WarGames Remake Finds Its Writer & Director
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- June 25, 2014
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS)
The granddaddy of all hacker movies, WarGames, has had a remake in development hell for the last five years. Every so often we hear a bit of news about it here and there, before the rumors go quietly back into the shadows from whence they came.
First it was Leonardo DiCaprio making plans to reimagine it in 2009, then MGM hired Seth Gordon to direct a reboot in 2011, but no actors or even a writer had ever been attached to it. All has been quiet until recently where, according to sources, a director and a writer have been picked up to move forward on the remake.
Deadline is reporting that Arash Amel will be penning the screenplay. He’s new to Hollywood, and wrote Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman, who places Grace Kelly as she transitions from Hollywood star to the princess of Monaco, which debuted at Cannes.
Dean Israelite has been tapped to direct the piece, whose debut film, Project Almanac was produced by Michael Bay for Paramount and Platinum Dunes. It’s a found footage film about time travel which reminds me somewhat of Primer – but with teenagers.
Since both of these are relative unknowns, I have no idea what will become of the project. It’s possible MGM sees something in Amel and Israelite, or maybe it’s a way of keeping costs down by hiring newcomers. Remember, Gareth Edwards had only directed Monsters before landing Godzilla, and knocking that out of the park, so I’m not ready to condemn this news.
The original WarGames starred Matthew Broderick as a computer wiz who accidentally breaks into NORAD, and starts playing what he perceives as a game with a computer called WOPR. The computer takes hold and creates a missile crisis which requires Broderick’s character to play against it, and eventually he realizes “the only way to win is not to play.”
It was a cute, heavy-handed message about the cold war.
The remake would obviously be vastly different, since we have remote drones in active duty. There’s a lot to explore thematically with taking humanity out of war, so Israelite and Amel are fortunate enough to have a lot to play around with. Still, it’s always possible that this will be the last we hear about WarGames for the next 2 or 3 years. I think a reboot is a great idea for this film, but I have no idea whether the new creative team will be able to pull off something awesome.
What do you think? Is rebooting WarGames a great idea or not? Let us know in the comments below!
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