Nobody wants to play with "Oldboy."
Clive Owen, who many thought was a shoo-in for the seemingly impossible-to-cast role of the film's villain, is now the latest actor to turn down the part, according to The Playlist.
Owen joins Christian Bale and Colin Firth as actors who have declined the offer to play the main antagonist in Spike Lee's remake, who imprisons Josh Brolin's character in a nondescript room for 15 years. After playing the criminal mastermind in Lee's "Inside Man," Owen joining "Oldboy" seemed like a no-brainer. So much for no-brainers.
Hmm ... when you'll do "Killer Elite" and a Spanish Burger King commercial but not the "Oldboy" remake, we think that says something about the "Oldboy" remake, don't you?
The "Children of Men" star being the latest actor to turn down a role in the film has rather large-scale consequences, as the start date for the production has been pushed back to either late summer or early fall. Lee was hoping to start shooting in the next month but that seems highly unlikely without anyone to play the film's second-largest part; a spring start is no good, either, as it would interfere with Brolin's press commitments to "Men in Black III."
Maybe we should just be happy with the original Korean film (as much as one can be "happy" with such an ultra-dark tale of revenge and other nasty stuff) and skip the American remake? It might be something for the studio to consider if this silliness continues.
