about directing the movie, the two found there was little to talk about. Despite Chanwook's uncanny disposition to meld gaming with film — and dream up wildly twisted plots — he was not the right person for the job. Thankfully, neither is Uwe Boll.

[Thanks LaughingMan]

Tags: Konami, Metal Gear, MetalGear, Oldboy, Park Chanwook, ParkChanwook

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Erik Novak @ Apr 27th 2006 4:29PM

Oh HELL yeah!!! Oldboy was masterfully directed and very stylish & gritty. If they get him, then I'm looking forward to the Metal Gear movie.

K MAN @ Apr 27th 2006 4:32PM

Thank god for that. I loved OLDBOY, and nothing good ever comes from a movie based on a video game.

Think, DOOM, Tomb Raider, and let's not forget...Super Mario Bros.

Nigeria @ Apr 27th 2006 4:37PM

KMAN you should read the article properly

Ryan Williams @ Apr 27th 2006 5:01PM

Why read articles when you can just glance at the headline? And the score, in the case of reviews.

;)

robotplague @ Apr 27th 2006 5:03PM

Park Chanwook is an excellent director/writer. If you haven't seen any of hims films I would highly recommened them. I probably wouldn't see a Metal Gear movie in general but if Park Chanwook did it I would probably see it in the theatre.

had2comment @ Apr 27th 2006 5:10PM

I saw Oldboy, and it was pretty funky. I remember the fight scene very well. I thought it was awesome - the whole fight in the hallway was shot without any cuts, and viewing the whole thing from the side was a great idea. I also liked how it was CG-free. (When in doubt, add more CG! You can barely tell the difference! Really! CG Star Wars, Spiderman, Neo, Superman! More more more!!)

Additionally, every punch and kick in that scene looked like it actually had an impact. It was as if I could feel the hits through the screen.

And then when he picked up the hammer...

However, I didn't think the fight scene was like a side-scrolling brawler. I suppose now that you mention it I see the connection, but I never thought Kung Fu or Double Dragon when I first saw it.

All I could think about during that sequence was, "Holy crap, this rocks hard. Matrix hard."

Tom Cruise @ Apr 27th 2006 5:11PM

TOM CRUISE will be Snake!

graf1k @ Apr 27th 2006 5:22PM

Oh that sucks. So they talked to him and decided not to use him? That really sucks. I don't know why I didn't think of that pairing myself but he's an excellent director and could definitely do MGS justice. Oldboy was a great movie, and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is even better by my estimation. Just saw JSA recently and that cemented the fact that Park Chanwook is among the best directions in the business today.

David @ Apr 27th 2006 5:24PM

If they go ahead with this I really hope they use actors that no one knows about, I just can't picture big name people in these game roles.

cyberfrog @ Apr 27th 2006 5:24PM

Too bad America movie companies bought the rights to do a remake of Old Boy... what the hell. How the hell can Old Boy be improved? Seriously? (hits head on wall repeatedly with much force)

Mark @ Apr 27th 2006 5:35PM

Park Chan-wook has brilliant ideas on his own. I don't think he needs to adapt a video game, even though Metal Gear is one of my favourite series' ever. I'm glad he won't be directing it.

torokun @ Apr 27th 2006 5:56PM

Um... In this article, Director Park is refering to when he met Hideo Kojima some time ago. Kojima San happens to be a huge fan of Park's films. And rightly so, since he is an excellent writer/director.

However, if you are a film fan and are familiar with that meeting, there was no actual talk about proposing Director Park to do a movie adaptation of MGS. Kojima San just wanted to meet him.

Also, even if Park was contacted to adapt the game, I would seriously question why Kojima San would do such thing. Since what Park is strong at has nothing to do with why MGS is so interesting. It would be a mistake to hire him for MGS movie project.

Babylonian @ Apr 27th 2006 5:59PM

Oldboy was seriously my favorite movie of last year.

Oh, and the article incorrectly states that Park "claims [the sequence] earned him idol status in the gaming world." If you read the article, you'll see that he actually said "I told that I was idolized in the world of computer games."

Don't make him out to be an ass if he isn't.

fawazr @ Apr 27th 2006 6:04PM

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Oldboy are favorites of mine. Haven't seen the other in the trilogy. The fights in Oldboy were impressive and very real, yet very badass. It's too bad he didn't take on the job, it would probably have been the best videogame movie yet. By the sounds of things, they'll probably opt for some gaudy director who's willing to make something more like a Dolph Lundren film.

