Hollywood to remake Hong Kong gangster movie

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-03-30 17:20

Handout picture released 04 September 2006 shows a scene from "Fangzhu" (Exiled) by Chinese director Johnnie To. [AFP]

Hollywood is planning a remake of the Hong Kong gangster drama "Exiled", cashing in on the success of "The Departed", the Oscar-winning US version of another Hong Kong hit, a report said Friday.

Media Asia has sold the rights for "Exiled" -- director Johnnie To's thriller set in Hong Kong and Macau -- to Samuel Hadida, the producer of the 2006 horror flick "Silent Hill", the South China Morning post reported.

The film will be turned into a big-budget action feature, the paper said. It was not immediately clear whether To would be involved in the project.

"The actual negotiation took a few months, from late last year. It just looks as though the interest came after (the Academy Awards)," Jeffrey Chan, head of distribution at Media Asia, was quoted as saying.

"Exiled" is the third overseas big sale for Media Asia, a string of successes which started when "Infernal Affairs" became "The Departed", which took home Oscars for best picture and best director Martin Scorsese.

Another Hong Kong thriller, "Confession of Pain", will be redone in Tinseltown, with Leonardo DiCaprio -- who starred in "The Departed" -- as the lead.