We've teased this rumor quite a few times and no one seemed to pick up on it, but it was officially announced today that New Line Cinema will be bringing a remake of the Japanese cult classic Battle Royale to the big screen, according to Variety. New Line will be setting up the pic with Vertigo producers Neal Moritz and Roy Lee (The Ring). The late Kinji Fukasaku's classic film is one of the most popular underground and bootlegged horror films of all time. Because of its controversial plot, we here at B-D expect the remake to be quite a touchy subject (kids killing kids in a game created by the government) and wonder how they're going to pull it off. Just the fact that New Line is attempting this remake shows some serious balls and I highly respect them for giving it a shot. Watch this spot as we'll try and find out more info soon. Read on for the official skinny...
Variety reports:
New Line has decided to launch "Battle Royale," buying the remake rights to the controversial Japanese sci-fi pic and setting up the project with Neal Moritz and Roy Lee.
Original film, produced by Toie and released in 2000 amid concerns about its violence, is set in an apocalyptic future in which schools are overrun by uncontrolled violence; the government responds by organizing an annual Battle Royale, in which a school class is picked at random and students are pitted against each other on an abandoned island in a game of survival.
Toie also produced a sequel in 2003, "Battle Royale II --Requiem," in which a new class of teen students are forced to battle a rebel group let by a survivor of a previous Battle Royale.
Moritz's Sony-based Original banner has upcoming releases including Sony's "The Gridiron Gang" and Universal's "Tokyo Drift," the third installment of "The Fast And The Furious" franchise. Producing credits for Lee's U-based Vertigo Entertainment shingle include horror imports "The Ring" and "The Ring Two," sequel "The Grudge 2" and "The Lake House."
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