K MAN @ Apr 27th 2006 8:38PM

Nigeria,

I read it correctly. I'm saying that I'm glad he passed. I love his movies, but I wouldn't want him to sully his good name by doing a project that's doomed to fail(no pun intended).

I don't care if Coppola does a movie based on QUAKE. it's still going to suck.

K MAN @ Apr 27th 2006 8:52PM

had2comment,

the fight scene did have a CG component. the knife in his back. other than that, all real.

cyberfrog,

OLDBOY isn't the only movie hollywood is remaking from korea.

Siwore is being remade into "The Lake House" with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bulluck.

My Wife is a Gangster is being remade with Queen Latifa.

My Sassy Girl is also Being remade.

And let's notforget everyone, that OLDBOY isn't written by the director. It was adapted for film from a Comic book. You should check out the comic book, it's pretty raunchy.

Mark @ Apr 27th 2006 9:38PM

Nice to see someone that knows their Korean cinema, K MAN. ;)

Justin @ Apr 28th 2006 12:02AM

He would have been a good director for MGS. But Tom Cruise as Snake, are you high? The only person that I think could play Snake remotely well, is Keifer Sutherland. Wait, don't rag on me, just think about it - scruffy voice, all-around bad-assness, right age, cold demeanor, but has a heart. Nuff said!

had2comment @ Apr 28th 2006 12:43AM

I didn't notice the knife was CG, K MAN. Thanks for pointing that out and correcting me.

I should have been more clear in stating the CG components I was referring to is the recent trend to completely replace characters with CG counterparts. I can't stand it. I really appreciated the hallway fight in Oldboy because of the lack of CG in this regard. Just an old school brawl.

The fact I didn't notice the knife implies either A) the scene was done so well it masks the CG knife, B) I am a retard, or C) both.

cyberfrog @ Apr 28th 2006 12:46AM

I know about the other remakes except for lake house. My point is though, why remake old boy? I think it's strong enough to show in the states as is. I don't really see how a remake will make it better. I didn't mind the american interpretation of ringu. Sassy girl and my wife is a gansta have certain themes that i think can translate over, and quite honestly i don't think they are of the calibre that old boy is.

Another one that is apparently slated for remake is "tale of two sisters" which I also think is an excellent film. Another travesty, rumours are that battle royale may be remade as well... sigh, most likely with all sorts of popular teen actors.... good lord

ZippyDSM @ Apr 28th 2006 1:26AM

Eh its going to take soemone who knows WTH they are doing to make a good game moive...untill then it will be hollywood trash....Silent Hill at elast is a step up form normal Game movies the Atsmohere is right..just everythign else nearly blows...

K MAN @ Apr 28th 2006 4:24AM

had2comment,

I had no idea about the knife, until I saw the movie with the commentary on(I speak fluent Korean). So don't beat yourself up.

And I agree. Replacing real actors with CG is trash to me. On the other hand, I did see a trailer this weekend when I went to see "Thank you for smoking" of a Keanu Reeves/Robert Downey Jr. movie that had a little different take. The whole movie was vector image/video layed over real live motion video. Kinda like the "Polaris" video by Zero 7. This at least looked interesting, and it is based on a Philip K. Dick story. But I cannot remember the title.

P.S. Thank you Mark. I love Korean Movies. The way a Korean can.

K MAN @ Apr 28th 2006 4:27AM

Mark!!!

I just saw your blog, and I love that you gave "Primer" a 10 out of 10. Nice to see someone who gets a movie as complicated as Primer.

Kudos to you buddy.

Sloopydrew @ Apr 28th 2006 7:36AM

Old Boy was one of the best movies ever made. I'm glad Mr. Chanwook turned down the Metal Gear offer. His style doesn't really fit, and I always hate seeing artists turn into tools.

Bakabaka @ Apr 28th 2006 9:36AM

Reply to 21.

You are thinking about A Scanner Darkly.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/ascannerdarkly/
It does look interesting.

Mark @ Apr 28th 2006 4:56PM

Thanks for checking out the Primer review K MAN ;)

I also love Korean movies. The way a Canadian can.

A Scanner Darkly looks incredible. The film Waking Life has the same art style (rotoscoping) and it's by the same director (Richard Linklater). I would suggest checking it out K MAN.